You are here: Home / Design

Trend alert: Quatrefoils and Trefoils

August 17, 2011 By lana Leave a Comment
 

Whimsical, theatrical Strawberry Hill during a recent renovation. In the Gothic Revival style, the quatrefoil and trefoil were major motifs. Photo by Andrew Urwin for The Guardian.

It might not be St. Patrick’s Day, but at Chestnut Hall we’re feeling lucky.  We’re noticing clover shapes surfacing in our furniture and accessories lines and they’re sprouting up on our showroom floor.  I’m taken back to Design History class, where a lovely and quirky English professor referred to herself as Auntie Lorella (pronounce that AHN-tee) and made every style spanning Medieval to Victorian seem romantic and world-changing. She taught us that contrary to our common association of clovers with the luck of the Irish, in decorative arts, they relate to the Gothic and Gothic Revival styles from all across Europe.

For word of the day purposes, Auntie Lorella explained these clover shapes are formally called quatrefoil and trefoil and translate to “four leaves” and “three leaves,” respectively. They were widely used in Gothic architecture, but their popularity peaked in the Gothic Revival period, which began in the mid-18th century. Gothic Revival was a whimsical era in decorative arts history, as the darkness was sucked out of Gothic design. Gothic symbols and principles were theatrically exploited, multiplied, and often painted white. Gothic ruins were treasured for their dark and romantic novelty. Horace Walpole was the trendsetter, a writer who built Strawberry Hill in London, a Gothic Revival “little plaything house,” or others might call it a palace, when everyone else was building in the Classical style.  He coined the term “gloomth” to express a joyful pleasure in the gloominess of Gothic design. He filled his home with art and treasures from ancient to then-modern times, hosted extravagant parties, and allowed tourists to visit his masterpiece.  Click here for a slideshow by The Guardian showing Strawberry Hill during its recent restoration and to learn more about the fantastic Horace Walpole. You’ll gain a lighter and brighter appreciation for Gothic style!

Here are some of our favorite pieces available at Chestnut Hall that include trefoils and quatrefoils.

Yours,

Lana

Large scale quatrefoils repeat in this fabulous fabric.

A trefoil shaped cocktail ottoman

Quatrefoil cut-out headboards are available in hundreds of fabrics.

Quatrefoil windows add functional interest to this long, shallow cabinet.

A low, trefoil end table.

Henredon's quatrefoil mirror

A handsome tray with quatrefoil pattern

Filed Under: Design, Design History

Extreme Decor from Brooklyn, Available at Chestnut Hall

July 6, 2011 By lana 1 Comment

Both ceiling and wall coverings in the Brooklyn home of decorators Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke are by Thibaut, one of our favorite wallpaper lines at Chestnut Hall.

About once a month, I curl up on the sofa with a glass of wine and go through my stack of New York Magazines. Arriving weekly, they accumulate quickly and live in a tray messily, but fittingly, commingled with my stack of Memphis Magazines. This little mess keeps me up to date with the happenings of my two favorite cities!

Looking at the Spring ’11 Home Design issue of New York Magazine, the featured interiors include an artist who knitted a sweater for every object in her home – even the toilet, a couple who decorated the walls, floor and ceiling of their kitchen with masking tape, Amy Sedaris’ kitschy apartment, designed as if she “owned a child,” and my favorite as a former Brooklynite – a charming Brooklyn townhouse turned “laboratory” for two decorators obsessed with color and pattern.  For Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke, pronounced “lucky,” bold and brave is best, and wallpaper installed on the ceiling is never off the wall after all. A closer look at their interiors revealed that many of the whimsical wall coverings used are by companies such as Thibaut and Cole & Son, whose gorgeous papers are available at Chestnut Hall, right here in the Memphis area.

Click here to see the article Paper Planes by Ian Volner for New York Magazine,  and see several favorite images from the article above and below. All photos by Dean Kaufman for New York Magazine.

Yours,
Lana

Jason Oliver Nixon never forgot his trip to the Greenbrier Hotel as a child. This room shows Dorothy Draper never left him!

Wallpaper by Cole & Son, available at Chestnut Hall

 

Wallpaper by Thibaut. Who says you can't mix large scale patterns?

Filed Under: Design, wallpaper

Making a Beeline to Bunny!

