|
Peter Hunter confesses that it's difficult to identify rules for buying furniture, other than paying attention to the proportions and size and whether you can fit it into your apartment building's lift. The observant reader will notice that some of Peter's preferences are quite different from those of other designers. The bottom line, even for famous designers, is to each, his own. Personal taste and sensibility may lead to very different design solutions.
Do, says Peter, pay attention to wood grain, pattern and color, and whether you want to use the furniture as a strong contrast to other pieces in the room or to blend in. When you buy a bright red lacquer armoire, bear in mind what you'll put it with. Take into consideration the impact that the piece will have on the room.
Do buy for contrast. Whether you are buying a strong statement of mid-modern, such as a Mies van der Rohe Barcelona chair or an antique Chinese lacquer cabinet, go for the strong statement, not the middle ground. If you are going to blend everything too much, why buy an antique? Play with the contrasts. If you are buying Chinese side chairs, contrast them with a modern piece in chrome. If you are buying an ornate Chinese cabinet, try contrasting it with a simple, lacquered modern piece. Keep in mind the scale of each piece and don't let one dominate the other. Use pieces that are roughly the same in design.
|
|
 |
|
|
Do pay attention to detail - which can help you avoid expensive mistakes. If you are combining Chinese and modern chairs around a dining table, make sure that the modern chairs have a slightly higher seat height than normal, because Chinese chairs are usually 50 mm. higher than you would expect. They were made to be used with footrests that took your feet off the floor.
Do spend more money than you have.
Don't mix European and Chinese antiques 50/50, especially if both are "busy" with surface decoration. These do not play well together.
Don't treat your Chinese furniture as if it was a gaggle of fragile old ladies. They are for using. Chinese antique furniture is much more robust than European antiques of a similar age. European furniture tends to have fixed joints, which makes it more rigid, while Chinese furniture was designed to be knocked down and reassembled, which means it had to be designed for flexibility and toughness. Fixed joints tend to break.
|
|
