dining room

He Giveth…And He Taketh Away

So I have been promising this story for ages and it is a good thing that I hadn’t told it as it developed a surprise ending yesterday. Design resources here in Doha are in some ways more limited and in other ways less limited than they were in Japan, but for everyone back in the USA, it really is a struggle to source items that you all have in such abundance of selection. This story might have been part of a larger post on decorating as an expat – entitled “Getting Lucky or Making Do” perhaps? – but now I think it is entitled to its own show.

Those of you who have been reading along with me these past months know from this post and this post that I snagged 3 French style fauteuils for free early this fall. They have been an integral part of my design scheme for our dining room, which has been proceeding nicely.

Along with the chairs I also got a huge marquetry desk with gold mounts and an inlaid leather blotter. It may sound potentially ugly and it certainly is a bit over the top, but it arrived on my horizon as if it had been an answer to a prayer. As you may also know, I’ve been working on redesigning my elder daughter’s bedroom. Her Pinterest board is full of Moroccan shaped upholstered headboards in interesting fabrics, monogrammed hotel linens, simple night stands and gourd/vase-shaped porcelain lamps. Basically, it is a look that is super popular right now and in her case, Ashley Whittaker has been her go-to designer for inspiration.

Circumstances make it such that like the Whittaker room below, we too bought the IKEA Malm 3 drawer dresser to use as night tables. There are not a lot of other choices to be had and its simplicity and large storage capacity is unbeatable. We discussed using mirrors and O’verlays to create our own IKEA hack and make the Malm look like the dressers above, but decided we were perfectly happy with it on its own.

The trouble for me in all this was that the room had become too full of bright white furniture and was starting to feel childlike or worse perhaps, have that blogger-on-a-budget look. It needed some weight, some gravitas, some wood to ground it. Had I been at home, I would have trotted off to some antique/consignment/thrift shop and picked up an interesting wood desk in an afternoon. That isn’t possible here so I thought a bit and realized that what might be perfect – and more importantly available – would be a French style desk. As I have mentioned before, decorating here has a tendency to run to the super ornate brocade/damask/gilded avenues, but a piece or two plucked out and used in a tongue-in-cheek manner in a different environment could be perfect. And certainly a little OTT can be just right for a teen’s room. I mentioned it to my family that night at dinner and my daughter thought it sounded like a fun idea.

The very next day I was visiting a friend over at her large compound (think gated community if that word is just too weird) and as we were taking a walk we passed a villa (glamorous sounding but basically a house) that is used for compound storage. In the open car park stood a bunch of washers and dryers, metal bed frames and other detritus, but more importantly a huge desk in full Continental style with ormolu mounts and dark blue leather top. It was so exactly what I had been thinking of that I couldn’t believe it. Even the leather blotter was blue! It was covered in sand and dust and had just been sitting out there getting ruined. Tucked in a corner under cover were the three chairs, so dusty you couldn’t see the color of their upholstery. While not antiques in any way, they were good pieces of furniture with definite potential and needed saving. My regret from that day is that I didn’t think to snap a photo so you could see how trashed they were getting.

My friend proceeded to call her compound manager and over the next few weeks they determined that nobody needed or wanted the furniture and they gave it to me gratis. Because they were free I was particularly satisfied with them – one doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth after all! I spent a good day cleaning them and I worked on the desk with some lemon oil and slowly it emerged. Since the room is in no way finished, I don’t have real photos, but here is a quick snapshot. We are planning to turn the tall vase into a desk lamp and be sure to note my small IKEA hack – I painted the legs of the Snille desk chair with old gold spray paint to make the modern chair integrate with the antique looking desk. The room was really beginning to come together.

So the closing of this post should have been some kind of musing on fate and luck. Instead, I got a call yesterday from the aforementioned compound manager. It turns out that the furniture didn’t actually belong to the company that leases all the properties and is actually the personal property of the Sheikh who owns the compound. And guess what? He wanted it back! So as of today, I no longer have accent dining chairs and my daughter’s books and papers are on the floor of her room. I feel a bit paralyzed about going forward. Do I look for just the same things? Do I try something different? I love the serendipity of the find and now that has been snatched away. Your thoughts?