June 27, 2011 By lana Leave a Comment

One of the perks of going to Market is the chance to meet some of our design heroes. We were thrilled to meet interior design icon Bunny Williams in her Beeline Home showroom, an environment full of eye candy for lovers of Traditional design. Bunny graciously welcomed us and talked to us about her inspirations.  Long before her furniture line, her aesthetic and take on Traditional design have always been right up our alley.  We love the way Bunny mixes furniture pieces from different time periods and styles, and we especially admire her fearless use of color. Bunny Williams discusses color with Karen Rice:

 

In our eyes, the elements in Bunny’s rooms are like members of an eclectic salon in a dynamic conversation….. A contemporary painting conversing with a Classical bust, a Mid-Century-inspired wing chair in dialog with an egg-and-dart console. Walls clad in rusty, corrugated tin and an astroturf rug become exquisite art elements, holding their own among marble and silk. Below enjoy some images of Bunny’s showroom!

Yours,

Lana

With Bunny Williams

Filed Under: Design, Market

American Made and Eight-Way Hand Tied!

May 27, 2011 By lana Leave a Comment

 

Opie’s Candy Store next to Floyd’s Barbershop in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, hometown of both Andy Griffith and Henredon Upholstery.

 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  As many of you know, at Chestnut Hall we have been celebrating our products that are American-made. This Spring, we have gone on the road to see firsthand what Made in America really means, and we were blown away not only by the skill and craftsmanship, but the extra TLC put into handmade American upholstery and casegoods. We traveled through real, small town America, (and it was extra fitting that we actually visited Andy Griffith’s home town in this process!)  Viewing upholstery and casegoods in the making gave us the opportunity to see the furniture we stand behind from start to finish, to truly understand why they are quality products, and what the differences are between our various manufacturers’ methods.

Today I’ll share with you some insider knowledge about upholstery, observed on our factory tours.  Your mother told you “nice” sofas and chairs are eight-way hand tied.  Often our customers ask for this feature knowing it means superior and well-made, but don’t really know why, or that this bit of engineering must be carefully planned and put together entirely by hand.  Here’s the scoop.

Simply put, eight-way hand tied coil springs provide a web of support underneath the seat cushions of a sofa or chair. However, they do more than make sure you don’t fall through the bottom. Other spring systems exist, but only eight-way hand tied systems are tailored to each specific piece and adapt to the individual sitter’s weight and position.  The springs are secured sturdily in place by a web of hand-tied rope that crosses each spring eight times, but have enough give to move in different directions depending on the force of the sitter. This means that every person who sits in an eight-way hand tied chair or sofa experiences it in their very own way!  Eight-way hand tied sofas and chairs offer superior comfort and durability because of the range of movement beneath the cushions.

Here are some photos from our trip to the factories watching eight-way hand tying in action!

Yours,

Lana

 

Springs are placed inside the frame before hand-tying. Taller springs around the perimeters ensure you don't fall into the crevices!
The beginning of the eight-way hand tying process at Wesley Hall. Note the ropes hanging over the frame, ready to be tied!
Eddie Deal, President of Wesley Hall with a technician tying springs
A Taylor King technician hand-ties springs in a chaise lounge.
A skilled technician shows off his finished hand-tied springs, American-made by a proud American!
Eight-way hand-tied springs offer a support system that moves with the sitter.
Pearson installs four rows of springs in most of their sofas for added comfort.
Pearson also installs springs in the back of tight-back sofas for extra comfort.
With an eight-way hand tie specialist at Taylor King!

 

Filed Under: chairs, Design

A Week for Windsors

April 27, 2011 By lana 2 Comments

With all the Windsor family hype as we approach the Royal Wedding, an interior designer can’t help but be reminded of another dignified Windsor with a rich pedigree – the timelessly handsome Windsor Chair!

The Windsor Chair is distinguished by its construction – legs and back-supporting rods are socketed into a plank seat. According to architecturals.net, the chair became popular in England during the early 18th century and was used both inside and outside, often painted.  Folklore says King George III (1738 – 1820) was fox hunting near Windsor castle and sought refuge from a storm at a tenant’s cottage.  The tenant offered the king a simple chair built with socketed sticks to rest in, and he liked it enough to have his carpenters reproduce the chairs for Windsor Castle.  Hence, they became fashionable. Also in the 18th Century, Colonists brought these chairs to America, where they became an important part of American furniture history as well.

