In 1935, Betty Joel wrote, “…the homes of this country would be better if the women, even those who are believed to have little taste, exercised such taste as they have, to decide what they themselves really like and see that they get what they want.” One of her many astute PR and marketing ploys was to give demonstrations to groups of women (as above, in 1930) and show them how her cleverly designed pieces worked and how they could improve their lives.

When Betty Joel married she did not want old, dark furniture in her new, modern home. Her husband, David, began making furniture, and she started designing in order to prove she could do it better than him. She focussed on three things: simple, unfussy lines, the natural beauty of wood, and quality of workmanship. They named the business, initially based in Hayling Island, Token Works (Token being a mix of teak and oak) and proclaimed "The Dawn of a New Period in Furniture Design". This walnut side cabinet (1935) epitomises the Art Deco glamour of the period. 

During the interwar years, Betty Joel (1894-1985, née Mary Stewart Lockhart) was an enormously important figure in the world of furniture, textiles and interior design. Yet there is every chance you have never heard of her. In 1921, and without any formal training, she set up a company with her husband, David Joel, and began designing and producing furniture which not only the encapsulated the period's modernist style and elegance, but was also well-made, practical and thoughtfully designed. (This is the London showroom at 25 Knightsbridge.)

Carl Larsson's paintings of the family house and life could fill many weeks of Posts, but we end with one of his - and our - favourite subjects: reading. 'Woman Reading on a Bench' (1913) is possibly one of the greatest calls to settle down under a tree with a book, a dog, and a cat. The details are wonderful; the model is wearing one of Karin's long, roomy 'reform' dresses, has one of her woven blankets tucked underneath, and her head rests on a richly embroidered cushion. This is the Larsson way: unforced, natural and comfortable. Suffice to say, a visit to Sundborn is highly recommended.

This is 'The Kitchen' (c1898) which appeared in Carl Larsson's Ett Hem ('A Home', 1899). The book contains twenty-four watercolours of home and family life at Lilla Hyttnäs, has been reprinted countless times and in many languages, and was largely responsible for Carl's widespread fame. According to the V&A catalogue, for many Swedes, this is one of the most evocative pictures in the series, not just because of the simple, colourful decor, but 'because of its atmosphere of country childhoods, with the summer breeze coming through the window'. The authors say that after the publication of the Ett hem watercolours, the Larssons' vision of summer came to be adopted by the whole of Sweden.

Karin Larsson's skills and contributions to the Larsson home were for a long time, like those of far too many wives and partners, overlooked in favour of those of her more famous husband. But in fact she was an extremely talented textile and furniture designer who developed a more abstract, modernist aesthetic than Carl who was influenced by the English Arts and Crafts movement. We see her here in 'Azalea' (1906); in the background is her loom with a typical piece of her colourful weaving. Karin finally gained serious recognition in 1997 with an exhibition at the V&A. Secondhand copies of the very informative catalogue can still be obtained. 

Carl Larsson was born in Gamla Stan, the old quarter of Stockholm, and his difficult, poverty-stricken childhood was very different to that of his and Karin’s seven surviving children (this is Suzanne in 'The Flower Window', 1894). Their house, Lilla Hyttnäs, which they decorated and extended over the years, was the gift of Karin’s father. This quiet spot, near the mining town of Falun, three hours' north of Stockholm, inspired him to create and paint images of a version of Swedish domesticity, childhood, and family life which, while appearing to be traditional, is suffused with Larsson’s humour, delightful observations, and a surprisingly modern, progressive way of living.