Title: Country Houses of Sweden
Authors: Barbara and Rene Stoeltie
File Under: Foundational, Making Things Pretty
I've been traveling to speak and sell books — and staying with kind people who take me in, because I don't like hotels* and I figure that it's win-win — they save the money for the group that has kindly invited (and paid) for me — and hotels are so expensive! — and I get to sleep in a real place. This way I make new friends, or rather, just feel like I have old friends I'm catching up with. Happens every time! It's the best.
Of course, the conversation turns to the many things on our minds, and beauty is a topic that keeps coming up. Just as you train your tongue to appreciate tastes in food — just as you seek out beautiful music so you can discern good from bad — you need to train your eye to see what is beautiful.
Last week I had linked to this Roger Scruton interview * (and I keep pronouncing his name wrong, including on tape, how embarrassing. I think in fact it does not rhyme with crouton, but I can't help myself). And I pulled out this quote and will do so again here:
There are two kinds of beauty: the individual, expressive and revealing gesture, and ordinary harmony and fittingness. In everyday life it is the second kind of beauty that is important, and it is exemplified in home-building, gardening and the design of squares, houses and streets. It is important because it expresses and amplifies the human desire for settlement, for an environment in which things fit together and people too. It is an instrument of peace.
… because I think it pertains specifically to us, the makers of our homes. Men and women have a duty to make even the ordinary things beautiful!
*The URL I had is no longer in existence. I can't find the source of this quote, but it was an interview in which he said this… maybe someday I will stumble upon it again!
This post is already going to be way too long and way too digressive for a Library Project offering, but don't even get me started on how 70 years ago, even the railings of the bridges (our town has many little bridges over the tributaries that run through it) were thoughtfully designed. But when they inconsiderately decay (as everything must!) and are replaced in our (oh so superior) time, the only consideration is their cheapness. Thus the byways in our charming but unpretentious town are starting to look like access roads in commercial installations.
Anyway, a not insignificant factor in training your taste is the investment that furniture and textiles represent, even those that are not brand new. So you want a good sofa, a good rug… and of course you want to make good decisions when you are changing something in your home — for instance, kitchen cabinets or the bathroom.
It seems to me that the best way to do this is to look at pictures in a systematic way.
However, there are pictures that amount to decorating porn! Things that aren't real or that make you desire what you can't have. Why waste time on that? Like real porn, it just makes you dissatisfied with your actual life (real porn has other implications but we're being metaphorical here).
For good pictures that will help, I do think that Pinterest is invaluable — to help you to find what you like and what will truly be useful in developing your own taste in beauty.
To get the most out of Pinterest and not just waste your time, I have a few ideas.
- Create boards for the specific issues you have. Examples: Small bathrooms. Narrow foyer. Stone fireplace. Brick walk. Bunk beds. Homeschool room. Kitchen islands. When Rosie was painting her kitchen and asking me for advice, I created the board “Brown Countertops Color Scheme” in case you are wondering why I have that there. The fact is, the kind of granite she has there is both rather permanent — it's the one thing she really wasn't going to change! — and somewhat demanding — it's a strong color! But it's nice. So let's find out what others have done with theirs. I just have the three pins, but I think they were helpful. The gray she chose for the lower cabinets is very much like the one in that last pin, which isn't too surprising, because the granite is very much like hers, as I remember — more than any other pin I looked at.
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Create boards for specific styles you like. Swedish country. Irish cottage. Colonial (real). Craftsman. Midcentury. (Those happen to be some of the styles I like, or, in the case of midcentury, find useful for figuring out what to do with yard-sale finds. But of course, think about your own preferences.)
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Do searches for specific styles and solutions (along the lines of the boards you've created). Then follow boards that have a good representation of your favorites. That way your feed will update with more ideas.
But — and here's the key — only pin things that make your heart go pit-a-pat! You'll know. (Here's my Pinterest if you are interested. Rosie's. Sukie's. Deirdre's. Bridget's. Natasha's. Habou's.)
- After you have a bunch of things pinned, look through them and try to identify the specific thing in the picture that really gets you. Is it a color or color scheme — or just a degree of color? Is it one particular detail that you love, like a rough-hewn tabletop or a sisal rug? Really analyze what made you pin it — especially as it relates to the others. If you start to see that you really love the contrast between white and black, well then, there you go!
