Knock-off

You might not know it if you never make anything from scratch, but the “designing” process, the “deciding the dimensions” and the “how it will be done” part takes time, often even more time than the “just making the stuff” part. That’s why, if you can copy and use a design that’s already been done, you’ll save the better part of the effort.

Here’s how we did just that in copying an existing fire screen for a new series of furniture.

For what it’s worth, you can have a look here at how the first screen was used.

Round About Chairs

Fed up with those boring armchairs, always the same with a square back?

Well here is at last a different model, with a round back.

A pair of two new Louis XVI style armchairs « en médaillon »

This type of armchair is still said to be « à la reine » (à la queen) because the back is flat, but is also « en médaillon » (or with a circular back).

Two armchairs with square backs and two with round ones from a series of six new armchairs

Screens

The meuble of a room, is the similar fabric shared between all objects that can receive fabric or are made of fabric such as chairs, armchairs, settees, curtains, portières (curtains hung over doors), but also screens or fire screens. Oftentimes, in the grand houses of the upper aristocracy of the Ancien Régime, you had to have a summer meuble and a winter meuble. That is to say, you would have the fabric on all your matching furniture changed generally twice a year according to the season. The fabric covering your bed, chairs, etc. would usually be of lighter colours in summer (white with a flower pattern for example) and a little bit darker and richer in winter (such as a rich red velvet). 

If possessing two entirely different set of furniture was beyond your means or too cumbersome, you could maybe have your chairs reupholstered (which doesn't sound very practical), or, more conveniently, you could own a set of what are called fauteuils à châssis (frame chairs), that is to say armchairs the upholstery of which was conceived to be removable in an instant to be cleaned or changed.

On the new screens I just ordered to complete the furniture of my office, the panels are removable according to the the above mentioned principle, which means I could easily replace them to match the fabric of another set of chairs, and keep the gilded frames. Not that I intend to do so!

A red and gold screen matching the furniture recently delivered for my personal office.

The frame of the same screen before gilding was applied.

Though those screens are relatively short to be usable in rooms with low ceiling such as the entresol room where my curent office is, I sent both of them to the storage room because my office is really too small and full already.

At last, you have to know that during the Ancien Régime and the following regimes abiding by the same etiquette rules, not any idiot could use gilded furniture, certainly not in the King's Palace. You had to belong to the royal family or at least be a very important prince. Please, note that the same principle will apply today, and that gilded furniture will be exclusively reserved to a select few (very few), and in general delivered only to apartments by special permission of His Grace the Duke.

The set of furniture with matching fabric delivered to my office so far.

Causeuse

A causeuse is an armchair which has been stretched sideways to accommodate two persons. It can also resemble a bergère in its construction (with a second loose cushion on top of the first one, lower legs and closed sides), but the model above is only based on a standard armchair. I've ordered this new seat to complete the series of chairs furnishing my office. 

The frame of a newly made causeuse chair, as large as two standard armchairs.

Two armchairs and a causeuse along the walls of the small office I currently occupy in the palace.

The furniture composing the series made for my office so far. The room is so small all those chairs barely fit in there, but this furniture would follow me if I am to move back to a bigger office in the future. This is why I'm not afraid of ordering too much chairs, even if I have to store some of them elsewhere for now...!

Theme And Variations

This is a new variation in colour for the armchair model introduced this year. (See the model's bare frame in details here.) I ordered a series of four armchairs in gold and red fabric for my personal office. (When seated at my desk however, I still prefer to use a modern and very comfortable armchair.) 

My personal office at night in the King's Pavilion of  the Palace of Versailles

A panorama of the different colours in which our model of armchair has been made so far. From left to right : in gold and off-white fabric for the Duchess's Golden Cabinet, in white and orange for the Duchess's Grand Cabinet, and in gold and red for my personal office. At last, a bare frame kept as a template in our workshops.

One More

The last piece of furniture to enter the palace's collection is this Louis XVI style chest of drawers. It has been ordered by a very prestigious occupant to replace an older and damaged one. This new one is made of ebony, a marble top and gilded bronze. Set in a private apartments, it is currently not visible to the public.

Well Kept Secrets

When watching photos of one of the last posts on this blog, I have been disturbed by one empty space along a wall of the Golden Cabinet (Duchess's Apartments). On the picture above, you can see that the panel on the right side of the mirror is cut to lead way to an other room. So, of course, nothing should stand there in the way. But on the opposite side, underneath the two paintings, you definitely had space for something. After some thinking and wondering, I came to the conclusion that a small secrétaire à abattant, (or fall front desk) would be ideal to fill the space. There is another door on the secrétaire's left, so the piece of furniture had to have a small enough depth not to be an obstacle when entering and exiting the room.

The fall front desk I found, in pure Louis XVI style, has got the ideal size. It is made of mahogany wood, has got a marble top and displays some gilded bronze elements, perfectly matching the furniture already in place. It is a welcome detail in the room's decoration but not meant to be the center of attention (this role will be played by a large Riesener commode, now still in our workshops, that will furnish the back wall, where the transparent screen now stands).

If you think you might not be allowed to see the real thing in Versailles (the Golden Cabinet is a private room of the Duchess, accessible by invitation only), here are at last some close up pictures of the secrétaire.

         

   

         

   


         A small Louis XVI Fall Front Desk in the Duchess's Golden Cabinet.

