Friday, September 11, 2009

The Chinese Chippendale Chair


Chinese Chippendale was invented by English furniture designer Thomas Chippendale in the mid eighteenth century. Already famous for his elegant mahogany furniture, he applied the newly very popular Chinoiserie style to his English look. Chinese Chippendale chairs are immensely popular today, and they vary widely in design which can include faux bamboo, fretwork, pagodas, bells, and latticework. The picture just below is a Chinese Chippendale chair I picked up last weekend at Lucketts (for those of you in the D.C. area) for $55.00. I have selected a beautiful Farrow & Ball paint color and Cowtan & Tout fabric, and will show you the "after" when I finish it. The rest of the pictures from 1st dibs show the incredible range of looks available in this style that remains so popular 250 later.
















27 comments:

  1. Looks like you got very "lucketts!" Looking forward to the transformation.

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  2. I love Chippendale chairs! That Chinese Chippendale chair from Lucketts is amazing, and I love the price! Great Find! Cannot wait to see the "after" pictures and what you plan to do with it! Have a great weekend!

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  3. This post struck a chord for very obvious reasons, Beth. I love your bargain chair - gorgeous. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  4. Home Before Dark-Yes, I got lucketty. I think it will look great. Have a lovely weekend.

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  5. CC-Thanks-I like the design, a little different than the faux bamboo. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  6. Anne-Maybe it will give you inspiration for a new chair for your series. Have a wonderful weekend.

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  7. You found some great examples of a classic chinoiserie look! I am in love with several of them! Thanks Beth!

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  8. nice score! can't wait to see the chair when you finish!

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  9. Theresa-Thanks-it's fascinating all the variety. Have a great weekend.

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  10. is there anything that i love more than Chinese Chippendale chairs?
    nah !

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  11. I love Chippendale chairs, great post! I cannot wait to see what you do with the new purchase. Hope that you have a great weekend.

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  12. The Consummate Hostess-Thanks. The pressure is on now! Have a lovely weekend.

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  13. awesome find!!! i just lovw lucketts!!!!
    can't wait to see it finished!! :)

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  14. Lauren-You are lucky you are fairly close to Lucketts-I'd be out there every week. Look forward to seeing you Friday.

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  15. What a great round up!

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  16. That chair is an amazing find -- I can't wait to see the "after"!

    As for all the 1stDibs Chippendale chairs...be still my beating heart! My favorite are the gorgeous faux bamboo chairs with the greek key fabric.

    Hope you're having a great weekend, Beth!

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  17. Averill-There are some gorgeous ones. Hope you're having a great weekend too.

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  18. So amazing to see the continuous metamorphosis of the Chippendale design. Wonderful references here. GT

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  19. Little Augury-Thanks-so many variations on a theme.

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  20. I'm wondering if you can comment on painting this chair. I have a faux bamboo Chinese Chippendale like the ones pictured and I want to paint it but after priming it this morning, I'm realizing just how intricate the wood work is. My plan was to paint it with a high gloss oil based paint to minimize the appearance of brush strokes and get a shiny lacquer-like finish. But now I'm worried I'll get tons of drips and an overall messy looking trying to brush paint on all those details. Considering trying to find someone to paint it with a spray air compressed painter. Thoughts?

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  21. dholl99-I am hardly an expert painter, but my chair was flat surfaces and I had no drips. But I always use Farrow & Ball which is a high quality and thicker paint, and have never had drip issues. However, if yours is the faux bamboo style, this would be more challenging.

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