Karin Bergöö Larsson and the Emergence of Swedish Design

Karin Bergöö Larsson (1859–1928) was a mother of eight and wife to Sweden’s beloved painter, Carl Larsson. She was herself a well-regarded artist but gave it up when she married, at the request of her husband. Replacing paintbrushes and canvas with needles and cloth, she turned a somewhat ugly cottage—Lilla Hyttnäs in the tiny village of Sundborn, Sweden—into a designer showcase. Inspired by the Swedish countryside, she filled the home with handcrafted wall hangings, bed coverings, tablecloths and pillow covers, while she greatly influencing her husband’s work by encouraging him to move away from dark oils to more illuminating and light-filled watercolors.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., considers Karin “the first designer of what would become known as Swedish Modern.” Her influence continues to inform the concepts of retail giant IKEA.