Friday, December 22, 2017

Our French Style Hall At Christmas


As promised, I have been sharing pictures of our home from time to time. Having blogged about the sitting and dining rooms I thought I would feature the French style entrance hall and stairway decorated for Christmas. I did very little this year in the way of decking the halls......just a bit of greenery, white lights and ribbon. We have changed things around a bit this year and added more French flair to the old world style of the house so a simpler Christmas decor was warranted. I hope you enjoy the tour.


Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

Many of you already know that the entrance hall was painted in a faux limestone technique several years ago as a DIY project. I like the way it lends itself to a French country chateau look. The incandescent lighting gives everything a warm glow at night which makes the colors not seem as pretty when photographed. They are subtle but still a bit brighter.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

We love a French hunting lodge look but do not hunt. The taxidermy pieces in this room and also in the dining room are all saves from shops here and in Europe. I feel like it is a form of animal rescue, taking them from attics and dusty shops and giving them a place of prominence. I found these great antique sconces and Tim, who loves to light things, rewired and got them up and running. This French settee works for now but I am hoping to recover it in an old tapestry I have when I feel the need for a new project.....down the road a bit.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design


Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

This side of the hall looks into the French style diningroom.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

Another image that shows the left side of the French style hall and the Louis XIV console I got this year.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

Above the French console is a hunt tapestry and lithograph of Versailles when it was a hunting lodge under Louis XIV. As I have said before the French country chateau look is my favorite style. Sorry the whole picture didn't show.....my photography skills or should I say lack there of.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

This was actually a  pretty arrangement with greenery and  pheasant feathers. The cats won't leave them alone. I'm down to only this one so I give up!

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

This side of the hallway looks into the French style living room.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

Looking back towards the front door. 

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

A French vignette on a painted piece as you come in the front door. It is hard not to include a cat in the images since they follow me around as soon as I start taking pictures. They are such divas.......especially Sophie.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

The old lithographs are after French painters Watteau and Lancret. I love them because the colors are so soft and muted and exquisitely detailed. They actually have more color with natural lighting.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

This is as you continue down the hall. The curio is on old French style clock case that my son Zach made into a display for some of my antique petit point purses. Ahead is the bath. The left leads to the master bedroom and my office.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

Here are some of my purses and miniatures. I have another curio in the living room with the rest of my collection.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

Above the piece on the right in this part of the hall is a large hand made petit point oval of a woman that I had framed. I was taught needlepoint and all embroideries by my mom. I know the time it involves so I appreciate antique textiles like this one and buy all I can afford.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

Just a glance of my French style bath as we turn the corner. I will take more pictures in there when I publish a post about the master suite. All the trimwork and the staircase in the hall has been marbleized. You can see it around the bathroom door.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

This portion of the hall faces the family room. I will also feature that room someday soon. To the right is one of the stairs.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

You can see more marbling here on the door frame. The antique lithograph is called La Paix after Gustave Doré.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

This is quaint winding stairway off the French style hall leads up to two bedrooms that have become a sitting room and bedroom, now known as the Man Cave, since Zach moved out. Tim loves collecting what he calls "mantiques" for his industrial/world traveler/archaeologist type space. Well that's the best way I can describe it. It's a really neat space and he loves it. He has found some great pieces

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

Maybe I should have taken these pictures during the day so the colors would show up better. We had just had some folks over and the Christmas lights were all on. I'm too lazy to do it again so I hope you get the picture.

Lisa Farmer - Eye For Design

This image is looking back into the hall from the family room. That room I will save for a later date.

To see the living room click here 
  https://eyefordesignlfd.blogspot.com/2017/05/my-french-style-living-roompictures-as.html


To see the dining room click here
https://eyefordesignlfd.blogspot.com/2017/09/my-french-style-dining-room.html

 To see the kitchen click here


http://eyefordesignlfd.blogspot.com/2017/12/decorating-with-barley-twist-furniture.html



This blog post was published by Lisa Farmer



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Sunday, December 17, 2017

Decorating With Barley Twist Furniture

And you thought this blog post was going to be about furniture. Just kidding! However, there is a connection between these tasty old fashioned candies and the beautiful interiors and furnishings that are spotlighted in this post on the barley twist design element.

Barley-sugar twist candy is an ancient sweet originally made from hot sugar syrup and an extract of barley to color it that was popular from the 1600's. At the end of the post is a recipe for the candy if you are interested in trying some.

This well known design feature on furniture has been with us for many years The shape dates back to 333 AD when Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, brought back a pair of helix shaped columns from Jerusalem to be used in the altar of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. According to tradition, these columns, known as Solomonic columns, were originally used as structural pillars for the roof of the Temple of Solomon. In France, the twisted column or torsade was a major element in furniture design during the reign of King Louis XIII 1610 to 1649. The design element came to England with Katherine of Braganza in 1661 when she married Charles II.

