Design Schizophrenia: WWPPD?

 

 

My so-called attempt at less clutter – no colorful Masonware in favor of white books and white shells.

 

I wrote about this a few years ago HERE, but it doesn’t seem to get any better.  Design Schizophrenia.  Last time out, I fretted over clutter versus no clutter.  What do you do when you love the cluttered look of an old English manor, but you also love the uncluttered look of a Belgian estate?  Unless you can afford two houses, you’re out of luck.  So, here, several years later, nothing is solved, nothing has changed.  Which look do I prefer – lots of accessories or no accessories?   When I started slowly redecorating my house last year, I really tried to unclutter.  I wanted to get rid of all my accessories and just go bare.  It didn’t happen.  Yes, I got rid of some things – I put away my blue and white, red and white, black and white, and purple and white transferware – but replaced it with a collection of plain creamware.  Not as cluttered looking, but still – a collection.   I put away my colorful Masonware and replaced it with white books and white shells.  Hmm – still anxious over that one. 

 

 

Chinese altar fruit collection came out of storage, despite my attempts at de-cluttering.

 

I put away my beautiful collection of Asian altar fruit, but then pulled it out again and moved it to my bedroom to go with my new Oriental hand painted wallpaper.  Oh, and my blue opaline is there too, hiding in the bedroom.  Shoot me now.   I want to go bare, naked as a jaybird (are jaybirds more naked than bluebirds?)  but I can’t do it.   Why?????    I look to my guru, Pamela Pierce, and she has it down, cold.  No collections.   No little accessories everywhere.  Just one or two antiques or a confit pot filled with white roses.   Of course her French pots are all gloriously rustic white, while mine are yellow – at least I’ve sold most of them.  Whenever I move something around in my house, I hear this little voice, what would Pam Pierce do?   Yes, what WOULD Pam Pierce do if she came to my house?  HORRORS!  A nightmare!  Stay away!!!   Too embarrassing!   Nasty anons who post comments about my house say it’s so boring with just white slipcovers.   I take it as a compliment, boring.   I want it to be quiet and flowing and restful.   It’s not.  I’m working on it, though.   I wish I were Pam Pierce, the queen of editing.   The queen of gorgeous slipcovers.  The queen of fabulous antiques that you never see in a shop.   Yes, what would PP do? 

 

I love a glorious English garden with roses and flox and wildflowers all in a mess.   But….

 

But then I look at Pam Pierce’s garden.  Just box and French jardinières and more box and a few gorgeous antique lanterns.  And a simple French iron table.   Sometimes simple is much, much prettier.  How would you love to walk into this front door each day????

 

 

I adore this entry from Lynn Von Kersting – such a beautiful railing with sensuous lines.   But….

 

But…then I see this entry from Pam Pierce – no railing at all.  A simple outdoor concrete pot filled with flowers.  There are only 2 accessories, plus two pots of flowers.  Heavenly.

 

I did a backflip over this dining room by Michelle Nussbaumer.   We must be alike, she also likes skirted tables, and I have those same pots flanking the fireplace and a clam shell is on my mantel too.   Laughing – we are SO alike!  not!  I wish though.    This dining room is so vibrant and happy.  It makes me smile.  It’s cluttered in an orderly fashion.  It’s soo Michelle.

 

And then I see this dining room by Pierce.  Quiet with touches of pale lavender linen.  Such a subtle hint of color.    Very few accessories.   The trolley is actually used to hold dishes and glasses – which become a decorative statement.  No accessories that aren’t really used.  Lesson to be learned. 

 

 

I liked this dining room recently seen in Elle Décor.  It’s youthful and fun and creative.  Friendly and vivacious. 

 

But would it ever replace this quietly elegant dining room by Jane Moore, another Houston great?  One accessory, well two if you count the ironstone pot’s top.   The clock and chandelier become the decorative elements – they speak so much louder than a mass of transferware.  You appreciate their beauty without having to fight to see it.  Lesson learned.

 

 

 

Such a beautiful, classic dining room by Nicholas Haslam.   All the chinoiserie elements work together instead of fighting each other.   So perfect really – this would be hard to emulate.  I love this look until….

