\nI like to believe that I am immune to the trendiest trends. I am baffled and slightly repulsed by wall letters and wise quotes to paste on your walls, and “distressed” furniture that you paint and then sandpaper to make it look old and worn. I will not have white-on-white rooms, and I want carpets and curtains.\n<\/p>\n
\nBut I, too, want my home to be light and airy. A scary thought: in the seventies everyone wanted their homes colourfully cosy, with pine panelling and orange wallpaper. And now I would not let a ’70s wallpaper into my house. Will our open plan kitchen feel as dated as ’70s basement dens do today?\n<\/p>\n
\nAn interesting book that hits some nails squarely on the head.\n<\/p>\n
\nInte sedan funkisen slog igenom p\u00e5 Stockholmsutst\u00e4llningen 1930 har svenskarna haft s\u00e5 enhetlig inredningssmak. Det kan aldrig bli f\u00f6r ljust och fr\u00e4scht. En bostad kan marknadsf\u00f6ras med en beskrivning som “extremt ljus”, och det \u00e4r bara positivt. Det kan aldrig bli f\u00f6r ljust! \u00c4r det inte tillr\u00e4ckligt ljust s\u00e5 river man ut hela skiten och \u00f6ppnar upp lite. Det h\u00e4r \u00e4r s\u00e5 gott som alla \u00f6verens om.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Translation:<\/p>\n
\nNot since functionalism had its breakthrough at the Stockholm expo in 1930 have Swedes had such uniform taste in interior decorating. There is no such thing as too light and airy. A home can be marketed with a description of “extremely light” and that is only positive. There is no such thing as too light! If it isn’t light enough you just rip out the whole shebang and open it up a bit. Almost everybody agrees on this.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nAbout IKEA, and constantly buying the most current furniture:<\/p>\n
\nMen varf\u00f6r uppfanns det h\u00e4r t\u00e4nkandet just i Sverige och ingen annanstans? Varf\u00f6r kom ingen annan p\u00e5 “riv ut ditt gamla och daterade hem och satsa p\u00e5 n\u00e5got nytt och fr\u00e4scht minst vart tionde \u00e5r-principen”? Ja, kanske f\u00f6r att inget annat land i hela sin samh\u00e4llsstruktur gjort sig av med det gamla p\u00e5 samma s\u00e4tt som Sverige gjort. Det svenska samh\u00e4llet omvandlades “blixtsnabbt” fr\u00e5n ett fattigt torpar- och utvandrarsamh\u00e4lle till ett av v\u00e4rldens rikaste, det gick p\u00e5 ett par generationer. D\u00e5 blev det viktigt att hela tiden visa att man tillh\u00f6rde det nya Sverige, inte minst genom att ha moderna m\u00f6bler. […] Till slut hade man f\u00f6rnyat Sverige s\u00e5 m\u00e5nga v\u00e4ndor att det inte l\u00e4ngre fanns n\u00e5gon neutral, tidl\u00f6s stil att inreda i (om n\u00e5gon nu skulle vara intresserad av att bara ha ett praktiskt och fungerande hem utan attityd). Sverige blev det f\u00f6rsta landet i v\u00e4rlden d\u00e4r man inte l\u00e4ngre kunde v\u00e4lja<\/i> att inreda modernt och daterat, utan var tvungen<\/i> att g\u00f6ra det.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Translation:<\/p>\n
\nBut why did this way of thinking develop in Sweden and nowhere else? Why didn’t anyone else come up with the “tear out your old, dated home and invest in something new and fresh at least once every ten years” principle? Well, perhaps it was because no other country has gotten rid of everything old in the structure of its society the way Sweden has. The Swedish society was transformed at “lightning speed” from a poor society of crofters and emigrants into one of the world’s richest, it happened in a few generations. It became important to show at all times that you belonged to the new Sweden, not least by having modern furniture. […] By the end Sweden had been renewed so many times that there was no neutral, timeless style of decorating any more (if anyone would be interested in just having a practical, functional home without attitude). Sweden became the first country in the world where you could no longer just choose<\/i> to decorate in a modern and dated style, but you were forced<\/i> to do so.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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