La Belle du Bal
If chairs were people and fairy tales a part of our worldly reality, this project would be a true Cinderella story. On a recommendation, a designer asked us to view a piece she was interested in reviving. She brought out a very quiet, almost homely chair. At second glance we began to notice how much personality and intrinsic beauty this chair possessed. Sadly our studio was full at the moment and we regretfully passed on the project. Months later the designer contacted us again. We were so happy as we had discussed this chair many times wondering if we could rework our scheduled projects. We made room without impacting other projects and set about getting to know this swan in hiding.
Revealing What Was Already There
The first order of business was to remove the old upholstery, inspect and clean the frame and prepare the wood to receive its primer -- all necessary steps for us to give the old bones of this chair a fresh new application of brilliantly white lacquer. In an effort to keep costs down, the designer didn't want us to remove every imperfection on the frame but did request we correct some obvious signs of abuse. While our intention was to do just that, we ended up going over the entire frame and removed nearly all of the old paint without additional cost to our client. After submitting some finish samples for approval, we realized the frame would look much better with a more uniform appearance and with our client's consent executed a total refurbishing of the frame. We filled the obvious voids, recreated some parts of the frame that were worn away and feathered the little remaining paint into the frame so there would be no perceptible line of demarcation between paint and wood. We gave the chair two light coats of primer and then applied multiple layers of filmy thin lacquer. We wanted to build up a glass smooth finish much in the same manner that a fine petticoat supports a beautiful gown with its layer upon layer of tulle. The transformation had begun and this little chair began to glow with confidence and sheer presence.
An Enticing Enchantment
This project had a magic about it from inception. The abundant personality emanating from the chair was more than matched by its designer owner. She is a wonderfully talented individual with incredible vision and exquisite taste. The fabric she selected for this frame absolutely shimmered with energy and elegance and when combined with the frame resulted in an organic synergy that was nothing short of mesmerizing. In studying the fabric we suggested playing up various aspects of the pattern on specific areas of the chair that resulted in one delightful detail upon another. The finished project was ravishingly simple yet so powerful.
Waving a Magic Wand
This project represents hours of time and slow, painstaking work. Refurbishing the frame was nearly surgical in nature. Applying the fabric was fairly straightforward but time requirements soared concerning the finish work involved in this piece. In order to get the miles of double welting to wrap around the many curves of this chair and remain flat, we cut the fabric on the bias. When sewing the welting, we lined it with muslin to give the fabric extra body so it would retain its curve once it received its new shape. This acute attention to detail demanded a slow approach yet each time we stood back to inspect our work we would marvel at the steady transformation of this schrew into an enchanting and stunning princess.
Beauty That is Overwhelming
The details on this piece are too numerous to mention much less demonstrate visually. The frame is gracefully articulated -- teaming with fluted columns, ribbed curves and delicate carved flowerettes. The fabric hosts a variety of shapes including a marvelous phoenix, baroque inspired flowers and geometric designs all wrapped in scintillating gold thread and a satin sheen. Some chairs, like people, are too beautiful to photograph. They need to be experienced first hand. Their pulchritude overwhelms the lens giving us only a glimpse of what is there yet we can't take our eyes away for the pull is beyond our power of resistance.
La Belle du Bal
We were inspired to work hard on this chair by the value of the frame alone as well as by our interactions with the designer client. Both provided inspiration and incentive for us to execute those things that made this project so highly successful regardless of the time they demanded. We became entranced with this project when we met the designer and reviewed the frame. We totally fell under it's spell when we unrolled the fabric. Some projects push us to new levels of creativity and such was the case with this one. The potential in this pairing of fabric and frame placed a spell on us that lasted the duration of this very rewarding project. The megawatt beauty of this finished chair stopped our hearts momentarily. Being in the same space as this piece is a visceral experience. Like an incredible dress on an equally incredible woman, all who view this piece involuntarily stop what they are doing to simply enjoy the experience of viewing something intrinsically and classically beautiful.
