Veranda featured Charles Spada's home in their February 2012 Issue, and most everyone's mouths dropped at the breathtaking photographs of his country home in Normandy. His home also was featured in the March 2011 Architectural Digest in Italy. Spada has achieved House Beautiful magazine’s “Ten Most Beautiful Showhouse Rooms” award and was voted by House Beautiful as one of their “101 Favorite Designers.” He was also awarded Traditional Home magazine’s “Outstanding Designer” award, amongst many other awards.
Charles Spada's Normandy house gives us a glimpse of the very best that France has to offer. Stunning gray and blue painted paneled walls accented with china show the great craftsmanship that is found in many French homes. The rustic chevron patterned wood floors give this home a all natural feel. This home is filled with exceptional French styled furniture and carefully placed accent decorations. Neoclassical French empire furnishings are found along side classic french antiques make this home incredibly unique and personalized.
Gilt wall frames line the wall and black and white photographs with hand sketched art work add a subtle elegance and detail to the wall space. Traditional Home magazine featured his home in Boston that also featured pencil drawings on the wall in gilt wood frames. Simplistic pencil drawings can work in both modern and old century spaces. The lack of color brings a quiet elegance without making a room look cluttered.
Instead of silks which commonly accompany many french styled homes, Spada chooses a masculine feel with an animal print for the settee in the main sitting room accented by a Empire chair and Louis XV chairs. If you look closely the blue paint used on the walls is also chosen for the french chair frames tying things together nicely.
Charles Spada‘s country home in Normandy Picture Credit A Thoughful Eye Blog
Spada tells Veranda that the most important element in home decor is natural light. Floor-to-ceiling windows, or french doors can go a long way of adding the extra light into a room. He goes further to suggest that a good thought out electrical plan can be the very detail that makes a difference. No corners should be left in the dark.
One suggestion he makes is the use of Dimmer switches.
1. Dimmer Switches are switches that are used to vary the brightness of light bulbs. In the evening instead of turning on lamps, many people like dimmer switches because it is as simple as turning the lights down on the wall instead of going to the trouble of turning on one lamp after another. Dimmer switches actually save energy, as they use half the electricity of your regular wattage, there being very little consumption in the switch itself.
2. Wall Lights are another wonderful way to create mood lighting. Consider wall lights just as important as you would with a chandelier. Finding a style that is nicely suited with the period decorating style of your home will offer a nice touch that will not go over looked.
3. Hardware should be of the best quality and unfussy Spada tells Veranda. He suggests to go with a style that you will be pleased with 20 years down the road than following the trends and what is current at the moment.
Spada suggests that forged iron, gold gilt, or lacquered brass work well for doors.
He suggests that a plain polished nickel knob is an ideal pick for hardware. He also suggests that hardware should be innocuous, and shouldn't stop your eye from admiring cabinetry but complement it.
Charles Spada‘s country home in Normandy Picture Credit Blog Her
Charles Spada's Country Home Photo Credit Blog Her
Spada continues to tell Veranda about the keys to great design, as he discusses flooring.....
4. Great Wood Flooring. Spada highly recommends that a great floor is the foundation on which to build a room design. Spada prefers unfinished wood floors.
Unfinished flooring often doesn't have the gloss shine that many of the finished wood floors do. When it comes to cost, unfinished hardwood flooring will be more expensive than pre-finished flooring. Factory finishes always cost less than custom requests. With un-finished flooring, the customer also has to add in the cost of the stain which can get expensive. Most customers who get un-finished flooring often choose to stain and finish the floor themselves.
In this post, Semi Transparent stains can give your floors that really rustic old world charm without loosing the charm and texture of natural wood. Bleached pine also can look incredibly attractive if you are after a rustic period look.
There are so many options when it comes to choosing stains. Un-finished wood allows you the freedom to customize your floors and make them unique and personalized to your taste. Geometric patterns, the look of marquetry with several different shades of stain can all be achieved with unfinished wood.
If you are one of those design savvy customers who has a particular look in mind, and doesn't want to settle for ordinary, an unfinished wood floor might be something worth paying for. Spada also recommends avoiding trendy exotic woods. His preference over the years has been the Six-inch-wide, quarter-sawn white oak planks or recycled pine floors. The old wooden floors with dings, dents and scars add warmth and a sense of history.
I think you will agree with me that this house is one of the prettiest homes that has been featured in years. The color choices are by far the most captivating in my opinion. I also admire that he chooses the best French antiques to feature in many of his homes. We hoped you enjoyed this home as much as we did!
