Wrought Iron on the Inside
Kit Pollard
October 22, 2010
I'm a design and food-obsessed freelance writer and market research analyst, and a stay-at-home mom.
I'm a design and food-obsessed freelance writer and market research analyst, and... More
When I was a kid, my parents kept a dainty wrought-iron glass-topped dining table on our back patio. It had belonged my grandparents, long ago, and mostly sat next to the house, providing a surface for Capri Suns and the occasional outdoor snack.
When I moved into my first apartment, my mom and I had a new piece of glass cut for the top. We sanded away about 40 years of grime and added a shiny coat of white paint. Voila: I had a dining room table—a small one, but a cute, feminine table that was perfect for my first home.
These days, the table still resides with me: It's my desk. While its size made it tiny as a dining table, it's perfect as a desk—big enough for a few stacks of files, but not so big that I can't reach the paper clips without trouble.
The story of that dining table pretty much encapsulates my thoughts on wrought iron in general. Initially, it always seems outdoorsy—think balconies in New Orleans—but it's oh so appropriate for indoors, too:
When I moved into my first apartment, my mom and I had a new piece of glass cut for the top. We sanded away about 40 years of grime and added a shiny coat of white paint. Voila: I had a dining room table—a small one, but a cute, feminine table that was perfect for my first home.
These days, the table still resides with me: It's my desk. While its size made it tiny as a dining table, it's perfect as a desk—big enough for a few stacks of files, but not so big that I can't reach the paper clips without trouble.
The story of that dining table pretty much encapsulates my thoughts on wrought iron in general. Initially, it always seems outdoorsy—think balconies in New Orleans—but it's oh so appropriate for indoors, too:
Wrought iron can serve a purely decorative purpose - I love the way it adds texture and interest to this wall.
Wrought iron beds are a romantic mainstay. They're obviously meant for the indoors only, but for some reason, I think of them outside, too - a romantic bed floating in an overgrown field of wildflowers. As a result, they bring a little of that fantasy inside.
Of course, some wrought iron beds are less romantic and instead add a bit of country/industrial to a space.
When I saw this room in Becky's Hamptons house tour ideabook, I fell in love. The spare lines of the iron furniture are perfect for an airy, but sophisticated beach home.
Wrought iron is a great fit for railings - if it works outside, why wouldn't it inside? This leaf pattern is the perfect match for rustic wood walls and stone steps.
Iron doesn't have to be traditional, either. I love this railing, which reminds me of the Italian futurist paintings of the early 20th century.
And this fluid rail reminds me of Matisse's Jazz series.
And it's perfect in warm, dark spaces.
But as much as intricate wrought iron works, it's also great when it's simple. I really like the way it works here as a vanity.
I love the way this chair, likely a part of a patio set, works indoors next to bright colors.
Ditto for this chair and bright wall.
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i loved in house applications for wrought iron, i wrought about it earlier in my blog here