This Week's Top 5 Favorite 1stdibs Items: Big, Sturdy Chairs!

We feature a lot of lithe, thin, small-scale furniture here on the Swank Lighting blog, mostly due to the nature of some of our favorite styles, like Mid-Century Modern and Hollywood Regency. But what if you're looking for a big and sturdy furniture piece? Of all the furniture types out there, we love when a chair is big and over-sized. Perfect for curling up with a good book or a good movie on the television, chairs are supposed to be substantial and comfortable. We've chosen five huge chairs from this week's newest 1stdibs listings. Let us know what you think!

1) Roma Chair by Marco Zanini
Well, we're not sure about the comfort of this giant chair, but it certainly is large. In case it isn't totally obvious, this chair's origin is Italian and from the minds of the design collective The Memphis Design Group.
Price: $7,500
Dealer: Moss

2) Sponge Chair by Peter Traag
We LOVE this chair. It's such a fun, modern take on the leather side chair, don't you think? Though it does look to have a pretty firm structure, we also think that it could be pretty comfy, and it certainly is over-sized!
Price: $9,100
Dealer: Moss

3) Marvelous Early 19th C. Settee
Okay you caught us! This is called a settee, or technically more of a love seat, but we think it still exhibits a lot of chair qualities! It also has that antique, vintage thing going for it.
Price: $8,850
Dealer: Berns Fry Ltd.

4) Pair of low armchairs by Pierre Guarriche
This pair of Mid-Century Modern arm chairs from France are curvy, bulbous and full of cushions. They're not that huge individually, but as a pair they are something to be afraid of. We just think these would be so comfortable to sit in!
Price: $7,500
Dealer: Pascal Boyer Gallery

5) Vronka Armchair by Sergio Rodrigues
This is another chair that's not the most huge piece of furniture ever, but does have a good scale to it, and all the natural wood details give it a nice heft.
Price: contact dealer
Dealer: Espasso

Don't forget to check out the rest of this week's listings from 1stdibs, where you can find more fabulous, one-of-a-kind show-stopping pieces, as well as a number of other great pieces!

Ballard Designs Backroom Bonanza

via Ballard Design's Facebook Page

Claire and I were discussing fabric options for the banquette at my dining room table and she casually suggested I check out Ballard Design's Backroom location to see some of the fabric in real life. Little did she know (OK, she probably knew) that a visit would solve all of my dilemmas.

Upon my visit, I immediately checked in with the salesperson to see if I could take photos. Alas, no, as a previous blogger apparently took photos then posted a negative review AND showed locations of all the hidden security cameras. So, my personal before and afters will have to suffice. But the showroom near downtown Atlanta is fabulous. I ran up to check the one is Roswell too and just didn't like it nearly as well.

On to the good stuff- my salesfriend helpfully informed me that they had four upholstered Parsons chairs available and on sale- at the greatly reduced retail of $94 each (sorry, I'm just so excited!). I snatched them up and picked up 2 natural linen slips (Joni, you've convinced me). I would have bought 4 slips, but alas they could only find two. Off to the website to order the other two. And yes, they need more ironing and straightening (sorry! I'm also packing for a trip. But I'm cringing at how wrinkled that one chair is!).

But wait! There's more! Ballards also had the black check Coventry bench. While we were not really considering the black and white check, the discounted $186 option prompted a quick change of heart. An immediate/panic email to Claire and some quick verification measurements at home, and the bench was mine.
I added the square linen-covered pillow to help pull the slipcovers and bench together. Claire suggested adding some black ribbon along the bottom of the chairs as well, which I think would work nicely. Additionally, we still need to strip the wallpaper and swap out the chandelier. But progress!

A quick review of the before:

And after!



And Kaylee was dying to be included in the photos, so I had to post this shot of her. She's still available for adoption!!


Clearly Mr. Southern and I do not use the breakfast nook very often. I'm embarrassed to say that most dinners are consumed while we're sitting on the couch (I know! What are we, 19!?) When we're entertaining, we eat in the dining room. So my hope is that these comfy chairs will encourage us to act our age and actually eat at the table.

Also, I must apologize for the science project on the table but we're starting our veggies (tomatoes, sweet peppers, yellow and green squash, and cilantro). Yum!

Best,
Emmie

A Perfect Pair: Bold Blue and Robin's Egg Swank!

If you happened to catch the March issue of House Beautiful Magazine, you may have seen a gorgeous pair of Swank Lighting lamps in the Tobi Fairley article on page 71. If you gazed onto that pair with envy, well be envious no more: you can own your very own pair! But more importantly, if you purchase these lamps you’ll want to place them in a room where they can really shine. We took a page out of the House Beautiful article and we think you’ll like the results!

This Round Mirror with Blue Frame by Fontana Arte is absolutely stunning, jaw-dropping and bold. From Italy and made in the height of Mid-Century style, 1966, the mirror features a strong round shape. It’s a beveled round mirror set in a brass frame, that’s then surrounded by a concave glass frame that features a deep, rich blue color. The translucency of the blue glass really gives this piece a very ethereal-feeling; it’s like the mirror is almost hovering just away from the wall itself. An original Fontana Arte piece, you’ll love to have this mirror in your collection.

As mentioned, this gorgeous pair of lamps are like the ones featured in the Home Beautiful article, and they are Robins Egg Blue Barovier & Toso Murano Lamps from the heady and stylish 1950's. These lamps are stunning for a number of reasons. The color of the glass is a soft and subtle robin’s egg blue, with 24k gold details that surround the large controlled bubbles that make up the pattern of the glass, which is classy, surprising and intricate. And these lamps are hand blown! Set on a base that helps accentuate the gold details of the bubbles, the lamps make for perfect compositions.

