AbbeyK — On Interior Design

New Work from AbbeyK

Things have been CR-azy busy despite the "bad" economy. I did a photo shoot with Eric Roth a while back and am finally getting around to posting the new work.

This is from a Belmont Hill project. Historic home. Client likes soft colors: gold tones + green-ish blues, as you can tell. Loves wood too! Pretty happy with how things came out.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

First Round of Staining, Keith Fritz Dining Room Table

Here is the Keith Fritz table, stained. Next step is the liming on the checkerboard inset to bring out the grain. Table gets delivered next week. Can't wait! Now if only we could pick a paint color for the walls so the painters could finish in time for the delivery.

 

In his mind's-eye, the client envisioned a peachy-orange tone on the dining room walls. That can be a beautiful color, but the problem in this application is that the drapes are to be a navy silk with a subtle red thread running through. Opposite colors can be dynamic in the right proportion but in this room, the orange walls would advance and the blue drapes retreat, and the result would be a room that feels uneasy.

I suggested to go with a pink-peach, like the Farrow and Ball Pink Ground. After one coat went up, the client called me to say that the walls were "too pink." I think it's perfect. But perfect is irrelevant if the client doesn't like it. So we're back to the drawing board, as you can see by the swatches around the windows.

 
Sometimes when you try to make something work after many many tries, it's time to re-think the direction. Forcing a color to work can be a sign of going down the wrong path. I been suggesting a warm gray for a while now, and the client was willing to give it a go. We tried a few that you can see here and then a few more that went up this morning. I was by today to see the latest round. But the weather was so beyond dreary that it needs to be viewed on a better day.

My fingers are crossed for a winner!

Keith Fritz Table Pre-finish

These photos just came in today from Keith Fritz' workshop. I am beside myself with joy. It's going to be so beautiful.

Planning for a Custom Dining Room Table with Keith Fritz and M-Geough

What happens when you find a dining room table that you like, but something about it is not quite right? You go custom.

My client was taken with an ebonized, antique dining room table we saw in New York. Unfortunately, it had some details that didn't work for him. With nothing on the market remotely similar that I could think of, we set out to find a crafts person who could make us something that would satisfy. We've been working a lot with M-Geough on this project so Holly thought that Keith Fritz would be a good match.

Keith's love of furniture is apparent. His skills and taste level, impeccable.

I hate the way people throw around the word "passion." It's become so trite, so new age: gardening is my passion. Seriously? But, this guy has a calling for what he does. Here's Keith (in salmon), my client and Holly.

 

See the black chip samples on the table? That's what we are doing. The top of the dining room table will be in a rift sawn oak with a wax technique that forces white into the grain. You can see the samples on the table. Those are the ones that look kind of gray. Keith is making a checkerboard pattern of squares inset in a darker border, which are similar to our antique inspiration table.

Holly and I were not initially crazy about the samples; I didn't want to show them to the client. But he wanted to see them, so we brought them out. The client wasn't disappointed in the samples though, just requested some shifting. So Keith listened to the feedback, bounded down to his truck like a happy school kid, got some solvent, and then right there in the showroom altered the finish until the client was happy. It was like Benihana with paint thinner.

I am so excited about this table. I don't know if I will be able to bear waiting until the end of the summer (or September) until it's done. We are also doing 2 end tables in the living room by Keith, and perhaps this coffee table, converted into an ottoman.

Keith's products can be purchased locally at M-Geough in the Boston Design Center. Keith was recently featured in the Washington Post Magazine. You can read his article here. 

AbbeyK Gets her Sofa Bed from Avery Boardman

Pinch me....My sofa bed from Avery Boardman is complete and due to ship. OK so I spent a fortune on it, but urban dweller that I am, my living room is my guest room and my sister told me she wouldn't come visit me again if I didn't get a sofa bed. She said she's too old for an air mattress.

I layed on every sofa bed on the market. And I decided to buy the best.

The Avery Boardman are as comfortable as a regular mattress. No pokey center bar to make your life miserable. I am afraid I am going to like it better than my bed and start sleeping in the living room.

Bobo Does Restoration

Another buzz at this year's market was the news that Bobo Intriguing Objects had licensed to Restoration Hardware. Their look is all over the Spring cover. I got the catalog just a bit before market and thought hmmm... looks a lot like Bobo. And sure enough, I found out it was.

As the saying goes, so goes CA, so goes the rest of the country. The same is true for trade-only sources. They spread like wildfire to retail. Quicker than in the past, I am told.

I guess Bobo figured before someone else knocked them off, they should do the deal themselves. Restoration should call this collection the Bobo Collection, not the Spring Collection.

Bobo is everywhere. What is Bobo you ask? Think rustic finishes, French-inspired, garden, metal and glass.

Kinda chunky. Kinda funky. Good in small doses, but it can look dirty to me.

 

In a word, like the Restoration photo. Whatever you do -- just don't do too much of it.

It's Free to Be Nice v. How to Have an Unpleasant Shopping Experience

Today I ventured in the rain to Southeastern Massachusetts. There are some shops I've been meaning to visit to for some time. 

Meaningless information alert: Did you know that they call hot dogs "wieners" in SE MA and RI? There are a lot of wierner stands. I know this because I drove around in circles for about 2 hours and I noticed an unusually large number of weiner stands. (GPS I could have used.)

