Within the late 18th century, the pianist’s bench used all through Italian live performance halls was the Venetian grotto stool, recognized for its distinctive shell-like kind—impressed by the Rococo interval, when furnishings was extra playful, ornate, and curvaceous. As we speak, Leah Cumming breathes modernity into classic items such because the Venetian grotto stool by means of her bespoke furnishings firm Maison Madeleine.
“I had this concept of taking such a detail-oriented, well-crafted piece and turning it into a up to date barstool that’s practical however nonetheless emulates the unique shell design,” Cumming tells Robb Report about her Seaside Shell Barstool.
Founder Leah Cumming; the Seaside Shell Barstool
Sustaining the shell design was vital to Cumming—who beforehand labored as a designer for companies resembling Nickey Kehoe and Jenni Kayne—as she says she’s all the time felt a way of peace by the water. She recollects a childhood spent on boats along with her father, an avid sailor; her teenage years had been spent in Paris, the place walks alongside the Seine River evoked the identical calmness she felt close to the ocean. Later, Cumming attended faculty in Boston then moved to Hong Kong after commencement, each cities the place proximity to the ocean was a significant draw. “I now dwell in Los Angeles and discover myself feeling comfy being near the water,” she says. “California’s rugged coastlines are so imperfectly good to me and fill me with inspiration.”
Nautical and coastal references, due to this fact, are prevalent all through every of the ten items of Maison Madeleine’s inaugural assortment, which incorporates items just like the Wave Daybed, Collect Scalloped Eating Desk, and Le Salon Scalloped Espresso Desk, all handcrafted in LA.
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“The type is French meets coastal, modern stylish, with a twist on iconic European designs,” says Cumming. Her love and appreciation for an old-meets-new-world aesthetic dates again to her time in Paris, the place she first appreciated the narrative of vintage furnishings at flea markets. “I bear in mind being completely enamored by such lovely items and objects with such wealthy historical past,” she says.
Cumming discovered that one of the simplest ways to recreate the classic furnishings she fell in love with—a lot of them within the Artwork Deco type—was to combine these coastal motifs. “It felt like a approach to make my items extra playful whereas remaining elegant,” she says. Working example: the curves on the wave daybed are a delicate approach to replicate the ocean’s undulations. “I like the thought of somebody spending a protracted day on the seashore or by the coast and coming again after to take a protracted nap on the daybed in a sundrenched room.”
Maison Madeleine
Maison Madeleine’s assortment is crafted with pure woods—strong oak wooden, walnut, alder, and burl wooden on the espresso and eating tables, and reclaimed wooden for the L’Habits Reclaimed Wooden Dresser. Cumming felt it was vital to take care of the impartial hues, providing each darkish stains to match the unique aesthetic of the subtle antiques that impressed the gathering, but additionally mild finishes to cater to the wants of contemporary design and coastal seashore home. “These items ought to function the anchor for any house,” she says.
No matter the place they might seem, Cumming merely hopes for them to be loved. “I need these items to have life delivered to them,” she says. “You possibly can go into a number of properties and get a way of whether or not there’s life within the dwelling – regardless of the items being tremendous lovely, they need to be used.” shopmaisonmadeleine.com
