A Tale of Two Settees

Okay, I know they're chairs but how could I pass up such a good pun?  

Actually, they're not even chairs; they're allegedly fauteuils in the Louis XVI style.  Who knew?  And, actually, the Dickens' story is a pretty good reference to use for these two pairs of very differently priced chairs.  

The ones above were ones that caught my attention when I was publicly brainstorming new ideas for my living room.  (And thank you all for being so kind!)

As I kept looking, I found a lot of variations of the style but I particularly like the one with the oval back. I found another pair that's very similar but the price is VERY different.

Let's take a look.

The former pair is stripped of their paint and have muslin on the seats making them ready to upholster.  This pair is painted and has an ivory damask that seems really outdated to me.  Or at least a little too Petit Trianon for my taste.

Let's take a closer look at the two side by side to compare apples to apples.

Pretty close, huh?  The form of each seems almost identical.  The wood version has a carved ribbon detail at the top of the oval back.  The shapes in the arms seem to be the same.  The one on the left might have a little more padding but it could just be the lighting (and that's fixable).  The front of the seat on the painted version might have a little more of a curve to it.

Again, they look pretty similar from the back.  The oval back of the painted version may not be as graceful.  And the piece that connects the back to the seat is crafted a little differently.

The shape of the arm is the same but it's clear the one on the left has more detail carved into it.  The painted version has that spattered effect that I guess is supposed to give the finish more depth.  This one must be a newer reproduction.

The carving on the top of the leg on the left version seems nicer but the shape of the design is pretty similar.  The shape of the leg is pretty close too except the little bulb at the bottom of the leg.  I think I like the shape of the painted leg better.

Maybe to the trained eye the differences stand out a little more but to my eye, they look remarkably similar.  One is an antique (alledgedly turn of the century) and the other I would guess is '50s?  '60s?  My feeling is I'm not trying to create a museum, I'm trying to create a look.  From my experience, I like to change things up every few years so a reproduction that I'm not afraid of painting, might make more sense.

So are you ready for the price difference?

This version is $2300 cheaper!  

They'll be on a Greyhound bus making their way from Newport Beach, CA to Boston sometime soon.  Obviously this set will take a little more work to fit my vision but the price was great!

And I think it'll be a fun makeover.