Features

The Swedes have a way of taking over derivative forms and making them their own, a point made by authors Barbara and Rene Stoeltie in “Country Houses of Sweden.” 

Most famously, the ornate architecture and furnishings that originated from the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV in France were reinterpreted by Sweden’s king and his craftsmen. 

“This quintessentially Swedish furniture borrowed its original outlines from France; corrected and revised by Gustavus III, the great king-arbiter of good taste, it carries the beautiful name of ’gustaviansk,’ Gustavian,” write the authors. 

Their book profiles several great country houses as exemplars of the style, such as Svartjo castle on Lake Malaren and Gustav’s Haga pavilion in Uppland. 

But it also looks at homes being revised and lived in now, as well as those which belonged to some of the country’s artists. The most famous of these is the Lilla Hyttnas farm in Dalecarlia owned and colorfully embellished by painter Carl Larsson and his wife Karin, a textile specialist, in a mix of country, Gustavian, and arts and crafts styles. 

Also note: 

• In a nod to the less-is-more trend in shelter, architect Dale Mulfinger and writer Susan E. Davis consider “The Cabin” (Taunton Press, $34.95 hardcover, September). Often a weekend or vacation retreat, this humble house can offer comfort and style while staying in tune with its surroundings. 

• Some fresh looks in traditional fabrics are on show in Ann Grafton’s “Interior Transformations” (Little, Brown/Bulfinch Press, $45 hardcover). Grafton, creative director of the Colefax Group of fabric firms, displays schemes that are bold and clear without being artsy or avant garde. 

• Another salvo in the campaign to move away from oversized houses is “Small House, Big Style” (Meredith Books/Better Homes and Gardens, $34.95 hardcover), with Paula Marshall, editor. She cites examples of houses built from scratch, such as a 650-square-foot tapering house fitted onto a small triangular plot in Del Mar, Calif., and many existing small houses, built before the McMansion era, that were remodeled from the inside to open up space. 

• If you’ve got pets at home, the vision of redecorating is governed by what all those little paws and claws might do to the final picture. So, consider “Animal House Style” (Little, Brown/Bulfinch Press, $35 hardcover, September), by Julia Szabo. She offers advice about choosing furnishings that will thrive and survive, letting both you and your animal companions feel at home. 

• Converting the garage and leaving the car somewhere else always has been an obvious way of gaining living and work space. Kira Obolensky, in “Garage” (Taunton Press, $32 hardcover, October), points out that many a successful enterprise started in garage workshops or offices — Walt Disney or Henry Ford, for example. (Ford’s space originally was a coal shed, transformed into a garage as the birthplace of his horseless carriage.) And of course, the garage has often become the “mother-in-law apartment.” Obolensky looks at the history and the possibilities. 

• Home spaces turned into work spaces is the newest old thing, with the proliferation of home offices. In “At Work At Home” (Taunton Press, $29.95 hardcover, October), architect Neal Zimmerman frames dozens of ideas for stylish and ingenious conversions of the spare spot to work center. He notes that while many home workplaces do double-duty as family or guest rooms, more and more of his clients are opting for dedicated facilities reserved for work. 

- Country isn’t what it used to be. The simplicity and re-use of furnishings survive from more rustic days, but today’s versions — often weekend retreats for city people — are far more sophisticated interpretations. Some of them are profiled in “New Country Style” (Meredith Books/Country Home, $39.95 hardcover), edited by Vicki Ingham. 

- If all the decorating advice you’ve been given seem to fit like a straitjacket, forget it, urges Christy Ferer in “Breaking the Rules” (Simon & Schuster, $40 hardcover). Some of the rooms she shows in her book show complete and sometimes daffy abandon, such as a period kitchen decorated in candy colors, complete with contrasting water pipes, or an antique secretary pressed into service as a dressing table and linen closet.