J. Robert Scott Dining Table in the Clouds above Miami

Designer Jennifer Post creates minimilast look at this 5000 sq. ft. penthouse in Miami’s South Beach. Visit Architectural Digest for more inspiring ideas.

Fair outlook: interior design trends for 2012

Fresh from the Paris Maison & Objet show and London Design Festival, design hunter Jean Wright reveals her favourite finds and pinpoints the key looks for the year ahead.

Fair outlook: interior design trends for 2012 http://ow.ly/8vurG

Unexpected Pairings

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We have an exceptionally distinctive set of 10 vintage art deco dining chairs with their handsome original tan leather seats and seatbacks. They are in fine vintage condition and stuffed with supple horsehair filling.

The French art deco style is an eclectic design and artistic style that began in the 1920’s in Paris and was very popular through the 1930’s. Classic examples of this style are evident in the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Grace Building in Sydney, and the (original) ocean liner Queen Mary.

This set of chairs was originally purchased from the Country Trader in Waterloo for nearly $18,000.

We have uniquely paired them with a very modern ebony dining table, made of solid hardwood. This table was originally purchased from Fanuli Furniture in Cremorne for just under $8,000.

These particular chairs when paired with a more traditional oak table look appropriate, but with limited appeal. The reverse is also true when a modern table paired is with minimal modern chairs. This unique pairing enables the setting to modernize a traditional home or to add warmth to a minimal house or apartment.

The price of the complete setting at HFOC is $11,400.

This is a savings of $14,600 from their original cost of approximately $26,000.

Visit our website for more information.

Scott Faso, Managing Director, Home Furniture on Consignment

Design tips for renovation. A Taste For Space

Design tips for renovation. A Taste For Space | Modern Home http://ow.ly/8mbUU

Style Files: French Provincial

French provincial style furniture is a favourite amongst those looking to add a touch of refined elegance to any space. The sweeping curves, elongated proportions, neutral palette and natural finishes of French provincial furniture means the style is great for those looking to create a classic, sophisticated interior with the additions of comfort, ease and practicality.

There is some variety amongst French provincial furnishings as the style draws from different periods; however most of the style was established during the 18^th century when furnishings and interiors were influenced by the illustrious courts of  Versailles and the three King Louis’.

The origins of the style took hold in the Baroque period during the reign of Louis XIV. This was France’s golden age of culture and enlightenment and saw the rise of an elaborate style of furnishings – often carved, gilded and intricately decorated.

This affluent style spread through the capital Paris and slowly trickled down to the provincial farmers and rural inhabitants of France. Life was beginning to thrive in rural France during the Golden era of Louis XIV due to the boom in local commerce. The result was a new up and coming wealthier middle class, able to mimic the Parisian style of fashionable furnishings, but rightly pared back so as to more aptly suit the country lifestyle. This was the rise of French provincial style, the unique combination of the beauty and design flair of Baroque and Rococo fashionable furnishings and the more practical, pared down style of country living.

The provincial artisans in the country had ample access to the timber of surrounding forests and were apprenticed for up to 8 years, resulting in very skilled craftsmanship and quality production. Artisans chose rich but affordable woods like beech, walnut and oak to fashion pieces from the ladder back chairs and large farm tables to carved oak hutches and classic armoires. The wood was either left in a natural state or completed in a soft satin finish (unlike the highly polished mahogany pieces of fashion capital Paris). Other pieces were either limed, colour washed or painted in soft pastels with stencil motifs incorporating elements of French country life (roosters were popular). In metal furniture, iron, rather than bronze was used because of its wider availability in the countryside.

One of the reasons the style has sustained its popularity is that unlike other traditional styles, French provincial lends itself to a seamless integration with more modern furnishings. The style is easily mixed and matched with cutting edge modern pieces, adding a touch of the homely.

Collectors of French provincial furniture should be aware that a lot of poor quality reproduction French provincial style furniture has been manufactured over the years.  As with most reproductions and copies, the lines are usually a bit off to the trained eye so the best protection is to view many pieces of furniture, becoming familiar with the style and comparing design quality.

