During my visit to Stockholm this past fall there were a few things that stood out to me as typically Swedish - a warm welcome with food and drinks, candles burning everywhere, beautiful furniture craftsmanship and wonderful wallpaper. Well, it just got easier to find the fourth component of my memory of Swedish home style - Duro papers are now being sold here in the US.

Available here for the first time, Duro, a family-owned company and leading brand in Sweden, has been around since 1930. It's very well established - it is one of only 120 companies to be appointed a purveyor to the Royal Court and has had this distinction since 1946.

The printing process used by Duro uses ten times the standard amount of ink to create a distinctive, rich look, similar to hand-printed papers. All of this is done with an eye on the environment - they started their green initiatives during the 1960s and eliminated PVCs, developed their own water-based inks and uses only solvent free coatings. They currently offer designs in three lines:

Gammalsvenska: historical Swedish wallpaper patterns from different eras of Swedish design - swatches were found in manor houses and recreated by Duro desginers

Atmosfär III: contemporary designs

Galleri: interpretations of nature with a Scandinavian flavor

Duro is available in retail shops in New York (Hildreth's, Janovic, Wallauer's) and in Illinois (J.C. Licht, EPCO), as well as through designers.

More Info: Duro

(Images: Duro)