(Does anyone else get driven to distraction by Tattle - the site, not Tattlers (I could qualify that but I'll resist the temptation!) - being so unstable? I.e. random unrequested refreshing or freezing of the page while typing a post and the post disappears? Seems to be at its worst when quoting a post.)
The Christie's vignette portfolio weren't just a hit mess, the three which Stohanie physically out together on the spot are complete and utter piles of steaming, stinking radioactive crud. Christie's obviously did some pruning of the overload of items but, nonetheless, it was a first class display of someone not having a fricking clue. It's not the things she chose but the amateur, no style, throwing together that really bugged me. And when I say bugged me, I actually mean infuriated me. Ridiculous, I know!
Vignettes are not easy to do. An actual room is a doddle by comparison. I know from first-hand experience, having spent 25+ years working for a fine and decorative arts' dealer and his interior design partner. You create the illusion of looking at a section of a room, part of the whole. You work out the dimensions of a pretend room, including where windows might be in the whole room, and then decide on how much of that space you're going to play make believe with. With the measurements of the wall an floor space within this pretend room and the pieces to be placed, we then used graph paper and an archiitect's ruler to scale and plan the position of every piece of furniture against the "walls", every picture, mirror, wall light/sconce/girandole and then the free-standing elements - a dining table and chairs (not armchairs!) or a centre table (not a kneehole writing/dressing table!). it's shot at an angle to create an optical illusion and a sort of "false perspective" - photographed straight on and centred just makes everything look flat.
The oriemtal wallpaper, which is mostly bright white background, was just so wrong. The (rather beautiful...wouldn't want them but rather beautiful nonetheless!) cranes disappeared and it looked like a mass of empty space. The gilt and gesso mirror suspended about 10" above the skirting board is a placing decision that won't catch on. The bird picture to the left of the girandole (boudoir) needed to be shoved to its left. The arrangement of plates on the "trellis" wall needed something beneath them to balance, the dining table was out of proportion, there was a really unsightly area of empty space where one wall met the right angle of the other wall. And on and on and on.
The fourth vignette benefitted immensely from the Chatelaine doing no more than selecting items from the catalogue.
I am being ultra nit picky and pedantic. No skin off the Christie's nose, really. An experiment they are unlikely to repeat. When all is said and done It was Steohanie's gig, her chance to shine and show her panache, flair, talent, knowledge and style. In my book, she has very little of any these attributes. 10/10 for trying, I suppose.
slayer
SSB is cruellla duVile personified
he’s super cute 
all the kids were fab …. Jack P running from Gerry halerious 