Most period French furniture was not constructed with nails or screws, instead cabinetmakers used dowels and joinery techniques such as dovetails in their construction. So if screws and nails are present, be suspicious.  Remember also that just because a piece of furniture is old, French and made outside of Paris does not automatically categorize it as French provincial. The design aesthetics, style and elegance of French provincial furniture should approach, and in some case actually rival the quality of furniture made in Paris during the great periods of French decorative arts.

HFOC has a number of beautiful French Provincial pieces, below is just a small taste of what we have in store.

French cheese curing shelves, $1,450.00 AUD.

 

 

 

Rustic pitchfork, $190.00 AUD.

 

 

The queen of understated elegance, Barbara Barry.

“I believe that beauty is healing and inspiring; I want to help others see beauty in all areas of their lives.” – Barbara Barry.

She has an air of Coco Chanel about her. That understated glamour, that graceful and refined elegance and of course the pearls. And just like the Mademoiselle before her, American interior designer Barbara Barry (with a decidedly less glamorous name than her Parisian counterpart) advocates a design philosophy of simplicity and understated elegance. Just as Chanel changed the course of fashion by removing superficial decoration and advocating comfort in women’s clothing, Barry’s interior spaces are paired back to only simplest of design statements, encouraging every space to be as comfortable as it is beautiful.

A refined farmhouse in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Barry was born of a family of artists and it is this upbringing she attributes to the way she sees her work. She explains, “I think of rooms as paintings, with the same requirement of composition, colour and clarity of line that create a balanced whole. In the products I design, I strive to find the fluid line, with forms that speak to the body and call us to use them.” Like an artist, she observes the spaces she works in terms of light, form, colour and texture and strives for harmony through perfect proportion and working with natural light and palettes derived from nature.

Barry designs a line of luxury fabric for Kravat

The designer has a huge following and her work clearly resonates with many people worldwide, perhaps more so now that we are witnessing a global design trend towards a more simplistic, quality-driven way of living. Her style holds its appeal in the refined elegance of her rooms, each one imbued with a characteristic air of peace and calm.

She is one of the most successful designers in creating what can only be described as a calm and comforting haven from the outside world and it is Barry herself who believes that, “good and thoughtful design can affect our lives profoundly, and hold us in quiet ways”. A philosophy she quite clearly upholds in everything she does.

Barbara Barry collection for Baker.

For those interested in her work, her public projects include The Savoy Hotel in London, Gordon Ramsey’s Boxwood Cafe at the Berkeley Hotel in London, the very smart A.O.C. restaurant in Los Angeles, the Brooks Brothers flagship store on Madison Avenue and the famous Avon Spa in Manhattan. Barry also has a best-selling line of furniture for Baker, plumbing fixtures for Kallista, fabric for Kravet, fine china for Wedgewood and crystal giftware for Baccarat.

Barry for Wedgewood.

HFOC currently has in stock a number of Barbara Barry items, that include the following:

Green glass lamp

Barbara Barry green glass lamp, $1,100.00 AUD.

Pleated glass lamp.

Barbara Barry pleated glass lamp, $1,100.00 AUD.

Lamp table.

Barbara Barry lamp table, $1,280.oo AUD. 

Style Files: Mixing genres

The living room in this picture is a perfect example of how to combine different form and style genres within a single space. The classic, more formal lines of the occasional chairs are placed alongside a contemporary sofa, providing an interesting combination of traditional and modern. It is not necessary to match your furniture to the same era or style, in fact a combination of different form and genre provides a more intriguing interior decor, adding personality to your room.

Do you like this look? HFOC can help you create it:

Brutus modular sofa by Lounge Furniture, $ 4,800 AUD.

 

Brutus modular sofa by Lounge Furniture

Josephine Chair by Baker, $ 3,800 AUD

 

 

Josephine Chair by Baker

Coffee table by Cassina, $750 AUD.

Coffee table by Cassina

Here is another perfect example of what mixing modern and traditional can achieve. The slim, minimalist lines of the vintage Danish armchairs are contrasted perfectly against the fuller silhouette of the contemporary lounge.

Do you like this look? HFOC can help you create it.

Vintage Danish armchairs by Ole Wenscher, now reduced to $3,500 AUD.

Vintage armchair by Ole Wenscher

 

Two-seat sofa by Parnell, $ 1, 450 AUD.

 

Sofa by Parnell