The 8-foot-tall, cylindrical kakelugn cuts a majestic profile, its height emphasizing the tall ceilings in the living room of this 19th Century apartment.
Glowing embers from the firebox cast a golden light onto the half-open brass shutters. And although the fire is dying, the heated air will accumulate inside the wood-burning stove for up to 24 hours–a pleasant effect on a cold winter day.
Interest in the Swedish kakelugn (pronounced KAH-kel-oon) has run hot and cold during its 200-year history, but today popularity is high–both in its homeland and in the U.S. But don’t think it’s only because of its low-maintenance, high-efficiency heating.
Most of our customers are not familiar with their function as a viable heat source,” says John Joslin, manager of Salvage One. The warehouse store that specializes in decorative architectural elements on Chicago’s near South Side has not one, but two kakelugns.
One is a 5-foot-tall, late 19th Century Swedish version painted with pastoral motifs. The other is a towering, 8-foot-tall French Rococo kakelugn, also from the late 19th Century. The ornamentation that the cream-colored stove lacks in pattern is made up for in its shape and details.
“People are interested in kakelugns for their decorative value,” Joslin finds. “They are great conversation pieces.”
Appeal always has been largely due to the kakelugn’s good looks. The floor-to-ceiling stoves can be spotted in artist Carl Larsson’s romantic, late 19th Century Swedish paintings. With their ceramic tiles hand-painted with flowers or filigree in colors that match the room’s decor, the kakelugns in Larsson’s paintings seem more like antique furniture than fireplaces.
Over the years, designs have ranged from elaborate Rococo models to strict Neoclassic columns and sleek, contemporary styles, from cylindrical to rectangular bodies, from plain white tiles to embossed or ornately hand-painted ceramics.
But others may argue that the true beauty of the kakelugn is not so much its many classic forms, but how it functions. It has a superb ability to store and radiate heat.
The kakelugn, as we know it, was Carl Johan Cronstedt and Fabian Wrede’s brilliant mid-18th Century answer to a firewood shortage spawned by a demanding iron industry. Starting with a more primitive tile stove that had been used in Sweden since the 1500s, Cronstedt and Wrede perfected an innovative system of five vertical flues inside the stove.
“The smoke and hot air circulated inside these brick flues for a long time before reaching the chimney,” explains Margareta Cramr, a Swedish architectural historian and a leading expert on tiled stoves. The result was reduced fuel consumption and maximum energy-efficiency.
The new technique spread fast in Sweden.
“It had a tremendous impact on the ability to heat houses,” Cramr says. “In the 19th Century, Sweden had the best heated houses in Europe.”
That says a great deal considering the cold Scandinavian climate.
Indeed, people no longer had to huddle in front of an open fireplace for warmth. And kakelugns were low-maintenance because, during the coldest winter days, fires had to be lighted only once or twice in a 24-hour period to keep a room at a constant, comfortable temperature.
Kakelugns a la ’90s
Today, there is a great interest in salvaging and repairing antique tiled stoves, which in the 1940s and ’50s would have been destroyed as homes were modernized. And a new generation of kakelugnsmakare, a certified maker of kakelugns, is learning the centuries-old craft.
“There is a big demand,” says Kenneth Hansson, a kakelugnsmakare currently designing new tiled stoves for Cronspisen AB at the company headquarters in Emmaboda, Sweden. The company currently sells about 20 kakelugn models in Sweden–nine in the United States.
“In the ’70s, it was difficult to get ahold of old stoves and it was hard to find masons skilled at building and restoring them,” he says. “That’s why we started making prefabricated kakelugns.”
The 18th Century system of five flues remains in Cronspisen’s new models, although the length of the flues has been extended to 30 feet. Another innovation is a fan that increases the direct heat output, speeding up the heating process.
Another difference is the construction process. Whereas the vintage stoves were built manually on site, today the flue system and the exterior of the stoves are premanufactured and delivered in molded blocks.
“Today, the stoves are built from the inside, out. You build the structure first, then set the tiles last. In the old days, it was the other way around,” Hansson explains. “You started by setting the tile, then building the brick wall behind the stove. After that, you built the smoke channels.”
Contemporary designs are based on late 19th Century stoves. Cronspisen models are available in cylindrical or square, covered with white, glossy tile (plain or embossed) or stucco.
Positions of prominence
In contrast, 18th Century stoves were more elaborate. “They were often designed by architects to fit a particular type of interior,” says Cramr.
Like a treasured piece of furniture, the valuable kakelugn was prominently displayed in a niche in the middle of the wall, its position emphasizing its beauty. In modest rooms, a plain, round kakelugn was placed in one corner.
The stoves in the most elegant rooms were decorated with multicolor patterns (each tile was hand-painted). Popular mid- to late-18th Century motifs were the Chinese parasol, butterflies, and floral patterns in blue, green, yellow and violet.
The most famous of all the hand-painted stoves in Sweden were made at Marieberg faience factory in Stockholm in the late 18th Century. A Marieberg stove is instantly recognizable by its brilliantly colored decor over a clear, white background.
Kakelugn designs have changed with each new architectural style, Cramr explains. Simplified versions eventually spread to modest houses in rural areas. Here, the surface was often covered with one color or spatter-patterned tiles. Inexpensive, stucco versions without the tiled surface were common in the countryside. But stucco is less practical than tile.
“Tiles,” says Cramr, “are easy to wipe off and keep clean.”
In the old days, those who could afford it had one kakelugn in each room. “Homes were poorly insulated then,” Hansson says. He explains that the heating capacity of a kakelugn in contemporary homes depends on the insulation and size of your home, the climate and, naturally, the access and price of firewood.
WHERE TO BUY KAKELUGNS
If you are interested in getting a kakelugn of your own, it is possible to find contemporary and, if you really hunt, antique versions locally.
For contemporary models: Steve Patzer of S. Patzer & Co. of St. Charles sells and installs Swedish kakelugns made by Cronspisen AB; call 630-584-1081. (FireSpaces Inc. of Portland, Ore., is the U.S. distributor for Cronspisen AB; call 503-227-0547 for dealers outside the Chicago area.)
In the U.S., Cronspisen kakelugns come in six tiled and two stucco models, either rectangular or cylindrical.
Height and decorative patterns can be customized on all models. Weights range from 3,000 to 4,000 pounds.
Prices are $6,500 to $9,000, plus an additional $1,500 to $2,000 for installation, according to Patzer.
For antique kakelugns: Salvage One, 1524 S. Sangamon St., 312-733-0098.
Prices are $2,000 for a Swedish kakelugn and $7,400 for a French Rococo version.
For repairs, restoration and installation: Steve Patzer of S. Patzer & Co. of St. Charles; call 630-584-1081.