While English collectors and dealers often refer to the twisted shape as barley sugar twist after the sweet barley sugar twist stick candy that resembled the 17th and early 18th century leg, the French prefer just torsade or barley twist.

Whether your style is French or English a piece or two of barley twist furniture will supply instant old world flavor to your interiors.

via Pinterest

Because of the legs, the table is the piece of furniture that I think usually comes to mind when barley twist is mentioned.
via Pinterest


18th century French walnut table with barley twist legs. Serpentine columns and barley twist were especially predominant during this time.

During the reign of Queen Anne (1702-14) cabinet makers predominate style of leg was the popular barley twist turned leg. 

There are fabulous little tables out there with barley twist legs. Search for them at auctions, Craigslist, antique malls and fairs.

via Pinterest

A rare French Antique Louis XIII style open barley twist writing table.The ability to carve open torsades or spirals such as the four comprising the legs of this table was considered the height of professional accomplishment achieved by only a few artists.

castlehomes.com
This lovely room features a desk with barley twist legs.
via Pinterest

An antique French Henri II carved oak barley twist table/ library desk.

Inessa Stewart Antiques

A 19th century French Renaissance barley twist etagere buffet. 
The barley twist design has embellished many fine antique cabinets, side tables, and chests over the centuries.


The barley twist design was originally hand made and hand carved. Here my friend Patrick Damiaens, who is a Master Ornamental Woodcarver from Belgium, works on a large barley twist.

 English craftsmen soon learned to create the intricate twist on a lathe. This led to more variations of the barley twist being made such as double and open which involved hollowing it out.

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

After tables, I think chairs are commonly associated with the barley twist design. I adore antique French needlepoint upholstered chairs, and if they come with barley twists it's icing on the cake.

via Pinterest

Barley twists became a much desired design element as part of the revival of interest in Gothic and Renaissance style. Here the chair legs are connected by a barley twist trestle to provide support.

I love the medieval look of Gothic style dining rooms with barley twist legs, etc.


The Dining Room, Hughenden Manor, Buckinghamshire


A great French carved server with stunning thick barley twist posts
Inessa Stewart's Antiques

Before long, people were using the barley twist as an ornamental feature, instead of a structural one. Here is a 19th century oak French Renaissance armoire with barley twist 
columns.


This tall and beautiful antique Welsh dresser, complete with barley twist columns,will make a statement in any room! 

An antique 1880 French hunting style carved buffet beautifully enhanced by the barley twist design element. 

via Pinterest

This beautiful piece reflects the French tradition of massive and sturdy furniture. Beautiful foliage in the form of leaves, fruit, vines, tree branches or barley twist were often carved along edges of buffets.

LiveAuctioneers

A Henri II style buffet with exceptional carving and barley twist.
Hunting style furniture was produced in 19th century during the Industrial Revolution in France better defined as the Renaissance Revival.Furniture makers specialized in detailed carvings of winged griffins, lion’s heads, and trophies of the hunt, including deer, fish, eels, rabbits, birds, and dogs. 


The glamorous bed with carved barley twist posts add stunning design to any bedroom.
Here are a few other lovely bedrooms with barley twist bedposts.




emilyevanseerdmans.blogspot.com

What a fabulous bench standing on four barley twist legs connected by a barley twist stretcher.

You don't have to have a big presentation of barley twists to give and old world feel to your room. A hint of it here and there does the trick. 


It's funny how just a sampling of the barley twist design element can manage to provide instant medieval flair to a room.


Small tables with barley twist legs will work with a variety of styles if you like an eclectic look.

thepolohouse.blogspot.com

Here a bit of barley twist on the arms of a lovely little cane back seat gives an English feel to an equestrian style space. 

via Pinterest

via Pinterest

Bring country charm to any tabletop with a collection of Barley Twist Candlesticks.

Barley twist balusters create beautiful staircases with a very old world flavor.

harperstudio.net

Either natural or painted, barley twist embellishment on a kitchen island is another way to incorporate them into your interior.  


I'm loving this painted barley twist column with it's wonderful gilded capital.

Joss and Main

Painted furniture pieces featuring barley twists are quite appealing as well......especially when done in shades of ivory.



Recipe as promised.

 Sugar - 2 1/4 lbs warmed
Barley - 9 oz (hulled)
Water - 9 pints

 Stir barley and water over gentle heat until dissolved. Cook the barley for 5 hours in water.
Strain the water and barley jelly like liquid and return it to the pan.  Add sugar and cook at 300 degrees until hard crack stage, being careful to not burn the sugar.  Pour mixture onto an oiled marble slab. As soon as mixture begins to cool, cut into long strips and twist them.


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