FURNISHINGS : Vanities a Reflection on Luxury, Romance
There’s something wonderfully decadent about a piece of furniture whose sole purpose is for one to gaze at (and render adjustments to) one’s reflection.
That’s why the vanity is aptly named. For a while it looked as if the vanity might be headed for extinction in today’s smaller homes, but somehow it survives--if only by virtue of its good looks.
Primp in front of a vanity, and you are Scarlett O’Hara, brushing your locks while stealthily concealing a picture of Ashley from Rhett.
During the time of Louis XIV, XV and XVI in France, the vanity reigned as the most important part of the boudoir, says Sol Sachs, staff decorator for Exclusive Furnishings in Stanton.
“For the last 800 years the vanity has been a symbol of luxury, elegance and romance,” he says.
As Sachs notes, Marie Antoinette, Madame Pompadour, Napoleon’s Josephine and other wives and mistresses of powerful kings and statesmen spent an inordinate amount of time in front of their vanities.
“These illustrious femmes fatales spent more time in the boudoir entertaining their respective spouses than in any other part of the palace. They were rarely involved in the operation of the kitchens. Thus, the vanity was in use almost as much as the bed,” he says.
“It was the primary tool for preparation of romance.”
Some vanities were reputed to come equipped with secret compartments for chastity belts, he says.
Today, the modern bedroom has shrunk, while bathroom counters and mirrors have grown, making the vanity an even more superfluous object than before. Nevertheless, there are modern homeowners who want them. Most of them, notes Sachs, have very large bedrooms.
“Vanities take up as much room as a dresser, but they have much less drawer space,” Sachs says. “Most are found only in giant homes.”
Some people have very small bathrooms and need a vanity so they have a place to apply their makeup, just as in the old days, says Iris etta Goliger, interior designer for von Hemert Interiors, Inc. in Laguna Beach.
Most homeowners, however, want vanities simply for beauty’s sake.
“One woman did use hers to store her jewelry, but she did her hard-core makeup in the bathroom,” Goliger says.
“They’re really used more as an accent piece.”
Vanities come in a wide range of styles, from streamlined Art Deco to fanciful baroque.
“Every period has its piece,” Goliger says.
At Exclusive Furnishings, one can find Italian reproductions of baroque vanities similar to the one used by Marie Antoinette. With 6-foot mirrors and intricate floral carvings that look like frosting on a wedding cake, these are the most ornate of the vanities and cost about $2,000 to $5,000.
Hand-painted flowers, hand-carving and gold-leaf detail make these look like the originals found in museums all over the world, Sachs says.
No vanity is complete without a stool to accompany it. The baroque vanity can be ordered with a round hassock with a tufted cushion that lifts up to reveal a little storage space inside.
For simpler tastes, The Bombay Co. stores in the Brea Mall, Mission Viejo Mall and South Coast Plaza offer a Queen Anne-style vanity with fold-down beveled mirror. They sell for a moderate $329 and include the coordinating boudoir bench. The set is made of hardwood with a mahogany finish and is a perennial best-seller for the company.
Von Hemert Interiors imports vanities from Europe, where the so-called ladies’ desks are more common.
One elegant example from the English Regency era is a simple rectangular desk with tapered legs and a delicate garland hand-painted around the sides of the piece and on the back of a fold-down mirror. The vanity is designed to be placed in the middle of the room rather than pushed against a wall so it can be admired from all angles. It’s made of mahogany and sells for about $4,000.
Jean Harlow created a big revival for the vanity in the 1930s by preening before one on the big screen. The Art Deco-style vanity with the circular mirror and rounded drawers became known as the Jean Harlow desk, according to Goliger. Von Hemert carries one of white oak with chrome trim to flatter a contemporary decor.
Authentic Deco vanities from the ‘30s and ‘40s also turn up in Orange County’s antique stores. The Antique Barn in San Juan Capistrano usually has one or two models.
To be sure, the vanity does have a little drawer space for storing one’s hair brushes and toiletries, and the space on top is perfect for displaying beautiful perfume bottles and jewelry boxes. But make no mistake--the vanity is still one of the household’s most frivolous members.