Celebrating My Life of Living Well. Domestic and Otherwise.

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Searching For The Perfect Pair of Wings


You think it would be easy. Need a chair. Go out and buy a chair.
When did I allow everything to get so complicated?

Yes, I need a chair. Actually I need two. Ok, so maybe need is not exactly the right word . Let's just leave it as I have a strong desire to purchase a pair of wing backs for my living room. Once decided upon, these will eventually become the best seats in the house so of course comprehensive research is of vital importance!

Why do I sound moostruck over a chair you ask? Read on and see for yourself.

I find that the mood a wing back chair creates in a room is unique and unparalleled. Comfort and warmth, elegance and refinement, a wing back exudes all of these distinguished characteristics and more .

That gorgeous gold gilded tea paper on the walls , the soft ambient light and that velvet upholstery, tell me, could there be a better chair out there to curl up in with a good book?
I think not.


Any chair more elegant than this baby ?
Love that lamp and the pouf on the right, have been seeing a lot of these lately.
Note to self, must add more gold furnishings to my home .
A dusting of gold adds a layer of luxury and a final polish to any room.
Personally I like my gold matte and I adore most anything that has been gold leafed.

So many superb styles and interpretations. What to do?

Should I go classic and elegant?
Or maybe something with a subtle twist on the traditional like this Grosfeld House wing chair available at Aero and as seen on 1stdibs.
This one from The New Traditionalists. The animal hide back and trim are just so nyc bobo (bourgeois bohemian) chic!


Have been enchanted for some time with these tasteful chairs from Victoria Hagan Home.

Am a big fan of nail heads as you can see.

Or something completely mood changing- perhaps some mid century modern flair with the Papa Bear Chair designed in 1951 by Hans Wegner?
Here is another chair caught my eye particularly , because I can't make out if its a vintage design or of a modern interpretation of a classic wing. Either way, I am drawn to it's silhouette.

And any chair that sparks that much curiosity deserves consideration.


Here are a few more interesting takes on the wing back.
Not necessarily my taste for our current home but possibly for another time and place.



Another mid modernist take on the Wing chair.
Can't you just see this chair below in Dan Draper's office?


And then to add new depth to my confusion, there is the allure of canopied porter's chairs I have to contend with. I have been enamored with these for a while now. Ever since I was reintroduced to these beauties at BG, (decorated by none other than the fabulous Kelly Wearstler), I was captivated by their form and grace not to mention their sense of drama and mystery.

While their origins may be humble, (these guerites were literally porter's chairs in 16th Century France ) they will always be the epitome of chic to me!
Below is a photo of the chairs as seen in BG. I don't know what I love more, the chairs or the
de Gournay wall paper! Ooh La La!





Decisions, decisions.
Which ones would you choose?





1 comment:

  1. Love this collection of "wings"! I'm looking for 2 Victorian chairs and I really want to get them from the Paris Flea Market. First I have to get back there again, then figure out how to ship home without getting killed by taxes. Let me know if you have any leads, k? Thanks for stopping by and leaving comments. Also still figuring out how to have a link that will copy you on responses to your comments--I see it in other blogs. Get the "linked within" widget!

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