The red chair

I have to start this little ramble by telling you that I am not overly fond of red. My dream rooms are generally filled with taupes, creams, pale sage greens and hints of gold, a serene palette that makes my retinas purr with contentment and almost puts me into...let's say, a silken swoon.

Then one day I was idly leafing through an old issue of Architectural Digest, admiring the interiors of a lovely English castle. I turned a page, and I froze. What was this? Plunked sassily down in the middle of a room filled with soothing hues -- a red chair!

The sudden snap of color jolted my senses, as if I had just chewed on a handful of coffee beans. I looked at that chair and thought, wow.

You know how once you notice something you've never paid attention to before, you start seeing it everywhere? So it is with red chairs. Looking for them is more fun than truffle hunting! More fruitful, too. 

Pretty soon I found these in a book about Provence interiors. Two Bloody Marys in a serene garden? Or something like that.

Okay, so maybe these technically aren't chairs, but, really! They add almost psychedelic punch to this otherwise quiet environment.

 

Ivory, cream, white, and...red chairs!

 

 A shy, sweet corner...then, Carmen emerges!

Via tumblr

This is one of my all-time favorites. Not just red, but red and striped. Like waving a red flag 

in front of...a decorator.

Via Pinterest

Are two matching red chairs better than one? This room would look gorgeous either way.

Another red chair duo, in a bed and breakfast in Bruges, Belgium. This room 
looks good enough to eat. Or wear.

via Belgian Pearls

A trio of chairs, a trio of Venetian mirrors at Ca D'Zan in Sarasota. I just knew I'd find a place for this photo someday, and here it is.

Here's a sneak peek at Michael S. Smith's new book, Building Beauty: The Alchemy of Design. 

What a chair. What a room!

Red and white chair with a red ottoman in the dramatic white entrance of a house in Buenos Aires. Now, where would you look if that ottoman wasn't there?

via The New York Times

Don't you just want to run out and buy a red chair?  Or slipcover one you already have? If nothing else, make some pasta with red sauce tonight. It will be a good start, and maybe you can work your way up to something bigger. Be brave! 

© 2013 by A Silken Swoon. All rights reserved.