Here are some Windsor chairs available at Chestnut Hall and a few beautiful interiors featuring Windsor chairs (courtesy of Apartment Therapy). We also have a large selection of painted Windsors in stock!

Yours,

Lana

 

Filed Under: chairs, Design, windsor chair

Psychics of Style tell us the Color of the Year!

April 23, 2011 By lana 2 Comments

Let’s imagine it’s Paris Fashion Week. Reporters flock to the shows of different design houses and sum up styles they see several times and call them TRENDS. How did these designers all simultaneously decide their models should wear platform pumps, that dots are now cool, and a lace top would be a crowd-pleaser? Did they have a secret meeting before they started designing? Did they just all have the same ideas? Nope. They looked to trend forecasters to tell them what fashionistas will like.

The same thing happens in Interior Design, and is the reason why we sometimes see the same fabrics offered across several of our upholstery lines, why different manufacturers all introduced a Greek key pattern option in trim last year, and why botanical print fabrics were all over Spring Market.

So who are these psychics of style and what kind of magic crystal ball do they have?

Simply put, trend forecasters look at culture to tell them what we will gravitate towards. Per Nimer, a trend forecaster for AkzoNobel, told us that this year, color is driven by looking inward and appreciating what we have. This is the result of the tough economy and a broader awareness of protecting the environment.  We’re considering sustainable designs as better solutions, looking at objects with multiple uses (sleeper-sofa anyone?), and are enjoying simple everyday pleasures in the present instead of always chasing the next new piece of technology.  We’re supporting local businesses and are nostalgic for simple, small-town life, seeking locally grown foods, hand-made objects and seeing imperfection and asymmetry as valuable human touches.

Sum that up and you’ve got OPTIMISM.  The color for 2011 is….. yellow!  From electric chartreuse to golden honeysuckle, the whole spectrum of yellow is predicted to add a pop of positivity to your place.

We are inspired by these beautiful rooms designed in yellow. Mixed in are a few great yellow pieces available at Chestnut Hall. Interior photos courtesy of Decorati Access. Enjoy and be happy!

Yours,

Lana

With Per Nimer of AkzoNobel
Interior by Sean Johnson. Courtesy Decorati Access.
Filed Under: Design, yellow

Headed to High Point!

March 29, 2011 By lana 2 Comments

 

A display at Wesley Hall shows a beautiful tufted sofa with a dressmaker skirt, one of the many, many items we coveted at Market last Fall!

For those of us in retail, it’s the semi-annual most wonderful time of the year… Market in High Point!  With an uncountable amount of vendors to navigate, this experience is black or white – the most overwhelming experience imaginable, or the home-shopping enthusiast’s wildest fantasy.  We love it and we’re headed there on Friday!

We go to buy furniture and accessories. It’s exhilarating.  Miles and miles of eye candy, prototypes hoping to make it into production, and old favorites back again, curated and styled in today’s trends for our perusing. We do our best to edit down and bring the most interesting, comfortable, and useful back to you.  It’s fashion week for furniture.  We’re having lunch with our reps, and we’re going to cocktail parties. The celebs are stepping out.  Bunny Williams graciously greets retailers and designers in her Beeline Home showroom, Lillian August points out her favorite new pieces, Ty Pennington from Extreme Makeover Home Edition is scheduled to speak, and at Highland House, we’re meeting Princess Diana’s former butler. Yep. We are.  He’s apparently changed careers.

We’re there for inspiration, and we’re there for knowledge. We take the time to tour factories and learn about the details.  It’s what fascinates us, and we think it’s important for you as well to know what’s underneath the plushy fabric on the couch you are about to special order, why it’s better if the frame is solid hardwood, what is and is not Made in the USA, and what “cerused” really means and why you might want to try this finish to add some interest to your breakfast room.

We can’t wait.  We’ll be Tweeting and Facebooking great ideas and new looks we find, so like us, follow us, and add our blog to your RSS feed! And most importantly, let us know your thoughts!

Yours,

Lana

 

Filed Under: Design, Market Tagged With: , ,