Dining Chairs

[NOTE: I am going to update this post with impunity, adding new chairs and ideas whenever I care to.]

Beyond aesthetic considerations (which we generally agree on), we have two rules for dining chairs (and furniture in general):

1 - V's Rule:  No furniture that kids must be especially careful on or around.  e.g., no light colored upholstery or leather, nothing fragile, nothing too expensive, nothing we will worry about every time the kids sit on it, etc.  V is prioritizing peace of mind.

2 - J's Rule:  Nothing that will loosen up or wobble or come apart.  I want comfort that my furniture can survive regular family use and outlast me.  I am prioritizing peace of mind too - but in a slightly different way

With these two rules in mind, we are starting to think about our options.  To meet rule 2, I am focused on chairs with a bentwood (or upholstered) seat and back and steel structural legs and structural elements.

Here are several that meet our requirements.

Galvanitas Chair S16 - This is my absolute favorite of the chairs shown here.

Galvanitas Chair S22 - I like this a lot, moreso with the little hole in the back of the seat.

DSC 106 Chair by Giancarlo Piretti for Castelli - We picked up four of these at Artists & Fleas in Portland last year. A couple are in medium shape, but they're so durable and stylish, is hard to care about blemishes. 

Pagholz - Bauhaus Chair - I don't care for this - a little too institutional. 

Prouve Chair (reproduction) - Love this, but it's sort of ubiquitous now. I dunno. The Galvanitas S16 is less recognizable.

Art and Where to Hang It

LARGE PIECES

Xiaoze Xie

Baron - Reclining Woman

Abstract - Red

MEDIUM PIECES

Erkiletlian - Cow

Mahnick - Milk Jugs

Jason Florio - Caravan

Miodrag "Dado" Djuric - 4 Prints

Yoshitoshi - Tongue-Cut Sparrow

Ostrich! - Pen and ink

Michel Adlen - Chicken Lady

Nicola Tyson - 6 Prints

SMALL PIECES

2 Landscapes from Dreyfus Home

Swimmers - Ruth Chanz

French Lion

French Smoker Guy

Eric White - The Day I Incorporated

Edward Ardizzone - Swimming Pool

SMALL AND NOT YET FRAMED

Julio Gonzalez

Front

Verso

Claude Fermin

Vieira daSilva

Franz Marc. German Expressionist Study of birds, in gouache and waterclour. 

DeKooning

SCULPTURE

Bronze in Coffin Corner

Wood Study

Coat Hanger Legs

Master Bedroom Bed Alcove: Opening Shape

TOPIC: Master bedrooms with bed alcove in the current office location. 

In this post, we are particularly interested in the shape of the opening between the main room and the  bed alcove.

First just look at these different examples.

OPTION A:

OPTION B:

OPTION C:

We agree that we would like a very broad arch or rounded shape at the top of the opening.  

QUESTION: How should the arch meet the walls on either side? 

Option A transitions the arch directly into a little stub wall. (It looks like the stub wall tapers toward the flat wall from which it emerges, but I can't tell for certain from the photo.)

Option B terminates the arch a few inches shy of the flat wall but with a little cornice detail at the junction of wall and arch to bridge the extra 4-6 inches. 

Option C a flat run along the top which implies square upper corners where the top meets the walls, but the cornice thingies create a little more separation between the rooms.

 

My thoughts: 

Option A is my favorite.  It looks the least fussy but still creates a natural-looking divide between the two rooms and feels natural.  

Option B is my second favorite.  It retains the curve along the top of the opening but does not impact the width of the opening or the way the walls meet the floor (i.e., no little stub wall to floor around).  

Option C is less appealing.  The corner cornice thingies look like afterthoughts or accessories - cake decoration.

Thoughts?