First, we visit Svenskt Tenn: a beguiling mix of Design Museum-meets-Conran Shop – filled with the designs of Josef Frank, and the vision of his mentor, Estrid Ericson. She was an aesthete, he a Jewish-Austrian refugee whom she helped become one of Sweden's most celebrated furniture-makers and fabric designers. Three-quarters of their two-storey emporium is occupied by his designs (including bright, distinctive fabrics), while the rest showcases an evolving collection by other Swedish designers. Since Ericson died, in 1981, the shop has been run by a foundation that maintains her vision while promoting new talent (hence its central role at the annual Stockholm Furniture Fair).
In nearby Ostermalm, we nip in and out of boutiques. At Oscar & Clothilde, we find theatrical rooms of new homewares inspired by traditional lines. At Gamla Lampor, on Almlöfsgatan, we explore a warehouse of retro lighting, from giant film-set rigs to dainty chandeliers. Modernity features such clean-lined classics as a 1928 lamp by Poul Henningsen and a covetable 1960s Hans Wegner desk. At vast Jacksons, I fall in love with 20 different chairs. Tiny Sjöström Antik has a Borge Mogensen leather sofa perfect for my living room. At Rehn's Antiques, I'm crazy about a 1950s portrait, but can't afford the five-figure sum which the charismatic owner, Tony Andersson, says is "very inexpensive".
Although the selection of pieces is wide, prices are no cheaper than in London – and you still have to ship your shopping home. Try your luck at the auction house Bukowskis (bukowskis.com), and they will do the shipping for you – or you can scour junkier shops for smaller pieces to cart back in a suitcase. Try A La Carte Antik – in which I find beautiful porcelain-topped bottles (Kr30/£3) – or the Sunday flea market, by the concert hall, where I buy eight fine white china tureens (Kr50) and an oil painting (Kr1,200); get there by 10am to snaffle the best pieces.
Having scoured smart, cobbled Ostermalm (also nipping into contemporary shops such as Nordiska Galleriet, Asplund and Stockholm Modern), the next day I take in the more bohemian Södermalm. Along cafe-lined streets where youngsters are enjoying brunch lie the city's grungier shops, stocking such treasures as records, vintage clothes, cool 1950s teak pieces at Nordlings Antik, and 1950s Arne Jacobsen chairs at Södra Skattkammaren. Nothing groundbreaking, but fun. The best find is the city's hippest food store, Urban Deli, which sells liquorice ice cream. It's spirit-lifting, particularly when enjoyed, with blistered feet up, on a boat trip around the city's 14 islands, watching the handsome medieval city – and its rather overwhelming rooms of furniture – drift by.
After all that 20th-century design, I relish the city's rich National Gallery, hung with gilt-framed pictures of silk and opulence; Skansen, the open-air island museum showcasing Swedish architecture; and the Vasa Museum, home to the oldest surviving ship, sunk in 1628, salvaged in 1961, and now restored. On a trip in search of wooden classics, there can be no object as enthralling. This is one Swedish treasure that is definitely not for sale – nor shippable to Britain.
How to do it
Shop
Charlotta Carlsen: Kr500 (£50) an hour (00 46 70 316 00 98, smartcityshopping.se); Nanette Fickendey: Kr2,500 for three hours (00 46 40 26 066, luxurybeyond.com).
Stay
Select Collection (selectcollection.com) offers three nights at the Grand Hôtel from £975 b&b, with flights.
Eat
For seafood, Lisa Emqvist (lisaelmqvist.se) or Sturehof (sturehof.com); for a treat, Michelin-starred Matbaren (mdghs.com).
Drink
The Lydmar Hotel (lydmar.com); or cocktails at Verandan at the Opera House (eng.operakallaren.se)
View
Take the funicular railway to the top of the spherical Ericsson Globe.
More
visitstockholm.com
Three essential addresses
Jacksons
Sibyllegatan 53 (00 46 8 665 33 50, jacksons.se). Launched 30 years ago, this is home to one of the biggest collections of 20th-century Scandinavian furniture, by designers ranging from Alvar Aalto to Hans Wegner: Great for sofas, lights, chairs, fabrics and ceramics. Everything can be viewed online, for previewing and to purchase.
Svenskt Tenn
Strandvägen 5 (00 46 8 670 1600, svenskttenn.se). Opened in 1924 by the visionary aesthete Estrid Ericson as a showcase for leading design from around the world, Svenskt Tenn is now devoted to furniture and fabric by Josef Frank, and to contemporary home-grown talent. Pieces range from silverware by Prince Carl Philip Bernadotte to myrtle-leaf-embossed crockery by Signe Persson-Melin
Modernity
Sibyllegatan 6 (00 46 8 20 80 25, modernity.se). This small, stylish boutique is owned by a Scot, Andrew Duncanson , who fell in love with Stockholm design – and a local woman. As well as bringing together classics such as 1950s Eames chairs and Verner Panton lamps , he has gathered rare treasures such as 1960s jewellery by Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe. The big bonus is that Modernity ships worldwide.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
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