Last August I posted about four Regency chairs that were a gift from my friend Sandy. I talked about them and their interesting history in Pompeii No. 24,
here.
The chairs were painted an awful mustard yellow, and had very dated upholstery. When I took them to a local refinisher, I discovered that they were made of mahogany, but that they also had endured several repairs. The refinisher insisted that he could redo them so that I'd never notice the repairs, but he doesn't know me too well! I opted to paint them instead.
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| kohlerinteriors.com |
I toyed with the idea of painting my chairs black and gold and upholstering them in a red fabric (which might have approximated the handsome Regency chairs above) but in the end, I decided to use colors from the mural. It's a small room, after all, and I wanted the chairs to complement rather than overshadow the art.
I had the chairs painted a color to match Sherwin Williams' "Arresting Auburn," and had them upholstered in a moire silk to match Sherwin Williams' "Alaea." Those are the two colors that one sees as the mural's columned backgrounds.
One of the refinished chairs
Here's one of the chairs in place. The chair and mural colors are more in sync than this photograph shows. Note that the back of the chair is level with the painted chair rail.
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Here's the first full view of the Pompeii Room as it appears today. Because the room is quite small, the chairs will eventually be grouped around a small table that will fit either under the window or against the wall opposite the right-hand doorway.
There are still details to address — the table I mentioned, a lamp for the table, a window treatment to replace the venetian blinds that I've been graying out, the tympanum that my faithful commentors urged me to detail, and the painting of a marble plaque to go over the window.
Those will all happen in due time.
But don't go away!! In my next posting, the mural of the Pompeii Room will migrate to the next room. I hope you'll be there for the next chapter!
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Beautifully done, Mark. You made a wonderful choice in the paint color and in the upholstery . As always you keep us coming back for more!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
xoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
Featuring:Turquerie
Dear Karena,
DeleteIt was great fun choosing the upholstery material, because I could have picked up one of any number of colors that appear on the wall. For a while, I was leaning towards lavender.
Wishing you a great weekend, too — stay warm!
Hello Mark, What a difference in those chairs, between the refinisher's ministrations and yours! I like your choice of color, which makes them seem a three-dimensional extension of what is going on around them, while the purplish tint alludes to their underlying mahogany origin.
ReplyDeleteI am excited to see the next batch of revelations.
--Jim
Hello, Jim,
DeleteThe color of the chair does approximate mahogany, and that was part of my decision-making process. It was not easy to find cloth in the "Alaea" shade, and as it turned out, after I went to the biggest fabric store in the Tampa Bay area, I ended up finding the right color fabric in the upholsterer's shop.
Stay tuned for the next wall!
the chairs have such a beautiful line to them. Love the upholstery choice too!
ReplyDeleteHi, Stefan,
DeleteI've always been a sucker for moire silk, and that detail tipped me over to the final choice. The chairs do have a lovely line, and fortunately for me, their garish sales color obscured the lovely form to others!
Dear Mark - the chairs look wonderful and fit into your Pompeii Room perfectly. I like your attention to detail even down to making the chair rails the correct height for the chair backs.
ReplyDeleteThe colour is what I think of as Oxblood, which seems very appropriate as the Roman's used their blood for sacrificial purposes.
Dear Rosemary,
DeleteIn the last photograph, the chair rail looks a little lower than the chair back, but that is a result of the angle at which the photograph was taken. I have several Korean ceramics that are glazed in Oxblood, which was a favorite color of my father's.
LOL! I had to laugh, you are much more restrained than I am. I would have gilded, painted and textiled those chairs up too much. I love the pop of gold on the medallion. Nice job, sir. I am ready for the next chapter as well!
ReplyDeleteDear Theresa,
DeleteI was tempted to gild too, but I really didn't want anything to compete (too much) with the mural. Those medallions are brass, and can you imagine, they were painted!? The medallion on one chair had its convex center dented in, and I took it to a jeweler who restored it so that one could never tell.
It's a nice connection that the medallions pay homage to the shield in your mural, (sixth photo down). I think referencing other designs in a scheme is very effective.
ReplyDeleteDear Columnist,
DeleteI wish I could take credit for that wonderful bit of serendipity, but in fact you've pointed out something that I had myself missed! I'll enjoy the refinished chairs all the more for that observation. Incidentally, I was taking a careful look at your own wonderful Regency chairs when I was considering a color for these — red was an alternate choice.
Dear Mark, No doubt you can guess that I concur with Theresa. However, my design motto "too much is not enough" gets me into trouble at times. I can see why you don't want the chairs to compete with your beautiful wall murals...but maybe a little bitty thin stripe of gold leaf here and there...maybe? ox, Gina
ReplyDeleteDear Gina, maven of all things gilt,
DeleteYou and Theresa could persuade me to add some details to the chairs, and they wouldn't necessarily even have to be gold. I could see, for example, the rope back getting painted the Alaea color, and the knobs on the side of the seat also getting painted the Alaea color — or gold. I say, never say never!
Oh, I can't believe we're almost coming to the end of your enchanged labors, Mark. All of this looks wonderful. Can't wait to see what your little table will look like. Love the chairs. How will you protect the walls/paint from being scratched by furniture? You may have mentioned this and I just missed it. But I worry that some of that gorgeous artwork may be marred as time goes by.
ReplyDeleteHi, Yvette,
DeleteI may not have mentioned protecting the wall, but it is certainly something I've been considering. First, the wall has a slightly bumpy texture that shows up in some photographs, but which isn't apparent until one sees the wall in person from about a foot away. That texture could possible collect dirt, and if I had had any forethought, I might have replastered the wall with a smooth texture before I started the painting. Secondly, while the mural is about 98% Sherwin Williams flat paint, I've mixed in a little liquitex acrylics here and there which have added slight sheens to the wall (not apparent in any of my photos).
SO — I have been researching how I can cover the wall to both protect it and make it uniformly flat, and I know that there is a matte "varnish" on the market that will accomplish that.
P.S. I LOVE painted furniture. So glad you decided to go with it.
ReplyDelete