VINTAGE LEATHER ARMCHAIR: one of the "musts"

Trendy as they may be, vintage leather armchairs need to be comfortable. Open the debate: do we sacrifice looks in the name of comfort (i.e. go for a reproduction) or do we make no concession to our nether regions and stick with the weathered and sleek look of an original early 20th cent. specimen (ideally a vintage Vanity Fair armchair by Potrona Frau)?

As always, there are added complications: repro is not only a concept to be avoided at all costs but it often fails to guarantee the very comfort in the name of which we sacrificed our design integrity!

Lets look at some figures to better understand the options available. At the time of writing the cheapest repro (top picture) could be bought for approx. £300 on the internet. Poltrona Frau were selling their Vanity Fair (new, as shown above in red) for ten times as much. I doubt a good vintage specimen of the Vanity Fair would cost any less. Time seems to have failed to alter the design as well as the price tag of this classic.

On that basis the sensible solution seems to be, as always, the most time consuming: finding an importer of French originals who is willing to work with you on therestoration process. Hopefully this will ensure the chair is re-sprung and restored where necessary and a gorgeous leather can be chosen if complete re-upholstery is required. Interior design: the art of seemless compromise...

Note: if money and time are no object you know what to do.

EISENSTAEDT'S PHOTOGRAPHY AT MICAHEL HOPPEN'S GALLERY (ended 1/8/07)

We nearly missed it! If black and white photography of the first half of the 20th century is your thing.... you might want to stroll down to Michael Hoppen's gallery on the Kings Road. Margaret Bourke-White aside.... Alfred Eisenstaed has got to be one of the best American photographers of the period. Get all the necessary info at http://www.michaelhoppengallery.com/

CONSERVATION: hurdles and concepts

Listed buildings, houses within a conservation area: issues one deals with repeatedly specially when working in central London. However, at least in my case, it is true to say that one is often guilty of not addressing the "concept", simply aiming at the "result". For some reason, a Chelsea mock-Georgian house has allowed me the time to notice my shallow approach. I've been trawling the internet and talking to people about the whole idea of conservation boundaries. Picket fences around buildings deemed to be of note (often by non-specialised professionals who possibly are unsure about exactly.... which note). Electric fences around sections of somebody's home which, therefore, they only partially own. More like a person whose destiny one can never totally control, than like a house - a material possession which can be moulded around wishes and made to conform to our plans.
An article* by Julian Holder points out how distinctly anthropomorphic are most of the concepts applied to buildings by conservation enthusiasts. "Can a building really be 'compromised', its 'integrity' questioned, its 'character' altered?" He adds that "to accept the[se] concepts ensures that all the participants are already treating buildings as people, as living breathing beings, whose fate we care about, and not simply as bricks and lime mortar. At its best it is a linguistic slight of hand....... At its worst it is a transparently bullying misappropriation which fails to impress the hard headed and leaves conservation looking distinctly amateur".
I must confess that the house which started this whole thought process is, indeed, one of those houses one would describe as "honest". Clearly not in the human sense of the word; more so to describe its simple declaration of intents. My view is that remaining identical to oneself is not necessarily the ideal state for man-kind. I therefore doubt this can be ideal for a utilitarian, perfectly coherent, teen ager (if house years are worth half as much as dog years) of a residential property.

* The Building Conservation Directory 2001 http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/pdf_concept/concept.pdf
General descriptions: listed building and conservation area. http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/conplng/conplng.htm

PROPERTY MARKET: conditio sine qua non of interior design

This might not be an interior design link as such but, then again, most people obsessed with interior design are also interested in the property market. After all... you've got to buy it before you can decorate it! So, if you want to be up to speed with property related news and gossip, you might do a lot worse than starting right here: http://theratandmouse.co.uk/

LIGHTING DESIGN: an afterthought?

