Is this room weird?

Posted in FranceTagged , ,

My iPad takes panoramic shots. Amazing. So here is a panorama of an upstairs sort-of catchall room. I’m not sure how to make it look less like a sick room.

If someone were seriously ill, this is where I would put them, no question. Two day beds, one — not warped, that’s just how it looks — for the invalid, one just behind for the nurse. Lots of clean sheets. Voltaire chairs for guests. A wall full of books.

But Jacques and I are both quite healthy for the moment. And I like the room. Especially on a rainy, windy day like today, it’s great to snuggle in on that back bed and read, knit, blog, nap. All around a good spot to be.

So what should I do? it needs more pictures on the walls and a rug. End tables? A small coffee table? Then what?

Those chairs are bothering me. Jean-Yves inherited them from an aunt, a nun. It may have been when her convent closed that she went to Africa. I can’t imagine how else those chairs became available. But I can’t stop seeing people sitting in those chairs. It’s like they are haunted, perhaps by severe, judgmental nuns; they were in the mother superior’s office, after all. I need to break them up some way.

Should I have them face one another, instead of facing the bed? Put a low table between? Get that rug and a few more pictures? Any suggestions?

11 thoughts on “Is this room weird?”

  1. If the setup works for you, fine. Sometimes it’s nice to have open space in the middle of the room. If you want it to look more like a bedroom, I’d put the beds side by side, like twin beds, or else push them together to look like a double bed. You could put the chairs in front of the bookcase if there isn’t room to pass at the foot of the beds.

    Like

    1. If they matched, I’d try the twin bed idea. But really it’s the way it looks like the chairs are placed for a conversation with whoever is in the bed. Which is nobody, except during the summer music festival. Rainy day overthinking, maybe, or too much of my life spent in hospital rooms, but it kind of creeps me out. I may get enough pillows to arrange them along the wall, in hopes that it will look more daybed than sick bed, and rearrange the chairs. I’m with you on the space in the middle of the room. It’s nice, especially when the shutters are open.

      Like

  2. I think I’d leave the beds as they are…that bed at the back provides a cosy corner, after all. What about replacing the chairs with some in a different style? These, to me, just don’t go with the rest of the room.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yeah, the chairs are just not right, are they, no matter how you place them. I do have a couple of others I could try. I can put these where the other ones are, now. Great idea!

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you! Definitely, those chairs have to go somewhere. Maybe to an auction house. The chairs I mentioned to Helen are modern, but not even remotely quirky. I’ll put them here for now and keep an eye out for something that will lighten the mood. Maybe not even chairs, or at least not two chairs. I’ll know it when I see it.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Do you know interencheres.com ? It’s used mainly by us dealers but the general public can join. Most reputable auction houses in France are signed up to it, so you can buy and sell all over France for sometimes exceptional prices

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Yes, I used to have the app. I think I had a login issue and I do most of my bidding through Drouot, so that was that. Are you thinking I’d sell those chairs myself? There are local auction houses, so surely there are local shippers. It could work. But even nicely reupholstered, as they are, I can’t imagine a chaise Voltaire going for much. It’s a good idea, though. I have some silver I’d like to get rid of, too. Thanks.

          Like

  4. No, fine. You missed the point of my question, but the comments are fair enough. I am irritated by your choice to comment anonymously. Come out of hiding!

    Like

  5. I love the colour you have on the walls – it looks wonderful with the wood and the black bookcase! It looks like a good sized room and I have a feeling that putting a rug down might make it feel smaller. Looking at all your photographs, I might get rid of one of the voltaires, place the remaining one near the bookcase and have it face towards the window, perhaps with a small lamp table next to it for reading. I love voltaires, they always feel very comfortable, but they do have a somewhat old-fashioned look about them. In my head I’m imagining the nuns haunting your chairs!! 😀
    I’m sure you’ll come up with a great solution for this room – will you share it with us when you do?

    Like

    1. Thank you. Yes, I should do an “after.” It’s not totally far from where I want it but honestly, whatever is left is down the priority list. Today the cleaning lady just left. An electrician is still here prepping for fiber optics and taking care of a couple of punch list items. Outside guys are replacing rotting wooden doors with solid metal ones. And I just got an estimate for some much-needed tree pruning. Will the money I have in the bank cover all that? Sadly, no. I don’t think I’ve hit five figures yet, hope not, but I’m very close. The work in progress that I haven’t listed might get me there. Some people have drug habits. I have this house. Thank you for letting me vent.

      So, the room. I’m glad you like the color. Guys love it, even more than the gray in the salon. I do think those chairs are haunted. When I sit in them I am reminded of the one time I was sent to the principal’s office. The nuns can stay, I suppose, but they need to lighten up. No problems so far, but still.

      Those chairs are incredibly comfortable. I just wish the backs were not so tall. When they are turned away from you they form a real barrier. Right now I have a low-backed chair facing the window. Nice idea, wrong chair. I’ll try a voltaire, maybe at a different angle. I have my eye on some low tables at Caravane; I’m hoping for a January sale. I need to find new homes for a couple of those Turkish lamps; I have some ideas for that. And over time I’ll need to find pictures for a couple of walls. I’m in no rush; my ‘after” might simply be shot to avoid the bare portions of the walls.

      Long response. Rainy day. Thanks for your comment.

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.