Stockholm Furniture Fair highlights

Artek showroom

(Image credit: TBC)

last updated 4 September 2022

Braving perilously icy conditions to attend the Stockholm Furniture Fair last week we were thankful to find much in the way of cockle-warming and cosy interiors on arrival.

Although always very much an international show, Stockholm never fails to inspire new enthusiasm amongst visitors for classic Scandinavian styling, and this year the nod to Nordic influences – by which we mean warm, homely and natural - was stronger than ever. From form and function in fireside accessories to seriously luminous new lighting ideas, even the coolest attendees were thawing.

Lighting, as usual, was a key focus. In a part of the world where they can admittedly make the most of it during the long dark winters, Wastberg (Sweden), Northern Lighting (Norway), & Tradition (Denmark), and Secto (Finland) all launched beautiful new designs. Inga Sempé’s offering for Wastberg, in Marni-esque colourways was one of our favourites, while & Tradition’s Milk by Norm Architects and Spinning Light by Benjamin Hubert were also attracting glowing praise from all who passed.

Greenhouse - the area of the fair dedicated to design schools, new graduates, and independent designers - produced an impressive crop of new ideas. Jen Fager – the prolific young Swede of the moment – designed the space itself, and also showed new lamp collections for Zero Belysning and new mirrors for Klong Interior – a first time exhibitor at the show and noteable for exquisite handcraftsmanship.

Even Paul Smith, who this year was responsible for designing the annual lounge installation for the fair, agreed that perhaps people were bored of 'minimalistic elegance, because we've seen that plenty of times before. I want to spread an interesting optimistic atmosphere that is inspiring,' he says. The lounge, with a herringbone floor and extensively floral wall coverings, also paid homage to Gio Ponti, one of Smith’s design heroes.

Outside the fairground there were some interesting satellite exhibitions too. We were particularly inspired by Form Us With Friends – for which the Swedish design collective Form Us With Love showcased its newest projects with its favourite clients in a construction site due to be transformed into a new hotel. Their beanbags with bases for Voice were a collapsing port of choice for many after a long day trade-fairing.

Not far away the Nordic Light Hotel showed a different seating installation by Alexander Lervic. Inspired by airport conveyor belts, and their attraction to tired travellers, it was an idea we could all relate to.

Comfort and craft were also order of the day at Artek, who - celebrating 75 years of business this year - staged its first jubilee event with a revision of its 400 chair by Ilse Crawford. Honoring the brand’s roots with reindeer hide, master upholsterers demonstrated their skills in the store’s Stockholm showroom while steaming cups of tea were served. Unexpectedly, at the end of it all we were all feeling warmer for our Northern exposure.

Brown ceramic bathroom accessories featuring a rectangular and an oval soap bar holder, a toilet brush, a bowl and a powder brush on a brush holder photographed on a grey surface — New ceramic bathroom accessories by Johan Golv

3 ceiling pendant lighting in black, red and white photographed against a grey background. — ‘Bolero’ pendant light by Ruben

Multiple straw chairs in red, green, white, black and blue photographed on a grey surface next to a glass wall — ‘Straw’ chairs by Osko + Deichmann, for Blå Station

Yellow L shaped sofa with 2 cushions (yellow and white) and 5 drum-like side tables in different colours — ‘Dunder’ sofa, by Stefan Borselius, for Blå Station

Three white outdoor chairs photographed on green surface against a green wall — Desirée outdoor chair, by Yngve Ekström, for Swedese – originally designed in 1954

Two brown chairs photographed on a grey floor against a grey wall — ‘Antelope’ chair, by Monica Förster, for Swedese

Two mushroom-like designed table lights in blue and white photographed on a grey marble surface — ‘Mesh’ table light, by Jens Fager, for Zero

Four mushroom-like designed table lights in pink, green, white and gold photographed on a white surface — ‘Wood’ table light by Fredrik Mattson, for Zero

Blue Geometric designed Bins on display, along side white shelves — Bins and storage in new blue colourway by Lundqvist

A brown and Yellow outdoor bench with white and yellow books stacked on the bench. Behind the bench is a yellow bin and yellow pot with a tree against a white wall — Outdoor furniture collection by Vestre

2 green high stools with round seats and 4 legs photographed against a white wall and white floors — New stools in painted wood by Nordic Care

Two cynlinder glass bottles in different heights with tops made from different shades of wood photographers on a grey surface with a brown background — ‘Sex Bombs’ glass containers with tops made out of layers of waste wood, by Matilda Ringnér

5 Pendant ceiling lights (3 black and 2 white) photographer against a cream background. — ‘Two’ pendant lights in bone china, by Marc Braun

A green table with a matching black and green tray (consisting of a bow and mug). Two trays - black and green - resting against the wall on the right of the table — ‘Bond’ table and tray, by Marc Braun

