Famous Furniture

Iconic pieces of furniture are the staple of interior design, with many pieces still continuing to be a part of modern interiors today. If you’re a fan of interior design, there’s a good chance you’ll have your favourite famous pieces, and dream of having them in your home. But when you have such famous pieces there’s always a battle of how to style them without making them seem too ostentatious or cliché. For me, I think the best way to include famous pieces of furniture in your interior is not to make them stand out and demand all the attention, but instead to immerge them into a scheme that shows off the iconic piece perfectly but subtly. I’ve pulled out some famous furniture and included some fun ways to accessorise them, to get you thinking how you might style your favourite famous piece.

The Egg Chair by Arne Jacobsen at The Conran Shop

The Egg Chair is one of the most recognisable pieces of furniture from the mid-century era, and is a fantastic piece to have if you love smooth, sleek and contemporary interiors. If you want to use the chair but not go fully in with the mid-century style, you can tone down the chair with some alternative accessories. This glamorous side table with look good next to the Egg Chair and create some diversity between the curves of the chair and the angular table.

Pearl Side Table from Swoon Editions

To complete the look I would add some faux fur cushion to the chair to create the right balance between modern and mid-century glam. These caramel coloured cushions from Nordic House are perfect for the job.

Sheepskin Cushions in Caramel from Nordic House

It was Eero Saarinen’s mission to try and rid the world of the ugliness of the four legged chair, which resulted in the Tulip Chair, and the Tulip Table to follow. Both designs have a futuristic look that still holds its own today and is as popular as ever; the table is available to buy from Skandium, in a range of colours and sizes.

The Tulip Table by Eero Saarenin from Amara via Pinterest

The Tulip Table is made from fibreglass, and so is very modern in its appearance, to juxtapose this, I’d contrast the table with something like these painted wooden Ercol chairs from Heal’s. The fun orange colour will look good against the crisp white of the table and create a playful but elegant dining area to entertain at.

Originals Stacking Chairs by Erol at Heal’s

Finish off the look with some decorative pieces in the centre of the table, I like the idea of putting some vibrantly coloured flowers, or pieces like these metallic bowls from Tom Dixon available at Amara.

Gold Hex Bowls by Tom Dixon at Amara

The Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe always reminds me of the sleek interiors of Mad Men. The strong, masculine lines give this piece of furniture a bold look, making it a striking piece to have in the home if you love ultra-contemporary style. You can buy the Barcelona Chair from Chaplins, which has a great collection of iconic furniture.

The Barcelona Chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe from the Urbnite via Pinterest

Unless you like your interiors very contemporary and minimal, you may want to soften up the chair with some interesting accessories. The chair is a daring look and so needs equally exciting pieces to go with it; this cowhide print is rather Avant Garde and would make an exciting combination paired with the chair.

Renaissance Cowhide Rug from Rockett St George

This Bow lamp from Made had a cool copper finish that’ll go with the look well, having a little of old and new style to go with both the chair and the rug.

Bow Lamp from Made

The Eames Plastic Chair is a design that has been all over interiors for the past few years; and can be found at Heal’s. They’re a great design that have been put into a whole range of schemes. I love how they’ve been paired with this farmhouse table below, mixing traditional and contemporary design.

Eames Plastic Chair from Coaster Furniture via Pinterest

If you want to keep the look feeling contemporary, combining the chairs with this table from Heal’s will look great, especially putting the blue table top and the orange finish of the chair together.

Fawn Tink Blue Table from Heal’s

For a final touch of glamour to this contemporary table area, some luxe gold cutlery adds the perfect amount of drama.

Gold Cutlery from Bloomingville

Famous pieces of furniture are a great way to show off your style in your interiors, and a fun challenge to give an iconic piece of furniture your own stamp of personality; whether it’s adding contrasting accessories or placing the piece in a alternatively styled room, or completing the look by sticking to one era, you can be sure that an iconic piece will bring style, fun and intrigue to your home.

Read Full Post »

Dress me up

A beautifully made dresser can really transform an area, be it your kitchen, dining room or hallway. It’s a piece of furniture that provides not only storage but a space to display treasured items and decorative accessories. Whether you like to have your dresser brimming with bric-a-brac, or keep it clean and crisp, there are all kinds of ways to get creative and use your dresser to show off your style. Here are some ideas to get you thinking…

from The Jungalow via Pinterest

I love how this dresser is overflowing with plants, it really draws you in, especially as the natural green of the foliage bounces off the green paint. Dressers are the perfect location to display fresh flowers and plants, as well as some interesting vases that’ll still catch the eye when empty. This Kassandra vase from Holly’s House has an interesting design with individual slots for each flowers, I can see a few wild flowers sitting in this beautifully.

‘Kassandra Vase Tall’ from Holly’s House

Something that might sit nicely on one of the shelves of your dresser is this unusually shaped vase from Nordic House, showing how you don’t need a whole bouquet of flowers to make an impact.

‘Reclining Clear Vase’ from Nordic House

from Vintage Rose Garden via Pinterest

These lanterns hanging off a dresser shows how you can get creative with both your lighting and your dresser. Although it may not be advisable to have any open flames on your dresser, it can be a nice way to display larger candlesticks when they’re not in use, ready to place on the dining room table at a moment’s notice. I like this contemporary brass candlestick piece from Holly’s House, which would sit beautifully on the surface of a dresser.

‘Move Brass Candlesticks’ from Holly’s House

These carnival tea light holders from The Estate Yard are an amazing collection of fun designs that’ll look great placed sporadically on your dresser.

‘Carnival Glass Tea Lights’ from The Estate Yard

Curating your dresser to work perfectly for you is all about finding the right pieces, and the right amount of pieces, to display. The key is to create a range of items, in all shapes and sizes to really give you something to look at. As a backdrop to your accessories I like the idea of fixing a few small mirrors onto the your dresser, this will not only give the impression of a touch more space, but will also give the dress some extra character. This collection of brass framed mirrors from The Estate Yard are the perfect assortment of shapes and sizes, and their style will work with a whole range of schemes.

‘Brass Mirrors’ from The Estate Yard

You may also want to think about what other decorative type things to add, some with a function and some just because they look pretty. This jars from Maison du Monde are a great style piece on their own, but also handy storage in a pinch.

‘Abelia Glass Resin Pots’ from Maison du Monde

 

from Mademoiselle Poirot via Pinterest

With an array of pots, bowls, plates and jar this dresser is covered head to toe; showing how a dresser can both store and display items beautifully.

One of the best things you can display on a dresser is a beautiful set of plates. From ones you’ve collected over the years, to maybe a special sentimental set, or just some really beautiful designs, on a dresser they’re safe from harm’s way and can be admired on a daily basis. Anthropologie always do some striking pieces of tableware, I love these botanical plates, they’re fresh and eye-catching and will instantly improve your mood. So will these pretty plates in a range of bohemian patterns.

‘Jardiniere Melamine Dinner Plate’ from Anthropologie

‘Adele Dinner Plates’ from Anthropologie

Finally, I had to add in this dramatic photo of a dresser displaying a collection of portraits. This is quite a bold look, but dresser are still a great way to display photos of your loved ones, especially in something as lovely as this photoframe from Plumo, which would look gorgeous on a dresser.

from Remodelista via Pinterest

‘Mustard Frame’ from Plumo

A beautiful dresser can be made even lovelier with the perfect accessories to go with it, tailoring to both your needs and your style is a great way to turn a functional piece of furniture into a thoughtful display.

Read Full Post »