On a wing and a chaise

The much discussed topic in this household as to whether to re-cover or replace the wing chairs in the main bedroom has finally been concluded. The wing chairs and their footstools have been given a new home with some nice neighbours, and they have been replaced by these chaises.

The chaises are covered in a raspberry coloured polycotton mix, and they are accompanied by cushions in candy stripes. The wing chairs have certainly served their purpose, and were orginally made to my order more than twenty years ago, during which time they have been re-covered five times, and travelled from Hong Kong to Edinburgh to Bangkok. Could they perhaps be the world's best-travelled wing chairs? Their new owners work at the Raffles Design Institute, so it is conceivable that they may end up being re-covered again as a project for a student in interior design.

Whilst I am sad to see them go, my tendency to be almost horizontal during my television viewing, means that the new design is much more suitable. This change has also meant other changes, as is usual. The Georgian galleried tables that were used with the wing chairs have now been transferred to the sitting room, replacing the pair of perspex tables that housed an obelisk in one and an armillary in the other. These perspex tables are now either side of the chaises, handy for those essentials, like cocktails, TV remotes, DVDs and reading glasses.

The new scheme is much more minimalist, and will doubtless take time to get used to. Since these original pictures were taken, when the room was first decorated, there has been a rearrangement of pictures, so that there is a grouping of architectural prints above the bed, and a large oil painting by the Thai artist Mitree Parahom, which was partially obscured by the wing chairs. It may be that it will be changed with the other large oil painting in the hallway. Like most decorators, I find schemes need to be bedded down, (pun intended, as it's a bedroom), and changing ideas is an exercise I find quite enjoyable.

Natural inspiration

The master bedroom balcony's only (currently) flowering orchid is the inspiration for the Jim Thompson chenille that I intend to use to reupholster the nearby two wing chairs and their footstools, which have become worn from them being in constant use. Unfortunately their removal for the process will require some other armchairs to be placed there temporarily.

This will be the sixth time these chairs have been recovered, (over the last 13 years). There is a slight hesitancy to proceed as it might finally be time to think of something more akin to a chaise longue, as discussed here previously. (Why are these called chaise lounge in America?)

Under the weather

Being under the weather will mean different things to those living in the tundra that is currently the United Kingdom, as clearly demonstrated by this satellite photograph. Many other parts of the world are as badly affected with unusually harsh weather, including our northern neighbour China. My own "under the weather" scenario is the usual common cold, which happily is nearing its end.

It has meant retreating to my monastic cell, to loll around on the daybed, and to catch up on some reading. Thankfully, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, I have completed the magum opus that required a fork lift truck to hold and read.

The retreat of a spartanly-decorated room is a soothing mixture of moody blues, (and greys) in silk, from Jim Thompson, interspersed with a black and white squiggle of a daybed, (fabric also from Jim Thompson), and black and gold Thai silk cushions from Shinawatra Silks.

On either side of the bed, above the blue and white porcelain lamps, are pair of antique blue and white bowls and lids, resting on a pair of gilded wall brackets, which I had made here, as copies from an original. Antique, because I wont hazard a guess on the actual age, but they were left to me by an old banking colleague. If they turn out to be more important than I truly believe, then that will be an added bonus, if that pension plan needs to kick-in one day. The white granite floor tiles are partially covered in an assortment of Oriental rugs. 

In the bookshelves opposite the bed an African carved zebra sits and takes duty as a book monitor. The picture behind the daybed is 1920s, of a forest scene, from an estate sale in Paris, and which I wrote about here.

Tempting tentacles

Top: Daybed covered in "Atoll" (coral), linen/cotton, by Manuel Canovas. Fabric wardrobe panels "Samphire" linen, by Arctic. Image from House & Garden.

Middle: Tablescape by CC, resin coral mounted on perspex. Armchair & sofa fabrics by Jim Thompson.

Bottom: Wallpaper "Lavezzi" (coral) at Pierre Frey. Image from House & Garden.

The combination of green and burnt orange continues to be a favourite of mine, and these recent images prove the concept rather well. I have used the same colour mix in my sitting/dining room. A pale blue-grey would also work as a good alternative to the mint green, and may be where we're headed with the makeover.

Moving pictures

Preparation for the arrival of two pictures currently at the framers, mentioned here, has necessitated changes elsewhere. Firstly the acquisition of a large oil painting by Mitree Parahom meant taking down the three architectural prints, and removing the wall brackets. And so these were stored for about two years.

Now other architectural prints will be moved to join those now newly hung above the bed, so that this bedroom will become predominantly a print room, (picture-wise), giving more impact to the phenomenon.

The black and white of the C18th prints, with their antiqued silver framing complements the mauves of the Jim Thompson silk fabrics used for the headboard, valance, and the curtains. The new height created by this line also changes the ambiance of the room dramatically; the length has diminished, and it now seems wider, and despite the formality, more intimate.

Picture hanging is a time-consuming and painstaking business, if you adopt the symmetrical and structured approach. Of the three above the bed, which are framed in exactly the same frame size, the variance of the hanging wire, (in centimetres and millimetres), means that measuring is key. When the distance from the ceiling to the floor can vary, this too adds to the nail-biting experience.

Happily everything worked out correctly first time round. It has not always been so!