Swedish Interior Design

We all have rooms at home where we think- “I wonder what else I can do with that?”
Often its a spare room or guest bedroom that doesn’t get much use – maybe its full of  junk, clothes or temporary storage stuff that never got put away?
At Swedish Interior Design HQ, Our spare bedroom never got that much use but looked amazing.
It had our stunning bespoke four poster bed as the centrepiece (which is now for sale if you are interested!) but it was just too big for the room and with much regret I decided we had to take the 4 poster bed out.  Its a real fairytale piece handmade from old wood, adorned with an original set of antique Swedish carvings and will make someone very happy.

 
I replaced it with a boring white single ‘stack a bed’ for convenience (on the odd occasion that people do come & stay) but it didnt look nice enough for the ornate trompe l’oeil and decorative carvings in the room. So I placed an old 6′ Swedish carving we had across the back of the bed to make it into more of a Gustavian type settle and painted it a lovely shade of offwhite. Yummy.
Next I decorated and layered it with handmade pillows and antique swedish lace. Now at last I had room to play with ….

 
I often use beautiful hand embroidered table cloths as throws and cushion covers and collect them wherever i go in the world. Why hide them away when you can look at their beauty every day, life is too short!
Here I have taken a plain yoga bolster and wrapped it up in a lace decorated table cloth and then tied the ends with lace. We often make beautiful bespoke heart and angel shaped cushions at Swedish Interior Design for clients if you would like one.

 
At the end of the bed I placed an antique  Gustavian gilt mirror with lovely detailed carved panels and hung some tulle to the side. I have decorated the other side with one of my beautiful Ewa I Walla dresses and hung a crown of roses upon the silk hanger to add a little touch of country living ….

 
At this point i decided that since I am lucky enough to be the UK fashion ambassador for Swedish fashion label Ewa I Walla (along with Helena Bonham Carter) i needed somewhere to show off Ewa’s lovely clothes – So lets make the room into my dressing room!
Great – I  found a beautiful Gustavian dressing table from our selection of Swedish Antiques with beautiful engraved angel wings at the side. It fitted the space perfectly next to the ornate bespoke shutters we had made for the room. It was just the right height and had all the relevant drawers for my bits and pieces.
I placed a lovely rose light upon the carvings to give atmosphere at night. For extra lighting I have placed antique chandelier lamps on either side. I collect little antique angels too. The one on the left was made by a dear friend of mine, Brydie Rowen O’Conner.

 
Later this week I shall continue the journey of the spare room in part two of  My new Dressing room……
 
Madeleine Lee is Creative Director of Swedish Interior Design