Charles Spada‘s Country Home in Normandy Photography By Andreas von Einsiedel
French Neoclassical Chair Featured in Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles -Interior Designer Amy Morris's Home
Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles featured Interior designer Amy Morris's home which was filled with lovely distressed Swedish antiques, and an eclectic mix of furnishings making her home comfortable and inviting to her family and friends. Here in her bathroom a Neoclassical Louis XVI French Chair is painted in white and upholstered with a white and green greek key design in velvet.
Several antiques really shine in this home such as a distressed wood pedestal market table in the basement paired with Louis XIII reproduction chairs.
If you like the look of the Louis XIII primitive style chairs, consider the Bailey Street Lassiter Chair which is finished in a bone suede complete with brass nail heads and a rich honey walnut tone. They are priced at $699.
The Hampton Vanity Stool would be spectacular against a wall. Buy two of these stools and make a feature wall shine with these delicate looking stools. The best thing about these stools is the price point. They are only $60 dollars, which gives some room for re-upholstery and a new paint finish.
French Style Decorating- Frédéric Méchiche Elle Decoration France
Elle Decor featured French Decorator Frédéric Méchiche, who had recently turned an office space into a grand, neoclassical apartment straight out of Versailles. The room was bathed in soft grays with exquisite architectural details. Marble columns topped with Medici vases make their mark in the entrance hall. 18th-century trompe l’oeil grisaille wallpaper panels are found in the bathroom. In the living room, gilded moldings and ornate chandeliers mix with contemporary art. Frédéric Méchiche's work originally was published in ELLE DECORATION France, and in the special issue of Elle Decor January February 2012.
French Style Decorating- Frédéric Méchiche Elle Decoration France
French Style Furniture -Iron and Glass Accordion Side Table in Brass
This table was made in the deserts of northern India by artisans that for generations worked within the British military establishment. Since the departure of the British in 1947, this region's industry has grown from one of military support to that of world class handicraft and furniture. These are from a family of iron workers who have been in the trade for several generations. There are three brothers that operate this family business now. Their grandfather even helped manufacture airplane parts in the final years of the British occupation of India. This table is fixed in place it is not adjustable. The handcrafted touch of artisan skill creates variations in color, size and design.
The added bonus of CG Sparks's Accordion Side Table is the design of the top is made in such a way that a custom piece of rounded marble could be made and fit into the top. It is several hundred dollars less than Inviting Homes table.
The 5 Piece Pedestal Dining Set collection features upscale style accents in a classic design that's sure to impress. Created with 18th century curved lines and updated antique brass hardware, the collection is a perfect way to bring classic and contemporary accents together in any home. The dining set includes dining table, 4 dining chairs. This terrific set is only $1377.00
The Curved Accent Stool from Stein World is great as an extra seat in the home. Small and convenient to move this stool is great for a variety of rooms. The stool has a warm wood finish with nail head trim along the fabric. Stein World sells this bench for $208
French Style Decorating- Frédéric Méchiche Elle Decoration France
French Style Decorating- Frédéric Méchiche Elle Decoration France
French Style Decorating- Frédéric Méchiche Elle Decoration France
French Empire Side Tables
The Aries Brass Marble Table is crafted of brass and marble for a very distinguished regal appearance. This absolutely stunning piece would complement any room or decor! Brass finished detailing with ram heads and subtle hooves at the base name our Aries table. Features solid black marble, not only once but twice for even more storage below. Avid Home Sells this table for $2038.
Cobble Court Home's Axminster occasional table has a round shaped paneled top that rests over tapering saber legs that are joined together by a shaped stretcher. Dimensions: 28" Dia x 28" H. Customize your table by selecting one of our five wood finishes: Light Walnut, Medium Mahogany (as shown), Dark Sable, Satinwood, and Silver Leaf (20% up-charge). This table sells for $1550
This absolutely classy settee shows you how stunning a white piece of furniture can be in your home. We have recently upholstered our Louis XV settee with a brown and cream ticking, and it turned out terrific! We finished the carved details in gold using a gold leaf pen, and our settee looks the very best it has ever looked before.