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Wait a bit before you make final decisions. As you continue on this process, you will realize that at first you were taken in by things that weren't quite authentic or that are fine but not for you. It's hard to separate taste from current style or fashion. When “country” was a decorating style, atrocious things happened that we weren't even aware of! Can you say ubiquitous stenciled geese?? But when you cross-check with the actual historic styles, you start to discern what's enduring. And honestly, it's fine to make mistakes. As Scruton/Crouton says later in that interview,
But the second kind of beauty has less to do with perfection than with serenity: it is a way of reconciling us to our own imperfection, and helping us to live with the real while still loving the ideal.
Decorating books can be so helpful. There are some books that you look through once. I tend to think that it's because the styles are too generic and limited to what manufacturers of the moment can offer. They are not worth buying, at least not new.
Why not go to the library and take out a bunch of books from the library and see which ones you'd like to take out again? Those are the ones you could maybe own.
For me, Country Houses of Sweden is one that I love looking at again and again for inspiration. For one thing, it has my favorite painter/decorator, Carl Larsson, and his home. Even the more formal houses, though, have a quality that is so important for homey-ness — they aren't “decorated” so much as layered over time, achieving their elegance organically. It didn't happen all at once, you can tell. The colors are timeless. The styles aren't aggressive.
Most of the examples of Swedish country decorating, though, are down-to-earth and don't represent any particular outlay of money — certainly not in the context of going to Crate & Barrel and ordering up a new houseful of furniture!
But the reason I often pull out this book is this one photo:
I could write a million words and every post about making do and seeing the beauty in the ordinary, but this one picture of the door with its little handmade bolt and that twisted piece of wood that was polished into a handle — be still my heart!
If you want to enjoy Carl Larsson's home through his own eyes, you will also love A Home: Paintings from a Bygone Age. You will see how his wife's woven textiles add to the warmth. What a lovely place. I hope I can go there to Lilla Hyttnas someday!
What is the Like Mother, Like Daughter Library Project?
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*Pro-tip for the next time you know you will be in a hotel, because it did happen once so far on this book tour. Bring clothespins! Had I had clothespins, I could have eliminated the gap where the “blackout” curtains did not meet. I could then have actually slept, rather than writhing and squeezing my eyes as tight as I could, vainly trying to avoid the glaringly harsh illumination in the room from the spotlight on the roof of the portico below, which was pointed directly at my window. Updated to add: Dear Karen in the comments points out that the clips on the hangers that are undoubtedly in the closet can be used to keep the curtains closed. Ah, if I had only realized at the time!
Barbara says
So very wise to stay with REAL people! If you’re ever in Columbus, OH…
priest's wife @byzcathwife says
I love these ideas- we (might) will be renting a larger house that will remain half-furnished with articles from the lovely 75 year old owner- it is all quality but not ‘my style’. I am looking for inexpensive (practically free) ways to personalize the space…
Emily says
You’re exactly right about narrowly focusing Pinterest boards. When we purchased our fixer upper house, we knew in advance that an extensive (studs up!) remodel would be necessary. The kitchen didn’t even have counters or cabinets in it! I spent months curating Pinterest boards for tiny bathrooms, small kitchens, and color schemes that felt peaceful and would work with dark walnut floors (original to the house and beautiful!) It worked so well – I adore my tiny bathroom, my kitchen is lovely and feels huge, and people always comment on how peaceful the house feels (even though it is frequently “lived in” messy!)
Joy says
I used pinterest in a similar way when we were redoing our house last year. I had certain ideas in my head but needed to see them fleshed out so we could make decisions.
Now I’m doing the same with curtains, pillows, furniture, etc. I am borrowing decorating books from the library, too.
Carl Larsson! I knew you were a kindred spirit. He is one of my favorites.
Betsy M says
Oh goodness how I love that last painting! I have a conundrum about living room furniture. I need one more couch or love seat but cannot settle on the color of the fabric or leather vs. a solid fabric. It would be so easy it I was not rather practical and imagined what each sofa was going to look like after a naughty child got through with it. My older children have commented that our new house does not seem like home yet and I need to get working on adding the “beauty” to our home. Thanks for the inspiration.
Woman of the House says
Amen, amen, amen! Way back when I was first married, I began tearing pictures out of magazines (this was before the internet, let alone Pinterest) and putting them in a file. I only tore out pictures that made my heart go pitter-pat, as you said. It really helped me define what I liked and kept me from making many a mistake over the years. I still have that file, but now I have a Pinterest account too. I tend to avoid trends in decorating and go for a classic timelessness in my surroundings. The trends change anyway, so I just do what I and my family like. I also keep in mind that a man lives here and so don’t go crazy with too many bows and ruffles strewn around. I also adore Carl Larsson. I could look at his pictures for hours! I also collect children’s books illustrated by Eloise Wilkin for the same reason I like Larsson~ her detailed home interiors present that same sense of beauty in the ordinary and a cheerful make-do attitude that warm the cockles of my heart. I also so appreciate Roger Scruton. Be sure to watch his video on what is beauty if you haven’t already. And one last thing~ I hope it isn’t bad form to suggest it~ but I think you will like the quote by James Taylor I used in this week’s {phfr}. The principles he states in that quote have guided me for many years in my homemaking, and I believe our home is happier and better off for it. 🙂
Woman of the House says
Oops, make the title of Scruton’s video “Why Beauty Matters.” That’s what I get for depending on my memory . . .
