Jessica Herman

There's more to Swedish furniture than IKEA.

Venture to the corner of Wells and Grand and you'll find a welcoming retreat from the surrounding abundance of sushi restaurants and shiny, sleek design. Showcased behind glass walls sits Andrew Wilder's living room, Svenska Mobler (516 North Wells), bedecked in a rare breed of Swedish furniture primarily from 1900-1940.

Wilder started his personal collection twenty years ago, having nurtured an interest in Scandinavian craftsmanship while living in Sweden. The Chicago store, now a year old, is the second of its kind; Wilder opened up the first Svenska Mobler in Los Angeles in 2000. Taking into consideration the distinct customers in the two cities, he says that the Chicago collection is typically more Cubist and classic.

"You can't sell small chairs here," he jokes. "The people are bigger."

Wilder describes the collection as a bridge between traditional and contemporary styles. While everything is minimally adorned, the antiques cover a range of styles--from a Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) mahogany love seat and Functionalist-era pinwheel-design table to a Modernist bookcase banded with an Arabian Nights inlay and a petite Art Deco bench covered in gold silk fabric. In addition to the subtle, finely handcrafted designs, the richness and variety in these pieces is largely derived from the types of wood. While most people tend to associate mid-century Modern furniture with teak, the list of wood materials used in the Early Modern period is remarkable--everything from birch, rose wood and elm root to walnut and alder.

In addition to furniture, Wilder features antique lighting fixtures, such as a hand-hammered copper chandelier, a parchment shaded ceiling fixture and a three-armed, milk-glass shaded brass ceiling fixture. A rotating exhibit of contemporary artwork adds a finishing touch to the front room display. Check out www.svenskamobler.com for a sneak preview.

The store celebrates its one-year anniversary this week with a 25-percent-off sale of the entire furniture collection through April 28.

(2005-04-19)

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