White upholstery can be daunting with pets and kids, but there are ways around having white furniture without having it ruined in a months time. One practical way of having lighter colored fabrics in your home is to create an additional seat cover with the same fabric. When guests come, or your kids, animals and guests sit on your furniture, there is no anxiety that your upholstery will get stained. Your seat cover can easily be thrown in the wash every two weeks for keeping it fresh. White also is a great choice, because it can be bleached where as other fabrics would be faded with so many washes over time. When you order, order enough for two slip covers. Louis XV and Louis XVI settees are timeless compared to our modern sofas. This stunning white upholstered French Louis XV Settee was featured on the Bastion & Lark Blog
Louis Vuitton Spring 2012 Ad Campaign Preview - Daria Strokous
Louis Vuitton Spring 2012 Ad Campaign Preview - Daria Strokous
Louis Vuitton’s Spring 2012 Ad Campaign Starring Daria Strokous, Kati Nescher was full of soft muted colors in the pastel tones. Pastels are perfect for someone who wants a home that is vibrant. Pastels really allow you to push color into your home while at the same time be restrained.
French Baroque Chair In Pink With A Gilt Wood Frame Very Pastel
If you truly love the luxury side of 18th century France, and adore anything to do with Marie Antoinette, you will love yourself for choosing this color palette.
Try working with the color wheel when deciding on the fabric for your chairs. Velvet can be extremely rich and vibrant for French furniture. The orange chairs above, would be ideally paired with coral, or a lighter pastel orange. Or having a settee in a lighter mint green, and choosing a coordinating pastel green for two accent chairs would be very striking.
The Louis XV style gilt Rococo parlor suite comprising of love seat, armchair, side chair use one pastel color- that being pink and combine it with two other neutral colors. This makes it very easy to decorate with pastels.
French Painted Louis XV Chest in Blue - Decorating With Pastels
French Painted Louis XV Chest in Blue - Decorating With Pastels From FRench Madame Blog
Adding color doesn't mean your house has to be fluorescent. There is a number of ways to go about decorating with this style.
1. Paint your furniture a pastel color, and accent with with gilt furniture ormolu such as the chest above. The gold ormolu showcases the color quite nice and causes it to appear very high end than your regular run of the mill shabby chic painted cottage furniture. Adding the gold furniture accents really makes your piece look like a million dollar gold cocktail ring.
2. Add pastels in with your upholstery. If you are not talented at upholstery, try a simple chair seat. Replace your dining room chair seats with fabric more of your liking and the particular period style you love.
3. Try sewing some throw pillows for your sofa, chairs and beds. This is a very simple way of adding vibrant colors of the exact shade of your liking. If you don't know how to do the cording, simply sew a box inside out, and leave an opening for stuffing, and sew it shut. It can be as complicated or as easy as you desire.
4. PAINT! One simple and easy way of getting color into your home is through paint. Consider stenciling your walls. You may not want something so bold, and it doesn't have to be. Stenciling can add some detail to your walls, and it doesn't have to be out there, punchy and in your face. Consider cream, and light yellow, which would make a perfect backdrop for gilt ornate french paintings.
In this picture, you can see they framed a wall with a pastel orange, and it can be a way of fooling the eye that you have molding. Get the classic french molding look with painting boxes of color on your wall. You can showcase your chairs, sideboard, or bombe chest inside the box.
5. Create hand made art for your walls. It doesn't have to be complicated. I hate to degrade this art piece, but you can create fabulous art with just tape and paint. Choose the shade of paint you want, buy the sample size and create a piece of art that ties in the color of the upholstery you have decided to run with.
6. Layer in accessories that you can paint. One week I decided to paint my waste basket in my bathroom a baby blue, and added ring ornate gold hardware to either side of the basket. Look at this picture of vases worth thousands, get the look by being creative.
Consider taking old vintage lamp bases, and throw away the lamp but keep the brass base and pair it up with an oversized bowl, and make a beautiful floral arrangement out of it. I did this with a lamp, and an old vase.
This vase would be just amazing spray painted a pastel color. You first would have to prime the vase using an oil based primer, and then you can use what ever you wanted over the top. Pair this with a very ornate brass lamp base to give it that high end french look.
Adding a bit of soft color and working with the pastel tones will allow you to have a soft touch to your home that you will absolutely adore. For most people making the leap into the soft pinks, light blues and cornflower yellows causes them to second guess them-self, because most people choose gray or beige. Make your house your own, and go with what you love, not what everyone else expects. Have a home uniquely YOU!
