Swedish Design

Introduction

In the early 20th century, new Scandinavian nations emerged with entrepreneurs and politicians who wanted to create powerful, prosperous and industrialized states. There were people interested in this like intellectuals, social reformers, artists and architects. They rejected the vulgar and sumptuous Victorian interiors. Each of these people took care of something; some to guarantee the maintenance of the national culture that suffered the threat of the machines for their traditional crafts, others in the improvement of life of the poor population and others to promote new ways of life.

At this time, rural culture, inspired by the countryside, is very important; in addition to great interest in preserving ancestral trades and rural crafts. The population feared the loss of their culture with the arrival of industrialization, therefore, societies and associations were created, which were in charge of collecting samples of popular crafts and encouraged people not to lose traditional techniques.

In Finland, they looked for historical cultures that would not have disappeared after the Russian and Swedish occupations.

At this moment, Alvar Aalto expresses admiration for the tupa, a traditional country house, built in wood that has a single multifunctional room with simple and practical furniture, and later the architect and designer reinvented it more simply and refined.

Furthermore, young architects and designers visited these houses.

In Sweden, the new rural houses were modeled. The stuga is a wooden house with its walls painted red and white on the edges of the doors, covers and windows. After this, they decided to assimilate the old construction techniques.

At the end of the 19th century, a short-lived artistic movement called radical romanticism emerged in Scandinavia, which is a nostalgic revision of the traditional rustic style. Solid, sturdy and safe works are produced and wood and ornate stone decoration are used.

Swedish interior design features

To talk about these characteristics, we are going to focus on two authors, Wilhelm Kage and Josef Frank. The forms used in these designs were simple, fluid, smooth and sculptural, at this time the ornament began to be eliminated despite not having much approval from the buyers. For example, we can see a white earthenware tableware created by Kage called Praktika, which only had a green stripe on the edge as an ornament. The different sizes of this product were designed to fit and better store what it brought out another feature of modern Swedish design, functionality.

Praktika by Kage

These designs contrasted the principles of modernism of the moment because their proposals in terms of objects and spaces were very radical, since they opted for simple lines and sobriety. Stripping the interiors of the superficial ornament and thus lowering prices. Thanks to this, they brought home designs and everyday products closer to the poorer classes, since until then only wealthy families could enjoy these "luxuries".

In this artistic trend, the potential of many designers was seen because they responded to all demands, created exotic and exclusive pieces for the home, and in turn designed products for industrial production.

Josef Frank, at the Universal Exposition in Paris, presented an ethereal and luminous terrace with cane benches and pots full of plants. Critics saw in this composition a new sensitivity of less austerity than functionalism, which they called "Swedish modern design".

Frank's work is characterized by the use of color and design to achieve elegant, proportionate and comfortable interiors. Furthermore, these spaces used to be light, spacious and well designed, allowing his ideas to penetrate the USA, where he was considered the founder of the Swedish modern movement.

 Wilhelm Kage

 Josef Frank