One simple move

 In my last post I presented my problem dining  room. I feel I've put the space on the road to salvation.  Here's the update so far.  I have more ideas, but they require a lot of elbow grease and won't happen before Christmas.  I think it's looking more spacious and welcoming.

Before

 After

 I moved  the furniture, placing the  buffets along the kitchen wall. and set the table up vertically in the space.   That allowed me to hang floor length draperies; these are temporary until  my custom ones are ready. My new ones will be off white and hung higher.  Yes, I do know these are too short! 

 The strong vertical of the draperies plays nicely against the railing and breaks up the horizontal lines.  I have a new light fixture which is larger in scale and hung a little lower, but not so low that  my tall family will bang into it! I still want to see the art work over the buffets while seated in the living room. I always choose function over anything else.

I also like the fact you can't look directly into the buffets from the front porch!  I'm  thinking about stripping the natural finish on the furniture and doing a gray wash to change the colour and make it stand out from the floor.  I'd love new chairs, lamps for the buffet,  something more interesting in the corner by the railing.....  We'll see......

What do you think?

Do you have a problem room?

We all have them, those rooms that defy all you know about design, and just continue to go about their merry way creating problems no matter what you do with them. I managed to create a monster a quarter of a century ago right  in the middle of my house because  my mind was focused on other things at the time. I've spent the intervening  years trying to make my dining room "right" by my standards - I haven't achieved that yet. 

No one has ever walked into my house and said "OMG, what a mess this dining room is."  So what's wrong with it  in my eyes?

Location:  When you're standing in my entry  you look directly into the dining room.  The archway frames the table and the window.  It is also a walk through space from the living room  on the right  to the kitchen which is to the left.

 

There is an alternate hallway beside the stairs, but we never go that way. My dining room is the room in the middle with no identity. Because the walkway needs to be maintained  only half the room is really accessible for  the table - problem #1.

I noticed another problem when I looked at this photo but it was easily fixed. Can you spot the fix?

Across from the table looking  toward the front porch. 

Top art work by Angela Antle and bottom by Anita Singh

A second artwork was added to connect with the chair below it. Doesn't that look better?

Furniture: The dining room buffets, table, and chairs were handcrafted, especially for me, by my man who can do anything.  The set has that "casual contemporary with a nod toward mid -century modern look" that I love.    The scale and style fits the room and the buffets are nicely tucked away behind the table.  Have you noticed problem #2 yet?

A rather dark  view  from the living room.  Thankfully the railings aren't that orange!

You're right! The furniture is the same height as the railing causing your eye to run along the lines and never go anywhere else. I've used all my tricks to make it otherwise, with minimal success. Note all the verticals - floor lamp, tall twigs, candle sticks, vertical artwork, accentuated vertical windows in living room.  The strength of the horizontal lines and the preponderance of wood wins out every time.

Flooring and railing
Problem #3
The aged oak is so orange- my least favourite tone in wood. Because I can't rip it all up or throw away the furniture, I've decided to embrace the orange  and pick it up in interesting art works that also have lots of purples and blues to tame down the orange.  

Problem #4 

Because the furniture is in one half of the room, there isn't enough space  for an area rug which would keep the furniture from blending into the floor.  If I wanted to use an area rug I would have to cover most of the floor, but that would mean vacuuming;  I would rather use a dust mop! 

Problem #5

I have a love/ hate relationship with the railing.  It is solid wood, has a good design and fits with the age of the house and our design aesthetic. I have strong feelings about maintaining "period "architectural detailing and the railing is necessary because the living room is sunken.  But it is soooo difficult to ignore that orangey railing..  It didn't look like this in 1986.  Time ages wood to either orange or yellow especially when treated with oil based products.  

 

Lighting 
Problem #6

The light fixture was an impulse buy  because I liked the lines,  but its scale is too small, and it is hung too high in my efforts to make sure you could see the painting at the end of the room.   As an artist, art always takes precedent over every other design  decision in my house.  This often leads me into hot water.

Wall colour 
Problem # 7

You may be thinking at this point why doesn't she have the walls pained a cooler neutral.  Can't happen because the living room, where most of the light comes from, is north facing and the house next door blocks off any light in the dining room.  Both rooms are dull and cold.  The living room is  Elephant Tusk OC 8 Benjamin Moore and the dining room is Light Khaki  BM 2148-40.