Image Credits: Ashley Whittaker photos via Ashley Whittaker and House Beautiful

Feb 6, 2014 By tokyojinja in Doha Move, Expat Life, Furniture, Interior Design 19 Comments Tags: Ashley Whittaker, bedroom, desk, dining room, French antiques

Dining Room Decision Made…Oval Saarinen Tulip Table

So I didn’t have a chance to post properly on this before our winter holiday trip but the Saarinen table was delivered just hours before we left for the airport. Yay! You can see that I went off to vacation extremely happy as the table looks even more amazing in the space than I had hoped!

For those of you just tuning in, earlier this fall I posted a three-part series (here, here and here) on trying to decide what to choose for our dining room. Years in small homes in NYC and Tokyo meant that we never really had space for a proper dining room set up. After writing about the Saarinen table as option 2, a dear friend living in Malaysia wrote to say that she had one and didn’t need it anymore as she was moving back to an already furnished home in the US! Since the table is not available here in Doha we looked into shipping and it really wasn’t an unreasonable proposition for a table this fabulous. Six weeks or so later, it arrived.

I always planned to do a mix of chairs as I find a matched set around the oval table to feel very heavy and dull (peek in Google images and you’ll agree). Mid-century chairs are one of my favorite looks but there are none to be had here. On the other hand, a curvy French chair, like this bergère, also sets off the lines of the table perfectly.

French chairs look great mixed with more modern ones too.

Remember those French chairs I got for free? That story still needs to be told but when I got them I knew they would be perfect for the table – it was just a matter of reupholstery. While I am still considering patterned fabrics, the light backgrounds on those seem like they might disappear against all that white and pale gray. I’ve also been weighing up using a solid, in particular a strong clear green to pick up the color from the Japanese screen at the other end of the room.

To balance out the more serious formality of those (and perhaps because I just don’t have many other choices here) we are going with 4 IKEA Tobias Chairs to round out the seating. Using a clear lucite chair with the tulip table is common as it lets the lines of the table shine through with less leg clutter. Typically people use a Louis-style Ghost chair but I have seen only a single one for sale here and I never actually find them that comfortable to sit in. The Tobias is very comfy, simple and so inexpensive that they can serve as placeholders until I find something else.

I’ve been assuming the addition of a Madeline Weinrib dhurrie underneath for some time. I’m thinking Mandala in Platinum or Steel, but more likely the former as I love the striations in the weave.

The fun part is layering in the unusual accessories. The long stored Chinese embroidered bed valence is coming out for the window treatment.

A pair of Italian gilt sconces that I scooped up antiquing in New Jersey this summer will be the new family coat of arms.

A gallery wall of favorite art including this etching by Shinji ANDO as well as my many shrine sale finds will grace the wall above the Empire dresser, which funnily enough is the first real piece of antique furniture I ever bought as a young adult. It has followed us from home to home, country to country and is still one of my favorites.

And a massive gorgeous painting by Doha based artist Pip Hoy will be the centerpiece of the opposite wall.

So not to get ahead of myself, but here’s a sneak peek of progress as I publish…

Not finished with all the art hanging, but as you can see, I’ve been a busy beaver since we got back.

Image credits: All photos via my Instagram feed or as linked with the exception of #2. Lilly Bunn, #3. credit unknown, photo via The Green Room Interiors.

Jan 13, 2014 By tokyojinja in Doha Move, Furniture, Interior Design, Rugs and Carpets 14 Comments Tags: dining chairs, dining room, dining table, Eero Saarinen, IKEA, Madeline Weinrib, Tobias chair, Tulip table

Dining Room Option Three…Inspiration from T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings

Did you like geometry in high school? Algebra was OK and I hated its big brother calculus, but I sure did love geometry. Cue one of my favorite shapes – the octagon. Symmetrical like a square, but with none of its hard-edged pointy-ness, fluid like a circle, but with more structure, it is a dynamic shape for a square dining room. The Coliseum table by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb has long been one of my favorite pieces of vintage furniture out there. Robsjohn-Gibbings was one of the foremost mid-century designers and taste makers whose influence is still felt today – klismos chairs anyone? Sightings of this table are rare and it is best known in the blogosphere from Dara Caponigro’s dining room featured in Domino: The Book of Decorating. (It seems very apropos to type that today as the relaunch of Domino Magazine was announced yesterday!)

