THE LADIES’ GOLDEN ROOM

One floor up in the castle is the elegant drawing room with mahogany panelling and golden wallpaper. The ladies gathered here to socialise in comfort. They drank tea, discussed art and literature, debated and aired new ideas.

Music was an important part of the drawing room culture. The drawing room at Tjolöholm has a grand piano with a pianola, which were imported from the USA. With help from a roll of punch cards and carefully pedalling, the pianola could make the grand piano play by itself. If you take a guided tour of the castle you will be able to hear music played on the old musical instrument. Adjoining the drawing room is the castle library. It is a darker room, with high oak panelling and golden leather imitations that were modern when the castle was built. The detailed stucco ceiling is decorated with six stars, the sun and the moon.

SWEDENS´S FIRST VACUUM CLEANER?

The drawing room and the library boasted green carpets – an English touch that added to the castle exclusivity. The green colour was meant as a continuation of the garden’s green lawns. However the carpets were hard to clean, which led to the purchase of one of Sweden’s first vacuum cleaners – it was pulled by horses and weighed around a tone. The forty-meter long tubes were pulled into rooms through the windows.