White cabinet and room divider with 3 levels photographed in a room with a white wall and grey vinyl floor — ‘Stanza’ cabinet and room divider, by Keisuke Kawase

Three pendant ceiling lights with white top and glass enclosed bottoms with ornaments inside it. — Pendant lighting to display a favourite ornament or prop, by Chen Karlsson

Dinner table dressed with a white table cloth and 2 stacked white plates on each side. One empty wine glass and one wine glass laying on the table with its content (red wine) spilled — ‘Underfull’ tablecloth with a hidden pattern that is revealed only when wet, by Kristine Bjaadal

Brown shelving unit with yellow rubber covers photographed against a cream wall and grey vinyl floor — Shelving unit with rubber covers, by Jakob JØrgensen

A display of chairs and table. One chair with a square shaped table featuring an attached tabled lamp AND a chair with a rectangular shaped table with a lamp — New furniture and lighting collection by Formify

Black 4 level wall shelf with ornaments placed on different levels of the shelf photgraphed on a cream coloured wall — ’Totem’ shelf by Broberg & Riddersråle for Klong

Grey storage unit with brown handles photographed against a grey wall beside a white arch mirror on a wall — ‘Koffert’ storage, by Jonas Bohlin, ‘Geometri’ mirror, by Jens Fager, ‘Triuf’ basket, by Mats Broberg & Johan Ridderstråle, all for Klong

Three white pendant wall lights (all switched on) on a white wall — ‘Lean’ wall lights, by Jenny Bäck, for Örsjö

Six black chairs staked in a row and photographed in a room with white walls and grey floor — ‘Nana’ chair, originally designed in 1956, by Tapiovaara

two chairs photographed against a white wall and grey floor. Left chair is black and brown, right chair is all black — ‘Domus’ chair, originally designed in 1946, by Tapiovaara

3 rows of 5 Y shaped wall hook on a white wall. The hooks on the top row are black, middle row is yellow and bottom row is red. — ‘Y’ wall hook, by Stina Sadwall, for SMD Design

Two mushroom head shaped table lamps in black and beige, photograph on a grey surface — New table lamp, by Inga Sempe, for Wästberg

A room with white walls and floor, featuring an orange chair with matching orange side table,an oak wooden vanity table and a blue floor lamp — New collection by 101% Brussels including designs by Nathalie Dewez, Jean-Françoise D’Or, Lhoas & Lhoas, Hugo Meert and Chevalier-Masson

A Room with white walls featuring Upholstered chairs in swedish reindeer fur with matching side tables. White Beehive style hanging ceiling lights — Alvar Aalto chairs and stools are re-upholstered in Swedish reindeer fur, by Ilse Crawford

Multiple round three-legged stools in different colours, photographed on a grey surface — Alvar Aalto stools, re-upholstered in fabrics by Fanny Aronsen

Five black sake cups in different shapes photgraphed on a white surface — ‘In the Dark’ sake cups made in Urushi, a Japanese lacquer from Wajima, by Teruhiro Yanagihara, exhibited at KIKI gallery

Black tray-like plates in different sizes and shapes (rectangular and square) photographed on a white surface against a white wall — ‘Composition’ set of plates made in Urushi, a Japanese lacquer from Wajima, by Teruhiro Yanagihara, exhibited at KIKI gallery

Round Crystal designed tea light candle holder with a tea light candle on the side photographed on a white surface — ‘Flames’ crystal candle holder, by by Teruhiro Yanagihara, exhibited at KIKI gallery

A grey rectangular table with 2 grey boxes on the left and bottled on the right and a matching grey chair (with stools attached) photographer on a platform against a white wall — Tableau of furniture and other items in grey by Cecile Manz

Five two-toned (bottom: grey and upper: glass) bottles and a two-toned (bottom: grey and upper: glass) tumbler photographed on a grey table against a white wall — Tableau of bottles in grey by Cecile Manz

Three-legged glass side table photographed with a small hammer and 2 small cones (grey, white and blue) laid on it, against a white wall — Side table and coat hooks by Daniel Enoksson

A furniture collection featuring a green and white room divider, white cabinet with horizontal lines (grey, blue and white) with a blue table lamp placed on it. On the right corner is a red standing lamp, — New furniture collection by Katarina Häll, inspired by Swedish scenery

A room featuring white walls and floor. In the left of the room is a black hanging rail with black hangers and black jackets hanging off it. On the right of the room is a black parasol with 2 black chairs — New furniture collection by Thomas Bernstrand, including a coat hanger system and parasol

A caucasian man sitting on a black table with 4 black chairs against a white wall with white mug, on a white saucer with silver teaspoon in it placed in front of him on the table. Above the table are 2 hanging black ceiling lights — Harri Koskinen

Ilse Crawford sitting on an Upholstered chairs in swedish reindeer fur. Behind her are 5 floor lights with black base and white shades. phoographed against a white wall — Ilse Crawford

Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.

Wallpaper* Newsletter