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By Anne Krueger, HGTV.com
I have a pair of chairs that I picked up at a Lower East Side secondhand shop that I think are "classics." They're leather - one red, one yellow - on curved aluminum frames with wooden armrests. When you sit in them you get a perfect gentle bounce. I bought these chairs, which were not cheap, I might add, because I had to. It was love at first sight and, it turns out, a love that endured. During the past 22 years they have traveled with me from New York to San Francisco to Knoxville, Tenn., and have been right at home in a fifth-floor walkup apartment, a gingerbread Victorian, a Mediterranean Tudor and my current 1930 digs.
So what makes my bouncy chairs classics? I don't know if they fit the definition of being "of the highest quality" or of being "fashionable and elegant because of restraint in style." But I have no doubt that they are "a standard of their kind." I know that because everybody comments on them. Regardless of whether my chairs are circa 1930 or '40 or '50 (I don't really know and have never bothered to find out), folks recognize that they are just darn cool and that they’re representative of some sort of design excellence of some time. Even people who wouldn't have them anywhere near their homes think so.
And so my battered and been-around classics will continue to bring timeless style to various rooms of my house. They're a passion that hasn't waned - and, in fact, is spreading to other members of my family. I've caught my husband eyeballing the yellow chair for his new office. And my daughters, 11 and 14, who as babies were bounced to sleep in these chairs, are already fighting over who gets to take which one to college. I love my family, but someday I'll have to break it to them: these babies aren't going anywhere except with me to the old-folks home. I'm sure they'll fit right in. |
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"The high-end designers of mid-century modern - such as Ray and Charles Eames - never seem to go out of style. Take the classic Eames chair, for example. You can use that in any decor. It works with contemporary, in a lawyer's home office or with the Ralph Lauren western look. That's the true sign of a classic." - Lee Snijders, Design on a Dime
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"Interesting black and white photography will never go out of style. Look for a photograph with an interesting story to it or something that evokes a positive emotional response. That photo will always stay relevant, versus the most popular color print of the year that you can get at any art store." - Summer Baltzer, Design on a Dime
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"A Louis XVI Bergere chair, a camelback sofa and leopard accents are classics that work in both traditional and modern spaces." - Candice Olson, Divine Design
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"Denim is an American classic. Not just in clothing but now in bedding and furniture. I don't think it will ever be 'out.'" - Matt Fox, Room by Room
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"Swags and jabots are a definite classic. This is a simple window treatment that can be cost effective and elegant. The swag softens the harsh window with its wood and glass, and the jabot (or cascade down the side of the window) creates an enclosed 'end' to the window treatment." - interior designer Mark McCauley, ASID, Darleen's Interiors, Naperville, Illinois |
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"If you can afford a good piece, save up and buy a Victorian armoire or a gilt frame - something with value or history. That will become your classic. No matter how many times you change your design or the look of your house, those quality buys will work. Buy one good piece every few years, if you can." - Debbie Travis, Debbie Travis' Facelift and Debbie Travis' Painted House
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"Fresh flowers are always in style and are a classic way to give your home some class - whatever the type and wherever you put them. And animal prints used in very small quantities, such as on a pillow or a footstool, are also classics." - Shari Hiller, Room by Room
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| Anne Krueger is the editor of HGTV.com's Decorating newsletter. She has written for In Style, This Old House, Martha Stewart Living and The New York Times. |
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