A vast, all-pervading blanket of white may have covered the city last week but inside the halls of the Stockholm Furniture Fair (opens in new tab) 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 (opens in new tab), NC Möbler (opens in new tab) and Nola (opens in new tab), opted for a mix of strong primaries, while others, like Bruno Mathsson (opens in new tab), Wästberg (opens in new tab) and Maze, opted for slightly more muted tones. Trust the oh-so-tasteful Asplund (opens in new tab) 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 (opens in new tab), the 'Shelf Lamp' by Andreas Engesvik at the relaunched David Design (opens in new tab), 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 (opens in new tab), who together with French architect Jean Nouvel (opens in new tab) 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 (opens in new tab), but was disappointing in terms of throwing up new talent, with only a couple of individuals - namely Kristine Five Melvaer (opens in new tab) and Thomas Jenkins (opens in new tab) - catching our attention. That said, standards of craftsmanship at the colleges remained high, especially at Konstfack (opens in new tab) and Carl Malmsten Furniture Studies (opens in new tab).
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 (opens in new tab) 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 (opens in new tab), 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 (opens in new tab), with interiors designed by Jonas Lindvall, who lined the space with beautiful Dinesen (opens in new tab) 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
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