Additional texteDescription: Karin and Carl Larsson moved to Lilla Hyttnäs in the village of Sundborn in Dalarna in 1888. Together, they created a personal home characterised by their shared interest in art and design and the socially and culturally fostering role of the family dwelling. Karin designed the furniture, textiles and clothes. Carl painted and decorated. The couple’s own creations were mixed with heirlooms and new objects, traditional utility goods and older crafts, Japanese woodcuts and works by their artist friends. Refurbishment and extensions gave the original building a new character.
Exhibition text: Carl and Karin Larsson combined new design with old traditions. Practicality dictated their interior design, but it was equally important that furniture and objects form an attractive harmony. This ideal was also propagated by others, including Ellen Key, who advocated homes that were in a new and light style, in her essay “Skönhet för alla” (Beauty for All) in 1899.
The Larssons moved to Lilla Hyttnäs, a house in Sundborn, in the summer of 1889. Here, Carl and Karin together created the interiors that made their home famous. Karin designed the furniture and textiles, which she embroidered and wove. A studio was fitted up in one of the hallways. It features many eye-catching details, including the funny man crowning a column. When a larger studio extension was added, this room became a workshop for the whole family.
The interiors of the Larsson home were characterised by rural simplicity. Nevertheless, every detail was carefully designed, with influences from England, Scotland and Japan. The kitchen, which was first and foremost a place for household chores, did not display the same modern interior style and comfort as the rest of the house.
