Dining room cupboard

[JoceAndChris]

I just reread the whole funny thread. :lol:

Warning - girly question coming up.

So many lovely, ingenious ideas and helpful thoughts from you all in this, about this cupboard. I have to make a decision on it now the rest of the room is finished.

The cupboard is our Museum now. Many of the contents have been dug up in the garden.

I'm really glad I was advised by Mr P and others not to paint it or ruin it in any way. I do need to decide about the back still. A mirror isn't going to work, as you'd see the back of the horrid wiring and the disco baby lights.

Should I go for the back a) in the same wallpaper as the walls? b) red watered silk (moire), as in Joss' idea.? c) blue watered silk to echo my chosen curtain fabric? - see James Brindley Chinois velvet below.

(I'm planning on the tartan for an armchair, the stripe for dining room chairs and the needlepoint either to hang or as a firescreen)

 

[Penners]

Opinion:

The cupboard is for displaying things. The things should therefore be the stars of the show. If you do anything "designy" with the cupboard back it will start to elbow the stars aside and say "NO - LOOK AT ME!" So - if it were mine - I would want the cupboard's internal structure to be as unobtrusive as possible.

Which is exactly what it is now!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Oh. Perhaps, after all then, just a good clean and oil, then wax.

Thanks for your very valued opinion Mr P!

 

[worms]

Opinion:

The things should therefore be the stars of the show... "NO - LOOK AT ME!"

Well, The Talisker is nearly finished and the Balvenie's not much better and I'll draw a veil over the half-bottle of Grouse!

What? There were other objects there? Fabric? And a cupboard...?

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: good to see you getting the priorities right, worms!

I'm sure there must be leaks in those bottles; we haven't even had them all that long! Gutting that the Hine Antique has nearly gone, very difficult to find that in Lincolnshire.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Joce, your dining room looks brilliant--- wel worth the blood sweat and tears!
You could try and beg/borrow or steal a small swatch of watered silk, in a pale cream, pale gold or a paler shade of the wall paper. The key is to have a slight sheen, and nothing more than the natural texture of the weave in the silk. Alternatively, as your artifacts are quite 'earthy' as opposed to porcelain and silver etc, what about a hessian type fabric. It must be possible to find a dyed hessian to match /tone.--in fact you could dye your own, using plant dyes --onion, solidago etc.

Happy hunting!!--actually-- have you considered seeing if the wallpaper comes in the same shade without the motifs.

 

[Moo]

Joss - It had never occurred to me that you could dye stuff like hessian with vegetable dyes; during my mother-earth phase we always stuck to wool. And I'd always understood that vegetable dyes, though they give glorious colours, are not light-fast (though in Joce's cupboard that might not be too much of a problem).
But I do like that idea of matching the wallpaper colour - Joce would have lots of fun playing with yet more swatches!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Ladies - thank you so much for your ideas and encouragement! Hessian is a very interesting idea, dyed with vegetables! I must have a go at that at some point. Joss - I'm so glad I used the distemper now, in the context of everything else the uneven finish works. I'm definitely a Rose of Jericho fan now, so thank you so much for all your help and advice with that paint.

The cupboard has earthy contents just now as that is what is readily available but in time I'd like to build a silver collection.

I like the idea of using a soft red, the FnB wallpaper without the damask doesn't exist and they have a very unhelpful 3 rolls only policy anyway. The only moire I've found that might do is this one, I'm waiting for a sample.

http://www.voyagedecoration.com/anatolia-collection/marais.php

I thInk I'll pin a sheet up so I get an idea of how it effects the room if it was backed in a light colour. I also have a bolt of gold fabric so I'll try that too just for the colour. Many thanks- design is hard, so many elements to put together.

 

[Nigel Watts]

The mahogany and the red go very well together - don't change it!

If you want to display silver I would suggest glass shelves rather then wooden ones. Silver exposed to the air tarnishes much more quickly than when appropriately wrapped up, so some form of moisture reduction is a recommended, such as silica gel. I havn't tried this myself yet, but intend to do so.

 

[Penners]

I agree with Nigel about the glass shelves for displaying silver (or glassware).

To reduce silver cleaning, pop an anti-tarnish strip or two in your cabinet. It'll last much longer before tarnishing.

http://www.spoiltrottenbeads.co.uk/anti-tarnish-paper---pack-of-10-strips-2846-p.asp

 

[Moo]

I'm afraid I must disagree about glass shelves. They're fine in bathrooms and modern or Art Deco interiors, but I really do think they'll be a bit incongruous in Joce's cupboard. For one thing, they'll reflect the electric lights, and the existing shelves look so appropriate that it's surely a case of "if it ain't broke don't fix it".

 

[88v8]

Haven't read the whole thread, but what lovely doors -light, elegant glazing bars, marginal glazing, excellent, high quality.
Not sure about the lighting, it takes a while to get that sort of thing right.
But, it mostly seems to contain brownish objects against a brown background. Are you in the camouflage business?

Ivor

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: I agree with you about the lighting Ivor, it looks appalling with the doors open. Never mind, there's too much else to do to revisit that just now. Maybe one day we can redo it for a better effect.

As for the brown against brown Egyptian artefacts ( fakes!), it was very good for last night's dinner party with friends, which was themed as 1920s Egyptian exploration. We had Egyptiany food and gingerbread men wrapped up in white icing bandages as mummies. Our statue of Bastet oversaw the proceedings, duly honoured with myrrh-scented roses, and a very jolly time was had by all.

My good friend Jane also thought the cupboard should be untouched. I think I'll empty it out, give it a good clean and wax, and then at least I'll feel it's more "done" - I think it's another case where other people's dirt is making me dislike it a bit. It smells very peculiar, I wondered if bits of it were camphor wood.

I think I'm with Moo on the glass shelves.

Many thanks for all the input on this.

 

[Penners]

It smells very peculiar, I wondered if bits of it were camphor wood.

If they are, that's good. Your Egyptian mummies won't get eaten by moths.

But camphor doesn't smell odd - it smells... well... camphory. Very clean and sinus-clearing.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Joce - just had a jolly good look at the recent photos and have to say I love what you've done with this room; it is so elegant. The wallpaper is perfect. Well done.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Next time I come across a camphor wood chest in an antique shop I'll have a good inhale then, to familiarise myself with it.

And thank you for your kind words Robin, it may have been a mistake giving Chris his dining room though -very hard to get him to do anything now! Tip for others, don't give your partner their dream room early on in the project!

 

[Gareth Hughes]

He hasn't got the stags' heads yet...
:shock:

 

[Penners]

Tip for others, don't give your partner their dream room early on in the project!

I'm still waiting for Mrs P to give me my dream anything...

 

[jocelyn plummer]

aahhhh Penners, have a kit-kat. xx

 

[Penners]

Thanks, Joss (although I do prefer an offer like that to come from someone standing next to me, with a handful of Kit-Kats).