A vision of symmetry and divine loveliness! Not only are decorative porcelains presented on the English hall console table, but also under the table with a pair of vases and a handsome antique Georgian cellarette (wine holder) in the center. Photo Source: whimsicalhomeandgarden.com via Pinterest
This vignette has it all: balance and symmetry! The Chinese blue and white garden stools add color and harmony underneath the English table. Photo source: Lusterinteriors.blogspot.com.au via Pinterest. Vignette designed by Rosa Bernal.
One decorative practice I discerned while filming an episode inside the Private Apartments at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, left an indelible impression: to utilize the space under a piece of furniture!
In the Blenheim episode, you will view elegant interiors in the company of Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill. The time-honored decorative elements are inviting and charming, albeit practical too. At the end of one of the gloriously long hallways, you will spy an elegant console table featuring a blue and white porcelain collection. Below, three large blue and white vases grace the floor. They enhance the entire vignette created around the portrait by Paul Cesar of Consuelo Vanderbilt, the Duchess of Marlborough, who was married to the 9th Duke. The soft blue hues depicted in her dress complement the blue and white porcelain collection. The entire visual is perfection!
So, look around your house for “unused real estate” under a table, console, sideboard, or highboy, and place a decorative piece there. Here are a few suggestions:
~ a bust, statue, or sculpture
~ a Chinese porcelain footbath
~ a cachepot filled with plants or flowers
~ a stack of large coffee-table books
~ a cellarette
~ a collection of vases
Also, placing an ottoman, bench, or ceramic garden stool underneath a table can easily be repurposed, if needed, for extra seating.
A bronze horse from the Hunt Room at Fox Hall decided to trot to the front hall and stable underneath the antique American card table!
Grandmillennial Tip:
If you have small children or rambunctious dogs, books and benches are more substantial in weight and less likely to tip over and break than a collection of porcelain vases on the floor… saying from experience!
Xx
Holly