Planning a 1940's bedroom

A little over a year ago we found our dream apartment. Five rooms, if you say it in Swedish, a three bedroom apartment if you say in English. Built in 1954, it has two floors- the upper floor is one giant living room with a window in the ceiling, bay windows and a fireplace. Unfortunately it’s only the living room that has all its original features intact, though throughout we still have the original radiators and windowsill in green marble. Needless to say, perhaps, we plan to change things that are far too modern for our taste. Luckily, when it comes to the bedrooms and dining room, it’s just a matter of new wallpapers and a few odds and ends when it comes to details. You have already, I’m sure, guessed that we are going to turn back the dial a decade or so, and do our bedroom in a 1940’s style.


The idea originated when my darling, in a discussion on wardrobe space (we don’t have enough- he buys more clothes than I do), recalled that his grandmother’s 1940’s wardrobe is still around. A new bed and bedside tables are already in the budget, we already have a 40’s lamp in there, so why not, he said, make the whole bedroom 1940’s? Well, of course I thought it was a splendid idea.

Right now we are hunting for the right bed. The 1940’s isn’t as popular as the 1950’s, so it seems beds can be found for not so bad prices. My grandparent’s bed from that time was made in varnished birch, which seems to have been hugely popular in Sweden at the time. It looked very much like this:



There is a company called Lim & Handtryck that reproduces wallpapers from the 18th century up to the 1970’s and we have looked through their catalogue. We quite liked Birk from 1950.



Tango, 1940.



Slinga, 1940.



But both liked the 1930’s wallpaper Deco the most.



We still need to go to a store to see the samples for real, colours aren’t always the same, but I hope the pale lilac looks nice. It’s a bit unusual, but I think it could look very nice with curtains and bedspread in green. Funnily enough we talked about this colour combination before I came across these pictures of 1940’s rooms:





Seems we are honing our forties colour instincts. I found the picture called here for more lovely pictures of 40’s room and colours. I find some combinations quite daring.



Our bedroom is quite small so I will definitely forego what seem to have been quite popular, little skirts on the furniture. A bit overwhelming and, with five cats and a dog, the perfect way to keep as much shed hair in the bedroom as possible…



I wish there were enough room for a vanity for me, though.