Christian Liaigre

In my last post on the art of refining, Christian Liaigre chairs and daybeds were featured in a Connecticut home.  After discovering his furniture design there, I purchased his book, read it like a Bible and tried to ferret out any articles on his work.  What follows are some of my discoveries, discoveries about Liaigre's work, the very embodiment of refined taste.

This is the book I purchased and the one I still study today.  I'd love to scan images from it, but the copyright warning seemed serious and severe, so just know it's wonderful and if you do not own it, you should.

Now to images scanned from magazines which seem less seriously illegal but still beautiful.  Having said that, the first and second group of images fell victim to my tear-outs and because of my negligence in notating tear-outs I cannot give credit to the publication.  (Please come visit me, if I end up in prison.)  The following images are of his Paris house from an unknown magazine.

The article mentioned that Liaigre sometimes liked to paint color directly on the wall instead of framed art as he did below.

And here.

From his third floor bedroom, his skylit dressing room is seen.

Love the bath.

Guest bedroom follows.

Now to his home on the Ile de Re.

Over sized mirror resides on the floor of Liaigre's bedroom and a beautiful luggage rack with linen straps.

Liaigre drew inspiration from the Shakers for his bed.

Guest room.

The following images are from Elle Decor's December 2013 issue and are of his home now on St. Bart's island (finally I know a source).  Still with his touches of red.

As you know, I love shutters almost anywhere.  Love them here in Liaigre's St. Bart's bath.

Interesting fact about this home.  Though it is very hot in St. Bart's, Liaigre refused to air condition the house.  He prefers open shutters and island breezes which sound wonderful while posting from my northeast tundra.

And finally some images gleaned from Pinterest.  I'm not a fan of red so the lack of it in these rooms seems fine, but will bow always to Liaigre's expertise.

Again, great neutrals and not missing touches of red.

Neutrals and shutters!

The beams in this library remind me of a home he designed in Bavaria, one of my favorities from his book.  (Note to copyright authorities: this  image is not from the book.)

One of his sofas with a great mirror.

This Soho room found on Pinterest is from his book and was featured on Mark Sikes's blog.

And finally, his furniture arranged in a David Sutherland showroom.

So what do you think?  Do you like Liaigre's refinement?  Or do you adore it?

Next time off to Belgium and more of my Great Design Change.

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Refine, Refine and Refine

As promised, this post will be about one of my Great Design Changes, making me think back again to the Great Vowel Change once discussed years ago in my History of English Language course.  It always sort of made me snicker when the professor spoke so excitedly about something not many students found significant at all.  So, if you snicker as you read about this influence that I found very significant, I will understand.  Snicker away!  My professor would probably think it pay-back.

Just to refresh your memories, below are a few images of a style I once loved earlier - taken from my early posts.  The first image is of bedrooms from Andrew and Betsy Wyeth's restored mill in Brandywine, PA.  (I can't figure out how to tag my posts, so I just "captioned" their dates for your reference.)

Wyeth Influence, Feb. 2012 post

The next from am interior of another PA home - this time combining antiques with rooms so spare that walls have no foot molding.  And all is in the frame of the original stone house in PA.

Still in PA, March 6, 2012

Bedroom from this same home.  Looking at these images again, I still love this style especially in the winter.

Still in Pa, March 6, 2012

Then in 1987, I discovered Hugh Newell Jacobsen and fell in love with his white, spare interiors in old Nantucket structures.  He definitely triggered a change in my style.

Nantucket: June 17, 2012

Especially love it in the summer.

Nantucket: June17, 2012

But, a home in this 1996 issue of House and Garden really caught my attention and triggered another real change in my design style.  

You see, this old, restored house in Connecticut has the antique-iness of the Pennsylvania homes, the spareness of Jacobsen, but is filled with very carefully chosen collections and antiques - all refined, all with things "taken away".  It really spoke to me and fostered another grand purge in my own home - my husband called it purging, I called it refining.

I love the Liaigre daybeds in the living room below, but I really have never understood their function.  When entertaining, do guests perch on the day beds, or lay on them?  Either way seems awkward, but they sure look great.  (Am I being too much of a decor Philistine here?) 

The fabric in the whole house was  very carefully chosen and is so very beautiful.

Every object is also carefully chosen.  "Even refrigerator shelves are impeccable, with bottles, cheeses and chocolates all in the same neutral palette.  And in the kitchen cabinets, plastic freezer bags are taken out of their original boxes, and rolled up neatly in white baskets."  I so admire this dedication to refinement and am still working on mine.  Sadly, my refrigerator does not contain a neutral palette yet.

The antique table paired with Christian Liaigre chairs reminds me a bit of the Nantucket dining room from above.  This image triggered my interest in Liaigre - more about this designer in a future post.

And it does within all the white.

Note below that the sponge, slippers and cologne are all the same tone.  The vessels on the vanity are the same tone as the bowl on the floor.   The soapstone vanity matches the counters in the kitchen.  Such attention to detail is so cool!

Owners removed all of foundation plantings to reveal the purity of the house's exterior.

The home was covered the next year in Marie Claire.  Since I do not speak French, I was glad to know the details from House and Garden.

I looked up most of what the text reads.  "A Tribute to Refinement.  In this antique Connecticut farmhouse, great attention is given to objects by two American women resulting in quiet perfection and comfort through their hard work."  Something like that.  By the by, the owners and refiners of this home are Barbara Dente and Donna Cristina.

Same dining room image but with a glimpse of their china and even more crystal candle holders.

Better views of  the kitchen which of course if love.  They have a Viking stove,  I have a Viking.  Made me feel like a kindred spirit with these women in a tiny way.

Another great view of the daybeds.  For years, I have been trying to figure out the rods in the windows.  Do you suppose they are a refined lock for the windows instead of brass latches?  

The juxtaposition of the old mantel and the white walls, the crystal and the carefully chosen rocks, the antique chair with contemporary Liaigre lounge - they all speak to me.

So there you have it - a home that was a real wake-up call to my decorating sensibilities and still is.  Could I change my own home to match this beauty?  Perhaps, if I won the lottery.  Till that time and the era of my five houses, I will continue to use this home's inspiration to refine the one home that I love - mine.

Till next time, stay warm-

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