Keep The Table

I am always surprised by how a piece of furniture can look completely different when paired with other furniture or put into a different setting. I often times encounter clients who have given up on a piece of furniture because they think it is outdated. The words "I really don't care if you decide to get rid of that piece of furniture" is not unfamiliar when talking about design with clients. I respond by nodding my head in a manner suggesting I agree with them and then with the most delicate interjection encourage them to suspend their judgement until we've investigated every possible solution. It's a bit antiquated but I often say "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water". Any one can remove the potential problem piece of furniture from a room - few can take that very problem piece of furniture and make it better.

The "Before" and "After" example above illustrates this point well. At a glance the dining room furniture appears to have multiple personalities - non of which get along very well. It's a collision of different styles and periods that just do not belong together. The original dining table is glass. The side chairs are finished in a high gloss black lacquer. The end chairs are a traditional wing back style upholstered in a baby blue fabric and the carpet is a traditional Chinese pattern. All of these styles diminish the architectural voice - barely audible at this point. The architecture is being suffocated by the furnishings.

The dining room comes to life by eliminating the black lacquered and blue upholstered chairs and by adding a classic white modern armless chair. The traditional carpet is replaced with a simple cream colored broad loom custom cut to fit the space. Notice the original dining table was used but accessorized with contrasting organic elements of rustic wood containers. The room has a clean, crisp, California feel. Totally upscale, relaxing, chic and tranquil. The architecture is more vocal - one can understand the subtleties and nuances of the architectural details that before were overpowered by the ill suited furnishings.

It would have been easy to have eliminated everything in the room and started over. Keeping the table saved the home owner money, extended the life of a perfectly good table, and paid tribute to a beautiful architecturally designed and executed home. Loving What You Have means looking at what you have with new eyes. The very thing that you think is outdating your room may be the very thing you end up keeping. Love what you have and it will love you back.  Jay Nuhring