High-Low Neoclassical & Gustavian-Style Furnishings – Parts 1 & 2

Hi Everyone,

I’m having too much fun- so much fun that I’m late getting this out. As promised, I’ve put together a whole bunch of beautiful furniture I’ve found from many sources, and it’s all reasonably priced, relatively speaking. However, some of it is dirt cheap. Also, I favorited dozens of items on eBay, and many vendors have offered lower prices. That means you have bargaining power!

If you’ve read part 1, please feel free to click the link below to skip ahead. Otherwise, if you’re landing here for the first time, please begin reading from the top.

 

Part 2 Begins Here

 

Dear Laurel,

I love some of the Gustavian-style furnishings you’ve posted in your vintage widget, but my God, those pieces are way beyond my budget. I mean, one secretary is the budget for the entire living room. haha

However, I don’t want to fill my home with a lot of cheap junk. I know many of your readers go to estate sales, consignment shops, and antique markets. I think I recall you’ve gotten pieces that way- per chance. But, it’s like looking for a special dress when you need one, and it’s nowhere to be found.

I love your other high-low posts, so I hope you’ll do more this year.

Best,

Sue

***

Thank you, Sue. I took the liberty of embellishing your comment in Sunday’s post.

 

Okay, so let’s see what we can do to “get the look” of Swedish Gustavian-style furnishings.

 

But, before we do, we need a little music to add another dimension. And who better than my favorite neo-classical composer (well, my favorite period)* than Mozart? Please enjoy K. 545 Mozart Piano Sonata #16 Mvt II in C Major.

*Make no mistake, I also adore Bach, Chopin, Handel, Tchaik, Rach, and dozens of other famous composers whose music is still played today.

 

To begin, let’s look at the super-expensive antiques Gustavian-style, or of the period furnishings.

 

Authentic Gustavian furniture is wildly expensive because it’s pretty rare and about 250 years old.

But then, there’s French Louis XVI furniture, and most looks identical to the Gustavian-style furnitshings. That’s because Louis #16 and King Gustav #3 had the 18th-century version of a bromance. ;] Thus, there was a lot of copying going on, most likely from both sides; however, I think the Gustavs (King Gustav III and IV) copied the French more often than not.

 

We usually think of Swedish Gustavian-style from the countryside rather than what one would find in the palace that was more ornate.

Like the palaces in France, the furnishings were quite opulent and formal. You can see the formal royal furnishings here.*

Yes, I know, the title of the post linked above is “Gustavian Swedish Style, how to get the look for less.” It is three years old. So, let’s look at it as an extension of this post.

In any case, French and Swedish all evolved from the Rococo (The bonnet tall cabinets are usually Rococo – AKA Louis XV.) into the neoclassical designs with straighter lines near the end of the 18th century. You can learn more about King Louis 14-16 here.

The Swedish Gustavian furnishings were “of the period” from about 1770-1810. This was during the French reigns of Louis XV(the tail end), Louis XVI, and Napoleon.

Then, there’s furniture that looks the same but was manufactured later in the 19th and early 20th centuries. While it’s still an antique, it’s Gustavian-style. But you guys already know that.

Is there Gustavian-style furniture manufactured today?

Yes, but if you put it side-by-side with the real thing, it’s usually obvious that it’s not an antique.

And then there’s this unfortunate mess.

It’s obviously a fake antique finish. This is not how painted furniture ages.

This piece is described as late 18th century with a “restored” finish. I have serious doubts that this piece was manufactured that long ago.

It ages like the piece above found here.

 

Authentic antique finishes are exceedingly difficult to replicate. I mean, how is one to condense 250 years into a week or two that it would take to recreate the passage of time?

 

Most contemporary Gustavian-style furnishings are more “in the manner of” or perhaps Gustavian-inspired.

 

And then there’s utter dreck.

 

What is utter dreck?

Well, in addition to the example above, it’s another way of saying a word long-time readers have heard before, “ersatz.” It’s something some furniture designer made up. The furniture is poorly proportioned and frequently has elements that are not Gustavian or French Louis (XV-XVI) styles. In the worst case, they’re not anything.

 

Above some hideous so-called French in the Louis XV-style pieces.

Ack. I can’t look. The antidote is a beautiful contemporary Gustavian-style breakfront. (below)

 

 

 

Above, a lovely vignette from The Mural Source. Although these are probably not from the 18th century, they are beautiful examples of Gustavian-style furnishings.

