Decorating with White - Light and Bright!

Decorating with Crisp Whites (and punches of other colors)!

This weekend, my husband and I took a drive to take advantage of the early fall crisp blue sunshine to drop off a set of chairs for a long-time customer.  This was my first visit to her lovely home and she proudly showed me not only her sweet new daughter, Jane, but also the pieces she had previously bought from me - a colorful chaise for her older daughter's room, a chair and ottoman for the family room, and a set of her own heirloom chairs she had me redo.  What a joy to see my "babies" in this lovely setting.

But the main focus of this discussion is the great vintage chaise I purchased on our way through Flowery Branch, a sleepy town near the Lake Lanier area of northern Georgia.  I am having it redone in a wonderful bright white textured fabric that I picked up earlier in the weekend at a designer's estate/moving sale.  This got me thinking about using white and white with other colors in decorating.  I am talking about snow white either as the primary color or as a crisp background.

I found a number of great articles and photos on the subject and picked up a couple of quotes including tips for decorating with bright white:

Crisp whites combined with punches of bright colors immediately transport you to the coast.  

Southern Living Magazine

When Glenn and Barb Timmerman built their Door County, Wisconsin, retirement home, they knew what the dominant color would be: white. Barb is crazy for white, outfitting all her past homes -- regardless of whether it was considered fashionable at the time -- in white, white and more white. 

Don't use white to be safe. Make it a deliberate part of your decorating scheme. Why?

1. It has importance. It highlights unique architecture, but also can add contrast and significance to nondescript trim 

2. It's bright. It expands space by reflecting light. 

3. It unifies. Disparate design elements come together on its uncolored backdrop. 

4. It's versatile. Varied whites mix easily in a room, as long as they're on different surfaces and textures. 

5. It's timeless. Use white for walls and furniture, and when trends, seasons or personal preferences change, just swap out colored accents. 

6. It can transform. An old piece of furniture can become high style with a coat of enamel white. 

7. It's practical. Dust doesn't show (though scratches might). A slipcover can be easily bleached to look new.

 Midwest Living Magazine

Decorating with White

Loveseat and Chair with Crisp White Background (chair sold) 

Sherrill Chair in Snow White

Vintage Chaise - White Woodwork (sold)

Example of Collaboration - You Choose Fabric

Several weeks ago, I discussed the fact that I would be selling more items as a "You Choose Fabric" option.  I get a LOT of questions from website and eBay customers asking if a particular piece of refurbished furniture can be redone in another fabric - something that would work better with their decor.  I always tell that that YES, it can be done BUT the cost would be prohibitive since the cost of the expert upholstery work has already been incurred.  Upholstery labor costs are by far my highest cost so redoing adds quite a bit to the price.  So, I have been listing 5-7 items as "Before" pieces that can be redone in a fabric of the buyer's choice from my inventory of good value fabrics.  The customer can also provide their own fabrics which has happened as well.

I can't say this campaign has quickly caught on but I do have an early success story and others potentially in the works.  This French country style chair was offered as a "You Choose Fabric" option on eBay and purchased, along with another piece of furniture already redone, by an Ohio customer.   Before finalizing the purchase, I showed the customer a number of photos of fabrics based on her interests.  She choose one but asked that it be draped over the chair which helped her visualize what it might look like.  The fabric she selected is a very high-end Cowtan and Tout hand-printed linen in dark brown on a taupish gold background - very stunning!  One challenge was the woodwork which was a lighter maple finish (and truthfully a little worn).  The fabric, a bold brown and dark goldish taupe, didn't blend well with the color of the woodwork. I suggested that the woodwork be redone in a dark brown to match the fabric colors and found the exact right shade of spray paint at my local Ace hardware store.

Here is the result - I was thrilled with the outcome and even more thrilled that the customer loves it as well!

Before Piece - "You Choose Fabric" French Country Chair

After Piece - Cowtan and Tout Fabric

After Piece - Note Woodwork

Farm Fresh Neutrals - Pair with your Favorite Wine

I love this article in the October issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine featuring advice from San Francisco designer Kelly Keiser.  She supports the use of neutrals in home decor for not just their versatility bur also their emotional value:

"Because we live in such a color-filled, busy world, coming home to a calm, neutral space feels like a breath of fresh air"

Ms. Keiser describes the broad range of neutrals from "buttery yellow" to "rustic brown".   Even colors like beige have a lot of variation from grayish, to greenish, to khaki.  I particularly like the statement she makes about coordinating with neutrals:

"Anything you find in a wineglass works well with neutrals from champagne to rose to merlot."

While the emphasis of her article is on the use of neutrals in backgrounds and paints, it also applies to the furnishings in the room.  Using neutral fabrics in home furnishings gives you a lot of choices in hues, textures, and patterns - a lot of versatility - and work so well with a nice Italian red wine.   Now, who could beat that combination!