 

Until, I see this breakfast room by Pam Pierce – and drool.  A light –is that lilac or gray linen? colored slipcover becomes the star, along with a set of painted antique doors.   The table is a knockout too.   No one does slips as pretty as Pierce.   I’ve tried to copy them, but it’s hard to copy perfection.   Notice how they just slightly drape the floor and how they are gathered in double pleats – or are those triple pleats?   Notice the sink on the back wall.   And the pots – something utilitarian - becomes a decorative element.

 

A beautiful French living room, seen recently in Veranda.   Makes your heart flutter.  That mass of blue and white vases, the collection of English smalls on every table top.  Elegant – a collection gathered over a lifetime. 

 

 

 

Or this living room by Charles Faudree – the interior designer who invented American French design with his layers of accessories and tables and chairs.  so beautiful!  Who can resist this?  I can’t.

 

Or this living room, with its mixture of contemporary and antique.  Well balanced and interesting, subtle yet cluttered.  Loving the mix of the Barcelona chaise with the French antiques.  I love this look…

 

But then I see this living room from Pierce, with its own version of a mix of contemporary and antique.  The Barcelona chaise looks perfectly at home with the white linen slipped sofas.   There’s even a trendy bricklayer table mixed in with rustic antique tables.   The accessories are so subtle, you don’t even notice them – except for the confits filled with white roses.   The rough, wide planked floor is left uncovered – adding another subtle decorative element. 

 

I adore Alessandra Branca’s style.  She is one of a kind.  Born in Rome she brings a unique European sensibility to her U.S. designs.  She loves the cluttered look – enough is never enough.   Here she mixes fabrics upon fabrics to create interest and texture.   Je’adore!

 

But then, talking of European sensibility.  Whoa.  Gorgeous.  Is this Houston?   Looks like France to me.  Love how Pierce separated the French Duchesse en Brisee into two areas.  Notice how high and deep her down cushions are!  Love the tall Swedish table in the middle of it all and the subtle gray and white rug.   The architecture – the walls, the windows, and the floors add to the perfection.

 

I love this busy family room by Peter Dunham.  Love his fabrics, his mix of patterns, his apple matting – love it all.  Cluttered, yet interesting, comfy and warm.

 

 

But, then I see this sitting room by Pierce – with more beautiful slipcovers – again, double pleated, slightly draping on the floor.  She takes four different pieces and creates a set with the matching slips.   The steel windows are left uncovered, as are the floors – each adding important texture.   Her bakers rack is filled with confits and flowers – that’s all.    I love how Pierce never uses patterned fabrics.  Just linens and sometimes a touch of silk velvet.   Love that. 

 

I mean, I try.   This is my coffee table EDITED.  Too funny!!!  The more I edit, the more things grow and multiply.  I can’t seem to give anything up.  The more I put away, the more I seem to have.   I need Pierce’s touch.  WWPPD?

 

 

Here’s how Pierce does a coffee table, interesting, simple.  This room has a masculine vibe – as if it’s a man’s study perhaps.

 

 

Or a side table, with just one perfect pot and twelve white roses. 

 

 

Or here, with one sconce and a few pots.   I’ve never seen a sconce this beautiful in my neighborhood antique stores.   Where does Pierce find such perfect things?  Such a perfect vignette.

 

 

 

Makes me want to go get the Barcelona chaise in white.  And that mirror too, if I could find it.   All photos of Pierce’s work are by Peter Vitale, author of that great book The Divine Home, HERE.  Vitale also does interior design, very similar in feel to Pierce’s work – uncluttered and peaceful with a mix of beautiful antiques.  Vitale’s web site is HERE.  Pam Pierce’s new web site is HERE where you can see many more pictures of her work.  I could stare at her web site for hours on end and sometimes do, just hoping to soak up some of her talent.

 

Well, I am thoroughly depressed now.   I get that way when I see pictures of a designer whose work I greatly admire!   I want to be that talented!   I guess I should be thankful I’m not competitive by nature or I would have an ulcer by now.   What is your design schizophrenia?  Are there two looks you love that contradict themselves?    Or do you just like one style and stick with it (much better if you are like that.)    Is there a designer you really admire?   Would you be embarrassed to have them to your house?    I have a whole long list of Houston designers that aren’t allowed anywhere near my house!   Not even counting the national ones like Buatta, Easton, Moss, et al.   Forget them!   If they want to come over for tea, we’ll just have to meet at the Four Seasons.  Period.  No exceptions. 

