Thursday, March 4, 2010

Neoclassical Motifs in My Shabby Décor


Get your snowshoes on and hike on up for some fun in my studio!



Eighteenth century French artists and artisans took the classic architectural vocabulary of the Romans and gave it that ‘je ne sais quoi’ only the French can.    Baroque and Rococo painting, the palace and decorative objects of Kings Louis XIV and XV, and the even the centuries of reproductions afterward thrill me.    Italian and Swedish Gustavian work is striking, too.




It’s a glorious time for gals like me because European antiques are ‘in fashion’ now, so there’s lots of eye candy.


The scrumptious tin panels I found at the Silver Fox Architectural Warehouse in Albany, NY borrow patterns from ancient Rome, are Baroquey-scrolly-feminine, too.   It was $200 for all their panels I put in my studio, and so worth it, because I feel my white environment really needs texture to keep from being boring.    My ceiling panels were much cheaper, just $12 each from Craig's List.


These tin pieces may still be at New York Salvage in Oneonta, give John a call!

I’m attracted to bows, swags, urns, cherubs, and scrolls like the ones on these sweet little Cambridge glasses.






Ribbons and swags of roses are like painted swags of roses only with more restraint.


And I want more!

Here are a few examples of fine antiques by talented decorators I look at over and over:







It’s so much more feminine than if left plain!
‘Till next time, stay wrapped in swags of shabby roses!