Leila says
Woman of the House, I so enjoyed your {pretty, happy, funny, real} post — particularly the Wodehouse quote! LOL!
And I have watched that video, and I believe linked to it here on {bits & pieces} — maybe last year? It’s not an easy watch, as he discusses ugliness in all its — ugliness — but it’s vintage Scruton. Very insightful.
Mel says
Another Larrson lover here! I envy your blue kitchen chairs that I have see peeking in other posts–I can’t convince my husband that we need blue chairs in our kitchen as well…maybe seeing yours will give him courage. 😉
A lovely Larrson book that I own and you might enjoy is Carl and Karin Larsson: Creators of Swedish Style, ed. by Michael Snodin and Elisabet Stavenow-Hidemark. It highlights how BOTH Carl and Karin worked together to create such a beautiful and stylish home.
Leila says
Mel, those chairs are from the J C Penney catalog (of about 14 years ago). The available colors were shades of wood that didn’t go with the table at all, and blue. I was wedded to the table, which I got at a local furniture shop (since closed). And I was wedded to those chairs, as they were very inexpensive and just the shape I wanted.
Not only are they solid wood, but they DO NOT have rush seats, which I knew would be disastrous with all the children around here (mine at the time and others now)!
Well, I took the blue as a default, having eliminated the others. When they came, I thought they were mighty bright! But over the years I have really enjoyed their cheerfulness and sturdiness! They were a GREAT buy for $50 each! (And not from China, either!)
Amanda says
You’re so right about the Pinterest boards. What I do is I have one big Home: Decor board for all my large-scale inspiration….my ideal style, the stuff that makes my heart go pitter-patter 🙂 But then I have Home: Decor: Living Room with ideas of living rooms that resemble ours. On these boards I tend not to tease myself with huge open spaces or bright white designs that do not at all match what I have for a living room. Instead I find rooms that have oak trim…like mine. Or lots of windows…like mine. Or a combined living/dining room….like mine. All my individual room boards are like this. This way I can both pinpoint my individual style (I didn’t realize how much I LOVE white until I had Pinterest….then I started slowly incorporating it in my real house and I love my house even better now) and learn how to make the real house I have (oak trim, small spaces, and all) work really well for me. If I pin only beautiful cottages all day I might let envy sneak in and lament my boring house. And if I did that I’d miss out on the beauty of my sort-of-scandinavian-with-bright-very-square-rooms-style home. If we move I’ll clear those boards off and make sure my new boards reflect my new actual home.
Renee says
We’re living in Sweden, an hour South of the Larsson home, on a temporary work assignment. You can come stay with us instead of in the local hotel! Swedish design does have a remarkable eye for simple, useful beauty. We’re really enjoying the eye candy here.
Karen says
Frequent traveler’s tip: Use a hangar with clips from the hotel closet to close the black-out curtains!
Each hangar has two clips. I turn the entire hangar on its’ side and use the clips to hold the curtain edges together. Yes, the whole hangar is now attached to the curtain sideways. It works! When restricted to a tiny carry-on bag, I need to be creative.
This is not as “fun” as meeting people in their homes, but when hotels are inevitable, minimalist solutions must be found. Wish I could hear you. Good luck.
Leila says
Oh, Karen, you are so smart!!
I lay there thinking, SURELY there is SOMETHING in this room that I could use!!! But I never even thought about the closet with its hangers and clips! UGH!!!!
Next time 🙂
Wanda says
I too have hard bound books that in return to again and again. As much as I love Pintrest, those books are like old friends:)))
Julie says
Once again a home run. Pun intended. I read on a blog somewhere about the biggest thing learned on pinterest- the author went on to note that while she enjoyed the pictures she would pin, the thing she liked most was the tidiness. As a mama to four under nine, I think that I would enjoy my own home more if it was tidy. I follow all of the LMLD boards, and have found multiple gems. Thanks for all you do.
-Julie
Margo, Thrift at Home says
I love Carl Larsson! And my dear friend DID visit his house and was startled to find out how well-known his wife’s textiles are.
I would love to get my hands on that Country Houses book. It’s not in our library system – booooo.