Another geometric love – the arch! Gracious and welcoming, that half circle is reminiscent of everything I love about ancient architecture. Basically I chose the house here because I loved its arched pass throughs and windows. How ideal would the table be for this space!

Its combination of looks and functionality is ideal. The modern but classic lines make it work in every kind of decor. It seats 4 without being awkward and can seat 8 without even adding a table leaf. But it does have them, allowing for expansion to seat at least 12. Thanksgiving anyone?

It is rare and hard to find, being from Robsjohn-Gibbings’ final Widdicomb collection, and extremely expensive when you do find it. This one below is available on 1stdibs for $18,000. Which brings up the question how would I ever get one? And here to boot? Well, I have heard from numerous sources here that there are some craftsmen here in Doha that make furniture for very reasonable prices. Perhaps this is an opportunity to make my dream table?

Other sources of inspirations confirm my love of these motifs. When I was in England this summer I drooled over this E.W. Godwin Japanese inspired ebonized table at the Victoria & Albert Museum. It’s a circle, but it has those lovely arches in the base.

It reminded me of the other octagonal table I’ve had saved in my inspiration folder – this very precise and also Asian influenced one by Ralph Rucci. Love the brass feet on both tables!

I’m not the only one to love this look. Jenny at LGN created her own version of the Robsjohn-Gibbings table by pushing together two unusually shaped demilunes.

And in another crazy fabulous room from Susan Hable Smith (remember her living room here) she combines an antique table with both a marble top and arches in the base with vivid colors and patterns.

In all three of these last posts I have been neglecting the entire conversation around what chairs as the table, while difficult, seems like the easy part in comparison. My fantasy chairs are painted white-ish, a bit classical, a bit Scandinavian,

…a bit Hollywood Regency with a bold colored seat…

…perhaps even a bit 1930s Francis Elkins. These are sold on 1stdibs but could have been perfect, upholstery color and all.

I’d even be happy with simple oval backed Louis chairs like Dana’s in the top photo. Or maybe the perfect chair would be a klismos? The exact version all depends on the table choice.

So I’d love to hear from all of you. Of the three choices, which do you like best? Why? Should I combine elements of different schemes or have you got other suggestions? The truth is there is much timing, practicality and possibly some impossibility at play here that will require compromise, but let’s see where I can go with this.

Oct 4, 2013 By tokyojinja in Doha Move, Furniture, Interior Design 8 Comments Tags: arches, Dana Caponigro, dining chairs, dining room, dining table, Domino, Domino magazine, E.W. Godwin, Jenny Komenda, octagon, octagonal table, Ralph Rucci, Susan Hable Smith, T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings

Dining Room Option Two…Inspiration from Angie Hranowsky

So dining room option two should be an easy and not unexpected one. How about a classic Eero Saarinen Tulip table? The lines are pure and timeless. It comes in a few different diameters and a large oval. And because it is a modern classic, some version of it tends to be easy to find anywhere in the world. One of the things that is so great about the tulip table is that it works with just about any dining chair, from its matching Tulip mate, to Thonet style bentwood to quirky vintage. Danish modern chairs with neutrals tends to be one of my favorite pairings like here…

…and here..

…and here in the Chicago apartment I have been working on this past year.

Since our space is so light and I am working with a few clear colors in the living room/dining room – lavender, pink and green – something modern and white might just be perfect. But it does need to mix with my antiques at the same time. Charleston, SC designer Angie Hranowsky has a fabulous way of blending the old and new, all while being daring with color. She used a Saarinen style table in her own dining room, which was open to her living room with an art wall on one side and a full wall of windows on another, quite similar to my space. Her chandelier even reminds me of my own vintage brass piece from Japan. Bright silks for chair cushions would be easy to come by too.

I passed up an amazing zebra skin at a shrine sale just before I left Tokyo. It was so not a Japan “thing” that I didn’t buy it. I’ve been regretting that decision ever since.

Since then, she has used the table again with bold lavender(!) walls and a different set of brightly upholstered chairs. But I see something else sneaking in there – two black antique chairs to add some funky mix.

The chairs are quite similar to an antique staple – Hitchcock chairs – and as you know I have a set of those which happen to be currently residing in my kitchen. But we have a few extras and it is nice to see that in the case of dinner guests, we could pull them up to the table and it would look good.

