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Recently
a reader asked about the design wisdom of mixing Louis XV and Louis
XVI furniture in a living and dining room, which were connected
visually. We understood her dilemma because even though the styles
follow chronologically, in some ways they are polar opposites -
the curved and feminine lines of Louis XV giving way to the straight
and more masculine features found in Louis XVI-style pieces. The
richness of color in the earlier style becoming transformed by designers
during the reign of Louis XVI into a more muted palette with soft
yellows, greens, and grays.
So,
what is one do with an eclectic assortment of pieces? We wrote back
to say that -- for us - a room filled with a mixture of well-loved
pieces of assorted styles and periods is far more interesting that
a room which slavishly keeps to a single style. After all, we do
not live in the Louvre, and we suspect that even in the 18th century
people of taste and cultivation lived with a mixture of furniture
styles and did not throw out the 17th century trunk when a new queen
or king changed the design fashion.
The
more we thought about this question the more we recognized that
the ability to mix different styles together into a cohesive, gorgeous
whole is another hallmark of great French design.
Naturally,
however, a successful blending of interior furnishings requires
careful consideration by the designer of the room. If one places
all the Louis XV furniture in the living room part of the space
and makes a singular shrine to Louis XVI in the dining area on the
other side of the room - it might not work too well. Rather, placing
some beautifully carved Louis XV chairs, with their fabulous and
sensual cabriolet legs, against the harder lines of a Louis XVI
dining table, might be smashing.
The
bottom line is the keep the pieces that one loves, highlight them
in the interior space, and give some careful consideration to placement.
It will all work very nicely.
Jane
Pierce Losson
Interior Design Consulting
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