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How I Found my Louis XVI Chairs & The Inspiration for my Bedroom Decor If you know me personally, then I've probably have driven you deaf with my broken record of "I want Louis XVI chairs for my place in France" -- but I've been looking, quite extensively, and our market here either don't have them, or has poor garish replicas stained with striking gold leafing -not my liking. There's also the other issue of size. What I've seen around here are what I like to call 'plus-size' chairs - they carry the Louis XV designs, but are substantially larger, where as chairs from that era were known to be much smaller and some refer to them as 'Doll Chairs'  I arrived to Paris on a weekend, and there's no better place to be on a weekend than Marché aux Puces, I bundled myself up in countless layers of cashmere until I've resembled an avalanche-after-effect of a snow ball rolling down a mountain, and stepped out for an exciting day of antique-ing It must have been my lucky day, because I found the trés French bed-frame I've been looking for (for soooo ages) almost instantly upon my arrival -- that unique design of a slightly curved foot-board on the sides, & in my favorite size for a bed: queen size, 160x200cm (Did I mention before that I sleep better in queen size beds? I must have, ..somewhere on Twitter) Immediately, I knew that bed would be mind. I didn't think of the inconvenience of transportation, nor the fact that I had no means nor plan of getting it to my château, I just believed that some things are meant to be, and that bed? It was meant to be mine. Negotiating the price was pretty easy and straight forward (one more sign that it was meant to be mine) -- once that part was over, I broke the news that I'd like it to be transported to a location 40 minutes outside of Paris, with the biggest puppy-eyes smile ever. The look of shock on the expressive French face is priceless, it's always followed by Oh zuuuuut!, or in less polite settings, ..Ah merrrrrrd!  Dominique & Ali, my antique market 'heros' After much discussion, anticipation, and puppy-eyeing, Ali & Dominique came to the rescue, and in the back of my head I could see the sky opens its door.. singing Hallelujaaaah. They sourced someone to deliver my bed, and all was well. . . . . One Week Later I went back to the same market in search for new decadent treasures, it took longer to find my treasure this time, but I spotted 4 Louix XVI chairs with one of the dealers, and despite the slight wear-&-tear effect of their red-velvet fabric, they were in great condition, the seats were upholstered with horse hair stuffing (the original & ancient method of upholstery) and the gold paint on the carvings dimmed by age, which was exactly to my liking =)    Without hesitation, I approached the dealer for their price -a nice gentleman who made my negotiations a whole lot easier by speaking in English- & we agreed the sale price, ..but then there was the delivery part. I could not possibly take the 4 chairs with me back to Abu Dhabi, and in the twinkling of an eye I saw Dominique from across the walkway (truly my antique hero) & called him for a rescue, again. Dominique was reluctant this time, as his truck had no space to take the 4 chairs without damage. But being the helpful person he is, ..he offered to reach out to one of the dealers, spoke to him, and the gentleman accepted to hold-on to those chairs until it was time for delivery. DRAMA, I know. But, whoever said that the French are rude and are not helpful? $2 in my moola box | link | email this post |
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