 

 

 

The last blog story featured a barn door in the foyer.  Here I wanted to show you this barn door by Martyn Lawrence Bullard that he put in the family room leading into the kitchen in Ozzy Osbourne’s house.   Isn’t it great?   Love it!!  Featured in Architectural Digest. 

 

And finally…..

Houstonian Leslie Sinclair, of Segreto Finishes, has recently completed her first book!     Probably most of the better houses in Houston that I've featured had walls done by Leslie’s company.    Segreto specializes in gorgeous plasters and fauxs on wood.  Their work is all very subtle – adding a layer of texture and a sophistication to the house.   The book is filled with page after page of some of the most beautiful houses.  To preorder, go HERE.   Be sure to look at the schedule of book signings.  Congratulations Leslie!    You’re the best!!!

Coffee Tables 101

 

 

When I showed my newly remodeled living room a few weeks ago, I got a lot of comments.  Many were positive and liked the new decor, but many didn’t like the changes at all.  I got a lot of ideas from the comments – some I actually liked, such as use a zebra rug instead of the white cowhide.  The majority of the negative comments concerned my coffee table, which is actually a side table or small  desk.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

The negative comments came mainly from those who felt my coffee table was too high and that the room would benefit from and look better if I had a low coffee table or an ottoman where people could put their feet up on it.   Well, this is a living room, and I’m not sure people need to put their feet up in there.   The main reason I wanted a high tea table is that the ceiling is so high in this room – and I felt a low coffee table or ottoman would accentuate the height.    With the tea table, the distance between the ceiling and the floor is closed somewhat.    This is also why I hung the chandelier so low – I tried to draw the eye down instead of up.    The tea table height is closer to the chandelier than a low coffee table would be – again fooling the eye that the ceiling is not quite so high.    But still, in truth, I happen to like high coffee tables, regardless of the ceiling height.                                                                                                                                                                             

 

In my family room, where a high ceiling is not an issue, I again opted for a higher than normal coffee table.   It’s actually an antique French dough table and it sits several inches above the sofa cushion.  Still it was a huge issue with Ben who likes to lie down and watch tv.  We  had to measure the height of the table and then he had to lie down to test it out before I could keep this table.  I had to prove to him that it was low enough for him to sleep and watch tv at the same time – yep. 

 

I’d like to rearrange my family room and put this table in front of the tv and the two large slip covered chairs next to it.  This was, the two chairs and table would face the sofa.  I think the room would be better balanced this way, but Ben is worried I would pile it high with things, like it is now, and it would block that damn tv.   So for now, the table sits in the corner.  Before I got the dough table, I had wanted this oval wine tasting table to be my “coffee table” – but it really was too high.  I just prefer a high coffee table over a low one.

 

All this talk of coffee tables got me thinking about them.   A major problem with coffee tables is -  if you like antiques, you aren’t going to find a “real” coffee table.  There just aren’t any.

 

No coffee table at the Petit Trianon – instead there is a high table, ready for tea.

 

A Short History of the Coffee Table:

Before the 18th century, tables that were used next to a high-backed settee were either end tables, center tables or tea tables.   Once high-backed settees were replaced with lower back sofas, console tables were placed behind the sofa and were used for drinks.  The high tea tables were used to place a tea service upon it, but these tables bear no resemblance to today’s low, long or round coffee tables.  The first known coffee table was produced in 1868 – though it was 27” high,  many inches taller than today’s coffee tables.   Lower coffee tables were first used in the Victorian Era through the influence of Japan.   Their dining tables became western coffee tables.   Besides the low Japanese tables, it wasn’t until the 20th century that the true coffee table came along. 

 

 

Elsie de Wolfe, early 20th century.  As you can see, there are no coffee tables here. 

 

In the 20th century, both the Arts and Crafts Movement and Art Nouveau developed long low tables which are considered precursors to today’s coffee tables.     But some historians connect the beginning of the coffee table to fashion magazines published in 1915.  Before this time, furniture and tables were used primarily along the perimeter of the room.  When these fashion magazines showed a table, similar to today’s coffee table,  in the middle of the room, the look took off immediately.    People in Europe and the US began to place low tables in front of their sofas instead of behind or next to it.   Thus, today’s coffee table was born.  Once the coffee table became popular, it was made in the style of other furniture, like Georgian III or Louis XVI.  But, there is no period Georgian III or Louis XVI coffee tables.  Coffee tables are truly an invention of the 20th century.

