THE SHAPES Elegant & timeless

Sweeping outlines, carved decoration and scalloped detailing are the most iconic characteristics of traditional Gustavian furniture. Look for bonnet-topped cabinets, shapely backed chairs and daybeds with moulded crowns. French-style cupboards with raised laurel wreaths also sit well here. Most pieces are fairly modest in size – a settle bench will fit in the hallway, a bureau in the sitting room – and essentially functional, with clever design that incorporates a measure of decoration – an angular-backed corner cabinet, a pull-out or drop-down secretaire or extendable trundle-bed sofa. Lorfords has a selection of original pieces (lorfordsantiques.com) and Scumble Goosie’s take on Gustavian furniture holds a striking resemblance (scumblegoosie.co.uk).

8 1 Gustavian sleigh beds have symmetrical high head and foot boards and look stylish as a pair in children’s rooms. They can also be decorated using a stencil or a hand-painted pattern 2 Hang a vintage chandelier in a hallway to imbue elegance 3 Authentic pieces of furniture and modern-day reproductions will anchor this style and is a great place to start 4 Turn curtains into a decorative feature with an elegant scallop edge 5 Painted lamp base, similar from Country Shades, from £78 (countryshades.co.uk) 6 Washed-grey side table, £795, Oka (oka.com) 7 Swedish 19th-century cabinet with restored paintwork, £2,750, Birdie Fortescue (birdiefortescue.co.uk) 8 Upholstered armchair with exposed webbing, from £700, Grand Illusions (grandillusions.co.uk)

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