More Armchairs

We were writing in the last post about the name given to armchairs meant to be placed along a wall and essentially kept there with no other purpose than contributing to the decor of a room. Such armchairs are called fauteuils meublants. You may see in the picture above (taken today in the Duchesse's Golden Cabinet) how such seats may be arranged on either side of a fireplace for instance.

For really seating, two other identical armchairs have been delivered. Those will be used as fauteuils courants, or armchairs positioned in the centre of the room and more freely moved around according to needs. To complete the furniture, two matching bergères will be delivered soon.

An armchair in the Duchess's Golden Cabinet, of the same model as those furnishing the Grand Cabinet, but in gold and off-white tones.

A less formal arrangement of armchairs, set around a table for tea or conversation. 

Three armchairs in the Duchess's Golden Cabinet.

Wood Paneling 2.0

Newly made wood panels have replaced the old ones in the Duchess's Grand Cabinet. These are views of the room without paintings on the walls to let you see the boiseries better. As you can see, we opted for an early installation of the panels even if we have still to fix (and build!) the doors.

The mirror frame above the fireplace is much more elaborate and intricately carved compared to the previous one, but still, it remains the only gilded element of the walls' decor.

The Mirror frame is loosely based on the ones, designed by Antoine Rousseau, visible today in Madame Victoire's bedroom in her apartments on the ground floor of the palace of Versailles.

If you want to know how much better (hopefully!) those new wood panels are compared to the old ones, just browse for the ancient ones on this blog; for now, there are still photos of them around...! 

Teaser Grand Cabinet

As the wood paneling is being upgraded to higher standards in the Duchess's Grand Cabinet, the mirror above the fireplace will receive a more ornate frame, adorned with gilded ornaments. The frame, which will probably be the only element of the wood paneling to be gilded, has been crafted today. Once again, you have the opportunity to compare a preparatory drawing for the frame with the (almost) final product.

Golden Cabinet Update

The collection of furniture, paintings and artefacts gathered in the Duchess's Golden Cabinet is slowly growing. Recently, a Savonnerie rug, a small table, a screen table, a partition screen and a bucket containing logs for the fireplace have been added to the room. Two new oval portraits represent the sister and a brother of Louis XVI of France. What is more obviously lacking now are some chairs, but be assured that we plan to add at least four armchairs to the furniture. When its furnishing is complete, please note that the room will only be visible on personal invitation from Her Grace the Duchess.

An older view of the Golden Cabinet where the Riesener chest of drawers from the Grand Cabinet had been harboured during refection work in this last room.

Garniture

The Golden Cabinet or Salon Louis XVI received some garniture today. Garniture, as you may know is "a set of decorative accessories, in particular vases" (as defined for us by the Oxford English Dictionary). In fact, four gouaches by landscape painter Van Barenberghe, two pairs of vases and a restored clock are now part of the precious artefacts decorating the cabinet. The two Molitor encoignures are also, at least for now, part of the room's furniture.

Two very rare golden vases from the Shang period of the Hang Dynasty are exhibited on the mantelpiece. In the corners of the room, each encoignure supports a pair of Japanese hexagonal jars from the 17th century in the Emari ware style. The four gouaches, at last, bring a welcome and soothing touch of blue to the decor, counterbalancing the omnipresent gold.

Oh, and did you notice we made the skirting board too?

Overdoor

This overdoor painting by Francesco Guardi (1712-1793) is now decorating the Duchess's bedroom in Her apartments of the South East Pavilion of the Secretaries of State. A similar painting by the same Venetian artist is facing this one, above the opposite door. Work continues on the bedroom decoration. The antechamber, next door, has received a white wood paneling decoration and a new fireplace as well. We may show you a photograph of this last room when its floor is completed.

Quick Update On Golden Cabinet

The parquet has been laid in the Golden Cabinet. We're still waiting for the skirting board though...

Please, see the previous post if you want more details about this room.

Golden Cabinet or Salon Louis XVI

At last! At last the content of this blog is getting closer to the promises of its subtitle. It's been months since we advertised to you the Gilded Rooms of the Palace of Versailles. Rooms you saw plenty (OK : you saw some rooms). But gold? Well... Voilà! The Golden Cabinet (where did they got that name I wonder) has received its gilded panels today, which are our first recent attempt at recreating the white and gold wooden paneling so closely associated with Versailles. The fireplace is new and voluntarily quite sober to let the gilded boiseries (wooden paneling) and the Versailles style floor speak for themselves. Oh, sure, for now, you'll have to imagine the floor... (But have a look at some other posts on this blog, such at this one, to have a taste of things to come.) For the moment, we borrowed an encoignure to the Prints Cabinet next door, we chose to display in this room the desserte acquired in July, and we present a portrait of Louis XVI on the back wall to pay homage to the last king to have inhabited the palace.

From the drawing to the actual woodwork. 

In the Cabinet, if the panels of boiserie are prudently crafted in a relatively sober Louis XVI style, all in straight lines, to let us challenge increasingly the difficulty of making carved gilded ornaments, the mirror frames, on the other hand, are boldly displaying the curves and intricacy of the previous Louis XV style. Such a combination of styles is of course not uncommon, as each style was not strictly framed in time, but rather melted progressively into the next.

Mirror effects at night in the Salon Louis XVI