Checking out Chairs at ADAC - Trend Watching

Chairs Display at ADAC

Several days ago link I discussed a day session at ADAC in mid-town Atlanta sponsored by the Hearst Design Group and ADAC (Atlanta Decorative Arts Center).  In addition to sitting through several informative sessions sponsored by several of the over 60 showroom patrons at the Center, I wandered around to perform my own trend observation.

Here are some ideas I walked away with that inspire my own work:

• Structural pieces (wood exposure, interesting angles and lines) are as important as ever. 
• Solid fabrics, sometimes but not always neutrals, are key to flexibility in decorating.
• Heirloom/reproduction pieces are key to not being overly matchy-matchy or too predictable creating more interesting spaces.
• Lots of painted woodwork and/or exposed lighter wood surfaces are shown in most showrooms - not too many with dark traditional wood finishes (or at least a mix of the two).
• Traditional shapes and styles like wing back, bergere/French, and regency are still (and may always be) hot!
• Oversized pieces are "out" and moderate-sized (even compact) can be just as comfortable and even "masculine". 
• Restrained but elegant woodwork (whether painted or not) are incorporated in designs - not heavy or expensive woodwork unless somehow diminished (e.g. by painting, leaving natural).

So, this review was good for my personal decorating sensibilities (styles, shapes) but also challenging in regard to my interest in highlighting upholstered furniture with great patterned fabrics - so I will address fabrics in a separate posting!

Slipper Chairs are Deceiving!

A new client stopped by over the weekend to look at a set of neutral club chairs for her new townhouse in Chattanooga, a great city on the Tennessee/Georgia border. She had her eye on a clean-cut set with comfortable arms and a back cushion. While here, she checked out some of my additional inventory and spied a set of neutral slipper chairs she had seen online but was not even considering. She thought they would be too something .... too petite, too low, too dainty, too uncomfortable - too something! But she tried them out and fell for the shape, size, comfort - the whole package. A little later they exited in her trusty Toyota Sienna to travel to her new space.

I think slipper chairs are under-appreciated and, while I usually carry at least 3-4, they do sell more slowly because of the kind of thinking reflected by my customer. I wish my online customers could have the experience of actually seeing and sitting on these great chairs.

I have just finished reading an article in the May issue of Elle Decor link to online magazine called "The Top 10 Slipper Chairs". Two designers discuss slipper chairs and identify some that have caught their eye. I found the article charming and reflective of my good opinion of slipper chairs.

The armless slipper chair was invented to suit the needs of Victorian women dressed in sweeping gowns, who required a low seat on which to perch while putting on their footwear. But it may have found its true purpose as an entertainment essential. Its compact size and open sides allow a guest to swivel from one conversation to the another with ease.

People tend to love sitting in slipper chairs ... they generally have deep and wide seats, which make them very comfortable for lounging. 

 The slipper chairs can work particularly well in certain situations/settings:

• where space is a premium - they take up much less space than armed chairs and yet provide an ample sitting platform
• settings that require shifting of furniture to meet different needs/group sizes - they are easy to move around and can even be stowed away in discreet corners when not in use
• in front of views - the low profile hides less and allows the eye to glaze over and behind the chairs (THIS is one of the big reasons my client bought them since they were being placed in front of a big picture window)
• in small bedrooms as bedside seating

I love the variation in style and shapes and hope to convince more and more people to try them out - they will not be disappointed!