1920–1930
Swedish Grace
Deco with the volume turned down
Swedish Grace is what happened when a country with a strong classical tradition met Art Deco and declined to be loud about it. The geometry is there — the stepped form, the clean edge — but it arrives in pale woods, muted colour and a scale meant for a well-proportioned apartment rather than a bar.
The name was given afterwards, by the British, after the 1923 Gothenburg exhibition. The movement itself ended at Stockholm in 1930, where the same architects showed a functionalist exhibition and moved on, which makes the whole style a ten-year window with a small output.
History
The 1920s are the classicising phase: Nordiska Kompaniet furniture, engraved Orrefors glass, and a neoclassical vocabulary used with restraint.
The Stockholm Exhibition of 1930 is the full stop, after which Swedish design turns to functionalism and the pale, plain look it is known for.
What to look for
Pale wood and muted colour, classical motifs cut shallow, and a scale that would still fit an ordinary room.
Searches for this entry are still being collected.