Stockholm Furniture Fair 2012

A vast, all-pervading blanket of white may have covered the city last week but inside the halls of the Stockholm Furniture Fair it was quite a different story. Colour was easily this year's biggest trend among the Nordic interiors manufacturers who offered up an uplifting array of bright and vibrant collections.  

Some, such as Stolab, NC Möbler and Nola, opted for a mix of strong primaries, while others, like Bruno Mathsson, Wästberg and Maze, opted for slightly more muted tones. Trust the oh-so-tasteful Asplund though, to get its hues absolutely spot on with a fashionable palette of pinky pastels, light greys and forest greens.

Elsewhere, the no-frills, high-quality, white- and wood-based designs we've come to expect from the fair was still in evidence - although this year, a smattering of brass and copper gave many of the pieces, especially lighting, a modern twist. Take the 'Great White' wall lights by CKR at Orsjö Belysning, the 'Shelf Lamp' by Andreas Engesvik at the relaunched David Design, and the pendant lamps by Jonas Lindvall at Wästberg.

Equally impressive was the effort that had gone into some of the stand designs. Ire put on a beautiful display, as did Bolon, who together with French architect Jean Nouvel created an installation that defied gravity and put a smile on our face.

The Greenhouse area, made up of schools and recent graduates, was also beautiful to look at, thanks to a display created by Jens Fager, but was disappointing in terms of throwing up new talent, with only a couple of individuals - namely Kristine Five Melvaer and Thomas Jenkins - catching our attention. That said, standards of craftsmanship at the colleges remained high, especially at Konstfack and Carl Malmsten Furniture Studies.

Back in the city, the focus was on quality, not quantity. Svenskt Tenn, which had no doubt had its hands full renovating its stunning new flagship store last year, had only a handful of new pieces by Eric Ericsson, Inge Sempé and Signe Persson-Melin, on show. Nordiska Galleriet had a similar story with a trio of pieces from Monica Förster, Anki Gneib and Cornelia Waldersten Arfors.

Stockholm Design Week's pop-up shows were also down in number, but perhaps up in depth. Work In Progress, an exhibition by Jonas Wagell that told the stories behind 15 designers' work at MOOD Stockholm, was fun and enlightening. Meanwhile top marks go to Form Us With Love, whose show Form Us With Friends at the Swedish Museum of Architecture proves what an enterprising and energetic design team it is, entirely worthy of the attention it seems to be getting.

'Slab Vases' for Silestone and 'Form' pendant lamps for Design House Stockholm, both by Form Us With Love

'Plug Lamp' lighting for ateljé Lyktan by Form Us With Love

'Bento' chair and table for One Nordic by Form Us With Love

Montana shelving in shades of pastel and strong orange

The Montana shelving is reflected in artfully placed mirrors

Fabrics are colour graded on Kvadrat's beautifully designed stand

Asplund's 2012 collection, including 'Card' Table (front left) by Torbjørn Anderssen & Espen Voll and Light Tray (front right) by Andreas Engesvik & Daniel Rybakken

Asplund's stand with the round marble 'Tati' table by Broberg & Ridderstråle in the foreground

'LUC Cabinet' by Broberg & Ridderstråle for Asplund

'Tati' Coat rack by Broberg & Ridderstråle for Asplund

Outdoor chairs by Nola, in one of this year's must-have colours

'Share', a design for a portable park bench by Thomas Bernstrand at Nola

'Micado' side table by Cecile Manz and 'Spokeback' sofa by Børge Mogensen, both for Fredericia

Bruno Mathsson's classic chair designs in this year's colours

'Bill' Hangers by Louise Hederström, for Maze

Stolt Furnishings launched a clever home bar called 'The Hide', available in walnut, oak and ash with copper detailing

Dresser by Swedish modernist designer Greta Grossman, relaunched for the Gubi 2012 collection

'Great White' lamp by Claesson Koivisto Rune at Orsjö Belysning

Klong launched a new system, Klong Horizon, where the customers are given the opportunity to assemble the furniture themselves

The Klong stand, where aside from new colours, the new furniture included the 'Knopp' lamp, 'Plateau' table and 'Totem' desk tabletop