Often the afterthought, lighting still appears to be low down on the list of most home owners. Interior designers stress the importance of lighting design, clients agree but often struggle to pay anything more than... lip service to the idea.
London lighting retailers recently seem to have taken a different approach to the issue. As the likes of Mr Resistor start offering lighting consultancy services the high street finally makes room for light planning as well as the lamp selling. Specialised lighting consultancy used to be limited to projects with extremely healthy budgets. Naturally this raises the question of unbiased advice. Clearly, as fixed fees and hourly rates become more competitive, specifying becomes crucial. It is hardly surprising that some retailers - now consultants - will be specifying more or less exclusively from the manufacturers and ranges they stock. Nothing wrong with that if the products are worthy of the price tag!
As a clearer understanding of the subject emerges, as simple yet rational light layering becomes standard, as the function of each light source becomes more clearly defined .... only a select few lamps will be required to be decorative objects in our homes and more will be able to aim for excellence.

GORMLEY AND EXTERIOR DESIGN

As Antony Gormley's wonderul figures stood on the rooftops gazing at us gazing at them from the Southbank's terraces earlier today... some serious design cross pollination took place. I found myself thinking how important the exterior of one building is to the interior of another. To some extent what goes on outside our windows is as important as what goes on inside. The outside of the house opposite ours is possibly more important to us than it is to its owners. Whether we like it or not we are all responsible for each other's aesthetic pleasures and traumas when it comes to rooms with a view. A call for "considerate design" for those planning roof terraces, balconies and window boxes? Just one of the many contagious thoughts provoked by Gormley's interesting BLIND LIGHT exhibition on at the Hayward Gallery until August 19th. http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/gormley/

ARTS & CRAFTS TRAIL AT MGM 2007

While trawling the web for a client in search of Arts & Crafts resources I came across
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/london/trails/TRA46697.html?ixsid=mPpBLLUG5R5
MP3s also available for those preferring to set upon their trail with earphones rather than clutching a printout.

PETER JONES' BUYERS

"Never knowingly undersold". PJ has been reassuring us with their price matching and their excellent warranties for decades. SW London inhabitants invariably elect to pay that little bit extra for the sake of that warranty. The extra money PJ makes from all those yummy mummies must go towards recruiting A1 buyers. It's only logic, as that in turn will keep PJ from loosing a fortune honouring those guarantees. Hence... the overall highly respectable quality of stock. When making a decision on a kitchen appliance or on hi-fi I must confess to often double-checking my conclusion against the PJ buyers'. Chances are they bypassed products with known technical or delivery issues. Chances also are that they have a lot more inside info than I do!
This time however it's worked the other way round. I spotted this lot years and years ago. I have admired Turnstyle Designs since they first appeared on the market http://www.turnstyledesigns.co.uk/ All I will say is that I have been able to use their door handles, drawer and light pulls and much more in every style of home. Quality is always extremely versatile. PJ buyer obviously thought so too....

DECKING - MORE GARDENING!

Two people asked me about top end of the market garden decking this week. I don't actually do gardens but I asked a man who does. Adam at http://www.bls1.co.uk/ gave me the bottom line.
1. Hardwood v. softwood: hardwood seems to be an allround winner, with the only possible exception of Cedar (which Adam says looks better in rustic/country environments).
2. Grooved v. flat: although the arguement originally was that grooves allow better drainage of rain water, Adam's take is that the grooves reduce the amount of foot grip and may therefore be more slippery; grooves also tend to collect dirt making it harder to clean the deck.
3. Types of hardwood: it's no conincidence that teak is mostly used on boats. Iroko and Greenheart were also mentioned. Clearly, the higher the content of oil the more durable the wood when exposed to the elements.
4. Reccomendations: great preparation prior to laying the deck will ensure lack of movement and absence of weed re-growth.

N.B. This is all fairly expensive stuff. At the opposite end of the spectrum are the trated softwoods and, somewhere in the middle, Ipe, Massaranduba, etc.