Window treatment
Problem #8 
I love these back tab drapes for the subtle design and their softness,  but the necessity to crop them to allow for the buffet further emphasizes all the horizontal lines. I also think I should have a window treatment that covers the window in some way so you can't see the wall of the next house with is very close to the window and certainly not interesting.

Matching set 
Problem # 9
I have an aversion to matched sets of furniture and here I am living with just that. Matching always looks so uninspired in my eyes and gives the appearance of laziness.  Like you couldn't be bothered to put the room together.  Yes I like a curated room and I have a bundled set!

I'm sure if I really tried I could find a Problem 10.  Many of you may feel it is the lack of cove mouldings, but that again is not part of the architectural details of the original house. 

 Well that about explains the problems. Who knew there was so much wrong with my dining room?  Most of my friends would be very surprised by this analysis!  In the next post I'll look at some possible solutions.  If you have anything to suggest that might help with my design dilemmas, I'd love to hear from you.

10 Iconic furniture designs

Continuing on from my previous post, I'm exploring some of the iconic furniture styles that were designed mid century and still are sought for  contemporary decor. Here are 10 of my favourites.

Eero Saarinen Womb Chair

 Dijeau Poage Construction

 The beautiful Womb Chair, designed by Eero Saarinen for  Florence Knoll in 1948, is  available in many vivid colours. This green is perfect with the pale floors and gray walls. 

The Eames Molded Plywood Chair

 Amoroso Design

Time  Magazine called The Eames Molded Plywood Chair "the best design of the 20th century" and it continues to be a staple into the 21 century. It was designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946 for Herman Miller. 

Arne Jacobsen Series 7 Chair 

 CWB Architects

 Arne Jacobsen designed this chair in  1955. The curves  move your eyes in a restful rhythm and there is such softness to the overall look. I love the colour of these  particular chairs and the shape has always appealed to me.

Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair

 David Lauer Photography

Arne Jacobsen designed the egg chair in 1958 for the Radisson Royal Hotel. I visited Prague this past summer and this was the style of chair in one of the lounges.  They are super comfortable.

 George Nelson  Platform Bench 
 

 SBaird Design

The  George Nelson Platform Bench manufactured by Herman Miller

You see the George Nelson Platform Bench quite frequently in trade magazines .  It is very versatile and works equally well as a coffee table or a bench.  Place it in a hallway, at the end of your bed, in an entrance where space is at a premium.  or in a living room. 

Florence Knoll  Lounge Settee

 Lucy Interior Design

This beautiful,  white Florence Knoll  Lounge Settee fits perfectly in this tiny space. The straight lines, tubted back and seat provide all t he detail that is needed to see why this is a  highly popular design in the 21 century.   

Isamu Noguchi Coffee Table 
 

source

  Isamu Noguchi tables are widely available and relatively affordable. They were in constant production from 1947 until 1973, and then returned to production in 1984, and  are still available.  Because of its rounded triangular shape it works well with one edge parallel to a sofa and the the other two edges facing two chairs on angles.  I have also seen it used to great effect with a sectional sofa and a chair arrangement. 

Wegner Wishbone Chair

Have you ever seen The Wishbone Chair in anyone's home?  It is i probably the most popular Hans J. Wegner chair because its rounded style fits with so many other different styles of  furniture. .  This  designer  began his career as a cabinetmaker and then spent time as a furniture designer with  Arne Jacobsen's architectural practice. The Nelson Pendant light is another iconic mid century design. 

Nelson Bubble Light 

Urban Homes

The first Nelson Bubble Light was designed by George Nelson in 1947.  They are hanging shades comprised of sculptural wire skeletons covered in translucent plastic. There are a variety of forms including: the Propeller, the Cigar, the Crisscross, the Ball, the Saucer, the Apple, the Pear, and the Lantern which are still in production today.

.Cherner Armchair  Side Chair

Rachel Reider Interiors

Norman  Cherner designed this beautifully curved chair in 1958 and it went out of production in the 70'd. His sons started producing them again in 1999. 

Do you have a favourite?