Some popular brands like Sarreid, Modern History, Gabby, occasionally Zentique, Woodbridge, and others manufacture pieces that I’d put in my home or specify for a client. Remember my Donald Cabinet in my New York apartment?

 

After painting

However, I wasn’t fond of how it looked after it arrived, so I painted it!

I painted the chairs, too. haha.

 

One of my favorite brands of contemporary Gustavian-style furniture is Chelsea Textiles.

 

All of their pieces were replicated from the real thing. So, you will definitely find their dining chairs to be, shall we say, snug?

 

Above and below is one of my Chelsea Textiles small demi-lune tables.

 

Below is one of the tables in my old New York bedroom.

 

 

Okay, not that you’ve had an overview of Gustavian-style furnishings, let’s begin by looking at a widget I created.

 

The majority of the pieces are 18th century. However, not everything is Gustavian or Gustavian-style furniture, but items one might see in a Gustavian room. There are some furnishings from the 19th c. and maybe a handful of 20th-century pieces. Most of the pieces here are wildly expensive. Although, they might be on sale– or not.

 

Also, a few pieces aren’t either Swedish or French.

 

Throughout Europe, especially England, painted furniture was popular during the neoclassical period. And yes, you will see a fair number of Chinoiserie pieces as they were adored in Sweden (one of my favorite posts) as in England and France during the neoclassical period.

If, per chance, you are interested in purchasing something, I would offer at least 10% less for vintage pieces than what is marked.

 

 

Now that you’ve seen all of that, I imagine, based on the post title, that you’re expecting to see “how to get the look for less.” ;]

 

Yes, I will be sharing that, but not today. These posts take many hours to produce. It’s fun, but I need to get moving! I am shooting for tomorrow evening.

xo,

 

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Part 2 Begins Here

 

Friday, April 4, 2025

Hi Everyone,

As promised, I’m back with an update on the high-low Gustavian-style furnishings. To be clear, by “Gustavian,” I’m saying neoclassical, but with an emphasis on painted neo-classical furniture.

A lot of pieces that we might call Gustavian could just as easily be stained. The other thing is that I think it looks best to do a mix of painted and stained furnishings. Indeed, if the piece is in good condition with a gorgeous patina on the wood or a beautiful inlay, 90% of the time, I wouldn’t paint it.

 

Okay, we’ve looked at many of the high, the super expensive Gustavian-style, neoclassical and Chinoiserie furnishings.

 

But what about the low?

Well, I guess it depends on your definition of “low.”

I know some of us have meager budgets and here’s the deal. You can find cheap, maybe even free, or practically free pieces. However, 99% of the time, the piece will need a fair amount of work to make it look like a Gustavian treasure.

 

A case in point is my antique bookcase. It’s stained mahogany underneath and then it was painted to look Gustavian. I did not do the painting, and it was expensive when it was done nearly 25 years ago.
I knew when I purchased it, it would need to be painted.

Above is its spot a year ago, almost to the day.

Above, you can see where it is today, on the far right. This was right after my bedroom was painted Benjamin Moore Cotton Balls oc-122.

Now, there is a fair amount of lovely Gustavian-style furniture that’s already painted, and while some of it is quite expensive, there is a lot that’s what I would say is moderately-priced. It’s still too expensive for some. However, I want to point out that sometimes, all that’s needed is one killer piece.

Okay, I just finished the widget, only it’s not really finished. :] I have at least another 30-50 pieces to share with y’all, but I’ve run out of steam.

 

Laurel, didn’t you say something about your Roman shades?

 

Yes, I said something. ;]

Okay, here is the first one. I asked Dianne to share it with me, just in case.

 

She nailed it. I couldn’t be happier with how this turned out.

I have to get someone over here to clean the windows!

 

Okay, the reasonably priced Gustavian-style furnishings widget is coming up.

 

There’s lots of info in the captions. Some of this is cheap in comparison to what it would cost if new, and some is very inexpensive as it is. Like I said, there is a lot more to share. Many vendors put their wares on sale, then off sale for a few weeks, and then back on. So, if they’re not on sale, and you’re interested, I would offer 20% off.

Please enjoy what I’ve done so far. I tried to put together a variety of items one might see in a home with Gustavian-style furnishings.

xo,

 

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