First stop, Staples Cabinet Makers in Plainville. They are known for their reclaimed wood tables. I've been thinking of one for myself for my kitchen. Do you like it? I might buy this one. I'd have to have them cut it down a bit in length. They said no problem.

 

 

If you are looking for something a bit different, that's green (most of the wood there is reclaimed lumber) and local, the work is lovely and there's a real sense that someone touched the items. The folks there were just wonderful. It's a family run business. They are kind. Real. They care about what they do. Had a nice conversation with them. The shop was busy, which is also nice to see.

Then I went to another store in MA, right by the RI border. This is a well-known antiques store that shall remain nameless and although what I am about to report is true, and actually happened, my sister, the lawyer, says I should not name the company.

I walked in.There was a young woman at the front desk. She did say hello. And I also encountered a few sales people as I walked around the shop, which has many rooms and a few floors. NO ONE SAID ANYTHING TO ME. No connection. No attempt.

I don't like the sugary, sweet "hello" from a mall greeter. That's super annoying. But the way staff connects with a potential customer is an important extension of the company. It tells you a lot. Robotic, fake, real, nonexistent. I prefer real. But most importantly make some kind of attempt.

Unless I was in the need of a bed, I would not come back to this shop. Not only because they barely acknowledged my presence, but also because their stuff is yawns-ville.

I wonder whom they are selling to? I wonder if a tour of wiener stands of Southern MA and RI might be worth a second road trip?

Two Similar Chairs, Two Different Price Points

Here are two chairs. On first inspection, they are similar. Both are based on a Louis XV Berger Chair. A classic form. Look at the front. Look at the back. Ignore the fabrics. Focus on the form. You'll notice the graceful upholstered backs and seats. The carving. The little arm pads on the arms. The cabriolet leg. All hallmarks of the Louis XV.

 

But when you start to appreciate the details a difference occurs: notice the grace of the shape of the legs; the craft level involved with the carving; quality of the finishes -- That my friends is the difference in an nice chair by Robert Allen (blue upholstery), and a really really nice one by EJ Victor (brown finish/ivory upholstery) who b.t.w. in Boston is rep'd by Robert Allen Beacon Hill.

 

It's nice to have a choice of price points and to also recognize the differences. For some people a better price point represents value. For others, higher quality is worth the difference in price.

What is important to you?

Questions from Clients this Week

Thought it would be interesting to share a few interesting questions from clients.

1) I bought a sofa at Mitchell Gold 3 years ago. It was expensive. Why does the welting look funny? The cushions don't quite look good either.

Ah, forensic decorating. It did not hold up right. This is often the case I find with the big retail chains. In retail, they have little time to make a sale and price is a determining factor. How do you drive cost down? One way is to skim on quality. Done correctly, welting is cut on the bias. This means on the diagonal. Welt cut on the bias has more give and keeps its shape better. But it takes much more fabric to cut on the bias so it costs more to make a sofa whose welt was cut on the bias. Manufacturers can save money by cutting welt on the straight grain. They get more welt out of the same amount of fabric.

The cushion? Detective decorator thinks they use a lesser quality foam insert. I sell mostly spring down construction on the seat. The spring in the seat allows the cushion to come back up. Foam breaks down over time and the foam seemed to have settled. It just didn't look as fresh as it should have after 3 years. Or at least I should say, for a bit more money, you can get something that will look fresh for 10 or so years.

2) I understand the importance of Low- or No-VOC paint and it's impact on my family's health and the environment. But what are the trade offs in terms of quality?

The best paint made was lead paint. Went on like a dream. Lasted forever. Poisoned children.Then there's another long-lasting paint, the oil-based. Real great finish, spreads well. Poisons the water supply and the air we breathe, among other things. No longer available in many states. So yes, the technology of the Low-VOC paint has some trade-offs. It sets up rather quickly. Some of the additives, which are no longer present because they contain the toxins, slowed down the drying time, allowing for nice pull marks on trim and even spread between the rolled parts and the brushed parts. The problem with the additives is that they are comprise a lot of the poison problem. Take them out and the paint's performance changes as dry time speeds up. The new paints, like everything else in life, are a trade-off. Truth of the matter is that these environmentally-friendly paints take a certain feel of the brush and roller. But I haven't heard any complaints about durability. Just application.

3) When I look at the picture of the sconces, it looks like they are very close to the China cabinet. It seem like they should be more centered between the corner and the cabinet. What do you think? (Scroll down to see an image taken. The tape shows where China cabinet will go.The holes next to it are where the wiring will go -- the center line of the sconce.)

I think the sconces are placed properly. You want them to have a relationship to the cabinet.Sconces will sit above the extra chairs and make a nice still-life type vignette. That being said, it’s not too late to change it, if it feels off to you. So when I see you next week, how bout I bring some pictures of finished DRs? I keep a whole bunch of pictures in files.They often have scones on either sides of china cabinets so you can see how that would look. I can see what’s in there. I bet I have a picture that will help you to see, or I can do more fun sketches with my Sharpie.

 

What's Behind Your Sofa?

Rita Konig asks in the New York Times Inside Out, What's Behind the Sofa? She has every decorator's fave parson's table from West Elm. For $349 how can you go wrong? Comes in a few colors too! I love the white. By the way, I am not opposed to retail here and there. Just please don't make your home look like a Crate and Barrel showroom. Seriously-- break it up a bit, OK?

Me, I don't have anything behind my sofa. It's against the wall. But wondering what you folks have?