Christmas At Edie's Swedish House Of Style

Even those who love Swedish design have told me it's fried, died, and laying on its side. Well she was more ladylike than that, and her identity would shock you. But I think I'll keep it to myself...

However when you see photos like these in the December 2009 issue of Country Living, you know you just have to love Swedish style interior design just a little longer.

Actually this home transcends the trend, and is just beautiful and stylish no matter what you label it.

The fact that it's furnished with some lovely Swedish antiques and reproductions is not really the issue. The issue is this: it's well designed and lovely.

All decked out for Christmas, this home in the Connecticut country side couldn't be more charming.

Winter light never looked so good, so cozy, so hot!

And here she is (drum roll), the lady of the house, Ms. Edie van Breems!

You can read her behind the scenes back story of the photo shoot (on her blog) that resulted in these luscious images HERE
And you can read the entire Country Living article HERE

Shop Keepers Homes 5

In this edition of Shop Keepers Homes, I give you Andrew and Shannon Newsom, proprietors of the online emporium Wistera. They also have a blog HERE.


These two have impeccable design pedigrees that come down family lines. Andrew's is Lisa Newsom, editor of Veranda; and Shannon's is Jane Moore, a Houston interior designer and antiques dealer. The couple also share a dedication to social change, evident in the catalog's devotion to a different nonprofit group in each issue.
They are experts at romancing the home.


Once upon a time this newly married couple looked for, but couldn’t find, beautiful antiques and decorative objects to furnish their first home—at least, not at a price they could afford.

So they got the idea of starting a catalog to offer such merchandise, which became a web site, and, in classic Internet start-up style from its earliest origins at a kitchen table, Wisteria.com was born.

Wisteria.com got started on this kitchen table

Wisteria.com marries high-touch sensibilities that distinguish its catalog to the high-tech sales medium of the web.

Andrew is president of the company, and co-founder Shannon, writes most of the catalog copy that also goes on the site. She brings a distinctive first-person voice to the company that offers a tip of the hat to the early Banana Republic and J. Peterman catalogs in its ability to not just sell, but romance a product.

Inventory is sourced from around the world. By finding small, local suppliers in Third World countries, the Newsoms have found a way to keep prices lower than for comparable goods produced elsewhere, while offering the unusual and unique in a spare, clean-looking and easy to navigate site.

“Pottery Barn sells great products, but given the measure of their business, they have to be standardized in what they sell,” Andrew says. “We are small enough that we can find and sell 200 to 400 units. A huge company couldn’t do that.”

The artful photography that characterizes the catalog loses nothing in its translation to the web site, and the web medium makes contributes of its own: incremental sales and a younger customer.

Market research had determined that Wisteria’s core customer contains a large group of those in their 50s. “That catalog buyer has both disposable income and time,” says Andrew. “My sense is our Internet audience has disposable income, is decorating their first home, but doesn’t have a lot of time. They get online at night after they put their kids to bed and they shop then, because it’s more convenient.”

Internet sales are increasing in dollar volume and as a percentage of overall sales.
“There’s an opportunity here to go deeper than our catalog in telling more about the products and the story of the brand,” says Andrew.

All images (except for the top three which are from the Wisteria catalog) are of the home of Shannon and Andrew Newsom, and are from the hot new design book Swedish Country Interiors by Rhonda Eleish and Edie Van Breems. The book is not only filled with beautiful images, but with very insightful writing on the subject. You'll really learn something when you read this book by two of the foremost experts on 18th and 19th century Swedish antiques. Buy it HERE or at your local book store.

Some of this post is excerpted from various web sources.

Book Signing At Tara Shaw New Orleans - Swedish Country Interiors

We have been waiting for this event for months! The lovely Tara Shaw is hosting a book signing for two of our favorite people, authors Rhonda Eleish, Edie Van Breems, who will be at Tara's shop to talk about (and sign copies of ) their #1 best selling decor book: Swedish Country Interiors.

Book Signing at Tara Shaw New Orleans


1240 Camp Street | New Orleans, LA 70130 | Voice: 504.525.1131


Saturday, October 24


2 - 5 PM


Come early to shop


Meet Rhonda and Edie authors of Swedish Country Interiors
(buy a book and have them sign it!)

Swedish Country Interiors Part 2 - How To Do This In Your Home

Here are some more great images from the hot new design book Swedish Country Interiors which you can get HERE.
It is such a wealth of inspiration, and any one of these images is sure to give you some ideas as how to bring a little Swedish Country into your decor scheme.
Click on images for a larger view.

Swedish decor is all about color
The fabric on the settee is Ralph Lauren, and very much like a Swedish textile

Take note of the checked curtains

This kitchen is the epitome of a simple well designed space
Add a sink skirt and open shelving in your own kitchen

Mora, mora, mora!
These clocks are THE signature Swedish design element

Love the floors, the old armoire, and the white bed linens
All key ingredients for a Swedish interior

Even the bathroom can have a touch of Swedish design
Add a painted Swedish antique table for a pop of color

An old painted Swedish chest, a simple rag rug runner
You can do this!

All the classics make this dining room perfect
Use upholstered chairs with a farm house table
Note the seagrass rug under the table

Two demi lune tables pushed together and an old oriental rug
Do this is your entry hall for some Swedish love!

The painted armoire is a key element- overpaint one you already have
Note the old bench and the blue buckets

This office space comes alive because of the old factory table
Check out the white accent pieces

A rare 18th century Swedish corner chair and small table, both with the original paint
Using one or two special pieces like this will give you an instant aura of a Swedish interior

This unpretentious kitchen is wonderful
Clear pine cabinets and white appaiances are refreshing
The skirted table is a nice unexpected element in a kitchen
The Gustavian style chairs are so Swedish

Bare floors are another element of the Swedish interior
A piece like the 18th century game table is another grace note that can transform a space

A pair of white upholstered arm chairs convey the simple symmetry of Swedish design

The ubiquitous white slip covers are something you may already have

Do you collect antique linens?
Showcase them in an armoire for a terrific statement

White painted built-ins, and the white painted table
Infuse your home office with Swedish Country styke this way
Check out the bright plaid on the chair seat

What can I say?
The perfect painted chest defines the Swedish interior
The graphic wall paper has birds among the vines, a classic Swedish motif

More clear pine and a farm house table are something you may already own
Bring it out of storage and use it for instant Swedish style

Huge armoires and chest on chests like this are something to invest in if you want a Swedish interior design

Sprigged floral fabric is another way to get instant Swedish style

Blue and white tiles on the fire place echo the look of an old Swedish stove

Such a modern looking room made Swedish by using double chandeliers
and of course the Mora clock and white slipcovers drive it home
Note all the blue fabric and the trunk used as a coffee table

Another perfect antique chest with a pair of Gustavian chairs
Over paint a pair of chairs and add check slips

If you have French things you can move them into a Swedish interpretation
The red check seat slips and the blue over painted furniture are very Swedish

Pare down the collections on display
Swedish style is a clean calm look

These old rakes are extraordinary
I love the decorative paint on them
Stencil an old rake for the same effect, and scour the market for rakes like these

This collection of busts along with the aged map
is a continental style that looks so right in the Swedish scheme of things
I spy a turned wood chandelier, another popular Swedish element

Please get the book and read all the details of the homes pictured above. There are so many interesting back stories of each one of these unique Swedish Country Interiors, and many more images that I haven't shown to you.
Nothing can ever replace holding a book in your hands.
I just wanted to share another little look book with you, in case you feel like styling a room or two this weekend.