The images are crisp and perfect. The colours of the collection are beautiful. Rich and earthy reds and browns add elements of warmth to the predominantly black and white colour scheme. Soft wood is also in the mix as is the background colour…”blueish gray”? Don’t know what to call it, but surely there’s a better name for this colour? Whatever its name though, I love it. Definitely would go for that on my walls.

Now, from the collection,  if I was twist-my-arm-forced-to pick just three things, I think I would get this black desk with storage…

…a set of these quirky little things…

…and this pretty cushion…

For the full experience and to check out more pictures and products in the A/W 2010 collection, visit the websites of Ditte Isager and DAY.dk. And since we’ve long been fans of DAY here at Trendey, also check out Mia’s earlier posts on DAY.

| photos: Bo-laget |

Now, look inside for another sweet Swedish ‘Country Danish’ Skånelänga – This house, “Lilla Beddinge”, was built in the late 18th century.

It is simple, cosy and southern Sweden-rustic: Country-Danish within the Swedish and Scandinavian style borders. Interiors below.

Wouldn’t you just wanna escape and hide in one of these houses? I would, for a few summer weeks at least! Lastly, exteriors of the Skånelänga:

All photos: Uppvik & döttrar

Update: Price tag for “Knäbäckshusen” (shown first in this post) is $775 000 – or best offer. “Lilla Beddinge” is starting at approx. $415 000 .

The symbol of his artistry is a typical Frank-design; anno 1925, two chairs of model 2025 (see bottom left below). The chairs are now stationed on the sidewalk, firmly anchored in the ground. Set in an angle as if they were involved in a conversation, offering bypassers to sit down. However, they are not made of wood and rattan (as the original), but in sand-cast bronze.

Josef Frank’s Place – A public tribute to the father of the Scandinavian (Swedish Modern) interior design style. Installed May 17 th 2010.

Most of the furniture is bought at flea markets in Southern Sweden. The front door is painted in a sunny yellow colour; whether go come or go it will make you happy! I’d say these bold colour touches are the Dane’s gift to Scandinavian home decor: Danes dare more.

Swedes like to collect things :) Unfortunately I have no details about when the book will be released, other than that it’s soon. And I do not know, but would love, if the pictures are accompanied by lots of text, lots of thoughts.

This last photo below really captures an old Swedish style. Perhaps one sniffed at the fact that the grandparents lived exactly like this – and thought it was way out of fashion – but presented like this, it is obvious that it is our true styling roots and, in short, immortal trendy.

You can fit all functions into a one bedroom apt, this room shows! And still keep it clean, stylish and a bit playful. Or you can, as in the apt below, fit a good deal of charachter into a small space.

| pics: Alvhem|

….is right now this one, accoring to votes @ Booli Inspiration. The company Booli aggregates real estate listings, and today they lauched a new website with “Sweden’s most beautiful homes”. The promoting goes “Maybe it’s time to furnish or renovate a little bit at home? Take the chance, let yourself be inspired. And by the way, best of all, if you really fancy a room … the home is for sale.”

I’m not sure whether estate agents will be perfectly happy with this (they already have a horn in hand to Booli), and for that matter: people have actually had their homes photograped in order to sell the place, not to participate in a “nicest home”- competition on the internet. But the idea isn’t too bad…! It’s Swedish! Ugh sooo Swedish! We vote and think, assess and evaluate…And lift our Scandinavian ideal to the skies. (Thank God there is no way to dislike a home, I don’t want people to see their rooms displayed with red minus-56 figures)

Get in there if you need insipration on Scandinavian interior style!

* White. Swedes embrace gallons and gallons of white paint.
* Hardwood floors with individual rugs (Swedes stopped using wall to wall carpeting decades ago).
* State of the art kitchens.
* State of the art bathrooms.
* Books! Books are prominent, we surround ourselves with books and display them with pride.
* A great mix of old and new. A true Swede will rather have no furniture at all than to get rid of historical elements such as old wood burning stoves and the old beams.

I endorse all the points and add to the list:

* Naked windows. A fear of curtains lives inside the city homes.
* Stylish lighting. Lighting is a crucial point. Right now, two trends stand out: large round lights hanging from the ceiling (the IKEA Maskros lamp probably sell like crazy) and chandeliers, preferably crystal.
* Well-arranged wardrobes. Again, you’ll never escape IKEA, that company has distorted our brains showing their shelving systems with thousands of practical options. (The dream of a walk-in closet is intrinsic but not always pronounced.)

Proof. (Exhibit A to F)

|photos from Skeppsholmen|

Press photos from Svenskt Tenn via Hemmariket.

Upper pic Aramal, bottom Ceylon. Now, what say you?

Personally I say the significance of the work of Josef Frank (and Estrid Ericson) in developing the Scandinavian style must be fully acknowledged, appreciated and admired. Josef Frank’s interior design philosophy is immortal. Second, I get allergic itches from the notion that having Josef Frank design in your home ensures and signals “good taste”. It is ok to feel aversion towards, or get dizzy or puke-ready by, the highbrowish patterns and upper-classy concept. There is no such thing as free-thinking! I think Aramal is too much, it wouldn’t even queue at the dentist’s!, but I can very well imagine Ceylon as clothing on a single chair or stool cushion…

Josef Frank formulated his interior design philosophy (referenced as the Scandinavian or Swedish modern style) in two much quoted articles that appeared in Form magazine in the 30s and 50s. Amongst other things, he stated the following:

The modern dwelling space has white walls. This is the only way to preserve its freedom and enable the introduction of a variety of items without disrupting the colour scheme.

Josef Frank thought too much white in a room gives an unrestfull impression. White walls needs to be combined with colours and patterns for a balance to be created. He also said:

There’s nothing wrong with mixing old and new, with combining different furniture styles, colours and patterns. Anything that is in your taste will automatically fuse to form an entire relaxing environment. A home does not need to be planned down to the smallest detail or contrived; it should be an amalgamation of the things that its owner loves and feels at home with.

One of Josef Frank’s fundamental ideas was that the occupants of a home should enjoy a personal relationship with all the objects surrounding them. Each object should hide a “secret” that makes it special and interesting. All pieces of furniture should be individual “living organisms” with souls of their own. Also, in the Form Magazine of 1958, Josef Frank coined the term Accidentism. He had been asked to write an article, and the result was a scathing criticism of the contemporary stiff modernism. This was his way of making up with the modernism, which was then supreme. He thought it was too standardized and was tired of everything looking the same. The Accidentism theory is based on the idea that we shall personalize our surroundings as if it were the result of an accident:

The living room where you can think freely and harmoniously is neither beautiful nor harmonious, or fotogenique. It has emerged as a result of coincidences, it will never be ready and it can in itself absorb whatever might be, in order to satisfy the holder’s changing discerning.

Now the words of Josef Frank – articulated half a decade ago – do shed light on contemporary Scandinavian style, as well as other contemporary interior trends, don’t they?