Reader Question: What is Bobbin Furniture?

A few months ago, a reader asked me a very good question. What are these bobbin chairs that I keep referring to and praising? Originating mainly in the 1800's in England, the furniture ornamentation changed to a lighter look with bobbin or spool ornament. Bobbin furniture is mostly antiques and you can find a lot of beautiful ones on 1st Dibs and some less expensive ones on Ebay HERE, for example.

This gorgeous corner bobbin chair is one that I found on 1st Dibs from Yew Tree Antiques; one of my favorite antiques stores. A corner bobbin chair is quite rare.

These dining chairs are especially pretty as you can see the finish is worn down revealing the wood. By Victoria Hagan (her house on the Hamptons!)

Isn't this painted bobbin bed AMAZING? The answer is yes. By James Michael Howard.

The beauty of these chairs is that you can see their framework and they are still quite comfortable. The room by Mollie Johnson is very elegant yet very inviting.

Dan Marty, who has his own showroom, sells bobbin chairs as well! I love the upholstery on these. As a side note, how gorgeous is the color of these walls?

In searching I noticed that Martha Stewart also makes a bobbin chair HERE. Can you blame me for getting excited when a designer uses a bobbin chair in their work? They are so pretty and versatile. Thanks for the great questions--keep them coming!

Alicia B.

Dan Marty, a pleasant surprise.

I was flipping through my Western Interiors saying silently in my head "love it, hate it, love it" but then I got to the Dan Marty spread and I started screaming, "LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!" Dan Marty is a designer/showroom owner originally from Northern California. His style reflects his sophisticated and worldly upbringing as he went on trips to Europe at least twice a year growing up (psht, is that all?) with his family. He uses lots of eclectic antiques, yet his style is very original and surprising. This spread was of his apartment in Villa D'este in Los Angeles, an Italian Renaissance building built in the 1920's.

Here is the living room filled with eclectic style antiques and Chinoiserie accents.

The other half of the living room. I'm such a sucker for color but this room is mostly neutrals and I can't look away. There are so many subtle things going on here--the chunky sisal carpet, the three paintings stacked on each other, the blue and white urn on the brick hearth just to name a few.

Even though I can't stand the abrasive red color of those chairs, I still love this room. The framed antique maps mixed in with the drawings and the light yellow lantern over the gorgeous wood dining table.

This bamboo chest with the ebony lamp and pleated shade are like a work of art. J'adore.

Woah, Union Jack motif! I love the way he uses reds and blues...and antlers.

And at last the bedroom, I love the striped rug and my fave thing that you can't see is that he monogrammed the initials, DMD, on that blanket--it's genius. I love the inset arched moments on the back wall as well.

A lot of times, when you put lots antiques together it can either look too casual slash beachy, or too stuffy and museum-like. I think that Dan Marty conjures up just the right balance. He describes it as what "started out with a British Colonial feel, but I also mix in a French Indochine look." Take a look at his website too, it's amazing with so many things to look at: Dan Marty Design.


Alicia B.