Say hello to the Larsson family!
Listen to our designer Lotta Hallenius telling about the inspiration to the Carl Larsson collection.
Welcome to Swedens most famous home.
It's great that you've come across our lovely Carl Larsson collection! We're very proud of it. Our hope is to pass on a bit of Swedish cultural heritage to future generations, in our own way. This is our designer Lotta Hallenius's interpretation of the bold colour palette, design language, and the fine details that can be found on the Carl Larsson estate and in his paintings.
Karin and Carl Larsson's home was open to everyone in the family. There were no rooms closed off or "kept for best". This was a home where everyone was allowed to be themselves, play, work, and relax. This interior design ideal feels just as contemporary today and is one that we're only too happy to put our names to, just as we do when developing our toys and interior design details: playful, beautiful, and sustainable, in colours and patterns that both children and adults can love for generation after generation.
The dynamic duo.
Karin and Carl Larsson were a dynamic artist duo. Both trained at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts before going to Paris, as many artists did around the end of the 19th century. It was in the artists' collective in Grez-sur-Loigne that they met, fell in love, and married. They lived there for a few years before returning to Stockholm. But in the midst of ongoing industrialisation and urbanisation, they both yearned to be close to nature, genuine craftsmanship, and a more down-to-earth way of life as they had enjoyed in Grez. And that's how they ended up at Lilla Hyttnäs in Sundborn.
Karin Larsson -
a design pioneer.
The couple had eight children. Carl was a sought-after and busy artist. He had his studio at home. Karin was an independent and strong woman. Despite all the children she had around her, she also managed to forge her own life as an artist. She wove, embroidered, and designed furniture and textiles for the home. Her style was bold and idiosyncratic and she was probably Sweden's first designer in the modern sense of the word. Carl, on the other hand, painted their furniture and walls in his own decorative way. Together, they created a beautiful and vibrant home in strong, bright colours, inspired by, among others, the Arts & Crafts movement, William Morris, and Swedish folk art. Their interior design style was something completely new and unique that had never been seen before.
Influencers of their time.
Together, the Larssons built a stage which they filled with children, friends, pets, and lots of flowers. This then became the motif for many of Carl Larsson's most beloved watercolours - snapshots, always a little perfectly imperfect, that depicted the goings-on of family life. Aware that they were role models, they wanted to inspire and share their interior design style with the outside world and published several books of watercolours featuring family portraits from their home. In essence, they were influencers.
How do they look in your home?
We'd love to see how our toys from the Carl Larsson collection make themselves at home in your home. If you want to share your story and inspire others, use the hashtag #yeskidsconcept.
If you want to find out more about the Larssons and Lilla Hyttnäs in Sundborn, take a look at www.carllarsson.se
Or why not take the kids on a trip to Sundborn?