HOW TO HANG ART, PART 6: ABOVE A CASE GOOD

At Spade and Archer Design Agency, we define a case good as any non-upholstered piece of furniture such as a desk, buffet, dresser, or a credenza.

When selecting a piece or pieces of art, we use art that is at least 50% as visually large as the case good but no more than 100% as large as the case good. In this shot we can see the artwork is about 75% as large as the buffet. We center the artwork on the case good, and hang the artwork about 4” above the back of the sofa to the bottom of the artwork. Note, 4 inches about the size of your fist from the pinky to the thumb. We are never afraid to place a lamp or lamps in front of a piece of art and love the way it gives the room a depth of field.

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THE NEW MEANING OF "COCKTAIL TABLE"

When it comes to furniture, there are a lot of confusing and conflicting terms that many people aren’t familiar with. This is especially true with occasional tables. So what exactly is an occasional table? Unlike a kitchen or dining table, an occasional table is one that you use only occasionally. Think of it as a piece you use when you’re lounging about or when company comes over. This includes end tables, cocktail tables, coffee tables, accent tables, sofa tables, and console tables. Let’s talk about two of them, the coffee table vs. the cocktail table. In casual conversation these terms that have been used interchangeable for a long time. But alas, there is a new type of table taking on the use of the term cocktail table because it holds exactly one cocktail. 

Photo by Crate and Barrel

For a long time both of the items "cocktail table" and “coffee table” have been used to mean a low tables meant for use in the living room or den. Usually in front of a couch (or sofa, or davenport, or loveseat or one of the 20 other various terms we use to mean sofa). They are useful for filling out a room, displaying decor or accessories, and entertaining guests. As the words “coffee” and “cocktail” suggest, they are the perfect place to set a beverage. Most are between 16” and 21” in height and should be chosen based on the height of your sofa. Manufacturers craft both types of tables from a wide range of materials; from hardwoods, to metal, wicker or glass. Also I we will find ourselves using the term coffee table in this case and the term cocktail table will now mean an entirely different type of table. 

Photo by Ballard Design

The cocktail table has recently been reinvented by furniture manufacturers the world over as a small, heavy based table with a small stem and single dinner plate sized top designed to hold a single cocktail. It is often placed directly adjacent to soft seating as shown here. I am in absolute love with the cocktail table and hope they catch on as they add such whimsy and delight to a sitting room. 

Photo by Crate and Barrel

CHAISE LOUNGE VS. DAYBED VS. FAINTING COUCH

WHAT IS A CHAISE LOUNGE? 

I had this question last week and it got me thinking. My immediate answer was “It’s like a really long club chair, think a club chair attached to an ottoman." But that answer really wasn't enough. I started to wonder, what separates the chaise lounge from the fainting couch from the daybed. In today’s society these terms can be used interchangeably like “couch” and “sofa.” But there are some distinct differences between them. 

All three things, daybed, chaise lounge and fainting couch are roughly the same size, smaller than a twin size bed, but longer than a soft club chair. But they each have their own distinct signature quality: 

DAYBED: will almost always be flat with a pillow or back at one or both ends and sometimes at all three sides. There are no “arms” on a daybed. 

Daybed with one pillow, photo by Hive Modern

Daybed with two backs, photo by Crate and Barrel

Daybed with three backs, photo by CB2

FAINTING COUCH: or fainting sofa, has a back and one arm, originally designed to give victorian women a place to catch their breath when corseted and after an immediate climb up a staircase. These were often placed at the top landing of a staircase for this very reason. 

Yikes!  Can you imagine that conversation… “Honey, I think I am going to stop wearing my corset because I keep passing out at the top of the stairs.” 

“Nah, I tell you what, we will just build you a little sofa at the top of top of the stairs, that way you can pass out for a few minutes after you walk up and then you can keep wearing the corset, cool?” 

Fainting Couch, photo by Perigold

CHAISE LOUNGE: (pronounced shayz lownj) Is very similar looking to a fainting couch, yet it always semetcriacal with either no arms, or two arms. If you are super fancy you will use the absolute correct spelling and pronoucination of this word, as Chaise Longue (french for long chair and pronounced shayz laang). When English speakers imported a new kind of sofa from France in the late 1700s, they transformed the name 'chaise longue' ("long chair") into 'chaise lounge'—which makes sense, since 'lounge' is an English word spelled with the same letters.

Chaise Lounge with two arms, photo by Karliel

Chaise lounge, armless, photo by Crate and Barrel

Note, all of the examples shown are “contemporary” in style but come in all kinds of styles from victorian, to modern to arts and crafts. 

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HOW TO HANG ART, PART 5: ON PANELING

At Spade and Archer Design Agency, we love to hang a series in complicated rooms with paneling.

A “series” is different pieces of artwork all in the same frame. When selecting the series we usually pick something that is at least 50% of the width of the paneling but no more than 75% of the width.  We generally hang one piece centered in the paneling at 57 inches above the finished floor. As you can see each of the panels in this picture are different sizes. However, our consistent artwork give them the look of being more consistent than not. 

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HOW TO HANG ART, PART 4: ON A STAIRCASE

At Spade and Archer Design Agency we love to hang a series of art in a stairwell.

A “series” is different pieces of artwork all in the same frame. Generally we hang a piece of art every third stair horizontally. We then hang that piece 57 inches above the finished stair. This way the corners of the artwork will form an invisible line that is parallel to the angle of the staircase itself. The end effect is clean, crisp and efficient looking without distracting from the staircase itself. 

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