While we are talking about antique black chairs around a Saarinen tulip table, I have to pause and worship at one of my favorite dining spaces of all time – the NYC apartment of jewelry designer Temple St. Clair. Her chairs are actually rush seated Washington vase backs, but the idea is similar. A moment of silence for this one.

Whether to buy a real one or a copied reproduction, the marble or the laminate, are the usual questions people ask themselves. Well so far in my pretty extensive travels around Doha furniture stores I have not seen a single one. Not even vaguely. How that is possible, I don’t know. So this whole plan was off the burner until yesterday. Upon reading my Dining Room Option One post, my dear friend George of Paper Glue Bamboo mentioned that she has the large marble-topped oval version she needs to unload. Yowsa!

The catch? The table is currently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! We are looking into shipping and vaguely hoping to find an expat moving from KL to Doha who might have room in their shipment. Cross your fingers…

Oct 1, 2013 By tokyojinja in Doha Move, Furniture, Interior Design 8 Comments Tags: Angie Hranowsky, Danish Modern, dining room, dining table, Eero Saarinen, Hitchcock chairs, Tulip table

Dining Room Option One…Inspiration from Isabel Lopez-Quesada

You haven’t heard from me much in the last week as I have been so busy systematically exploring the furniture and design options here in Doha. As our new house is significantly bigger than our Tokyo one (and waaaay bigger than the New York apartment we came from before Tokyo) I actually need to purchase some furniture. When we arrived in Tokyo we had a five-year old and a little baby. Fast forward nine years and we are definitely ready for some teenage and big girl bedroom updates. Add in an additional coffee table and some kind of console to hold a giant TV as we now have a separate den too. But the biggest change is actually having a real dining room – a luxury that just never fit in for us before.

The problem here is that choices are limited. Not quite as limited as people have direly been predicting, but hard to find. Very few companies have websites and showrooms are scattered and hidden all over the city. I’m thinking that I am going to have to turn my research into some kind of Doha design & decor directory as there is simply no centralized information.

Our space is very square and I know I want a round or similarly shaped table as that allows us to use it comfortably when we are just the four of us. A couple of leaves would be ideal, stretching it to an oval for dinner parties and guests. Almost all the tables available here are large chunky solid rectangles, which is not at all what I have been planning. In terms of design I’ve had a few options floating around my head, the first gorgeously illustrated by the work of Spanish designer Isabel López-Quesada. I have always loved her work – she has such a way with blue and white porcelain – and for more images be sure to check her out her portfolio. Thanks to Michele over at My Notting Hill for posting on her this week.

So option one involves using traditional European shapes and breaking things up by varying the table and chairs, whether light tables and dark chairs or the opposite, dark table and light chairs. Fresh but timeless and for someone who it seems is spending the core of her adult life in rentals overseas, a bit of non-compromise classicism.

If I can’t find the right table quickly, something inexpensive layered with a cloth could do in the interim, presuming of course that I had the right chairs.

I love the marble and could probably have something custom-made with a marble top as there are reams of marble fabricators here, but it doesn’t allow for expansion.

Not a dining room, but I love the play between the wood of the table and the paint finish on the chair.

This is just plain old dreamy, but included for the small white chairs – I’d love those!

And for the future, which as always is unknown, it’s great to see a small traditional table being used with modern chairs in a kitchen. So pretty!

So I do have a few leads for this option. I really like a few of the tables over at Roche Bobois, particularly the Collanges table. In addition to the very contemporary furniture they make, they also have a beautifully finished line of French classics. There are few other places (if any) with this kind of quality here.

Showroom photos from around the world demonstrate that colors and finishes are completely customizable.

But that’s about as far as I have gotten as I don’t want matching chairs. At home, I could scramble up a vintage set of chairs in a heartbeat and give them a little love and they’d be perfect. But no sign of the right kind of chairs here yet – I haven’t even seen a typical oval backed Louis repro. There are rumours of furniture makers and it is on my list to check them out, but I am not sure that this kind of fine furniture is what they are making. More on option 2 and my discoveries to come!

Sep 30, 2013 By tokyojinja in Doha Move, Furniture, Interior Design 4 Comments Tags: dining room, dining table, Isabel Lopez-Quesda, Roche Bobois

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