I subscribe to lots of estate sale lists and take a mild interest in the interiors, such as they are. The spaces are typically very ho-hum and have never before inspired me to create a post around one but there’s an exception to every rule. The image above — attached to a sale being held this Saturday (April 21, 8 am) in Toronto — really made me wonder about the woman who chose to live with the blue walls and the blue and white rug and those chairs, my God, those chairs! Love them or hate them, and I suspect some of you will divide into each camp, they’re just sooooo designer. You’d certainly never find anything like them at Elte. There’s nothing as interesting as this seating set in the rest of the house, which begs the question, why just this one flight of fancy? Did madame decide on a lark to go up and over the top or did a designer give her a push? And if she was coerced, did she come to love them or did this one risque gesture embarrass her ever after?
April 18th, 2012 at 7:24 pm
I don’t want them, but I think they’re sort of fabulous! I hope she enjoyed them and that the next owner does as well.
April 18th, 2012 at 7:40 pm
How about a post on GTA estate sale lists?
April 18th, 2012 at 9:32 pm
I think she had some other lovely things. I don’t know about estate sales, it feels a little inappropriate but maybe that’s just me. I guess that stuff needs to go somewhere but still…
Have you gotten anything worth posting at a sale Chris?
April 19th, 2012 at 3:56 am
Good morning. Those chairs remind me of a quote by Virginia Wolfe whom said, a woman must have money, and a room of her own…Gayle of looks like your estate mystery woman did that in spades
April 19th, 2012 at 6:11 am
Love them! Chairs Sarah Richardson could spin her magic with.
Agree with Ellen, an estate sale post would be interesting?
April 19th, 2012 at 6:53 am
In response to the link requests above, here are some of the estate sale sites where you can sign up for regular alerts:
The Next Move
Sell My Treasures
Sell My Stuff Canada
The Great Estate Sale
Sweet & Harding (Upstate New York)
And here’s a link to my primer about estate sales.
Lois, great observation and very appropriate quote.
April 19th, 2012 at 11:06 pm
Hmmm? Interesting questions, but do we know for sure that the chairs belonged to a woman?
April 19th, 2012 at 11:36 pm
I’m guessing the room was decorated in the late 80s, when the catchphrase on everyone’s lips was, “You can’t go wrong with blue and white.”
April 20th, 2012 at 12:49 pm
I like them! Blue and white get me every time, and one (only one!) tucked away in my bedroom would be great.
April 20th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
Likewise, I wouldn’t mind a scrap of that carpet though Lord knows where I’d ever use it.
April 21st, 2012 at 8:34 am
Lin, you’re kidding about the gender, right? There is NO way this space was signed off by a man. None. Zero. Nada.
Also, looking at the rest of the home’s decor I completely agree with Lisa about the late 80s era, it could not be otherwise.
May 6th, 2012 at 12:38 am
OMG, love them, LOVE THEM. I think they might be from an earlier decade than the 1980s, just because the textile design looks like it features a watercolour-like quality…it’s quite whimsical and yet graphically bold. A mystery!