Saturday, January 29, 2011

Dressing Table… Love

I found this lovely dressing table from Pottery Barn & I just knew I needed to share it with all of you….

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I am loving the bust covered in pearls, the mirror is just right & the chandelier above to the side is… well wonderful.

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Looking forward to my next visit to Pottery Barn…

How about you, are you loving this as much as I am?

Comments wanted….

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Client Presentation: Jan 25,2011

Presentation Set up

Floor Plan Jan 25 2011

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Lazboy Stationary, Mackenzie Sofa

J 978208 D 978406

22” & 18” Pillows 

 Luca Ottoman 414

Lazboy Luca Ottoman in Leather

chair_401 in J 978208

Lazboy Allegra Chairs on each side of the sofa.

art over sofa Artwork over Sofa

Sofa Fabric and Pillow Fabrics 

Sofa Ottoman Area Rug

Surya Area Rug a109-58

Surya Art Rug 9’ x 13’… Client colour request: Red of the kitchen walls, Green of the powder room walls.

New Paint on Living room  wall, Benjamin Moore AF 325 Rattan

78 022 Rosecroft Table Lamps

Kincaid, Rosecroft End Tables (works with clients dining room, Table Lamp

Floor Lamp Artwork Eldorado recliner_423

Floor Lamp & Eldorado Leather Recliner.

Artwork behind Recliner 78 021 Rosecroft

Art behind the recliner, Kincaid, Rosecroft chairside table for recliner.

This was fun to design with so much colour, all my designs are totally client driven… The plaid chair was clients idea… love when they want to have fun with the room.  I so love the artwork I found for this client, great scale and colour…

House sealed up for 100 years, reopened….

A late 19th Century town-house in central France that was sealed up for more than 100 years has finally been opened to the public in accordance with its owner's last wishes.

images Louis Mantin

Louis Mantin was an aesthete and gentleman of leisure who bequeathed his opulent home to the town of Moulins on condition that a century later it be a museum.

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After he died in 1905, the mansion was closed up and fell into dilapidation. Now thanks to a 3.5m euro ($4.7m; £2.9m) refit funded by local authorities, it has been returned to its original pristine state.

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The result is a remarkable time-capsule, combining rich fin-de-siecle furnishings, archaeological curios, skulls and other Masonic paraphernalia, a collection of stuffed birds, as well as the latest domestic gadgets such as electricity and a flushing loo.

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wow

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Life of pleasure

Born in Moulins in 1851, Mantin had an undistinguished career as a civil servant, but at the age of 42, he inherited a fortune from his father and thenceforth dedicated his life to pleasure, science and the arts.

First of all he had his mansion constructed in the centre of Moulins on the site of a former palace of the dukes of Bourbon, the local rulers who were heirs to the French and Spanish royal houses.

Then he decorated the house with imported tapestries, paintings and porcelain.

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He commissioned sculptures and wood-carvings, and on the top floor installed his personal museum of Egyptian relics, Neolithic oil-lamps, prehistoric flints and medieval locks and keys.

clip_image001The house was gradually forgotten by the world, but not by locals

Mantin only had a few years to indulge his aesthetic fantasies. Knowing that his death was approaching, he made a will in which he made sure his treasured house would be saved.

"In the will, he says that he wants the people of Moulins in 100 years time to be able to see what was the life of a cultured gentleman of his day," said assistant curator Maud Leyoudec.

"A bachelor with no children, he was obsessed with death and the passage of time. It was his way of becoming eternal."

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Some confusion surrounds the exact terms of the will.

Louis Mantin

According to local people, Mantin specifically said that the house should be locked up for a century and then opened up to the public.

However the truth is less sensational, if only slightly.

In fact, Mantin stipulated simply that in 100 years time the mansion should be a museum. He said nothing about what should happen in between.

fireplace

books

Collective memory

The fact that the house was totally abandoned was thus not a predetermined condition - it was just what actually took place.

"The house was gradually forgotten by the world. But not by the people of Moulins," said Mantin's great-niece Isabelle de Chavagnac.

clip_image002As well as electricity, the house had modern bathrooms

"Here everybody was waiting for the day when a 100 years would have passed and the house would be opened once again. It is odd how the collective memory of a place never dies."

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Curiously it was Isabelle de Chavagnac - as one of Mantin's last known descendants - who played a key role in getting the house re-opened.

Under the will, the house would have reverted to her had it not been turned into a museum once the century had passed.

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She had no desire to take the possession of the house. Quite the contrary, she wanted Mantin's wishes to be fulfilled.

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But by threatening to exercise her right in law to take back the mansion, she forced the local authorities to act. They found the money to renovate, and the house opened at the end of 2010.

Five years late, but no-one is counting…

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Remember scale, colour, space planning does matter, Design Presentation Jan 4 2011

This client started by purchasing (without design help) a loveseat, 2 overly large recliners and 2 armless chairs, nothing fit properly … the day they were delivered she called our manager and asked for design help…. This redo cost her 25% restocking fee to return what she had ordered !  Expensive lesson !   I was called in to measure and come up with a new design for the room… weeks later the presentation you see below happened… Lets just say they are very happy they had me fix the problems… remember scale, colour, space planning… really does matter….
Presentation set up
Presentation set up…
Floor Plan for new room
Sofa fabric w Pillow fabrics
Sofa, with pillow fabrics from the Kincaid Collection… I uses the new Custom Select Sofa’s,  clients get to pick from 4 back shapes, 4 different arm shapes and 2 different legs or a skirt.  After that they get to pick from 4 different cushion fills which is becoming very popular because each design comes out different for each client.
We are loving this in our office…thank you Kincaid
recliner fabric choices chair_4480
Recliner fabric choices for client… they picked the middle fabric…
 lamp for colour 83 021
Table & Lamp 83 020 Keswick Rd TB
Tables from the Kincaid, Keswick Collection, Lamp used to repeat the colour of clients walls and repeat the design on the sofa fabric…
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Floor lamp used beside the Lazboy Riley Recliner….
clients CT top clients TB leg
Clients going to stain this table to match the new tables, it will look wonderful….
area rug close up
close up of Hammary Collection area rug…
I did not spec artwork for this room, client had great pieces that I reconfigured over the sofa…