If I Had My Druthas

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As some of you know, and just about anyone can surmise, I am SO ready to see some results 'round here at the Chateau G. Yesterday, I decided to start working on the master (decorative) plan for this house and I pulled a fabric or two from my tinybaby library, pinned them to the wall and then it all started. I saw it! I saw the whole dining room come together and it was all a blur since the thought entered my head. My mind has been racing, my pocketbook weeping and my computer begging me to quit the abuse.

When we moved here we quadrupled our square footage. We went from a teensy, well-appointed

ranchburger to the Chateau G.  (See it here. The ol' ranchburger is the red and chartreuse interior a good ways down in the post) We laughed and cried when we moved in because ALL of our furniture fit in what is to now be known as the formal dining room. One complete half of the house was empty. And I mean empty, y'all. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. We had one wee dining table that did not fit in the kitchen window-seat and only one lonely old bed. I can now understand why people rush out and buy a whole store full of furniture....because the empty home is just so sad looking and you just want to make it stop!  Despite my evil urges to rush out to the nearest bargain furniture store and buy just to fill, I committed myself to patience and acquiring over time, which is always the best plan. Haste certainly makes waste, never forget!

In the past year-and-a-half, we have slowly purchased a few pieces including this antique flame-mahogany dining table that looks almost exactly like the one on the project board above, as well as these Louis XVI dining chairs to compliment the table and other pieces that I may detail in other posts, but for now, let's stick to the dining room.  I will need to paint and gild the wood on the dining chairs as they are a lovely pickled finish c.1990 and exquisitely upholstered in a banquet-hall navy blue and peach diamond pattern. I hope you sense my sarcasm!

Can you all imagine these chairs all parçel gilted up and upholstered in that swanky yellow and white stripe? Sass-a-frass, ma'am.

I am a staunch classicist and my taste rarely deviates to anything but. Don't get me wrong, I love to throw in a kicky piece to mix things up, but across the board, I will always reach for Veranda over Dwell anyday. I adore clean lines, I'm none too fussy and I like things to feel crisp and current, never stodgy or dated. I absolutely subscribe to the theory that if a home is decorated once and well, then you only need upgrade a little bit along the way. I say that all of the time, and a friend once told me that my business will never make any money operating with my little design doctrine. I disagreed with him and years later I saw that our favorite Grande Dame of Design, Gerrie Bremermann said it as well. Something tells me that this business model works out for her, don't you think?

So, as it stands now, I have a fraction of the components to make this room happen, but I am eagerly *yet patiently* awaiting the culmination of this ensemble to come to fruition.  Now, let's be honest, that room ain't gonna happen to the exact specifications due to cost reasons alone, but! I will do my dangdest to replicate it as well as I can, so stay tuned!  Isn't this so exciting?

Til next time,

Andrea

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