As many of you know, I love all things Swedish. What you don't know is that I owe my Swedish obsession to Lief (pronounced "Life." Yes, now my post title makes more sense, doesn't it!) on Almont in West Hollywood. When I first walked into this shop, it completely changed my design style.
Lief is located in a pair of bowstring truss buildings filled with natural light.
Brothers Stefan and Michael Aarestrup have a wonderful eye for selecting unique pieces to make up the vignettes throughout their store. Whether it is an antique uniform casually hung on a coat rack next to a Gustavian Rocking Horse ....
a pair of French Empire armor standing in front of an 18th Century oil painting of Queen Sophia Magdalena by Swedish painter Lorentz Pash, the younger.
or gorgeous marble sculptures.
Although the over-all feeling of Lief is neutral, several of the walls are painted beautiful chalky colors that make wonderful back drops for their antiques.
Their bird cage inspired me to add a bird cage to our own shop.
Maybe because the Aarstrups are originally from Sweden, I always think of Lief as being a Swedish antique store, but it actually so much more. Stephan and Michael have found some wonderful artists from around the world whose works are displayed throughout the store.
Their store is filled with antiques from all of Europe, including several sets of perfectly worn French leather chairs.
Stephan and Michael like to keep the atmosphere in the store from getting to serious, as you can see from these folk art animal heads.
Stefan and Michael also sprinkle in some curvy mid-century pieces.
All of Lief's Swedish pieces are unique, like this lounge chair upholstered in colorful tapestry with a fabulous tasseled fringe.
Lief's second building faces the courtyard...
This classic statue holds court in the middle of the courtyard space.
The natural light really makes the whole space glow!
In the middle of the building is Lief's reproduction Gustavian Swedish bed.
A glorious glimpse of amethyst peaks through the faded wallpaper behind the bed.
How gutsy is that color on the wall! Most of us forget that Swedish people have a love of color and a gift to use it beautifully!
Another antique mural is used as a backdrop for a pair of Swedish chairs, a Biedermeier secretary and....
a pair of Swedish Baroque Horn Blowers.
The faded colors in a gorgeous wall mural meld with....
the aged patina of an 18th Century Karolinsk Woodfigure.
Whenever I visit Lief, I am face to face with beauty everywhere I look.
A view of this space looking toward the street.
A series of art pieces by Danish Artist Tage Andersen is displayed on top of a long dining table.
A pair of 19th Century Swedish Folk Art figures underneath a paper net.
The delicate net fills the upper part of the two story space.
A pair of Colorful Paper Bouquets by artist Ritva Puotila and two charming paintings share a space near a 19th Century Gustavian Secretary.
Three Fluted Vases by Tage Andersen atop a Swedish Gustavian wall bracket.
Part of Lief's stunning inventory framed by a chalky blue wall and a panel of antique wall paper.
Erik and Stephan are always happy to answer all of my questions about every piece that catches my eye (which means they are very patient!).
This Austrian Baroque Shops Bow Sculpture took my breath away. It looked like it was flying through the air like an angel, watching over the entire store.
To see all of Lief's inventory visit their website here and their 1st Dibs store here!
All of these stunning vignettes are too beautiful not to share with everyone this weekend, so I'm all sharing them with Artie and all of his readers at Color Outside the Lines for Vignette Friday!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend filled with beauty!
xo
Brooke
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