 

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So, what do you do if you like antiques and want an antique table with its rich patina to use a coffee table?  Since there are no true antique coffee tables, what are good alternatives to the typical wood or glass low coffee table?

 

Kay O’Toole uses an antique chinoiserie tea table instead of a coffee table.

 

Here, an antique French side table is used instead of a modern coffee table.

 

A high French antique end table is used here.    When you use a high table like this, you can add a short chair in front – as shown.  This owner also layered another shorter table under the higher one.  Love this look.

 

Pam Pierce used a Swedish end table as a coffee table.

 

 

 

Antique chests make are great alternatives to a new coffee table.  They add so much rustic texture to a room.

 

An high end table is used – mixed in with Swedish antique chairs and benches.

 

Another alternative is an antique bench or footstool.  

 

This high table is the perfect choice for this small settee.

 

Ethnic tables make wonderful coffee tables. 

 

Mary McDonald used an antique round table instead of a low, rectangular coffee table.

 

In this house, Mary McDonald used an assortment of ethnic tables and antique benches instead of a new coffee table.

 

 

 

Here Kathryn Ireland used an antique chinoiserie table with a high profile.

 

In Martyn Lawrence Bullard’s house, is it an antique or a reproduction?  Not sure – but the table sits high – right above the sofa cushions.

 

A great alternative to a glass table is an upholstered ottoman – Alessandra Branca.

 

At home, Branca uses an assortment of tables – an antique Japanese table and a tole tray.

 

Here, Suzanne Rheinstein also used an assortment of antique tables in lieu of coffee tables.

 

An Oriental table is used in Rheinstein’s NY apartment.

 

Here Rheinstein uses an accent table.

 

The oval racetrack ottoman designed by Rheinstein – Windsor Smith uses this ottoman aloteeeeeeeeee.

 

A tufted ottoman – used by Windsor Smith – much more interesting than a glass coffee table.

 

Windsor Smith – using Rheinstein’s racetrack ottoman.

 

French wine tables make great coffee tables.

 

Lynn Von Kersting uses ethnic side tables in her designs.

 

This red chest is so much more interesting here instead of a traditional coffee table.

 

It looks like Sheila Bridges used the ottoman from a chaise here.  Such a pretty room!

 

 

 

Another chest used in this beach house.

 

One of my favorite chests ever – Ginger Barber in a Houston high rise.  I wish I had this picture without all the writing on it!!!

 

A large round table is used here, along with a stool from a chaise. 

 

 

Two sofas share an antique French table here.   Pam Pierce.

 

 

I love this ottoman covered by a loose tapestry.  So pretty.

 

A small, tall bamboo table – Pam Pierce.

 

 

I still love tole trays on stands. 

 

 

Michael Smith used an Oriental table here.

 

A Swedish  side table adds so much texture and patina.

 

Here, an end table is used in front of a French settee.

 

This owner used a chinoiserie desk!  Love this!

 

This red chinoiserie table is actually a reproduction.  But it really looks like an antique here.

 

This tea table doubles as a dining table.  The kitchen is located behind the sofa. 

 

John Saladino used three pieces of antique marble to create this coffee table.

 

Cut down the legs of an antique dining table to create a coffee table with patina and age.  Notice how high the table is – several inches above the sofa cushions.

 

In this French house, the owners used a large chinoiserie chest.

 

J. Randall Powers used a Melrose House table in this townhouse bedroom.

 

And he used a Brunschwig and Fils table in the living room. 

 

One or two garden stools are an alternative to a standard coffee table.

 

Finally, all sorts of versions of the brick layer table is fast becoming THE coffee table to have today – instead of a glass table.   The idea is to marry a rustic top with a clean line, iron frame.  Here, Michael Smith shows how it is done.

 

So, what is your favorite coffee table?  Do you like a glass or wood coffee table?  Or do you like to use an antique chest or table instead?  Would you prefer a high table or a low table?  A chest or an ottoman??