Sunday, July 31, 2011

Gorgeous Gilt to call my own

I have long admired french gilded chairs and when
 I see them in magazines and decorator books, 
they always catch my eye. 
But where would I run into such a piece to call my own?
 I did see a gilt french baroque sofa upholstered in hot pink velvet 
once in the markdown section of the local Salvation Army.
Like a moth to flame I raced over towards 
it only to see a big red SOLD tag on it.
Then I knew, I just had to keep my eyes open for one to come along again.
In the meantime, I have been busy working 
on my living room adding floral fabric to line the backs of the bookcases,
 just like Annette Tatum has in her living room. 
It was recently featured in the latest Romantic Country magazine, 
and since I first saw this room in her book, 
she has added a gilded French wing chair, upholstered in cream linen.
Oh I loved this addition, and was both jealous 
and full of admiration at the same time. 
But today was a new day~and look what I came across
 at the most fabulous antique coop I discovered in my own backyard.
There she sat...
 Original upholstery in a cranberry pink and yellow tapestry
 with black and gold threads.
A scene of a couple in a garden out in front of a classical building.
The fabric looks like cut velvet . It is raised and 3 dimensional.
Very Marie Antoinette~but I am thinking I should reupholster in
something more sedate so you can focus on the chair, not the fabric.
I would love your opinions~would you change the original fabric?
 This is Annette's chair. It is in a cream linen.
I think it looks amazing in her space.
But back to MY chair!!
There it was sitting in an antique garage filled with wonderful things.
I was hoping I could afford it and take it home.
  I could and I did!
It has straw and horsehair stuffing.
Louis XVI furniture is marked by straight fluted legs
 and at the top of the leg is a box with a rosette inside.
This chair has to be 100 years old.
This Louis XVI chair is in Mary McDonald's new book which I just read
and highly recommend! Anyway, her chairs are painted white, which is not 
something I am going to do, but I wanted you to see the leg style with the rosette.
Her chairs are done in brown velvet.
Another gorgeous gilt chair in Mary's book.
I am loving a little gilt in a room.
Look what I didn't take home:
A French Baroque style settee, all gilded as well.
This beauty needed a little repair work, and at $125 I was sorely tempted.
Any takers?
My new Marie Antoinette chair is up in my office for now.
I would love to have it in my living room like Annette has hers,
but until it has different fabric, that is impossible.
Annette's is simple and timeless looking.
This tapestry is lovely, but bossy.
Would you change it out to linen?
I could do a pale pink or plain cream.
What would you recommend for my living room?
Or should it stay unharmed and live in my Marie Antoinette office?
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Photobucket
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28 comments:

  1. Love it, but I would change the fabric, white or light pink linen....I've got a sofa in my garage I am waiting to bring in once the old one sells and I am hoping to do gold on the wood but am torn between the gold and the white.

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  2. Ha ha I missed the part at the bottom until after I already commented. Great minds think alike!

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  3. Gorgeous chair and i would pick cream or white linen. Great find!!!

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  4. It is such a gorgeous chair. Even though mine isn't old or gilt, it is a very similar style and it is done in a cream. It always goes with anything I want to do and in every room. I love the idea of the cream. Hugs, Marty

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  5. So pretty Amy!! I love it- I would probably go over the original fabric to get the look you are after- but maybe just do a layer of batting or something and leave the original so as not to ruin the value. I don't know- I am loving the gilded with the cream ... soo pretty!! :)

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  6. So regal looking, Amy! Nice find! What about the toile that Kim at Savvy Southern Style has {I think she has a pillow with it on her most recent post}. It is a colored toile that looks faded that might mesh well with the gilding.

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  7. What a find, Amy! I agree with Courtney. I'd keep the original fabric there...it looks like it may be the original and with a chair that old and appearing to be in such great condition it might be best to leave that intact and go over it if that's possible.

    Whatever you decide...that chair is gorgeous!

    Nancy

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  9. You might want to check with your upholsterer about the horse hair. Sometimes I've been able to keep it, but sometimes it can be really nasty filthy. You could remove the old fabric and do something fun with it, like frame the pictorial portion of it...maybe with some other vintage treasures in a shadow box. What kind of use will it get if you recover it for your living room? Whatever fabric you choose, I would just make sure that it is heavy enough in weight that it won't sag within months if people are actually sitting on it regularly. With that in mind, the linen is gorgeous in the picture...but I'd be careful about it because it can be quite light weight and stretchable. Perhaps if it's lined first, that would give it the substance that it needs. The chair is wonderful, and I'll be excited to see what you choose to do with it. Thank you for sharing your marvelous new find with us. Cherry Kay

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  10. Please slipcover it if you must but DON'T remove the original upholstery! There are less and less chairs this beautiful that haven't been tampered with! Or sell this chair to someone who'd really love it just as it is (ME! *winks*) and buy yourself the perfect linen chair. JMHO Vanna/Antique chair lover

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  11. Amy, this is a hard one to call. I love it with its original upholstery, but I love your ideas, too. It's a beautiful piece! Great find! Can't wait to see what you do with it!

