”I see beautiful things!”, was supposedly what Howard Carter, British archaeologist, replied when asked what he saw when he, as the first human in thousands of years, in 1922 entered the tomb of Tutankhamun. The reply is interesting as it demonstrates, through Carter’s excitedness, how objects and emotions often become intertwined with another.

In effect, this translates into an understanding of the importance to surround oneself with beautiful objects and a type of aesthetic that brings value to one’s everyday life. 

In the 1920s, an intense debate on form and design took place in Sweden. On one side, the modernists wanted a break with the past in order to create a new future, based in a new and modern ideology, with democratically priced objects and where form followed function.

On the other side, the traditionalists found inspiration in antique Greece and Rome, as well as in the Swedish Gustavian style of the 18th century.

Their aim was to create beautiful objects of the highest quality. After approximately ten years, the modernist seemed to have won the debate, and their visions came to define the design of cities, homes and fashion for the rest of the 20th century.

The style of the traditionalists, named “Swedish Grace” by design critic Philip Morton Shand, has for a long time been viewed as a quaint parentheses in design history, but its stance on aesthetics is more relevant today than ever.

The modernist approach to design was based in accessibility. In comparison, the Swedish Grace-movement strived for excellence in everything they designed and produced.

The two sides are mirrored in today’s discussion on sustainability: when things are made in a more quality-conscious manner, it will affect the production-cost, making the finished product less affordable for consumers.

For this reason, the Swedish Grace-movement appeared elitist. There exists a century-long tension between these two opposing views on design: either valuing the slow production of beautiful products or propagating for the mass-production of affordable things.

For a hundred years, the latter has dominated the market. But times are changing and today, the value of craftsmanship is being reassessed. 

Designers such as Anna Petrus, Sigurd Lewerentz, Wilhelm Kåge and Simon Gate were all well-known names in the Swedish movement, though some of them would go on to explore other types of design expressions once the graceful 1920s turned into the more minimalist 1930s.

The furniture, buildings and interiors designed in the Swedish Grace-style are beautiful in their own right, but the ideological aspect of the movement conveys an important, although for many slightly uncomfortable message: quality comes with a price, and not everything can be accessible to everyone all the time.

Moving forward, constant and complete accessibility might not be as relevant to strive for as it has been in the past. Instead, decorating one’s everyday life should be about careful selection and curation, choosing things not for a season but for a lifetime.  

Addresses to visit:

Stockholm City Library

Sveavägen 73

Stockholm

Stockholm Concert Hall

Hötorget 8

Stockholm

Stockholm City Hall

Hantverkargatan 1

Stockholm