We’re all stuck with furniture we’ve fallen out of love with – the sofa that’s just not comfortable; the table that takes up too much space; the pine. But few would be brave enough, or, let’s face it, wealthy enough, to say: actually, I hate everything. Take it away.
That's just what one Dublin family is doing. They're getting rid of everything from the carpet up, and starting over with an entirely different look. Now, we're not talking about Ikea bits and pieces here, or flea market finds. This is fine furniture, selected for their home by an interior designer over the last five years, much of it still in pristine condition.
And it’s not being sold on DoneDeal either, but at a rather nice auction coming up at Adams of the Green. The pieces are mostly handmade, though antiques are also included. The look is English country house style – think brimming bookcases, sink-in armchairs, pleated silk lampshades and lots of the trimmed and bobbled cushions.
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‘Fabulous collection’
But why the change of mind on a whole houseful of furniture? “It’s a fabulous collection of furniture, but their children just weren’t comfortable with the way the house looked,” says James O’Halloran at Adams, who has been given more than 100 lots to sell, including lamps and ornaments. “They want to go contemporary.”
Most of the furnishings will be sold in a June 12th auction that will also have lots from other salubrious homes. A handful of lots of really fine antiques are being held over for auction in Slane later in the summer.
So what is on offer and how much? Well, there are plenty of items in pairs – matching side tables and lamps with silk shades. There are really long curtains designed for tall Georgian windows – in silk damask, wool and cotton all lined and interlined and, in some cases, with that clever decorative backing so that anyone peering in through the window sees something nice. About €300-€500 per set including brass and gilded curtain poles and finials.
There's a selection of handmade sofas and armchairs upholstered in linen, silk and wool supplied by English interior designer Mark Gilette, the armchairs are priced at €1,500-€2,500 a pair, sofas from about €1,500 each .
Low-upholstered ottomans
There’s one of those low-upholstered ottomans designed for putting books, or your feet on in front of the fire. It has four gilded pineapples for legs and is estimated at €600-€800.
A set of neat vaguely deco-style upholstered dining chairs by English furniture maker William Yeoward is expected to make €800-€1,200, having originally cost about €1,000 each.
These go with an antique French walnut and mahogany and gilt round dining table that can be extended by adding an ingenious upholstered two-piece topper with extending legs, so that plenty more people can come to dinner – €3,000-€5,000.
Four-poster beds
There are two four-poster beds, chandeliers that originally cost €9,000 each estimated at €1,500-€2,000, as well as mirrors, bedside tables, chests of drawers and a fantastic wardrobe covered in ink drawings estimated at €800-€1,000. Then there are those cushions, in a variety of luxurious fabrics including silk velvet, linen and wool, most of them expensively trimmed. One lot of 17 is estimated at €300-€500.
