An English-French Manor-Style Remodel by Fiorito Interior Design

It is sometimes a surprise what beauty can lurk under the surface of a room. A client with a 1970s kitchen and eat-in area cut up by an unwieldy peninsula was desperate for it to reflect her love of all things English-and-French-Manor-Home.

Working closely with my client, we removed the peninsula in favor of a lovely free-standing island that we painted a shade of French Blue. This is topped with Old World sink hardware (note the ceramic HOT and COLD medallions on the faucets!) and a gorgeous marble counter with a very special edge profile that evokes an antique French Boulangerie counter from the 1910s. Pendants with patinaed metal shades over the island further the charming Old World feel. Handmade white and blue tiles laid in a quilted diamond pattern cover the backsplash, and the remainder of the cabinetry at the perimeter is in a warm cream tone.

The eat-in area near the fireplace got a cozy treatment with custom seat cushions and window seat bench cushions in a classic blue-and-white Toile de Jouy matching the island stools.

The nearby living room got a similar treatment. We removed dark wood paneling and dark carpeting in favor of a light sky blue wall and lighter wood flooring. A new rug with the appearance of an heirloom, a new grand-scaled sofa, and some of my client’s precious antiques helped take the room from 70s rec room to English Sitting Room.

All photos by Bernardo Grijalva.

Happy designing!

History of Furniture: Ancient Greece

We practically need a time machine for this installment of the History of Furniture since we are heading back, far back in time, to ancient Greece.

We have the Greeks to thank for so many things: the concept of democracy, science, philosophy, advances in architecture...and some lovely furniture!

They invented the kline which is a type of sofa or day bed. Klinai (the plural) were made with a woven bottom (probably of leather strapping) and four legs, then covered with woven throws and pillows stuffed with hay, leaves, or feathers. Like the Egyptians, the Greeks often made legs of chairs or klinai into the shapes of animal legs or feet. But klinai could also have simple turned legs.

Thankfully, we know a lot about Greek furniture from extant images from frescoed walls and vases.

While the kline as the ancient Greeks knew it might not be in service today, we do have a lovely piece of Greek furniture still in use in the form of the Klismos chair.

Klismos chairs were originally made of wood with seats of cane or of woven leather. The swooping delicate line of the chair comes from its saber legs which curve out. The back rest continues the curve upward but in the opposite direction, giving the silhouette of the chair a beautiful "S" curve. A low, concave panel supported the sitter's back. While there are really no extant klismos chairs to speak of, we can find plenty of imagery showing its shape and construction not only from the Greeks but also from the Romans who emulated nearly every aspect of Greek culture.

The chair was quite popular during the classical Greek period but fell out of usage by the Hellenistic period. Some theorize this is because the chair's delicate saber legs contributed to instability, causing the piece to splay out and break. One would think that with a design flaw that serious, the chair would never have been widely used to begin with. I feel the decline of the chair simply has to do with changing tastes of style and fashion. Whatever the reason, it seems that the shape is too exotic and alluring to resist and the chair saw a huge rise in popularity in the late 1700s when all of Europe was interested in Neo-Classicism. Greek and Roman sites were being excavated, pottery was being unearthed and images of the klismos chair were discovered!

Klismos chairs are now a very chic and interesting alternative to a traditional chair.

At the start of this post, I mentioned that the Greeks contributed toward advances in architecture and they are perhaps best known for the Greek Column. There are actually three different orders--or types--of columns. It's useful to know these orders not only for architectural purposes, but because these columns can be incorporated into interiors or into furniture designs!

While it is commonly believed that the Doric column preceded the Ionic column in time, there is no real evidence to support this. Archaeologists have found Doric and Ionic columns from roughly the same era. But for ease, let's start with the Doric column first.

A Doric column is the plainest of the Greek columns. Although the shaft itself has some detail in the form of fluting (always twenty channels), the top is simply rounded, topped with a square abacus. Often Doric columns have no base, but some have a plinth for the fluted column to stand upon. It is the shortest of Greek columns, sometimes looking a little squat since it is thicker at the bottom than the top which allows the distribution of the weight from above.

Next is the Ionic column. I remember the name of this column because it starts with "I" and in a funny way, the top of the column appears to have two "eyes." These are decorative scrolls or volutes. This column, like the Doric, is also fluted but it is fitted with four more than the Doric, bringing the total channels of the Ionic column to twenty-four.