Here are some neutral pieces from my current collection:

Baker Loveseat in Schumacher Textured Pale Taupe (black piping)

Hickory Chair Edwardian Chairs in Cream Linen and Crewel 

Vintage Settee in Sunburst Silk

Tall Skirted Chairs in Striped Cream on Cream

Club Chairs in Buttery Yellow (Pair)

Fine American Furniture - A Toast to HIckory Chair

I love Hickory Chair - about the best American furniture still being manufactured today!  I just received my October issue of Traditional Home and saw a wonderful article titled:  Better Than Expected.  The article is written in celebration of Hickory Chair's 100 year anniversary.  I also discovered their founding slogan:  "Chairs made better than seems necessary" - a quaint concept but perhaps true.   The company is located in Hickory, North Carolina (of course).  Amongst their many distinctions,  Hickory Chair pioneered the creation of reproduction furniture such as the James River Collection - the oldest collection of 18th century mahogany reproduction furniture in America.  Designers Thomas O'Brien, Mariette Himes Gomez, Alexa Hampton, and Atlantan Suzanne Kasler all have created collections for the company.

I am an avid label watcher and nothing is better than the Hickory Chair label when buying quality upholstered furniture worthy of refurbishing.  I have had quite a few pieces in MY collections and hope to continue to find many more!

Hickory Chair - James River Collection (sold)

Hickory Chair Armless Chairs

Hickory Chair Vintage Club Chairs (sold)

Hickory Chair Sheridan Settee and French Chair (sold)

Before and After - Vicki's Chairs

Vicki's (VT) Estate Sale Sign

I have previously written about attending many of Vicki's Estate Sales in the Atlanta metropolitan areas and finding some great pieces.  I must admit that Vicki is true to her primary customer (the person who hired her to run the sale and maximize their share of the profits) so often I do not get her to agree to my price-point but sometimes I luck out and am able to buy furniture with great potential.  My price-point, by the way, has been carefully developed over more than eight years of professionally refurbishing and selling heirloom quality furniture.  The formula goes something like this:  I  need to be able to spent money on custom, expert upholstery work and throw in a really nice fabric that will enable me to sell - mostly to on-line customers - at a price they are willing to pay.  Put this all together, and I need to get really good prices on my "before" pieces.

Here are some recent before and after pieces purchased at Vicki's sales.  All were refurbished in neutral fabrics.

Before - Custom Finish Wingback Chair

Before - Tall Wingback Chair

Before - Vintage Chair

After - Custom Finish WIngback

After - Tall Wingback (sold)

After - Vintage Chair

Fall Decorating - Ready for Red

My Red Dining Room

My October Better Homes and Garden Magazine included this great article called "Ready for Red":

Whether you opt for carmine or crimson, scarlet or wine, in fashion or at home, this classic hue will make you feel warm, inside and out.

Hancock and Moore Martha Washington Chair in Red Check

Mitchell Gold (Storehouse) Chair and Ottoman in Red Boucle Fabric

Vintage Ethan Allen Chair in Crimson Red (sold)

Vintage Woodmark Chairs in Ralph Lauren (sold)

The article goes on to say that red is fall's "hottest" color.  Red is actually my all-time favorite color and I love how it brightens any space.  It can be used extravagantly  (my dining room walls are a rich two-striped red wallpaper AND the rug is a red chinese pattern) or in small doses - the article suggests thinking about red shoes as an accessory to a more neutral or black outfit.  Which brings me to my final point, red is a primary color and really does go well with just about anything else - think red and yellow, red and blue, red and green, etc. etc.  Red is such a great addition to any room!

Upholstered Furniture Ideas - Banquettes

Neutral Armless Banquette

The word banquette means “little bench” and is sometimes referred to as a settee or upholstered bench.  The compact pieces are popularly used to add interesting seating options to kitchens, game rooms and other settings.  They also work well in foyers or hallways because of their narrow proportions and depths. 

Armless Banquette in Silk (sold) 

Armless Banquette in Tapestry

Comfortable banquette seating at a table requires careful attention to the details of proportion. The height and depth of the seat, the slope of the back and the finished material will all impact comfort.  Some otherwise labeled loveseats and settees can often be used for table seating as long as the proportions are correct. The dimensions and proportion of a comfortable dining room chair can be used as a guideline for creating banquette seating. Often custom designed, they can be created to maximize the available space, which might be straight, L-shaped, curved, or a U-shaped design. The best design is one that offers access (or escape) from either end. This eliminates the ‘trapped’ feeling people often feel when they sit in a booth.

Banquette Seating Using Traditional Loveseat

Banquette Seating using Curved Wingback Loveseat