“What made the mansion so exciting was its very emptiness and the lack of objects.
Its décor and fixtures, such as tiled stoves, doors, mirrors and mural paintings, were of
the highest quality, however-this despite its location in the depths of the countryside.
The proportions of the rooms and the views of water from each window were, and still are,
captivating. From the wide floorboards to the lack of central heating, the overwhelming
impression was of undestroyed 18th century. What rapidly became clear was that the
house would not work as a permanent residence, but a repository for dreams that
we could indulge in our leisure time. “
Lars Sjöberg’s account of his discovery and forty year careful restoration of
Regnaholm, an 18th century Swedish manor house. An art historian and
curator of the National Museum of Stockholm, and author of several books
on Swedish style, his account of the Regnaholm restoration is inspiring.
In the green drawing room the mirror is ornamented with roses around a pediment
in which two swans drink from a fountain. The gilded console table has a
painted glass imitation of Porphyry in its borders.
The pine floor in the drawing room features a star shaped oak inlay…
Late Gustavian sofa is decorated with green-painted griffins
and composition moldings glued to the wooden frame…
Lars has been painstaking in his removal of more contemporary wallpaper and paintfinishes
from the walls and wood detail that crept slowly over the original 18th century house.
On the death of an aristocrat, his belongings were inventoried by law, so Lars has been
able to surmise furniture holdings of the original dwellers and carefully approximate them.
Lars purchased the late Gustavian couches 20 years ago.
The pier glass’s ornaments were originally antique verdigris green, touched up
a century ago with gilding, and awaiting restoration to their original finish.
The blue and white rococo stove, made by Marieberg porcelain in Stockholm,
was moved from the reception room to the yellow drawing room in 1800…
Lar’s daughter Lovisa slept in this white and gold painted Gustavian bed
with red cotton canopy. The green rococo chair was made in the 1760’s by
Stockholm cabinetmaker Olof Holm. Oh, how I love this bed!
My post Circular Logic here has photos from Ekensberg, another one of Lars Sjöberg’s houses
and Greet of Belgian Pearls recently did a post on Ekensberg here
Beyond the beautiful photos, what intrigues me is the earnest love
and dedication to a piece of design history and the commitment
to preserve it, wall paper layer by wallpaper layer.
*
The World of Interiors June ’09
Text by Lars Sjöberg
Miguel Flores Vianna photography
Trish,
The Swedish style of the 18th century is such an elegant style! You have showed here very good pictures on which you really can see this! I adore the Swedish Style !
And thank you so much for the link to my post of Lars Sjöberg!
Greet
Divine! I adore this Swedish style…but only in my dreams! I am afraid I am simply not an elegant girl. I shall visit Greet and see more of Lars Sjoberg. Thank you for sharing!
Take care, Laura
Hi Laura. When I see the items that you find and treasure, I can tell you have the same sensitivity to the past that drives someone like Lars to preserve a beautiful part of his country’s past.
I loved the floors.
Thank you for the tour.
Lee
The settee and twin fabric draped bed at to die for. I always have been drawn to Swedish style before I even knew what it was. I grew up knowing my heritage was European but only knew of the German side. Imagine my surprise to find out that my maternal great grandmother was 100% Swedish 🙂
I adore 18th century style, of course American is my favorite, but our early immigrants brought so much of their home country with them…probably why I like this century’s style so much. Lovely photos. Sea Witch
Gorgeous and informative post. Not only do we get splendid images, but I always learn so much from your posts. Interesting to see the use of so much color ~ vibrant yet muted in that soft Swedish sort of way and quite different from so much of what we see of more modern Swedish interiors. I also adore the Gustavian day bed and the layering of the mattresses reminds me of the “Princess and the Pea”.
~Jermaine~
Hello all! I included link to Porphyry in case you’re dying to know what that is. The daybed with red canopy was on the cover of World of Interiors. French Essence actually showed the cover on her blog, and was ruminating about how the cover influences our grab decision when choosing magazines. I rushed out and had to go to 3 bookstores before I could track this down (it was later in the month when magazines typically get pulled). The cover shot is a slightly redder red, glossy (and also includes a 2nd chair). Stokes my antique fabric/bed fetish.
I would love to just wander through the rooms… So beautiful & those mattresses are perfection!!
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment! In doing so, I was able to discover your wondrous, beautiful blog! If you have no objections, I’d like to do a feature post on your blog. I think my readers would flip over your images!
All the best,
Anne
Love all these photos / But I’m dying for the one with all the mattress
Ooh! In my family we have a couch that looks very much like that extremely long one. =D It was made in the neo gustavian era (wonder if it’s even called that) in the 19th century, and it was made so that all of the eleven cousins could fit in it. =D (I’m Swedish btw ;D)
Pingback: 18th Century Swedish Walls « Trouvais
I have read about three of Lars Sjoberg’s books and how he has taken run down houses/manors
where the ceilings are falling down,floors half there and walls two or three thick wallpaper and turned
them into a fantastic home.
One area that I enjoy in the Swedish antique world are the Mora clocks.Here is a description by my son
“For those with a fine eye for the unique you will never be disappointed when adding A Swedish Mora Clock
to your surrondings ;Icons of a simpler time,statuesque and fetching they stand,a cool balm for
our overburdened senses”.Thank you.
Lloyd Ryder
Pingback: Styl skandynawski – prawdziwe szwedzkie wnętrza | HISTORIA WNĘTRZ – Architektnaszpilkach
Pingback: Styl skandynawski – prawdziwe szwedzkie wnętrza | HISTORIA WNĘTRZ – Architekt na Szpilkach