During our trip to Stockholm last week for the furniture fair, we also made sure to take in a few highlights of the design scene in the city (there are many, the whole city is impeccably designed!) with one of our favourite UK design bloggers, Kate from fabricofmylife.
Working from Stockholm Design Week’s extensive list of recommendations we whittled down a (rather long) list of those we could feasibly fit in during a day’s walking tour and were delighted to find that each one we chose was a gem worth writing home about (or here, on this blog!).
So, without further ado, here are the edited highlights of our design tour. Let us know if we’ve missed off one of your faves!
Artek, Repslagargatan 11
Designed by Finnish designer Harri Koskinen, this flagship store features modernist furniture by, among others, Alvar Aalto and Eero Saarinen, as well as Japanese objets d’art, Finnish retro pottery and leatherware and vintage Artek furniture.
Asplund, Sibyllegatan 31
This Swedish reference store is well- known for its elegant, modern collection of furniture by prominent designers such as Jonas Bohlin, CKR, Thomas Sandell, Tom Dixon, Jasper Morrison and Piero Lissoni, as well as the hottest stars from the new generation.
Carl Malmsten, Strandvägen 5B
Classic Malmsten furniture. If you like Nordic design and good, solid workmanship, this is a shop you can’t afford to miss.
Designtorget, Sergelgången 29, St Eriksgatan 45, Nybrogatan 16, Kungsgatan 52, Götgatan 31.
Limited- edition designs from up-and-coming talents. Wooden toys, hand-made jewellery, unusual books, kitchen utensils and refrigerator magnets are just some of the products that pass through this lively shop every year.
Grandpa, Fridhemsgatan 43, Södermannagatan 21.
An eclectic mix of Scandinavian and international fashion, vintage furniture and quirky objects in a friendly store with a commitment to sustainability.
Granit, Kungsgatan 42, Götgatan 31, St Eriksgatan 45
You’d be forgiven for thinking you’re in a Swedish Muji when you enter one of Granit’s stores. Files, photo frames, newspaper stands, and a whole variety of attractive storage solutions. Smart and inexpensive.
Modernity, Sibyllegatan 6
Vintage classics from all the major names you’d expect in a shop specialising in 20th-century design. Pieces that sell for hundreds of thousands of Swedish kronor at Bukowski’s, Sotheby’s and the other big auction houses.
Nordiska Galleriet, Nybrogatan 11
Stockholm’s reference store for high-end furniture, whether you’re looking for one-offs or classical, functional furniture for home or office use – from all of the major international names.
Norrgavel, Birger Jarlsgatan 27
A design philosophy that combines American Shaker style with Japanese minimalism, rooted in Swedish country-style interiors and the Scandinavia of the 1950s. The first company to gain the Nordic Swan ecolabel for home furniture.
Olby Design, Sturegatan 24
Since 1980 Olby Design have created a large collection of contemporary Swedish produced furniture to simplify, beautify and facilitate everyday life. The classically produced Nordic furniture is influenced by the American Shaker and the Arts and Craft movements, as well as 17th century Asian cabinet making. Each piece is produced by hand in their factory in Skövde, in the west of Sweden.
Plan Ett, Birger Jarlsgatan 32
A personal selection of well-known and lesser-known designers. Plan Ett (First Floor, in Swedish) collects functional beauty for the home and also has exciting specialist departments for lighting, storage, textiles and interior fittings.
Svenskt Tenn, Strandvägen 5
Founded in 1924 by the queen of good taste, Estrid Ericson, Svenskt Tenn is about as classic as it gets. Ericson engaged the legendary Josef Frank to design modernistic furniture and fabrics in a delicate botanical style. The store also includes a cosy tea salon.
10-gruppen, Götgatan 25
Synonymous with colourful, uncompromising designs that last for decades. The patterns have been transferred onto fabric and oilcloth and applied to bags, napkins and plates.
1. Mean Coffee, Vasagatan 38 2. Lilla P, Karlavägen 61 3. Coffice, Tjärhovsgatan 5
No self-respecting blogger or design aficionado can complete a design tour of Stockholm without making time to stop for an obligatory coffee and kanelbullar (cinnamon bun). Every bakery in the city serves up mountains of these sweet treats every day and there are even seasonal twists on the traditional spice which we would urge you to try – we loved the kardemumma version (cardamon).
If you’re making a pilgrimage to the city for design week next February, be sure to also indulge in the city’s tradition of semla; a cardamom-spiced wheat bun with its top cut off, filled with almond paste and topped with whipped cream – delicious! They’re traditionally available from 1st February until Easter, so Design Week is the perfect time to indulge.
