Chair Love Affair

I've always had a thing for chairs. Carved French armchairs, small slipper chairs, bamboo chairs, cozy to curl up in upholstered chairs, interesting veranda chairs... I love them all. And they often serve as a source of inspiration for my room designs.

They can be so graceful and full of character, and a good one will have a perfect balance of form and function. The chairs at our shop are all selected to feel as good as they look. Comfort never has to be sacrificed for style - the two can easily be achieved simultaneously.

Here are two styles that are particularly popular (I didn't have time to take pictures in the shop, so I had to pull these from the web - hence the boring upholstery):



But we were able to snap a few photos around our house yesterday. Here is one of the new veranda chairs that we got of our loggia lounge area:


It's a perfect spot for curling up with a book.

Here is a carved French chair in our living room that we've had forever:


The cushions have changed many times over the years, but the chair never gets tired or dated looking.

Finally, here is a little slipper chair that I fell in love with when it was just a torn, threadbare mess in a dusty old "antique" shop (don't you love how so many junk shops claim to sell antiques?)


You would never know it just looking at this chair, but it is one of the most comfortable seats in our house. Something about the seat cushion and the angle of the chair back. I've read many a novel in that chair.

While I don't think I could cram one more chair into my little house, I've discovered that I can still feed my obsession with pictures of chairs.

There are some great renderings out there and Kate introduced me to one artist who does some wonderful silhouettes and watercolors: Anne Harwell of Annechovie.

I love the aqua background in her piece above and it would fit right in with our room sets at the shop. Apparently it was also featured in the new Nancy Meyers movie, It's Complicated. I doubt I'll see it until it's available on Netflix, but I loved everything about her set design for Something's Gotta Give.

I also like this one with the fun lime textile and stack of design books:


It looks very much like my dining room chairs.

And my daughter knows me well. For my Christmas/birthday present she gave me a set of chair accessories including Anne's note cards...


...and this Annechovie chair tissue box from Shandell's:


I simply can't get enough. In fact at one point in our marriage my husband actually said, "Enough, no more chairs!"

What about you? Do you have any design obsessions?