Mulberry Spring 2012 Ad Campaign Preview - Lindsey Wixson
Bright Pastel French Furniture By Euro Antics
Simply Stunning Pastel Painted French Furniture By Euro Antics
While the illusion of twisted and knotted rope, which is associated with the work of the Parisian upholsterer A. M. E. Fournier, is indicative of the mid-nineteenth-century's flair for novelty, the chair's curvilinear outline is characteristic of the Rococo Revival. The voluminous tufted upholstery, which was complementary to the popular style.
Upholstery springs, first employed in the eighteenth century for carriages and gymnastic chairs, came into more general use in the 1820s, making seating furniture more comfortable. By the third quarter of the nineteenth century, the art of the upholsterer rivaled that of the cabinetmaker, as evidenced at the 1867 International Exhibition, where the majority of exhibitors of fine quality cabinet furniture, such as Jeanselme and Fourdinois, also described themselves as upholsterers. A set of stools of similar design designed by Fournier is at the Château de Compiègne and inspired the Baccarat glass factory to manufacture glass seats in this style.
Italian Carved and Gilt Wood Rope Stool
Twisted Rope Round Ottoman
Design Toscano sells a wonderful tufted upholstered roped ottoman that has a ton of potential for being a very high end piece in your home. While it may not be the typical french look, it can be re-upholstered if you don't like the look of leather. Consider a high end colored velvet with a gilt gold leafed frame . If you like the look Design Toscano sells this ottoman for $249
A magnificent 18th century style edifice built by the famous perfume creator, François Coty. Its shining white stone is set off perfectly by the green of the 50 acre park surrounding it. 143 miles from Paris, 6 miles south of Tours and 1 mile from Montbazon. Surrounded by a 50 acre park, an elegant French garden in front of it, the château overlooks the valley of the Indre and the Touraine plain.
The Château d’Artigny has sixty-one rooms and two apartments between the château, the Pavillion d'Ariane (50 metres across from the château), the Hunting Lodge (600 metres) and the Port-Moulin (on the river bank, 800 metres). It also has two dining-rooms and three lounges (Régence, Rotonde and Royal). For leisure activities, the Château d’Artigny has two tennis courts, I-hole pitch & putt practice green, signposted walks in the 50-acre park, open-air heated swimming-pool, pool house with sauna, spa, fitness room, bowls, table-tennis, cycling, fishing.
A trip to France is not complete without a visit to the Loire Valley, the fertile playground of 16th- and 17th-century monarchs, overflowing with châteaux rising from the vineyards around the mighty Loire River. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, the “Valley of Kings” is the most opulent of French tourist destinations. The region is rich with architectural treasures such as the Château de Chambord, so grand in scale that the Venetian ambassador, Girolamo Lippomano, was utterly dazzled upon seeing it in 1577 and wrote that his coterie “departed thence amaz'd, nay, open-mouth'd...” The extravagance of Chambord inspires gasps, and the gardens at Villandry and river-spanning perch of Chenonceauare likewise impressive.
One of the grandest of all is Le Château d’Artigny, the ambitious dream of perfume magnate François Coty, constructed in the 20th century to rival the extravagance of castles from a bygone era. Lording over a 65-acre estate in the Indre Valley just south of Tours, Château d’Artigny is graced with marble statues, formal gardens and a trompe l'oeil fresco painted on the rotunda’s ceiling. It is owned by Grandes Etapes Françaises, a family-owned company responsible for 10 châteaux-hotels and four-star residences celebrated for their architectural and historic patrimony. Housed in the castle and outlying annexes, the 65 guest rooms and suites span five different categories from Standard Rooms to the palatial Junior Suites and Duplex Apartments. Request a Junior Suite with a terrace overlooking the perfectly landscaped grounds. There are two apartments with interconnecting rooms, perfect for a family. Surrounded by opulent furnishings in the gilded restaurant, your clients can tuck into locally caught fish, regional cheeses and meats like géline de Touraine. To complement the sophisticated dishes, your clients can choose a bottle of wine from the cellar, stacked with more than 20,000 bottles. The Château d’Artigny can arrange guided tours of the Loire vineyards and there are complimentary bikes available at the hotel, tennis courts, a pool and a small health and beauty center with a hammam, sauna and Jacuzzi. From Travel Agent Central
Gilt wall frames line the wall and black and white photographs with hand sketched art work add a subtle elegance and detail to the wall space. Traditional Home magazine featured his home in Boston that also featured pencil drawings on the wall in gilt wood frames. Simplistic pencil drawings can work in both modern and old century spaces. The lack of color brings a quiet elegance without making a room look cluttered.
