Just before we left for our vacation in June, I came across this Swedish settee on Eloquence. I had seen similar style settees before, and always assumed it was French. It's actually Swedish Gustavian style which is a simplified version over the more embellished design of the Baroque. It strikes a perfect balance between the French flamboyance and the Nordic sense of practicality. It can be as formal as a settee, or as casual as a daybed for those weekend afternoon naps. I immediately fell in love with it, and needed to have it in my house. To have a massive piece of furniture like this delivered all the way from U.S. isn't realistic, not to say some companies don't offer international shipping to start with. It didn't take long before I realized I needed to go custom again. And there's no better place I would like to work with than Anne Quinn Furniture.
Within days, Christine the proud owner of Anne Quinn Furniture, emailed me these design templates from her manufacturer. I was completely blown away. The drawings even captured all the different carving patterns throughout the settee.
Different finial details throughout the frame.
By the time I came back from my vacation, the frame was already constructed. I couldn't believe how amazingly intricate all the wood carvings are. There was but one problem. Did you notice anything that didn't seem to belong with the rest of the frame? The bases of the fluted legs were so round and chunky that it looked like I was going for bun feet!
Her manufacturer took my feedback, and immediately tried to trim them down. Better here in the next two pictures, but not quite there yet. For me, the legs make or break a piece of furniture.
Christine was very patient and determined to get them right for me. So after another round of trimming and sanding, the legs are finally perfect.
I like legs of any chairs slender because they look more elegant to me that way. I picked a stain-resistant fabric in grey but the lighting in the pictures below almost made the upholstery appear taupe. I will be anxiously waiting for it to arrive in October to see it for myself.
I am so happy that this is yet another custom furniture which turns out to be exactly the same as better than expected. Do you do custom furniture?
