Friday, April 25, 2014

Taking a seat....

Finding the right chair for the right spot can drive one silly! I know when I was looking for stools for our kitchen island it took me months to find the right ones....they had to fit my decor, but above all else be comfortable. What type of occasional chairs would work in our open concept kitchen/great room? I knew that I wanted to have seating for as many guests as possible, but I didn't want it to look like an assembly! Plus, I was working on the idea, that I wanted to reuse as much of my existing furniture as possible after the renovation...that was the operative word...reuse!

I have owned this Henry Link wicker armchair for over twenty five years, here, in it's lovely nineteen eighty something, pink glory...in the background you can see the then dining room with the lovely floral Allison wallpaper....by RL... I loved that wallpaper..a little garish when it came to serving spaghetti in there ! All the ladies loved it, just like me...and here they are flanking either side of my fireplace at Christmas, prior renovation...I think wing back chairs are so versatile, and can be used in traditional to contemporary settings..

 

Here, they are repurposed for the garden room in natural cotton linen and a toss cushion in vintage fifties curtain fabric...I think good design is timeless, and I try to keep that in mind when I purchase anything .

Here, prior to the addition of accent cushions....They are perfect for just sitting and enjoying the garden views, and serve equally well as side chairs for dining...and they are very comfortable...

These bedroom chairs were in the master bedroom for years...with the original yellow damask from when I purchased them at an estate sale in West Palm Beach... The French provincial bedroom set also came from the same sale...I remember the daughters of the lady who had owned the furniture, the day of the sale, hushed, and saddened watching their Mom's precious belongings being taken away by strangers...I was to experience the same, many years later....

Here is the beautiful, lemon yellow damask in perfect condition...

I have had this green toile for a long time, squirreled away for just the right chair...

Here they are repurposed for the great room...

I decided not to tuft them as they had been before...

These slipper chairs, as they are known, are one of my favourites as well...I had the height adjusted for sitting in this room..

I also removed the skirts to maintain a simple, clean look.

This is a look at the master bedroom today...the little vanity stool came with the dressing table from the estate sale...still with the original fabric..I debated painting the the entire set, but decided to leave it as is...

Currently this petit point French armchair is replacing the yellow damask...

I hope to add some soft brown ticking and toile to this room to pull the chair together?? Thoughts?

The etched French door leads to my closet....

I am drawn to vintage chairs, they are generally better constructed, and have more generous proportions than newer ones, and the price point is better as well, because usually they need to be recovered...the photo above is unsourced, from my Pinterest boards...mixing fabrics with different textures is so appealing...

The lovely, Chloe from One Kings Lane has asked me to do a post on my favourite chair...thank you Chloe for your patience!

I was not compensated for this post.

N.xo