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Restoration Blog: The Living Room
The Living Room is in the northwest corner of the house, with beautiful views across the Hudson to the Catskills. The Clients really use the room—it isn’t a “parlor,” it’s lived-in. The furniture was chosen and laid out to insure that sofas and chairs are plop-down ready for reading or talking or napping and a surface is always nearby to put a glass or book on. I seldom visit that someone isn’t in the living room doing one of these three activities.
First on my shopping list was curtain fabric. There are three big windows, and this choice would dictate the rest of the fabrics. I was thinking of a traditional damask, and I wanted it grandly scaled—the pattern had to have at least a 36” repeat—which is BIG. (Repeat = the distance between the beginning of one complete pattern in the design and the beginning of the next identical pattern.) I wanted cotton/linen woven with silk damask, all silk would be too fancy. And I wanted colors that weren’t too formal and that would make a nice transition between the walnut-panelled library (foreground, at left) and into the dining room (scroll down to see it in an earlier blog). And I wanted off the rack and not prohibitively expensive…Oy.
With that looong list of demands, I had set the shopping bar high; it turned out to be a lengthy search that ended very happily. The damask, Clarence House‘s “Grand Bizarre,” is a heavy dark blue and mocha gold-y linen and viscose, which looks like silk but is more durable—a good foil for the airier taffeta across the hall in the dining room.
Once there’s one ‘given’ committed to, the rest of the fabric shopping is pretty easy. Instead of a lot of pattern and contrast, I tend to go match-y with upholstery and let the other stuff in a room add the natural chaos. When you’re doing a room remember: every single thing needn’t be “interesting” (but everyone should be!)—and soft goods shouldn’t dominate. There are more important things in a room than the upholstery—the antiques, the art, the people. I usually go for understated (boring?) upholstery shapes with great but subdued fabrics. For example, on the big Knole sofa (below), we went with a handsome wool mohair, “Cologne” by Nancy Corzine in the color “Coffee.” The stuff wears like iron— hence its use for train seats in years gone by. A wool damask, Corragio‘s “Basilica,” in a color they call “Root Beer,” and Ultrasuede in “Ginger” for the wheelchair (which, incidentally, is wildly comfortable when adjusted correctly!) and the Louis XVI fauteuil. Big pillows for the sofa were made out of a beautiful silk velvet called “Licorice,” in “Root Beer” (anyone, besides me, getting hungry?), again from Nancy Corzine.
I wanted casual flooring in here. The library, the front hall, and the dining room all have beautiful old oriental rugs, so the living room needed to provide a bit of relief. The French furniture, gilded tables, gilded curtain hardware all provide enough grandeur without further gilding the lily with a Persian carpet. One of our favorite things in this room: the small “ivory” painted Indian table—wonderful decoration and perfect by the Louis XVI chair. Also notice the pier mirror, which may be original to the house, rests on the mantle. People often float them, which always makes me nervous because they were designed to sit.
From a long-ago NYC apartment, the Client had a so-called Knole sofa, named for the stately home in England where the prototype was discovered. I’ve always loved this shape. The arms are adjustable—the finials are the connected by big tassels—and the platform is practically bed-size. The style, ersatz Baroque, reflects Knole itself and the prevailing style of the Edwardian period, when the original was probably acquired. It’s worth checking out Knole—such a wonderful house. Built in the 15th century, coveted (so taken) by Henry VIII, it was eventually the birthplace and beloved home of Vita Sackville-West, Virginia Woolf’s sometime lover. The silver furniture in the King’s Bedroom is the stuff of Interior Design Legend, and the Venetian Ambassador’s Bedroom is also fit for a king.
Our color gurus Donald Kaufman and his wife and partner Taffy Dahl came up with a handsome darkish mocha color for the walls. The abundant natural light and all that off-white painted trim allow for a dark wall color. We continued the trim color and the ceiling color from the front hall and dining room—continuity!
Looking at Televisions Realistically
As long as we’re on the subject of living rooms, let’s address televisions. (Luddites who affect not to own one can move on). In The House, there is a nice big media room upstairs, so no need for a television on the first floor. That said, we have no fear of televisions in living rooms (or anywhere else). A TV is the fireplace of the 21st century. If you want a room to be lived in, you better put a television in it. We have a few favorite ways of dealing with them.
