Swedish and Gustavian

Angelina August 22, 2017 Swedish and Gustavian

What is Gustavian Style? And why I love it!

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In this post – What is Gustavian Style and why I love it!

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Gustavian style is a decorating style named after King Gustav III of Sweden.

King Gustav III had gone to visit the Palace of Versailles, and was naturally impressed and decided to create his own Paris of the North in the 1780s.

King Gustav painting source- wikipedia

Below, a picture of Haga Palace, where the Crown Princess of Sweden Victoria resides and was one of the palaces of King Gustav III.

source: Swedish Royal Court/Håkan Lind

Gustavian is a Swedish twist on French Neoclassicism. It has the same proportions as the French styles, but muted color palettes and different carved woods – birch, beech and pine, all native to the area.

Below is an interior from the Haga Palace – an original Gustav interior!

It is similar to neoclassical Louis XIV French style but a bit pared down in opulence -but obviously still opulent, I mean, look at this library in the Gustavian style. The muted colors sing to me.

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Large mirrors were gilded and helped maximize the light in the Winter, while chandeliers had five or seven arms with candleholders. Additionally candles were added to wall sconces.

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Below, an interior from Masreliez house, another palace of King Gustav.

Often, the furniture was painted in pale colors to brighten up dark rooms during long Scandinavian Winters.

Upholstery followed suit, and furniture was covered in soft colors. Wouldn’t this room seem so cheerful when it is dark and snowing 6 months a year?

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Now, Gustavian Style or Gustavian Provincial came later… 1850s-1920s. It is also called Swedish Country Style. Below is a prime example of Gustavian style. It is softer and the least formal of the styles.

via Franki Durbin

I love Gustavian style! It is one of my favorite decor styles of all time. I love French country style too – and they are extremely similar.

via Master Henrik Antik

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If you love Gustavian style, please go check out Tone on Tone – a fabulous blog and antique store run by Loi Thai.

If you have a hard time telling the difference between French and Swedish – I recommend just looking for a Mora clock in the room!

via Swedish interiors

True Gustavian antiques go for thousands of dollars – but you can find cheaper ones that were made in the late 1800s and earlier 1900s that are more reasonable.

via Swedish interiors

Love this style, picture from the Gianettis – you must check out her book Patina Farm!

via Velvet and Linen

I love all of the carved pieces – someday I hope to own a Gustavian settee…

Like Swedish and Gustavian Style? Check out all of my other Gustavian posts here.

I have two Pinterest boards: Swedish Mora Clocks and Gustavian Decor.

A great article about Gustavian decor.

Swedish Interior Design has lots of pretty Swedish antiques.

Shop Gustavian Decor here:

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Angelina January 3, 2017 French Country

Pretty Decor is BACK in 2017

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Let’s talk about some design trends coming back for 2017, specifically, the return of pretty decor.
Pretty is timeless and never goes out of style. Pretty is soft, soothing, feminine. Pretty is not bold, jarring, or unsettling.
I predict we will be seeing the return of more pretty traditional decor this year. In a year when people feel uncertain about the future, people will be looking for comfort and coziness in their homes. They want to feel safe. But it is 2017, so it will be pretty traditional decor – with a twist!
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Cathy Kincaid

You see, I have always liked the pretty. After all, I grew up in a bedroom covered in fabulous Mario Buatta wallpaper (that, per my Mother, *I* actually picked out when I was only several years old).

The wallpaper of my childhood. I still like it!

Wallpaper is making a comeback.

We haven’t really seen it in a while! I predict it will be used more as we look to add more texture to our rooms. I am going to wallpaper the powder room definitely. I am currently undecided about wallpaper in other rooms. But isn’t this room pretty??

Leta Austin Foster

Bring on the chintz and floral prints.

Now, you have to be careful not to go too “Grandma” or 1980s. We will need to keep to soft color palette to keep it fresh.

Ritz Paris

Cathy Kincaid – curtains are Colefax and Fowler “Bowood”

Don’t be scared of fancy sconces and chandeliers.

It’s okay to add some crystal and gilding. Scones (err, sconces, I must be hungry) are a beautiful way to add indirect light to your house! Industrial-style lights are feeling tired to me. An ornate light will be on trend.

Cathy Kincaid

Dark wood furniture is coming back!

I have some fabulous antique French pieces that I cannot and will not paint just because they are dark wood! Not everything needs to be painted white! If it is a solid quality piece of furniture, trends come and go, but good solid furniture stays!

I think the key to bringing the dark furniture back into the room is to mix and match, like below. Don’t keep the matchy match bedroom set, for example. That is out.

David Easton

Again, different color woods are all paired together below. (And I want a dressing table like that one – making a note to self, also I love this wallpaper)

Mark Hampton for Aerin Lauder (using Toile de Nantes Fabric)

I need some softness with lots of drapery.

Bring on the bed cornice and canopies! Also, the return of the valance. Have you missed the valance? I have!!! I think we will be seeing more traditional draperies of the past return. Don’t you miss them?

Ritz Paris

Heather Dewberry and Will Huff

More is More.

Yes, fill your walls. You can use gilded frames and furniture. Put out your beautiful treasures for all to see! Don’t stuff everything in the cabinets – display your heirlooms!

Charlotte Moss

How I intend to incorporate these elements in my own home is to use more pastel colors. By using the more of the pastel colorways, these “older” trends can seem new again. The French and Gustavian color palettes are my favorite.

Kate Forman Designs

Lucky for me, pretty colors are making their way back into decor. How do I know? The Pantone colors of 2016 and 2017 are definitely Spring colors. Spring colors are pretty. The greenery color of this year is bright, however I could see it used in an accent color as a pillow or in part of a floral patterned fabric.