 

Lighting your dining table

 The right lighting can make a room sing, but right now most of my rooms are off key.  It's time for a lighting change in my home.

 photo: M Ryall

I love my new fixture for the kitchen and I'm currently thinking about changing the one in my dining room.  When you're buying lighting to hang over a table you should consider several factors including: 

•  Height of ceiling- taller ceilings demand larger fixtures; many new home builds in my area now have 9 foot ceilings.
• Size and shape of table: Your fixture should complement not overpower your table.  You can also have lighting fixtures that are too small for a table.
• Height of homeowners:  It is a fact that tall homeowners have a greater chance of continually bumping into lights hung too low over a table when they are setting or removing dishes.
•  Performance:  If you want to have more than task lighting over a table you need to make sure your light will also light the rest of the room. To provide both functions you should have it on a dimmer. 

Height above table

The specifics of how high to hang your fixture can be confusing. While some designers hold to a standard height no matter what, this seems ill advised when you think about it. I tend to think in terms of a range while taking other factors into account including: personal preference, the height of the homeowners, fixture size, style of fixture, ceiling height, task to be illuminated etc. .

The general recommendations for  hanging a fixture over a table is 28 - 32 inches above the table if you have an eight foot ceiling. I treated the drum pendant in my kitchen as if it were a chandelier and placed it at 32 inches from the table top so I wouldn't continually bump it when working. Another set of guidelines suggest measuring  from the floor  to the bottom of the shade and site  60 - 66 inches as reasonable.  Most tables are 30 inches high.  That would put the height from the floor  to my shade at 62 inches.
If you have ceilings higher than eight feet , go up 3 inches for each additional foot above eight feet.

 Size of fixture
Another factor that needs consideration is the size of your  table. For most applications the diameter of your light fixture should be at least 1/2 the width of your table or even a little larger.   My kitchen fixture is exactly one half the width of the table at 18 inches in diameter.  

 Function of fixture

The illumination given off by drum shades  is soft and calming, but  bright enough to provide lighting for an entire room.  When a large drum pendant is hung over a table it not only anchors the vignette, but if placed on a dimmer the fixture can provide brighter light for any tasks done at the table and softer light while dining. While I don't have anything against chandeliers, I don't have any in my own home.I'm definitely into clean lines and a very sparse contemporary feel.

Photo: M. Ryall

My dining room fixture needs replacing because it's less than ideal for its present location.   I feel it  needs to be more substantial and circular to work against all those horizontal lines that are the bane of my existence.  It is also hung fairly high at 41 inches from the table.  This was a conscious decision on my part when I hung it because  I didn't want it obscuring the art work when viewed from the living room.  The table is also narrow and I was concerned with bumping my head on it when setting the table. When measured from the floor it rests at 71 inches.

Note to self:  Get a bigger fisture and hang it at 32 inches from the table as I did in the kitchen.

Sizing based on room dimensions

There is another guideline for determining the size of your fixture- add the length and width of your room together (11 +14=25) and convert the sum to inches and that should be the diameter of your  fixture.  Of course that is not a hard and fast rule, but it will provide a light fixture that is a focal point for the room. If the result seems too large for the size of your table look for a fixture that is 2/3 the width of the table.

  Possible style options for pendant lighting...

Style at Home

Love the shape, colour and texture of this lotus flower pendant. Vivaterra.com, $329.

I first saw this  contemporary Maskros pendant lamp from IKEA  last year in the home of a Danish friend while I was visiting Kelowna. It is large ( 31.5 inches in diameter) and can't be hung just anywhere. Her stairwell was a  prefect spot  because it had space to visually "breathe".  Once this pendant is switched on, the light casts intricate patterns on the walls.  It’s absolutely fascinating  At first glance it  has a lovely organic feel reminiscent of the seed head of a dandelion.Unfortunately it is not available online only at the store.

And here's another favourite ...

I love the patterns in these Galbraith & Paul drums.  They are available through Room and Board online and the price won't break the bank. Nothing could be more perfect in my book than patterns and circles. My difficulty here is choosing just one!

This is a modified pendant, three lights hanging from one base that looks good over a small circular table.
 

 Encircled Crystal 12" Wide Halogen 3-in-1 Pendant available at Lamps Plus (US) for $169.00

Lyrical and whimsical

Possini Euro Design 18-Light Curly Ribbon Pendant at $449.99 available at Lamps Plus above.

Here are some other ideas in a mood board I created for this topic.

There's no shortage of choices for over table lighting.  The most difficult part is narrowing it down to one.