Swedish Snapshots
Swedish gardens, hotels, fabrics, furniture, and more—a photographic portrait of a land inspired by nature.
To read more about the gardens and natural inspiration of Sweden, read our story, "Northern Star: A Journey Through Sweden's Gardens."
To best enjoy Sweden’s natural beauty, plan to visit between May and September (though be forewarned: Many Swedes take a month-long vacation in July, leaving the cities feeling empty and many of the restaurants shuttered).
For accommodations in Stockholm, consider the well-designed newcomer Hotel Skeppsholmen, located on a small island connected to the city center by a bridge. Neighbors include the Museum of Modern Art and the Swedish Museum of Architecture. Stallmästaregården is a 49-room inn dating from the 1600s abutting the Royal Park of Haga (Hagaparken), which features walking paths and a large tropical greenhouse. To sample Sweden’s take on the “new Nordic” cuisine, which favors naturalistic techniques and Scandinavian ingredients, head to Mathias Dahlgren at the Grand Hôtel, where one can sample a signature dish of raw and smoked reindeer with whitefish roe. At Restaurang Volt, the likes of lamb tongue, spruce, sea buckthorn, gooseberries, and ash are served in a cool, minimalist space.
If you’re traveling to Sweden, check into any of c/o Hotels’ impressive, unique properties scattered around the country, including Häringe Slott, Krägga Herrgård, and Grythyttan Inn, among others (careofhotels.com).
Limestone Nordic gods guard the grounds of Häringe Slott, a hotel located on a nature reserve south of Stockholm, Sweden.
Check out landscape architect Ulf Nordfjell’s simple designs for outdoor furniture, containers, pergolas, and more (nordfjellcollection.se). Make sure to stop at legendary design store Svenskt Tenn to pick up a few Josef Frank textiles (svenskttenn.se). Inquire about ordering steel chairs and tables designed by Grythyttan Stålmöbler through the furniture company’s website (grythyttan.net). Stop into Victoria Skoglund’s garden shop Zetas to pick up plants or outdoor accoutrement (zetas.nu).
A summer country cottage decorated with nature-themed Josef Frank prints.
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Rich colors, dark carved wood, floral fabric—the Paul Fejos room at Häringe Slott hotel is a perfect example of how Swedish designers bring the outside in.
The plant shop at Rosendals Trädgård, a garden in central Stockholm.
Espalier-trained fruit trees and a garden atrium at Häringe Slott.
Since the 1800s, Rosendals Trädgård, a garden located on an island in central Stockholm, has boasted an extensive collection of rare plants, including, at one point, some 400 fruit trees. Today, the garden offers vegetables and cut flowers for sale and classes on biodynamic gardening. Below, dahlias and calendula grow in rows outside a greenhouse.
An alfresco lunch prepared by a designer from the Stockholm store Svenskt Tenn at a summer cottage in the town of Muskö exemplifies casual-chic Swedish style.
A seating area at the Häringe Slott hotel, decorated in muted earth tones and elegant floral wallpaper, has a cozy, secret garden feel.
Grythyttan Stålmöbler, a company known for its simple steel designs, has furnished Swedish gardens since 1930 with items like its Classic Series chairs and table, which are set out on the dock at Krägga Herrgård, a hotel an hour’s drive northwest of Stockholm.
In the Paul Fejos room at Häringe Slott, a tray inset with an artful collage of botanical drawings is placed out for visitors to admire.
Herbs are collected from the garden for teatime at Häringe Slott.
At Grythyttans Gästgivaregård, or Grythyttan Inn, established in 1640, a shed’s grassy roof represents an old-school take on the green roof concept while the brick red, or Falu red, exterior exemplifies the go-to color for wood buildings throughout Sweden.