Finally, we have the most elaborate--and slimmest!--of all the columns, the Corinthian. Marked by a capital with two extravagant rows of acanthus leaves and scrolls, the Corinthian gets its name from the ancient Greek city of Corinth.

Of course many eras since have copied these ancient Greek styles in what has become known as a Neo-Classical style or Neo-Classical Revival. We will examine some of these in future posts. But in the meantime, happy designing!

Get An Instant Vintage Look With Pressed Tin Ceilings

One of the most overlooked areas in a home is the ceiling plane. Since it's not in our immediate view, the ceiling takes a backseat to wall color, wall decor, and of course any furnishings and rugs we may put into a room. But turning that overlooked plane into a focal point can do wonders to liven up a space. There are many options for a ceiling finish including paint, wallpaper, plaster, and relief details. Depending on the material and how it is applied, it can enhance a space concept, making it more modern or rustic or fun...or even vintage!

And a material that says vintage like no other is pressed tin.

Introduced in the late 1800s, embossed tin plates imitated carved and molded plasterwork from the finest European and American homes but at a reduced cost since they were machine made. They were a popular feature in many commercial and residential buildings of the period because the Industrial Revolution and the proliferation of the railroad helped to disseminate this product all over the country.

Below are some photos of actual pressed tin ceilings during this period. First we see a view of the saloon at the Columbian Hotel in Trinidad, Colorada, sometime in the late 1800s.

And here are two views of private homes with pressed tin ceilings: a sitting room and a music room...

Of course pressed metal ceilings fell out of favor with the coming Arts and Crafts and Streamline Moderne (Deco) movements but they have made a resurgence in recent years in both commercial and residential applications. Thy can be ordered in a variety of metal colors and are paintable.

Restaurants like to use the material to reference a sense of a by-gone era. Below we can see a photo of a pressed tin ceiling in the Greenwich Village restaurant Tavern on Jane. The vintage-style milk glass schoolhouse pendants look wonderful against the tin.

And here is a fun view of a seating area in the restaurant and bar Kettner Exchange in San Diego featuring large-format copper colored tiles.

Pressed tin ceilings look particularly good in kitchens. They truly lend themselves to an old-time, antique sense of Americana. White cabinetry with beadboard panels, vintage light fixtures, and wood floors recall a time long gone.

Pressed metal ceilings can be used in any room. In fact, I am currently specifying the material in a rustic but luxurious master bathroom design for a client.

For applications in places like a master bathroom or even as a kitchen backsplash, PVC tiles that are engineered to look like pressed metal are a great option since they are easy to clean or wipe and won't rust.

There are also versions that can be used in dropped ceilings for commercial projects with T-bars already installed.

Happy designing!

Know Your Sofas: Knole Sofa

One of the earliest examples of a sofa, the Knole Sofa was originally an upholstered, more casual throne on which the monarch sat to receive visitors. It is associated with and named after one of the great houses of England, Knole House, located in Kent and owned by the Sackville-West family since 1605.

Below is the original Knole sofa in Knole House, which is part of the National Trust. The design is marked by a hinged back and sides which can fold down. The tops of the back and sides have finials and when the back and sides are in an upright position, they are held in place by braided cord, often with tassels, wrapped around the finials.

For fans of "Downton Abbey," here is a screen cap from the series of a Knole House sofa in the library; behind it we can see Mr. Carson (played by Jim Carter). We have seen Lord and Lady Grantham sit here often. The next photo shows a view of the antique Knole sofa in the library of Highclere Castle, the real life castle which serves as the setting for "Downton Abbey."

Although the Knole sofa originated in the early part of the 1600s and was traditionally upholstered with tapestry material...

...it can be used successfully in contemporary rooms. Here is a Knole sofa upholstered in a modern fabric. It works quite well with the lime green bolster pillows!

And here is a beautiful example of how to reference a period without copying it. Designer Orlando Diaz-Azcuy places two Knole sofas by a fireplace. In spite of the ancient origins of this sofa, the simplicity of the room and the white linen upholstery makes the scene feel contemporary and clean-lined. This reminds me of Design Mantra #1, previously here: Contrast brings interest!

Happy designing!

History of Furniture: The Three Louis and How To Spot Them

For anyone not versed in antiques, historical French furniture can be a daunting blur. A Louis-this-number chair or a Louis-that-number settee... to some it all ends up sounding like the numbing "wah-wah" of adults talking in "Peanuts" cartoons.

