Dining Rooms Chairs with an Opinion

I finally started looking for fabrics to re-upholster my dining chairs.

In the last two weeks, I've brought home many samples of quiet neutrals but I've been utterly bored with all the choices.

On a whim yesterday, we decided to try this:

I think the black is très chic, and the look, along with my traditional china, reminds me of an old French hotel.

A while ago, I replaced the two head-of-table armchairs with upholstered linen chairs, so naturally I started looking for fabrics to coordinate with the natural linen, in both colour and texture.  But nothing has made my heart race.

The black works beautifully with both cream and the white china (apologies for my hasty styling and unironed tablecloth!)

But I wonder if I might tire of the black?

 I also vowed never to do a pattern on anything "big" after my living room rug experience (a single prominent pattern can trap you in a decorating style and preclude using certain other colours or patterns).  

But I think the black pattern works superbly with my typical palette of whites, grayed out browns, slate and gray blues and bright foliage greens.  I also have a lot of neoclassical elements (white and black art) that it relates to beautifully.

As an option, however, it occurred to me that I could upholster only four of the eight side chairs in the black, and upholster the four remaining side chairs (and the two armchairs I'm not currently using) in something neutral and coordinating, like this chenille (though not quite the right colour) or a simple linen:

Generally the table is only set for six, so I only use four side chairs at any time (in addition to the new linen chairs).  Thus, I could use all 4 black chairs on the sides for a while, and if I got bored, I could swap in the neutral side chairs.

I could also use all neutral chairs at the table and then let the black chairs flank the sideboard as shown above, for a little drama.

And if we need to set the table for 8 or 10, I can just alternate the black and the neutral-patterned chairs for an unexpected, certain je ne sais quoi look.

What think ye?

Should I just hold out for an elegant fabric that's a bit more neutral?

A few favorite things....

I haven't had much time to post lately and do apologize.  Work has been draining and my headaches and back pain have been exceptionally bad.  The cortisone shots in my neck, for which I missed 4 afternoons at work, have not helped.  And David's away for business this week, meaning that I am doubly busy after work, keeping up the garden, cooking a meal or two, reading for my book club, and trying to exercise more (which isn't easy when you have a very bad back and come home from work every day with a blistering headache).  Ahhh...my woes!  

So to drown my sorrows and string you along, I'm posting a collection of somewhat disparate images I've collected over the past few weeks that seem to sum up my current "style" crushes.  

This little hare (above), by Renaissance painter Albrecht Durer, will soon be mine.  I plan to buy and frame this print for my front hall (of course, it will end up elsewhere). 

He is particularly fitting since our neighborhood is full of wild hares...you see a dozen if you go for a walk in the evening!  

I also love these fabrics (below) from Designers Guild, one of my favorite drool-worthy English fabric sites.  They have a wonderful historical look:

Or you can buy these beautiful fabrics, made up into charming pillows.  These are in my favorite shade of brown (which reminds me of milk chocolate), a colour on which I am currently fixated!:

I am also fond of this Gustavian chair, from Country Living.  I've been writing a post on neo-classical furniture for some time now, but I can't wait any longer to post this handsome beast:

I also love this little shelf and candle holder from Tracy Porter:

And the pièce de résistance, my new dining room!  Just kidding - this room is by London's modern glamour decor goddess Helen Green who threw in some traditional elements just for me. Bless her timelessly sophisticated heart):

The chandelier!  Those slate drapes!  The architecture!  Those sconces!  The fireplace!  The chaise!  The table!  The chairs!  But you could remove all the furniture and I would still be happy to live in this room.

Have a great week!

Decor Planning: My Living & Dining Rooms

The last couple of weeks I've spent every free hour poring over decorating magazines trying, once and for all, to coordinate a colour scheme for my living and dining room. It isn't an easy process as I have existing furniture and rugs to use, and also some prints and accessories I want to incorporate. I've pulled so many inspiration boards together with different palettes, but think I've finally settled on a colour scheme (which I'll explain later, with photos!).
Fabric and paint colours are taking up so much time! I've brought home countless sample pots from Farrow & Ball and Benjamin Moore and can't count how many big sheets of bristol board I've painted. Evenings and weekends have been spent moving these big chips around the room at various times of the day to catch the light and see how the colours read.

I've also been hunting for fabrics for new drapery panels. I've finally settled on linen as my fabric of choice because there seems to be a solid selection and some very pretty colours at the shop I chose to sew my projects. I will have them make panels and a new valance for my dining room.

I've been meaning to post photos of the room and ask for your help. But instead, I became obsessed with doing it myself. It seemed too hard to try to photograph all the disparate elements of the room and explain everything. Eventually I'll re-upholster a chair, slip-cover another, re-frame some prints, and so on and it seemed too tedious to explain it all to you! In the end, there were the choices my heart wanted and then the sensible choices that worked best for the room. Decorating is a balancing act when you can't do a whole room from scratch!

This week, I'll do some measurements and hopefully have the shop start sewing my items (unless I change my mind). I haven't settled on an exact paint colour yet, but at least I picked a palette and have some front-runners lined up!

Besides that I've been voraciously reading design books and have fallen in love with Michael S. Smith's gorgeous book "Elements of Style" which is just what the doctor ordered this week for some serious aesthetic inspiration!

Hope your week is wonderful! I'll share some photos of my ideas soon.

Photos: House of Linnea