So like we said, we took a page out of House Beautiful Magazine when we designed this perfect pair. Without giving too much away in case you haven’t read that particular issue—well it’s all about that fabulous color blue. So, the commonality between these two pieces was the color blue! What makes them work together rather than clash is the fact that the blue colors are so different; one is a strong, deep, bold blue while the other is a subtle, milky robin’s egg blue. Together, they share that commonality but also make the other piece stand out. And we like how the curves of the lamps match the curve of that mirror’s frame! What a perfect pair.

The Futuristic Lighting of Fontana Arte!

Being a lighting company, we here at Swank Lighting take a particular interest in the affairs of other talented lighting companies, both new and old. That’s why we are breaking with tradition for the designer influence by bringing you not an individual designer—but a very influential lighting design company: Fontana Arte.

If I were to choose the most descriptive term to describe Fontana Arte’s overarching design theme, it would be: cutting edge. You can recognize a Fontana Arte light fixture almost immediately: the style, materials used and general aesthetic feel of the pieces come across quite strong. Though all of Fontana Arte’s fixtures were quite unique, there were some overlying characteristics. Many pieces feature sharp lines and edges, jagged shapes, translucent plastic and shiny metal. Many of the products produced by Fontana Arte were light fixtures like pendant lights and sconces, but they also dealt in mirrors and other home accessories occasionally.

To say that Fontana Arte light fixtures look like they’re from the future is not a facetious statement: the cutting edge designs really do look like they could be from a home (or even space ship!) of the future. What makes this idea so unique is that the company is actually quite old. It was started in 1932 by architect Gio Ponti in Italy to be a leader in the advancement of glass manufacturing and design, and they actually dabbled quite strongly in art stain glass in the beginning, being responsible for glass in the Duomo of Milan and the Cathedral of Brasilia. Ponti, being the brilliant design mind that he is, soon realized the potential for these materials as fashionable items in décor, and soon home décor items were being manufactured by Fontana Arte. Over the years, the company has had big name designers work for them, like Pietro Chiesa, Gae Aulenti, Pierluigi Cerri, Piero Castiglioni, Vico Magistretti, Vittorio Gregotti, Ettore Sottsass, Umberto Riva, Alvaro Siza and Renzo Piano.

The fact that this company’s work has remained so popular and spawned so many imitators is proof that it has had a long-reaching influence on not only the world of light fixture and lamp design, but of interior design in general.

It's a Brand New Day!

Great quote: Every sixty seconds you spend angry, upset or mad, is a full minute of happiness you'll never get back.

Good morning! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. Mr. Southern and I got a bit of gardening accomplished- mostly weeding, admittedly, but rather cathartic! Madison, our youngest furbaby, tossed up Daddy's sock that she apparently had eaten last week when Mommy was out of town. Of course, we thought the culprit was Tilghman! (sorry, that is probably TMI). Needless to say, she is feeling much better and is now getting along fine with foster dog Kaylee.

Speaking of dogs, last week we attended a fundraiser for the Atlanta Humane Society, hosted by the fine folks at Sweetwater Brewing. We got to meet Lemonhead, an incredibly sweet Staffordshire Terrier rescued from a dog-fighting ring in Atlanta. After socializing (and after I-nicely- finished grilling of one of the directors), we had a tour of the facility.
Friday night, Habersham hosted another Garden Party with a few tasty snacks and wine. Few things better than sipping wine in the garden.
It's no secret that I would replace all of the grass in our backyard with gardens and pathways if Mr. Southern would allow me and Habersham is just the place for inspiration (I also posted about them last Fall).

Honestly, not to knock anyway, but how many garden centers have staging like this?

Not to mention their fabulous indoor spaces, a respite from the chilling temps, featuring items that look equally great indoors as out.

Love this little guy...This little house was too expensive for my taste (well over $200!) but oh so cute.


This little bunny would be a welcome visitor in any garden... and just in time for Easter.



LOVE the look of these edibles.

And as we did last fall, we finished up at Alfredo's, a great old-school Italian place.


Have a fabulous week!!

Design Blog Profile: Delight by Design

It’s time to infuse some glamour back into the Swank Lighting blog! Though we love bringing our favorite design blogs of all different types and kinds, we have to admit: we have soft spot for those design blogs whose main job in life is to just expose the underlying glamour, fabulousness and shimmer to life. And boy does Delight by Design deliver!

The blog is created by Blair Friedeman, who resides in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and who is a local style and fashion icon. So, it seemed natural that she should start a blog, if only to help share her own fabulous ideas on life and design. As she describes is, the blog was started to “serve as an outlet for my daily musings on how to live a simply stylish life.” On her blog that receives over a 1,000 visits a day, she presents ideas, advice and tips on how to make a glamorous and classy interior space in your own home.

What we love the most about this blog is the type of glamour shown. Definitely interiors featured on Delight by Design are luxurious, but they’re also soft, simple and accessible. They are interiors that people could legitimately call and use like a home; not just look like it’s some sort of magazine shoot. You’ll find ideas on not only how to really make your home look like the photos on the blog, but also how to “cheat” it a bit: she gives great tips on how to style your space affordably to look like these glamorous inspirational spaces.

And it’s not just interior spaces that Friedeman riffs on—she’s got a lot of fun fashion ideas as well. And, if we may point out, we love how her fashion sense matches are interior design sense so well. On her simply laid out and graphically and aesthetically-pleasing website you’ll find big color photographs, sensible text and not a lot of other “stuff.” We love it.

So check out Delight by Design for some simple and stylish ideas on how to glamorize your home today!