Are you familiar with Joanna Copestick’s book, The Family Home? It’s lovely and includes realistic as well as idealistic images.
lisa says
What wise Pinterest advice! Thank you! I try to only pin decorating things that are favorites, and often I’ll delete pins that I don’t find particularly matched with my style and our home. As always, I just love the things you have to say about homemaking and practicality. If you’re ever in the Raleigh, NC area…..we have a spare room that I think is pretty. Just letting you know. 🙂
Lisa @ 6andahalfhearts says
Great timing for this post. I actually just purchased the Nester’s Book “The Nesting Place, It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful” and it’s the same, just loving the house you are in and doing the most you can to make it beautiful. I know I am very sensitive to beauty, but for years have struggled with my lack of a decorating “gene”… but now I’m starting to realize I don’t need one! I’ll just keep putting out pretty things like you say you do, and I’ll keep trying new things and just enjoy the process.
Kelsey says
What perfect timing! My husband and I are scheduled to close on our first home tomorrow. It is tiny and needs so much work – I’m excited but also anxious. I will definitely seek out the Larsson book!
Dani M. says
I’m rereading The Perfectly Imperfect Home by Deborah Needleman and it’s a winner! Her philosophy of decorating (suitability = how you live + what you want + where you live) is simple and helpful and GOOD. I don’t agree with all of her specifics – she loves English country a good deal more than I do – but it’s still a great read.
Mary Frances Friedl says
We live in a gigantic house that was finished in 1846. A formal decor would probably work great here, but we are not formal people. I have settled on an eclectic bohemian style. Karl and Karin Larsson are two of my favorite artists. Their famous ivy draped window, the charming hand painted walls, attention to beauty in the simplest objects…. these things are classic. There was no compromise in their house. Function and budget never trumped beauty, at least in the paintings. Thank you for your wonderful article.
AnotherKaren says
Thank you! I have known I needed to use Pinterest. Magazines cost a fortune these days, and certainly are not worth it for the one article and 3 pictures that might be of interest. I have looked at other people’s boards, but didn’t really have an idea of how to make it work. How to make what I like (rather bold) look right in my home (1904 Glasgow Tenement Flat). How to blend the antiques I do like, with the boldness, and the old building details but not to end up with disparate collections of stuff that look like I am getting ready for a tag sale, rather than looking ‘eclectic’ and layered and organically collected like the Larsson’s, and yours.
Annie says
Auntie Leila, I have a Pinterest-related question that’s pertinent to the topic of this post, the resurfacing of which is very well-timed! 😉
I am currently knee-deep in everything Pinterest because I’m planning my wedding, which will be next summer! I think I’ve cracked the nut of using the site for wedding inspiration without getting too obsessed with perfection.
The problem I’m having is with establishing enough of my personal “style” in order to make a coherent wedding registry!! How do I know what to look for in a quilt/duvet set for our future bedroom, let alone what colors I’ll want to be using to decorate our future home, which is currently only a figment of my imagination? This is where Pinterest can be daunting–since I don’t yet have the constraints of a real house (e.g. knowing that the bedroom is dark and so we need to stick to light colors), how do I hone in on what I *actually* like? Any tips would be appreciated!
Leila says
Annie, I know what you mean… it’s hard to commit when you KNOW you are in the early stages/not ready for a forever home.
Keep pinning ONLY the rooms that make you really excited and happy. After a while, as you look at them, you will realize which are THE ones. Keep looking at Apartment Therapy House Tours and such surveys of decorating styles. Look at the details and really identify what it is about that room that you like…
This doesn’t really help the registry, because it takes time.
So for now, maybe go for quality items — the things that will last and that you can add to. Deirdre’s post about what to register for can really help: http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2015/04/pretty-happy-real-weddings-your-marriage-is-your-gift-to-others-a-guide-to-registering/
You can register for high quality white plates for everyday use — and then they will go with interesting serving dishes and tablecloths when you suddenly realize what you really love.
The picardie drinking glasses are a good example: timeless and durable, they will go with everything.
I would say that you should register for the best quality duvet you can (goose down, not necessarily the most expensive, but definitely down). The cover will come and go, and you can find them at Marshall’s for not too much, or on sale from stores like LL Bean.
Check out the decorating books I mention in this post. Keep pinning — and then go back and look at your pins!
Enjoy — and congratulations!
Annie says
Thank you!
Good point about the true bedding investment being the duvet itself. That actually alleviates a lot of my anxiety about having to pick a duvet cover that would not be boring but also not go out of fashion in a matter of years.
I’ll keep going with the Pinteresting 🙂