CHELSEA FLOWER . . . RICKSHAW 2007

True Chelsea residents are divided in two categories when it comes to the Chelsea Flower Show: those who put up with the week of confusion because they are garden enthusiasts (and will attend) and those who passively support the Spring fixture (but won't attend). Scenes of evening mass exodus await us: something vaguely resembling anarchy creeps onto SW3 pavements. This year the scramble has an eco-twist: the rickshaw. Wonderfully British vignettes were enjoyed by all on Royal Hospital Road around 8pm this evening (pictures record beautifully English fashions statements). "What about the gardens?" you may ask... They have been accurately and repeatedly documented by terrestrial TV, Freeview, Sky, radio, websites, podcasts and all kinds of publications. But.... maybe you live outside the little tringle squeezed between the Thames, Chelsea and Pimlico!? I guess you might, so here is the BBC link to most of the above: http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/flower_shows/chelsea_2007/videopodcast_index.shtml

GARDEN DESIGN WEBSITE

Everybody takes up tennis during Wimbledon just as we all go shopping for plants when the Flower Show is on. Well...it's on! It might be an idea to let the professionals lead the way. Even if you are only looking for inspiration you'll enjoy a wander through this site
http://www.mylandscapes.co.uk/

DOES MY BUM LOOK BIG IN THIS? What happens when a house asks you?

You've had your first meeting with the client. The house is nice, you could do something really special with it. The budget is there, at least potentially - you're only guessing at this stage, and you would really like to do the work. Edwina (you though she was a man when she signed the initial email "Ed") is telling you how much she looks forward to working with you and then, just as you are leaving, she drops the bombshell. "Is there anything in the house you think we should get rid of? Please do tell me if you think any of my furniture would not fit in with our plan...".
You go into automatic pilot and say that you need to think it all over: you'll get back to her. As you are driving home you have your first out of body experience. Yes! The tightness in your stomach, the cold sweat, surely these belong in another body. Maybe to a rabbit caught by the headlights of a speeding Range Rover or to an inexperienced young man whose first girlfriend asks for the second* time "does my bum look big in this"?
You've asked that same question yourself many times. This feels like nemesis: serves you right! Now what do you do?
You know perfectly well that 90% of the contents of Edwina's home have got to go. You know perfectly well that if they don't she is better off not hiring you as there is nothing you could possibly do to make the house look smart. BUT IS TELLING HER
a) right for her (she really did want to know... that's why she asked) but wrong for you (the whole job is riding on this answer and you must stop being your own worst enemy)?
b) right for her (she gets an honest and unbiased opinion) and right for you (you've given yourself a fair chance, an opportunity to do a good job: if she backs off because of your integrity it simply was not meant to be)?
c) wrong for her (she only wants to know truths within budget, her question was relative not absolute!) and wrong for you (being a good designer is not only about being creative but also about being professional: that also means giving clients what they want and not necessarily what you know to be best)?
d) wrong for her (she does not need to be pushed into questioning the last 20 years worth of taste and furnishing decisions) and right for you (the time has come for you to decide whether you are a contracts manager or a designer: if you are the latter then good design is the one thng if you cannot do without).

Seriously... Have you ever asked the question and did you want the honest answer? I'm referring to the houses's bum... not yours. We both know you asked that question and I think we know what you did NOT want to by answered.



* The first time Inexperienced Guy answered the question truthfully. No churning feeling preceeded his reply, just a week of no sex. This time he knows: the DMBLBIT question leads to unavoidable churning, whether higher or lower, minutes long or days long.

KICKSTARTING A BLOG

Blogs blogs blogs. Funny ones, useless ones, celebrity ones. Every shape and size of blog is now online. Since turning the first virtual page of this blog a couple of years ago I have been wondering whether the world really needs another bLOG. The answer, clearly, is NO! But then again... the world doesn't need another Prada collection or another series of Lost and yet... we want more. Far from lining myself up with such pilasters of modern life, I do however think that some of my long suffering clients and a few of my friends might enjoy dipping in (and probably swiftly out) of the evening musings of a London interior designer.