Friday, June 4, 2010

The Swedish Floor


 


Is there anything more refreshing looking then a Swedish floor?







Limed...






or pickled...










...the Swedish style floor is as refreshing as a summer breeze.

Below we share with you some more images featuring Swedish style floors taken by one
of our favorite photographers, Miguel Flores-Vianna, who also wrote the forward to our first
book Swedish Interiors.  Miguel, long a fan of Swedish design, has worked on many projects
in Sweden and in him we find a kindred spirit.  Miguel's breathtaking portfolio HERE



















Rhonda and I were recently featured talking about Swedish floors on a super PBS series
called Creative Living with Sheryl Borden.  Our segment aired in the South West region
of the country this week!


          Edie and Rhonda with Sheryl Borden on Creative Living. That's a dough bin we
brought with us to show an example of Swedish falun red paint!  We taped three segments in all
on Swedish country painting techniques.


View our Creative Living segment here:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8JMH12RWE4

We presented the differences between a pickled floor with polyurethane finish
versus a more traditional floor treatment using liming wax and danish oil.  Both techniques
have their advantages and disadvantages but the results for both are quite beautiful and can
give a totally new feel to any room.

Which do you prefer? 


Many thanks again to Miguel for allowing us to enhance this post with his gorgeous photos!


E. and R.






14 comments:

  1. I am so excited to see the video. I have always been so curious how to achieve this look. I love the airy look of the limed floors. Thanks so much for sharing!!
    xx-Gina

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  2. I am so excited to see the video. I have always been so curious how to achieve this look. I love the airy look of the limed floors. Thanks so much for sharing!!
    xx-Gina

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  3. I'm so glad to see this, as I'm in the middle of trying to figure out what I want on my floors. Do you mind if I ask a question? I'm not a fan of polyurethane, and would prefer to go the oil route. I've thought of JUST oiling my floors, and letting the pine gray as it ages, but also, is it possible to do the pickle stain and then oil, as opposed to pickle + poly?

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  4. Dear Danica,

    I first thought would be that because the pickle is not naturally based, it would be a challenge with the oil. The oil needs to absorb into the wood, and I think the pickle would prevent that from happening. I love the idea of just hard oiling the floors only! I would do that, or I would go the liming wax direction which is very time consuuming, but so worth it when you see the end result!

    Lets us know if you have any other questions along the way. Go for it!!!!

    Best,

    Rhonda

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  5. Dear Gina,

    Thanks so much for visiting!

    We have been frustrated for years that there is not more information out there on how to acheive these looks for our clients here in the states. So we were thrilled to have a chance to address the
    "how do I lime my floor safely" issue on the show!

    Dear Danica,

    I agree with Rhonda! Liming wax with a Danish oil is the way to go or just oiling the floorboards. Test a small area of you floor to make sure you are happy with the results first.

    Good luck and send us pictures!

    Edie

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  6. Wonderful post with so much hands on information. The video is fantastic!

    Thank you for this. Am keeping it in my treasure box.

    Kram och tack!

    Charlotta x

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  7. Those floors are absolutely beautiful! I am going to check my local listings to see if I can pick up the tv segment. ~Terri

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  8. BTW... I think the oil (or wax) is a far superior finish for wood floors as apposed to the poly...

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  9. Ok, girlies, I loved this post! And the images - what can I say - simply stunning.

    I am off to watch your PBS segment on Youtube. Yeah for you!

    ox always, Mon

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  10. Thank you my friends for this most interesting post and video!
    I think I prefer the more traditional floor!
    xx
    Greet

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  11. Hello beautiful ladies and friends!

    Just coming here today to wish you a long and happy 4th of July weekend!

    Much fondness, Mon

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  12. Thanks a bunch for posting this. If I wanted a more grey feeling could a pigment be mixed with the wax?

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  13. Swedish floors are truly refreshing to the eyes. Flooring adds the missing piece in creative living. I find it pleasurable whenever I do flooring. Torrance mansion has beautiful hard wood floors (Los Angeles which inspire me to venture in the art of flooring.

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