But there is an easy way to tell the difference between the three Louis (yes, the plural of Louis is... Louis!) and it has to do with reading the silhouette and details. Once you know these simple flags to look for, you too will be spotting Louis XIV chairs and Louis XVI settees.

First, we want to talk about the Kings themselves and the personality of their respective reigns. Then this will help you understand why the furniture looks the way it does, and how these political--and therefore cultural--qualities at the time manifested themselves in the furniture.

1) Louis XIV, or Louis Quatorze (kah-TORZ, which is the number fourteen in French) was also known as "The Sun King." He believed in "divine right" which put forth the idea that God alone is responsible for putting a King in power. He reigned from 1661 to 1715, the longest continuing reign of any monarch in a major continental European country. He turned Versailles from a hunting lodge into a stunning palace and moved his court there, thus centralizing his rule and bringing the aristocracy to live with him at the newly renovated and monstrously sized palace. He managed to gain complete control of France and eliminate feudalism. For this reason (and many others), he was seen as extremely powerful. All architecture, art, and furnishings for Versailles (which became the de rigeur style of the day) were meant to reflect his might. So chairs are rigid, heavy, masculine with a very strong presence, nearly throne-like. Identifiable details include os du mouton (OH-duh-moo-TON, or "lamb's leg" in French) legs and stretchers so named because of their curved shape reminiscent of a lamb's hind leg, upholstered seat backs, legs set in a straight line with the seat, and a general boxy shape. This sturdy style was the last of Medieval furnishings.

2) Louis XV, or Louis Quinze (kanz, fifteen in French) was the great-grandson of Louis XIV and ruled from 1743 to 1774. It is argued that his reign was a success or a failure, depending upon which historian you believe. What is clear is that he was quite a womanizer, which is not at all unusual since monarchs had official and unofficial mistresses, but beyond that, he apparently led a decadent, debauched life full of idle pastimes (he is remembered as a "do-nothing" King). As with any period in history, whether cultural, political, societal, or artistic, the pendulum swings back and forth: periods of austerity or conservative periods are always followed by periods of excess, followed again by a societal and cultural tightening. As we just learned, the style of Louis XIV was heavy, large, masculine. So it makes sense that the style of Louis XV would be softer, more elegant, more feminine, more refined...and considering the lifestyle of the King, more exaggerated, more extravagant, and indulgent. Identifiable details include the absence of the stretchers we saw in the Louis XIV pieces, cabriole legs (a delicate serpentine shaped leg that curves out at the top and in at the bottom) also known as an S-scroll leg, short arm rests that end before the seat edge, a gently angled upholstered back framed by a wood moulded frame, and details of shells, ribbons, and baskets or bouquets of flowers.

3) And now we come to our third Louis: King Louis XVI, or Louis Seize (sez, sixteen in French) who reigned from 1774, when his grandfather Louis XV died, to 1793. We all know him as the husband of Queen Marie-Antoinette whose life ended, along with her husband's, during the French Revolution. When Louis XVI took over as King of France at nineteen years of age, the monarchy was in serious trouble, plagued by crippling debt, and a growing hostility from both the aristocracy (who blocked his reform efforts which would have made life more fair for those less fortunate) and by the general population who came to mistrust and eventually despise any form of monarchy. Louis XVI was an inept and indecisive ruler so the style at Versailles and the silhouette that grew up around his reign was compensatory and harkened back to the classical days of ancient Rome (the ruins of Pompeii had been discovered a few decades prior and were under excavation) and especially ancient Greece. This connection to a sense of lofty, glorious history was camouflage for a weak monarchy in peril. As I mentioned previously, the pendulum swings, and in this case the sinuous ornamentation of the previous Louis was toned down and restrained. The sense of Louis XVI furnishings is one of cool restraint, logic, and reason. Identifiable details include mostly straight lines with a near-total lack of any curves, straight legs with fluting that deliberately look like Classical Greek columns topped by square capitals which often contain a rosette, simple square or oval backs, repeated geometric motifs in the carvings, and Greek-style wreaths, garlands, drapery, lyres, and urns.

Now that you know a bit more about the reign of each King and therefore the sense of style associated with each one, I hope you will be able to spot a Louis XIV, XV, or XVI piece pretty easily. Start by identifying the characteristics of the silhouette and you should be on your way!

Happy designing!