Rhonda and Edie on This Old House, October 25th!

The Eleish van Breems design studio 

in Fairfield,CT as filmed on This Old House.

Big news here at Eleish van Breems!

Rhonda and I are so excited to welcome Kevin O'Connor and the crew of This Old House to our design studio in Connecticut to talk about the origins of Scandinavian design!  

If you have not been watching this season, This Old House features a wonderful old Queen Anne style home in Cambridge, MA that is being totally remodeled in Modern Scandinavian style.  It is an exciting project and when This Old House's producer, Deb Hood asked us to weigh in as experts as to what elements the homeowners should make sure to incorporate for an authentic Scandinavian feel, we were thrilled.

We appear in the middle of this week's episode and, if you tune in, you will see Rhonda and I talking about the history of what makes up a great Scandinavian style room - light, functionalism, reverence for natural materials, bringing the outdoors in and bold color injections, to name but a few.

The episode is airing this week on Thursday, October 25th on PBS and WGBH. You can check local listings HERE. if you want to tune in and watch with us.  Just enter your zip code and your local air dates will show!  Friends in the Tri-State area we are on Episode 4 airing on:

• 10/27
  7:00 PM
  Cambridge Project, Part 4 of 15more [CC] [Stereo]
  WEDW, Channel 12
• 10/28
  5:30 PM
  Cambridge Project, Part 4 of 15more [CC] [Stereo]
  WEDW, Channel 10
• 11/04
  7:00 PM
  Cambridge Project, Part 4 of 15more [CC] [Stereo]
  WLIW, Channel 21

A rare Swedish painted trunk in the Keeping Room at Eleish van Breems.

To celebrate our appearance on This Old House, Rhonda and I are also on Dering Hall this week with our special picks on how to pull a Scandinavian feeling library together.  Dering Hall really is a fantastic place with such an eclectic group of designers and artisans and we were pleased to find lots of  almost sculptural pieces for our Dering Hall library room - elevating wood, leather and glass to new levels of chic.  We imagine all  these beautiful pieces gathered around a roaring fire this crisp October night!


Here are our selections and thoughts:

Clear Band Pendant – John Pomp Studio

Glass is revered as an art form in Scandinavia.  Made by a true artisan workshop, these hand blown Glass Pendants  by John Pomp are stunning and a must have!

Gudinna Barrel Tall Wing Chair – Bjork Studio

Gudinna means goddess and that is how you would feel sitting in this glamorous wing chair.

Rug N10210 – Doris Leslie Blau

The browns and greens of this rug bring a bit of the outside in and make you feel as if you are walking on a forest floor.  The pattern is classic mid-century Swedish.

Bookcase – Lars Bolander

Shelving in Swedish homes is practical and out in the open. This double size bookcase is a collector’s dream whether housing books or a pottery collection.

Historic Canvas by Stockholm Artist Eva Badenhorst

The words we think of for these canvases are romance and whimsy. The essence of period Swedish wall canvases is captured here and the antique sailcloth used for the canvas adds a special dimension and connection to another time.

Swedish Antique Dropleaf Table – Eleish van Breems

The Swedish “slagbord” or drop leaf table is famous among those familiar with Scandinavian furniture for its versatility and good looks. Folding down to often under a foot in width, the table may be pulled out and extended to make a work desk.  Totally functional and the soulful worn patina on this example is amazing.  We would get it out of the kitchen and into the library.

Sugar Press Stool/ Side table – Tucker Robbins

We love this stool by Tucker Robbins to bring the experience of raw wood into a room. Repurposing is important and this is a great example of materials and function being celebrated and transformed into something far from its agrarian roots.

Frasier Chair – Giannetti Home

Inspired by a mid-century Swedish chair, the Frasier has the simple lines we look for and a rich waxed brown leather upholstery that is practical as well as handsome.

El Monte Lamp – Lawson- Fenning

This walnut lamp is like a sleek sculpture.  We are very attracted to the almost organic form and the melding of Scandinavian and mid-century Californian influences.

The Dyrham chimneypiece – Jamb Limited

Swedes are the first to acknowledge that the element of fire feeds the soul and the body. This 18th c. English mantle is the perfect fire alter - it incorporates many of the elements found in Classical Gustavian form, from the greek key to the garland of oak and acorns tied with ribbons.

The Klismos Bench – Jamb Limited

The Greek Klismos form has been revered in Scandinavia as well as all of Europe for centuries. The Klismos definitely reaches a new level of chic in this window bench made of teak and woven leather.

Sunburst Mirror – Eleish van Breems

Light & Reflection. Gilding and Mirrors. 

The need for more light is why mirrors are used so much in traditional Swedish design.  Our handcrafted 32 ray mirror in verre eglomise white gold is handcrafted and inspired by the northern sun as it hangs in a winter sky.

 To read more about our selections on the Dering Hall magazine, 

called DH Guide, go to HERE.Or SHOP  a few of our Eleish van Breems products and visit our website at www.evbantiques.com.

The dining room with Fortuny fabric covered 
Eleish van Breems Collection Gustavian style chairs.

We will be checking up on the Cambridge project at This Old

House as it progresses over the next month or so and look forward

 to seeing it being injected with lots of Scandinavian style.



All Interiors Images by Neil Landino.