Concealed and magically accessed electrically is ideal, but that can only achieved via new construction or extensive renovation. This diptych by Jeffrey Rothstein slides open and closed manually.
We could move into this room—our highest praise. The rug is an enormous treasure—a 19th-century Sultanbad. The screens flanking the fireplace are Jean Michel Frank, the art and objects span the ages and continents. But despite all this great stuff, it is comfortable and warm. Amidst the eye candy, the TV sits proudly on an easel. Our policy: If you can’t hide it, well then flaunt it. We’ve put slick, new TVs on 19th-century artists’ easels encrusted with paint, on a Chinese Ming stand. Elevate them to art.
A few final words on televisions: Hate boxes; hate wires even more. Them boxes gotta be ‘off site’—within maybe 10 feet? (Consult your installer, and if he tries to persuade you it’s gotta be front-and-center, kick him out of the house, and hire somebody else.) In this LR, the mechanics are hidden in the big 18th-century (fabulous) Chinese military trunk to the right of the t.v.. At my apt, the TV box is in the next room in a closet. Remote sensors allow for this. Re: Wires 1st choice: bury ‘em inside the wall; 2nd choice: run ‘em discretely up the back of an easel/table leg; 3rd choice: hide ‘em behind a sculpture or a photo or something!
Some Other Living Rooms We’ve Done
This is the living room of a guest house in Katonah. Hermes designed the house to refer to a former stable on the property—the woodwork is all rough hewn and some of the doors are on barn-door slides. Lots of seating, including a games table. Opposite the fireplace the room splits into two levels. Above is a playroom/media room and below is a billiard room/library lined with low bookcases. Hermes’ lovely curved short stair softens the hard edges of the room. A good stair invites use—makes you want to experience it.
BTW: We love helping with the books for a guest house. We hit our favorite upstate book dealers, our own houseguests in tow, and divvy up the categories: “You do fiction A-L, Travel, the Occult, and Short Stories. You: Mysteries, Hollywood/Film, and Fiction M-Z”. I’ll do Children’s and Art.” An hour later, a mini-library of things that will appeal to the broadest range of tastes has been assembled and bought.
This Greenwich Village apartment is in a former stable (a thread in our work? pure coincidence—horsey we ain’t). The first challenge was to integrate the old funky tin ceiling, the wood walls, the brick walls, and the old funky cement floor. We went with one all-over off-white in eggshell finish. Meanwhile, the client, a recent bachelor, kept telling me, “I am not afraid of color” to which I would reply, “Trust me, Spencer.” Once the rug and the sofas and his art arrived, he got his color…
BTW: Bachelors are the easiest demographic for me to beat down. Just bitch and moan and subtly (not too) imply to, say, the salesman at Barney’s China Department or the dealer at the Modernism Show that the two of us are a ‘couple,’ and he’ll buy anything, just to escape. Once, while shopping, a client asked the saleswoman to see some sapphires “for Fiona.” I muttered (sotto voce) “Fiona? Fiona? What about ME?” Poor man. She whips out some cufflinks, the gent guffaws ostentatiously, BUT come Christmas, there was a James II box under my tree! Confirms my lifelong motto: “Ask and ye shall receive”.
Books
Class Act, William Haines, Legendary Hollywood Decorator is a wonderful document of this very talented designer [editor’s note: coincidentally, our own Dan Shaw wrote the text]. Billy Haines was a master at creating comfortable and flattering seating. His low swivel ‘hostess’ chairs were designed to allow a lady to perch, with legs demurely crossed – sort of geisha-like. And a cigarette table (am I the last person standing that uses this term?) was always within reach. One of our favorite clients grew up in an iconic Haines-designed LA manse, and we’ve used lots of his pieces over the years. Classic AND clever.
When I was thinking about living rooms and comfort, I remembered the 8’ Rule—the maximum distance between people for a conversation. So I pulled out my Anatomy for Interior Designers (Whitney Library of Design, 1972—first published, 1948). Incredibly useful and wonderful entertaining graphics. I keep one copy at home and another at the office.
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Posted by Marilyn Bethany on 01/13/09 at 12:23 PM • Permalink
