Swedish country style

"A home is not dead but living, and like all living things must obey the laws of nature by constantly changing." In some ways, Carl Larsson, godfather of Swedish interior design – and quoter of this quote – was ahead of his time...

...in others, he was simply true to age-old human habits. Either way, his influence lives on, and nowhere more than at Ikea, which has always referenced its homeland's native artist and designer as one of its founding inspirations. I was reminded of this in a new post over at the lovely Canadian blog, Poppytalk, today, which previews Ikea's February focus on Swedish country style. Here are some highlights.

Älmsta chairs, £70 

Åkerkulla textiles range 

Promenad dinnerware, £3-4 a piece. (All these products hit Ikea next month.)

But this look is more personal to me than that. My dear mum has been a huge inspiration to me in the world of interiors – and when I was growing up, the book of Carl Larsson paintings that she treasured was like a styling and shopping bible to her. Our end-of-terrace Victorian house stuck out from the other houses on our little street with its tongue and groove kitchen, hard floors, junk shop everything, layers of patterned textiles and soft, organic tones. It looked, in short, uncannily like the images below...

(My mum also – much to my embarrassment at the time – used to hunt out antique clothes for me to wear, so while my friends were wearing the really cool Mr Men socks I begged for, I'd be drowning under broderie Anglaise pinafores, worn over Laura Ashley florals, woolly tights and Kickers – just like the girl in the window below, though I'd also have been scowling at the indignity of it all.)

But back to interiors: with this new range at Ikea, perhaps that early 80s fancy for a particular 19th century look is back... Does Larsson's home, painted by the man himself below, inspire you? (If it does, just don't be tempted to dress your children to match.)

You can buy sets of 8 Carl Larsson postcards featuring these paintings and more from Cafe Press. And you can read more about Larsson's influence on Ikea in this Independent feature, as well as some more general Larsson history at the V&A, which published this book on Carl and his wife Karin, whose teamwork created their distinctive style.

How to find inspiration

After moving from a flat to a house, I panicked: I had little furniture, no budget and zero direction. Inspiration was clouded by the threat of expensive mistakes and “blank canvas” panic. It is around this vulnerable state-of-mind that Ikea’s entire marketing strategy is built. Equally, interiors magazines are great, but can exacerbate the panic with their unattainable chic. Where else can one turn?

1. Inspiration is everywhere, if you’re tuned in. One friend took layout tips from the kitchens in Desperate Housewives, while a bachelor colleague made manly shelves after seeing Steve McQueen’s bedroom in Bullitt.
2. For cold, hard design tricks – from one-room living to how to arrange “things” on shelves and walls – Conran’s Seventies interiors bible The House Book (Mitchell Beazley; originals and reprints via Amazon) is invaluable and most comforting.
3. Make a mood board of photos, fabric scraps and magazine pages. A bit sixth-form media project, maybe, but when you’re overwhelmed it can provide focus. Broad themes should gradually emerge (vintage, minimal, lavish, practical, bright, muted, classic?). If not, ask a friend to edit.
4. Handy with the sticky-backed-plastic? Try the Design*Sponge blog. Even the DIY-shy can get ideas – the box file shelving is a personal favourite, and demonstrates innovative use for the results of a panicky Ikea binge.
5. Take a favourite picture, object or cushion and build a room around its colours, period detail, or simply a feeling it evokes – it’s easier than starting with infinite choice. Similarly, follow at least a loose theme through all rooms (also helpful for reducing blank-canvas-panic). I got boxy window pelmets from postcards of 1960s American motels, while my mum designed my entire childhood home around a Swedish 19^th century artist called Karl Larsson. And Tricia Guild’s book, A Certain Style (Quadrille), is full of clever ways to do this.
6. Clever storage can free up whole new chunks of room – so don’t underestimate the creative boost of a flick through the Lakeland catalogue. This above-sink shelf, £22.99, is surely absolute genius, no?
7. Kevin McCloud’s books on colour, divided into sections according to periods, styles and palettes, are immensely practical. Buy at Amazon
8. Fear of making mistakes can be paralysing. It’s often easier to know what works when faced with something that doesn’t (and that’s what eBay’s for). That said…
9. Don’t rush things – one stylish acquaintance swears by the picture-heavy Architectural Digest. Not as scary as it sounds, its ‘Inspired by You’ section, where designers answer questions, is fantastic. Soothing sample quote: “The best rooms evolve over time. It is better to have one fabulous chair or table or rug than a whole room of mediocre pieces.” Most comforting.
10. Tune into your reactions to a space – and that goes for the smallest and least glamorous details: my sitting room used to make me feel strangely on edge. It took months to work out the door opened the wrong way and made one feel claustrophobic whenever it was opened.
11. Go next door: if you’ve just moved – or even if you haven’t – knock on amenable neighbours’ doors, especially if you’re in a terrace or flat surrounded by similarly laid out homes. Someone will have done something you’d never thought of that may set off a whole room plan.
12. For major reconfigurations, and pointers on them, big changes, Architect Your Home is a useful service – a four-hour no-strings consultation costs from £599. Cheaper, is to offer dinner in return for your most creative friends’ tips. Get them over, walk them round, and ask everyone ‘what would you do?’ I doubled the size of a bedroom after a friend suggested I have a mezzanine built in the high ceiling.
13. Far more useful than the magazine, I think, is the LivingEtc.com gallery – libraries full of images, helpfully subdivided to death: the bathroom gallery has five themed mini galleries according to style/type of room.
14. And if you do get sucked into Ikea, at least try to stick by the 1-for-3 rule (for every three things you like, buy only one – list all the things you wanted to get, and hunt for them elsewhere). If all else fails, try Ikeahacker.blogspot.com