The A. Tyner Antiques Blog: September 2016

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Designer Lanier Gupton: When Passion & DNA Meet...

Unlike most of us who live here, Lanier Gupton is actually from Atlanta, born and bred. She went to the Lovett School and later ventured off to the University of Georgia – by way of Old Miss - before finding her way back home… But not only is Atlanta in her blood, her vocation – interior design – is almost in her DNA. Her mother is an interior designer… her father designs commercial kitchens… her grandfather was a part time artist with leanings towards Impressionism – which he might have picked up while working for IBM in Paris for a few years. And her husband is a general contractor to boot!

Like Mother like Daughter...

All of this to say that she knew she wanted to be a designer from the time she was a child. As a matter of fact, as a little girl Lanier and her grandmother used to do mockups of designs by putting cut-outs of furniture and furnishings on rooms drawn on posterboard. (An activity she engages in with her daughter Anna.) So obviously she went to school for a degree in design… or not. Actually Lanier studied art history. After graduating from UGA she moved back to Atlanta and worked for designers Ferry, Hayes & Allen focusing on country clubs. The design bug from her childhood bit her again, and after talking to her mother she decided to head back to school. This time to the Art Institute of Atlanta, where she earned a BFA. Unfortunately for Lanier, virtually none of the credits from her BS applied to the BFA program so she ended up taking almost the full complement of classes to earn her degree. And when all was said and done, Lanier spent about the same amount of time in college as doctors do!

But it was worth it! She’s now been at this interior design thing for almost a decade. During that time she’s done quite a bit. Early on of course she worked at Ferry Hayes & Allen focusing on country clubs. Later she worked at PFVS where she focused on working with architects and builders on the basics such as plumbing fixtures and electrical placements. Later she was an assistant project manager at Liza Bryan Interiors where she worked the spectrum of residential projects. Today she spends most of her time working directly with residential clients, although she does occasionally work with builders who are building houses on spec.

Usually her engagements start out small, with one room or one section of a house to begin with. Lanier actually likes that because it helps her and the client(s) get comfortable with one another. With one room a client might have some reservations that a designer can create the atmosphere and function that they are looking for. Once they are happy with the first room the relationship gets more comfortable and trust level increases. From there the clients can feel more at ease because they know their designer is on the same page as they are. And that’s normally how it works. One room today turns into a couple of rooms in a few months and the whole house next year.

And of course once that relationship is there, it usually lasts. Lanier is currently working on a whole house project for a client whose house she decorated a few years ago a couple of rooms at a time. Now trading up to a new home the client wants Lanier to jump in with both feet and design everything!

Grandmothers aren't the only ones who are
sometimes enlisted to help!

This room plus strategy is particularly valuable when clients aren’t certain they want to use a designer in the first place… after all, how hard is it to buy a sofa or pick out a chandelier? Well… that conundrum that some clients wrestle with is easily allayed when she explains that while anyone can fill a room with furniture, the differences between a do it yourself and a professionally decorated are usually significant. There are subtleties that can make or break a room, such as proportions, upholstery and even patina. That last characteristic sometimes comes into play when a client – often a husband – asks why they should buy a 19th century dining table for thousands of dollars when they could easily go to Pottery Barn and get something that looks similar for a fraction of the cost. She tells them: “Similar is not the same, particularly in furniture.” There is an issue of quality and durability, both of which can be questionable with some contemporary furniture but are likely not an issue with 200 year old furniture. Antiques frequently have a patina or luster to them that exudes history or consequence, something that is difficult to manufacture on command.

Lanier’s favorite pieces are pretty much anything French… something she likely picked up on her European travels during her semester studying in Innsbruck with the UGA International Studies program.

It’s been a great adventure thus far… and it’s just getting started! She’s usually working with half a dozen clients simultaneously, and one of the great things about having a mother in the business is that you can reach out to her for some advice, perspective and sometimes some heavy lifting. Of course the really heavy lifting sometimes comes in the form of babysitting so that Lanier and husband Craig can find a little bit of serenity, maybe even in a room she designed!

This is a kitchen Lanier designed from the ground up working with both the builder and the owner.

This living room is an eclectic mix of the old (antique armoire) with the new (contemporary acrylic coffee table) and shows that it's possible to harness elements of disparate periods to create a unified, coherent and welcoming setting.

