Swedish Folk Style
Swedish Folk Style relies on simple structures, exuberant art embellishment on walls, ceilings, and furniture, and an overall sense of harmony. Painted wooden furniture, often with neoclassical lines, becomes a mainstay. On the walls and ceilings, trompe-l'oeil paintings suggest draperies and sculpture. The palette is natural, the accessories functional and uncluttered, the floors unfinished pale wood.
The drama of the outdoors -- wild fjords, deep forests, and the long night of winter -- has encouraged the Swedish to create design in harmony with nature. Flowers, birds, and fruit, the longed-for shapes of spring, decorate furniture, walls, and ceilings. A loose and novice painting style imparts a warmth of color and subject matter that seem to belie the earthy environment. Simple choices in antique linens, tapestry, and embroidery, as well as painted wood carvings of animals and fruit, lend an unpretentious air. A few ornate touches -- a gilded mirror or a crystal chandelier -- can add a hint of manor-house elegance.
In winter, you may find the path to the door is lit with ice candles set in the snow, and in each window a single taper burns. Gilded rococo mirrors reflect precious light from wrought-iron chandeliers. Vivid embroidered tapestries and a glowing ceramic-tiled stove keep the cold at bay.
In the summertime, Swedes throw their houses open to sunlight and fresh air. The tapestries and draperies are removed to reveal pale, scrubbed wood floors, an open, airy floor plan, and subtle colors on walls and furnishings: white, slate, gray-green, cerulean blue. Flowers are planted in every available corner of the garden. A summer smorgasbord of fresh vegetables, fish, flowers and herbs is set outdoors on plain blue and white dishes. At the windows, sheer curtains, perhaps in pretty botanical prints, are pulled back to welcome the light.
Overall, a sense of whimsy prevails in Swedish folk design. The friendliness of people and countryside are reflected in the home, on furnishings and fabrics and in the essential rhythms of the Swedish folk lifestyle.
Blending Traditional and Contemporary Design
Stucco Veneziano - Venetian Plaster!
Inspired by the ornate plaster-work of Renaissance Italy, decorative plaster has a millennial history, with origins dating back to the Rome of the Caesars and in the art of Ancient Greece.
It was Andrea Palladio, a famous Italian architect, who in the XVI century re-discovered it through his studies and re-proposed it in the splendid Venetian villas that are still to this day the distinguishing mark of his career. Stucco Veneziano is an aesthetic solution that step by step, conquered Venice and Lombardy, then Italy, and finally entire Europe in the XVII century. Today, venetian plaster Stucco Veneziano restores the splendor of a classic and prestigious finish.
Antiquing Video Tutorial
Turn ordinary objects into heirlooms! Creating the 'Classic Antique' glaze finish for objects, furniture, walls and more. This detailed step-by-step tutorial shows how to mix the right colors to create the perfect antiquing solution for any object, furniture, picture frame and more.
Glazed decorative and faux effects on walls, ceilings furniture and objects.
Create classic effects such as colorwashing, dragging, striee, antiquing effects, or furniture effects.
Our interior and exterior glazes offer a high-end decorative paint solution that provides soft, delicate, subtle shades with either pearl, satin, or glossy tones for maximum depth and decoration.
Flouart is an acrylic based glaze for interior finishes that creates soft shades or spectacular decorative effects. Available in a pearl base, satin base, or clear, Flouart is a washable decorative paint applicable to walls, wood, metal, and plaster. Its inherent versatility allows for thousands of different aesthetic solutions depending on the tools or techniques used to apply it.
Contrast Pearl is a hard-wearing pearlescent paste specifically formulated to create numerous faux effects with one simple application.Pearl dries to a lustrous, satin finish.
Velur Interior or exterior glaze, Velur is an ideal glazing medium for mineral based plaster and stucco effects. Applicable by brush or other faux tools, Velur glaze creates delicate tones and transitions in a wide variety of saturation and opacity.
Stencil Brush 432
Stencil Brush Stencil brushes are special brushes with short firm bristles. When used properly they distribute a thin and even layer of paint. This reduces the chance of getting paint under the edge of the stencil. Made in Germany
Early American Style
Colonial Amercians drew inspriation from their European heritage. Curent design styles would filter across the ocean and become reinventedin early America. Proportion and scale took reign over ornementation, A neutral color palette of grey blue, greens and rose pinks is readily apparent.
Stucco Rustico - Aged Plaster
Stucco Rustico is a Traditional interior and exterior textured plaster that epitomizes the rustic old world charm commonly associated with Tuscan environments. I love this treatment for its ease of application and the natural, organic glazed appearance that results when using mineral based plasters and glazes. Whether a rough application or a smooth finish, this treatment holds true to the test of time and, in fact, feels as if time itself stopped to wash the walls personally.
The Rustic Color Palette
The Rustic Style color palette falls within a distinct range of color tones and is essential in creating a successful Rustic interior. By using the appropriate color tones you can create a variety of design styles ranging from Period and Historic, regional or thematic. Color helps define our experiences within an interior and exterior environment. It affects us on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level and can be calming and passive, expressive and vital.
Painted Floral Details
Floral patterns used as accents in fabrics and furniture are common place details in the English Country home. These graceful and organic patterns complement the cozy interior of this style and work particularly well with lace window treatments, an heirloom tea service set and the natural and rustic charm of wooden ceiling beams and slightly irregularly textured walls.