'HeartChairs' by Claesson Koivisto Rune at the relaunched David Design

'ShelfLamp' by Andreas Engesvik at David Design

Danish brand & Tradition's stand, with the 'Raft' table and stools by Norm Architects

'Shuffle Table' by Mia Hamborg and 'Bellevue' by Arne Jacobsen, both for & Tradition

STolab's classic chairs in this season's colours

'Mr Gardener Easychair' by Jonas Wagell, for Berga Form

Classic Swedish outdoor design at Berga Form

'Matilda' outdoor furniture by Claesson Koivisto Rune, part of the 2012 collection at Berga Form

Spin stools by Staffan Holm at Swedese, now available in five bright colours

New collection by Karl Andersson & Söner

'Vilda' dining chair in painted oak by Jonas Bohlin, for Gemla

'Vilda' dining chairs by Jonas Bohlin surround a large dining table from the new collection for Gemla

Swedish design group Front have designed these beautifully proportioned 'Collage' chairs for Gemla

'Imagine' floor mirrors by Anna Kraitz, new at Källemo

'Telegraph Road' coat stand by Erika Lagerbielke, also new at Källemo

Wästberg's first foray into pendant lamps included this 'W103s' lamp by Inga Sempé

An exhibition and installation of furniture pieces by Oslo's National Academy of the Arts in the Greenhouse area

Furniture prototypes suspended in the installation

Students from Göteborg's Steneby University displayed a series of wood pieces inspired by the subject 'Grow'. This plant stand is by Jun Furukawa

Hanging plant pots by Per Ingvad from Steneby University

Norwegian designer Martin Nichols in the Greenhouse area

'Wood Bird' by Martin Nichols

Lights by Kristine Five Melvaer, presented in the Greenhouse

Welsh Dresser and candlestick holders by Thomas Jenkins of Studio Jenk, shown in the Greenhouse

'Granskogen' wallpaper, by Cecilia Pettersson, shown in the Greenhouse area

'Kile' table by Yukari Hotta, shown in the Greenhouse area

Tables inspired by the material rubber, by Therese Westman and Marie Lindblad

New furniture collection by the German industrial designer Tim Prigge of Studio Dreimann

Elin Carlsten and Elisabeth Thostrup showed this metal cabinet in the Greenhouse

Newly launched prototypes shown in the Greenhouse by Karl Mikael Ling

New collections by Studio Vision, shown in the Greenhouse

Folio lamps by Pablo Figuera, shown in the Greenhouse

New furniture collection by new Finnish design studio, Studio HH

Jug and cup series by new Finnish design studio, Studio HH

Flyers and graphics pinned to the studio walls of Thomas Bernstrand

'Work in Progress' an exhibition in central Stockholm organized by Axel Bjurström and Jonas Wagell focused on the stories behind the designers work

Working models and process sketches of a desk light designed by Jonas Waggell, shown as part of the Work in Progress exhibition

Andreas Engesvik's process sketches showing his design for an elegant wall mirror, shown as part of the Work in Progress exhibition

'Steel Works' cutlery range by Jonas Wagell

New pendant lamps shown at the Carl Malmsten shop in town

A selection of coloured candlesticks displayed in one of the classic cupboards at the Carl Malmsten showroom on Strandvägen

'Wolf' jug, cup and tray in pewter, by Inga Sempé for Svenskt Tenn 2012

The artist Eric Ericson's engraved pewter mirrors with a leather wrapped handle, for Svenskt Tenn 2012

A Svenskt Tenn 2012 re-issue of a standard lamp from the company's archives, dated 1930 and designed by Björn Trägårdh

Classic Svenst Tenn cabinets in Josef Frank's designs

The new upstairs at the Svenskt Tenn store, which opened last October

Sketches by Inga Sempé, shown at an exhibition of the designer's ideas, thoughts and processes, held at Hotel Skeppsholmen

More of the french designer's sketches

The latest addition to Stockholm's fine dining scene is Gastrologik, with interiors designed by Jonas Lindvall, who lined the space with beautiful Dinesen oak flooring

If you were unlucky enough not to get a table you can take a piece of Gastrologik home from the next door bakery, Speceriet