Are You Sick of Swedish Style Yet?

Whilst going through some back issues of Veranda, I came across this ode to Swedish style photographed by my favorite interiors shutterbug the dreamy Peter Vitale. And more Peter Vitale HERE.
The rooms were put together by Shannon Bower.


I thought oh well, I'm sure one of my esteemed cohorts have surely blogged on these beautiful rooms already, and that all of the gentle readership (that be you guys) has already oohed and ahed over this uber example of a Swedish inspired design.


So erring on the side of redundancy, I thought I'd put these photos of my blog, which I also use as an archive of photographs and images I like. Fancy that! The blog has become another clipping file, one much neater and compact. So if I'm boring you with this almost sure to be rerun, I apologize.


Why oh why does the pale room, so feminine, so hard to keep clean (all those who say it isn't are fibbing a little) tug at the heartstrings of decor lovers everywhere? Whole industries, design careers, and blogs are dedicated to this palette.


For most of us, it is a style that is a bit out of reach for many reasons. It requires antiques that haven't been knocked off at Target yet. The Swedish store for the masses, our dear Ikea, only addresses contemporary Swedish style. I wish they'd produce some girly settees and an affordable adorable Mora clock for us to have.


Also all those shades of white kind of scares us, in terms of muddy feet, hand prints and scribbles, spilt red wine, dog hair. We love to look at it all in pretty pictures, but few of us venture into its reality on our day to day basis.


Or we compromise a little, maybe venturing into having white slipcovers that are washable, but still require effort. Wrestling slips on and off the couch is a chore no matter how breezy we act about it. And not all stains or spills wash out no matter how much bleach you use. In fact I once created a very nice bleach burn on a white slip, a nice little hole smack dab in the middle of the couch.


I myself substituted white slips with upholstered faux white leather on my settee and my sofa and dining chairs, and so fair so good, though our darling grandchild aged two, managed to get a cute little hand print of something dark on one dining chair that granny cannot completely scrub away. There's a faint little shadow smudge, his tender calling card that I have learned to live with and love.


Shannon Bowers says these rooms are casual and family friendly. I'd like to ask her husband about that when he plops down to watch the big flat screen TV and put his feet up on the white ottoman or on a delicate French style table. Many ladies have a family room at the ready, and the sweet vignettes in the living room are there for their souls, for their spirits, something to look at and to use to feel refreshed and soothed and accomlplished, and oh yes a good room occasionally to sit in and spy on the neighbors.

My own living room has evolved into a girly salon. White furniture, a glass top coffee table, etc.
The hubs chose a linen and damask print chaise as his chair, but really he hardly ventures into this room even though the largest TV is here. Our antique house has not been gutted to remake it into configurations that eschew family rooms. We have parlors. One is my girly salon, and the other is used for our dance studio. I use the living room everyday, ensconced on the chaise abandoned by the hubs, working on my lap top and watching HGTV, Cholo snuggled into the beige fake fur throw draped over my lap. This room is not that precious really. There are dog bones and dog toys strewn about, and dog hair aplenty too until I feel like vacuuming. Any mess can be cleaned up.


Alberto is the most comfy holed up in his office where he has three computers, a nice medium size flat screen, two wing chairs, a sofa, and his mess that he is comfortable with. As two who have had our business dealings at home for the past 15 years, it's nice that we vanish into our respective caves, and come together later in the day. Sometimes I visit his domain, and sometimes he'll come to claim the chaise in my salon. And we always have our bedroom for shared naps, reading, TV watching, sleeping and the rest.

So there you have it. A rerun I'm sure you could watch again. It will be here awaiting you in the vamp vault.

PS With everyone cutting corners, I have also cut back on buying a ton of magazines every month. But I just want you to know that the current issue (March) of Veranda is super good and worth a little splurge (sadly I have also cut back on subscriptions and only buy good issues now). I especially love the editorial called "A New Attitude".

Posted in: Magazines, Peter Vitale, Photographers, Swedish Style