Slipcovers for Luncheon Chairs

A preliminary design for the decoration of the slipcovers for the Luncheon Room chairs.
Drawing by John Tackett Design.

A new addition to the house in Volk Estates, University Park, Dallas, that linked the main house to the existing garage contained a new Breakfast Room among other spaces.  So the original Breakfast Room, a pleasant almost square space that was entered through a segmental arch opening from the vestibule to the Dining Room, was renamed the Luncheon Room.  It had been decided that the upholstered Hepplewhite chairs would have linen slipcovers with a box pleat skirt to give contrast to the more formal Dining Room.  I had found a document that illustrated magnificent seventeenth century lettering that would serve as a guide for an embroidered monogram.  The slipcovers had already been made and just about to be decorated when the Lady of the House attended a luncheon at a friend's home who had a new set of very similar slipcovered chairs with a monogramed back!  A change of design was needed, and I proposed several variations including the one sketched above with an applique of ribbon for decoration.

The slipcovers of the Luncheon Room chairs have an Etruscan motif.
Photos by John Tackett Design.

But when it was decided that the Luncheon Room was to be decorated with a wonderful series of prints of Roman pottery decorations and a collection of basalt porcelain, both of which my clients already owned, I switched to an Estrucsan motif for the embroidery.  I drew the design full size and it was scanned into a computer that produced the machine stitching by Penn & Fletcher, a company that I had discovered through a friend who designed costumes for Broadway shows.  It was just one of many touches that made this home an individual expression.

 John Tackett Design provided the Etruscan motif for the Luncheon Room slipcovers.
Photo by Pieter Estersohn.

The Travellers: Folding Screen

A view of the Living Room of a Volk Estates house renovated by John Tackett Design.
Photo by Pieter Estersohn  for "Southern Accents" magazine.

As a continuation of The Travellers, a series where the same furnishings are shown used in different ways in different locations, this edition illustrates a folding screen.  In its traditional placement to define a seating group adjacent to a doorway or as a wall hanging, a folding screen can be a huge asset to a classic interior.

The clients' Living Room in their former home, decorated by Josie McCarthy.
Photo by Peter Woloszynski for "Southern Accents" magazine.

This is also a continuation of the previous July 8, 2011, post where most of the furnishings from the clients' former residence on Strait Lane were re-used at their newly renovated home on Vassar Avenue in the Volk Estates area of University Park, Dallas, Texas.  The Garden Room is down a step through the thick doorway past the screen in the first photo.  For this new placement, the back of the screen was upholstered with a check fabric and decorated with framed miniatures attached to lengths of gros grain ribbon.  It is always a good investment to buy what you love, especially a versatile piece that can be used in a variety of ways.