The interiors of Svindersvik, a beautiful Rococo mansion in Sweden

Every day this week we will be publishing an exclusive extract from 'Near and Far', textile designer Lisa Fine's glorious new book which showcases her own houses and those of her friends and fellow creatives, shot by Miguel Flores-Vianna. Here, we take a look at a beautiful Rococo Swedish mansion outside Stockholm.

27 May 2022

Image may contain Furniture Room Indoors Living Room Lamp Chandelier Floor Couch Waiting Room and Flooring

On a recent trip to Sweden with the Institute of Classical Architecture, I saw traces of the Swedish East India Company’s influence everywhere I went — in auction houses, palaces, and manor houses. One of the highlights was the eighteenth-century French-inspired Rococo manor house Svindersvik, built in the 1740s by Swedish architect Carl Hårleman, who was also responsible for the interiors of Stockholm’s enormous royal palace.

Commissioned by Claes Grill, the director of the Swedish East India Company at the time, Svindersvik is but a short distance from Stockholm — a quick boat trip in Grill’s day. The original hand-painted Chinese rice wallpaper with flower and bird motifs is still in place in the antechamber, as is the original collection of gilded Rococo furniture. The walls of the master bedroom are covered in a colorful floral paper, also from China. Even the tiled stoves have a Chinese floral pattern. It seems that wherever I travel, I derive inspiration from flowers.

This extract is taken from Near & Far: Interiors I Love by Lisa Fine, photography by Miguel Flores-Vianna. Published by Vendome Press, available in all good bookstores and online (September 2019, £50).

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The interior of a separate party pavilion dates to a slightly later period, and the painted walls feature Ionic columns, medallions, garlands, birds, and antique figures — all hallmarks of Gustavian decoration.
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In the master bedroom, the lively floral Chinese wallpaper is charmingly offset by cotton gingham upholstery and curtains.
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A perfect example of Svindersvik’s mix of Swedish Rococo furniture, Chinese floral wallpaper, blue-and-white-tiled stove, and cotton gingham upholstery
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In the antechamber, the eighteenth-century gilt mirrors and clock and the silk damask slipcovers are typical of the French Rococo style.

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A detail of the eighteenth-century hand-painted rice wallpaper brought to Sweden from China by the Swedish East India Company.
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Unlike the exuberant antechamber, the dining room is decorated in a more sober, classical vein.
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