Designers often focus on the big pieces because they are... well, big, and often expensive, and draw much attention when a room is being set up, but... accessories can make or break a room because they can enhance or detract from the whole room or individual pieces... And of course, lamp shades are SO important and can make a lamp really stand out. (compliments of Edgar Reeves lighting).

If you'd like to see a bit more of Lanier's work you can visit her website here: www.lanierinteriorsltd.com.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Tables... Where Form & Function Find Harmony

Table: From the Latin word Tabula, which means a board, a plank, or a flat piece.

Not surprisingly, much like the history of chairs, the history of tables can be traced back to both Egypt and ancient China. Egyptian tables were often made of wood or stone and resembled pedestals more than they did what we would call a table today. Ancient Chinese tables were typically low to the ground so that they could be used by a culture where most people sat cross legged or knelt down to eat and do other tasks. These tables ranged from minimalist simplicity to exquisite intricacy and could be austere or bright and colorful depending on the wealth or stature of the owner.

Marble table found in Pompeii

In ancient Greece tables were used mostly for dining and were typically of the single person variety, as opposed to longer, larger communal dinner tables we might recognize today. These tables were generally low to the ground and were often stored under Klinais, or the couches upon which Greeks often lounged. These tables came in a variety of configurations with three or four legs and featuring square, rectangle and round tops.

The Romans were early innovators in developing different tables for different uses. Their Mensa tables were similar to the Greek tables and were low and often found next to couches rather than under as the Greeks did with their Klinais. Roman Abacus tables on the other hand were usually higher and served a variety of functions from preparing meals, to woodworking to the display of jewelry or decorative objects. Marble was a particular favorite material for Roman tables and numerous examples of such were found in Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Although tables dated back to the ancient world, it was only with the coming of the 16th Century that they became common elements throughout much of Europe. Prior to that they were usually found in cathedrals and castles. Their decoration was often stark and they were typically of the trestle type, with thick plank tops and vertical planks for support. The tops of the tables were typically detachable as it was not uncommon to place and remove tables based on where a meal might be served, which might or might not be somewhere close to the kitchen. “Mobile” in this case should not be taken to mean lightweight however, as the tables were typically quite large and the planks and trestles could be quite heavy. (The French word for furniture is actually mobilier, signifying mobile.) At one end of the table would usually sit the head of the noble family and down the sides sitting on the benches would be the rest of the castle’s population with seating based on those with diminishing social rank sitting farther from the head.

Table prepared for dinner in Langelis in the Loire Valley

In the 16th century as wealth found its way beyond the nobility and the church, tables became a more common element in many homes. The dining table began to develop into a less mobile element of a home and its place was the dining room, which again, might or might not be adjacent to the kitchen. Slowly the seating with the dining table evolved from benches to chairs, with armed chairs at the ends and armless chairs along the sides.

Not all dining tables were of the trestle type however, even as far back as medieval times. The four legged “joined table” with a top supported by connected at their feet by stretchers was also common. These tables were often quite large, and often could be expanded to increase capacity by the addition of draw leaves.

Simultaneously with the growth in tables as common household items was an increasing element of craftsmanship and beauty. This craftsmanship and artistic elements certainly showed up in the dropleafs, aprons and skirts, but nowhere more so than the legs. From simple straight often thick legs evolved the beauty of cabriole legs, Flemish scroll legs, fluted, reeded and saber legs among others.

Finally there are the materials. Tables, which typically consist of a flat, horizontal surface supported by any one of myriad different elements, are today probably the most varied elements of furniture found in homes. Aside from the typical dining tables, we have coffee tables, end tables, console tables, pier tables, wine tables, side tables, hall tables, dressing tables, card tables among many others. In addition to the wide variety of functions that tables represent, the materials from which they are made varies greatly as well. While wood remains the primary material from which tables are manufactured, the 20th century brought about a revolution in table manufacturing materials. Today common materials for tables are glass, metal, a variety of polymers, stone, fiberglass, Masonite, plastic and myriad combinations of all of those materials.

The result of this evolution is a design world where tables can be both the center of attention in a room or an accessory to enhance a room’s elegance and beauty. Regardless of the function at hand there is likely a table that is up to the task, both in design and function. It’s often said that form follows function… but with the ubiquity of table designs that isn’t necessarily true any longer. Thankfully for almost any function in any room there’s probably a table somewhere that fits the bill.