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  12. Dear Amy,
    this chair is gorgeous ! I do also think, that original furniture has to saved as it is but this fabric is too red. And I thik that it would look even better if you change it. If it´s ok for you I can send you some more pics as an inspiration.
    I would love to have the bench. Maybe you need to start a I´llfindyouthemostbeautifulfurnitureyouveeverseenandwillsenditovertoyouworldwide-office.
    :-)
    Can´t wait to see your ideas regarding your chair !
    Have a nice day
    Eve

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  13. I really impressed with your collection of awesome and beautiful chairs, really all are very gorgeous. Blog is best way to share and receive ideas and tips.

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  14. Wow! what a find. Well, first it seems it might hurt the value to remove what is probably the original fabric. But..if you don't remove it...you won't fully enjoy the chair and it won't be out and about where it can be seen and loved. So....if you had decor that would go with it...I'd say keep it. But I don't see you having decor that would go with it any time soon. I might do a little research on this chair before I changed it just to make sure I wasn't destroying a priceless antique but if you find out that it's not that valuable...then I would for sure change it to pink linen. It would be so pretty in pink linen. It would be pretty in white too....but I think pink. That looks like a great store. The little settee was awfully pretty.

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  15. Oh, don't change Marie!!
    A solution: find ANOTHER delicious gilded chair to upholster with pink velvet or natural linen for your living room and save Marie's charm for your office. Her look is too complete as-is to change.

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  16. Oh...I thought Annette's chair was pink linen. I just looked again and see it is cream linen. Yes, perhaps cream....no pink....no cream...no pink...no cream. I don't know...either will be lovely.

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  17. This is a hard call to make indeed. I understand that it's not what you wanted your chair to look like but it's in such good condition I'd hate to see the original integrity of the chair destroyed. I think when it comes to true antiques they shouldn't be altered unless then are in bad condition.

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  18. I would recover it in a neutral so it could work anywhere. What a great find. I love the lines on the dresser in that space and the mirror.

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  19. Definitely linen in cream. And it's the nail heads in Annette's chair that really make the difference.
    Gorgeous find.
    Diane D
    Mansfield, MA

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  20. DO NOT recover this chair! It is an original and beautiful as is. I agree with other posters here, find a reproduction that you can gild yourself and recover. This is a showpiece!

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  21. I'm so happy for you!! I think you should change the fabric and use it where everyone can see it! Have a great day...
    Stacy

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  22. Ooooh Amy, what a score on the chair! I know you like to get an idea and implement it right away but here's what I'd do. I'd simple drape some less "bossy" fabric over it and sorta pin it into place leaving the gilded edges show as much as possible. Live with it that way for awhile to see how you feel about it. If you decide it looks great that way in your living room, then redo the fabric...but save the original for some other project..maybe a client's. Imagine the chair as a person from a 100 years ago. If that person could come alive now, I'm fairly certain he/she would like a new set of "clothes" too! Can't wait to see what you do with your new acquisition.

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  23. I would go simple, cream or pink, maybe a damask? It will be beautiful whatever you decide to do!

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  24. I would leave it as is. The settee seems to me to be a better piece to reupholster. Would it fit in your room?

    If you MUST reupholster it, either slipcover it or upholster over the original fabric. That original fabric is too much of a find to get rid of. I really think you should keep it, can you tell?

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  25. I think it is such a unique piece of furniture. I'd hate to lose the original upholstery -- it looks so terrific with that chair. I say keep it in your office and keep your eye out for another piece in worse shape that you could reupholster in lovely ivory linen.

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  26. Hi Amy. I would personally keep the original. Maybe you can cover it sometimes or upholster it over. It is gorgeous. My goodness everything you find is beautiful. I do not have this kind of luck. I cannot wait to see what you decide.

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  27. That upholstery would have to go...at least for me. A light pink linen would be amazing! Just keep the original fabric in case you change your mind! (*_*)

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  28. Hey there Amy~ just popping back by to say thanks for sharing this charmer at my party! :)

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