I am bored of burlap and grain sacks. I am bored of the industrial look. I am bored of all-white.

We need a little more softness and more romance added to our home decor!

Alex Papachristidis

Now some of the rooms (like the one above) are a little too *much* for my house personally, but I really do enjoy looking at them! Don’t you just want to curl up on the couch and read a book and sip a cuppa?

Mark Sikes

You see, my family and I have a theory. The toned down minimalist all-neutral trend started around the time of the recession.
It was a time when perhaps all of the color and all of the “more” was feeling too ostentatious for a recession. So we all started looking towards a paired down look. It seems it has been sticking around for the past 10 years.
I mean, even white took over in 2006 as the most popular car color!

Kathryn Ireland

But, it’s a new year and trends are always changing.
The traditional decor will return with a twist – pastel colors mixed with different textures in the room with a piece of modern art or furniture to make it fresh. Not that traditional decor was ever out-of-style, but we will be seeing more of it!
Having pretty “Granny” decor will be chic.

And, by the way, I’m not the only one who thinks this way: Vogue thinks so too.

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Angelina March 25, 2015 antique

Antique Black Chinoiserie Mora Clock… Mora Clock Unveil!!

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Remember last week when I talked about Antique Mora clocks??? Well, mine finally arrived!! I’m soooo excited to share it with you all!

First off, I was invited by Simone at Antique Style to share about antique mora clocks over at her blog. I am so excited to have been invited for my first ever guest post! I just love her blog. She writes about decorating with antiques. You need to go make sure you go check out her blog and my guest post .

Okay, now for the unveil….

Chinoiserie Black Antique Mora Clock at Peonies & Orange Blossoms

Antique Black Mora Clock at Peonies & Orange Blossoms

This beautiful antique Swedish mora clock is from around 1800. It is a Fryksdall style clock painted in beautiful gold and black!

It is handpainted in black with gold chinoiserie detailing. I think the chinoiserie goes well with the chinoiserie tulipiere I have on the bottom right. Please note, I hate the wall color here but I am renting and can’t paint it.

The face on the clock is really nice… it has the coveted “AAS Mora” on the face which makes it worth more. I like it’s little crown over the face too!

antique black mora clock @ peonies and orange blossoms

Let’s take a closer look at the chinoiserie painting and the details..

A look at the bottom… I like the scroll work with the little shell at the bottom.

Let’s take a look inside… what’s in there? Oh, the chime! It is made of solid wood.

To be honest, black was not my first color choice for a mora clock. But it was cheaper than the other clocks and I really liked its shape. I really wanted a pretty gray/blue but those ones were a lot pricier.

So, I have considered painting it because it wasn’t my original color choice… we will see, I will decide once I move to my new home and find it’s final place to put it. I would feel bad painting it if it is the original paint though… I can’t 100% tell if it has its original paint. There is a light gray paint underneath but I don’t know if that’s just an undercoat or not.

A look at other black mora clocks painting with the chinoiserie style that was popular at the time…

pictures above are not my own.

I LOVE my new clock!! LOVE IT! Do you like it? Would you repaint it?

Thanks for stopping by! Make sure you check out Antique Style Blog where I am guest hosting today!!

Linking up with these fabulous link parties: Metamorphosis Monday’s, The Scoop!, Inspire Me Tuesday,Wow us Wednesdays!, What’s it Wednesdays, Creative Ways ,Share Your Style, Centerpiece Wednesday Treasure Hunt Thursday Feathered Nest Fridays, Home Sweet Home,

Written at http://peoniesandorangeblossoms.blogspot.com

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Angelina March 18, 2015 antique

Antique Swedish Mora Clocks

We use affiliate links in our posts and our site. This means if you make a purchase using these links, we may earn a small commission. You don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise! Our full disclosure is available under About.

I have been just dying for an antique Swedish Mora clock since I first laid eyes on one years ago. I know they are trendy right now, but that’s okay. They were trendy in the 1790s, too!

Mora clocks were made in Mora, Sweden when the town came onto hard times.

Mora Clocks are often marked with the inscription “A A S Mora”. These are the initials from Krang Anders Andersson (1727-1799) from Oestnor. He is traditionally known as the first clock maker in the town of Mora. (A A S = Anders Anders Son). AAS initials appeared on clocks in 1792.

Each area in the province of Darlana produced a different part of the clock. The clocks were initially sold without a case, then buyer would then ask various locals to make a case. That is why there is so much variety in these clocks!

Antique Mora clocks

Eventually however, the “Moraklockor” grew out of fashion. A published manuscript from 1878 quotes, “In Mora clocks are being produced, but they are very old-fashioned models which cannot be compared to the more tasteful clocks which are being imported from North America and Germany”. HA! The clocks were produced for about 80 years and then fell out of style.

There are a few different types, all of which are usually made from local pine but sometimes oak.

Fryksdall: They have a pinched in waist, wide belly, and curly scroll. These ones are most appealing to me. They are often painted in whites, cremes, and greys.

Bridal: These clocks are the most unusual and most expensive; they have fine carvings and paintings on them. Often given to the bride on her wedding day.

Country: Plainer in appearance with less decoration. Simple hood crowns, may not have a face glass. They are often painted with folk art or in browns, yellows, and reds.

City: a catch-all phrase for all remaining clocks. These ones are often painted black.

a collection of “bridal” mora clocks!

Clocks made in the North of Sweden were thin and tall.
Clocks made in the South of Sweden were fatter with exaggerated curves.

Antique Swedish Mora Clocks in blue hues

Antique Mora clocks in beautiful blues

Mora clocks do come with original paint; however through the years they have been painted and repainted at times. The original owners would have never had the “chippy” look; they would have had a new very finely painted clock. The new “chippy” look is all the rage these days with the shabby-chic look.