Some giggled, some jeered when LA designer Christian May painted a kitschy monkey a matte white and shared his Before and After. Well, Christian and his chalky monkey just might be on to something. Chalk white and plaster finishes are showing up at major retailers and vendors, on everything from lamps to vases to mirrors.
Against of-the-moment gray walls and weathered wood, chalky finishes look white haute. Even House Beautiful is all about chalking up something in an interior, dedicating a full page to the trend in their April issue. Part of the resurgence of plaster is due to the interest in 70s design icon John Dickinson, whose work has been reformulated in a sturdier, more resilient (and lighter) fiberglass-reinforced concrete and reissued by Sutherland Furniture. (As elegant as the plaster originals were, they rarely arrived at their final destination undinged and chipless, which is why originals, if in decent shape, command a high price tag on sites like 1stdibs and V&M.) So, lamp or vase, original or repro — go get plastered!
Top row, left to right:
1 Vintage monkey — Christian May
2 Donna Karan Porcelain Touch Low Vase — Lenox
3 Stephen Antonson Table Lamp — West Elm
4 African Side Table Stool/reissue— John Dickinson for Sutherland
5 Stephen Antonson Mirror — West Elm
Bottom row, left to right:
6 Stephen Antonson Classic Vases — West Elm
7 Hector Table Lamp — Oly
8 Donna Karan "Cavern" — Limited edition for Lenox
9 African Side Table Stool/vintage — Available at Coup D Etat
10 Eden Roc Lamp Base — The Alpha Workshops
(Images: As linked)
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On to something? Hmm...popularity =/= awesome. Nothing against white, just not working for the monkey. I do like the 3rd lamp and set of vases, however.
Dust. Fingerprints.
Matte finishes are lovely and soft looking, but hard to clean. Best for pristine environments where nobody touches anything...
So this means my popcorn ceilings are back in style, right?
No?
/grumbles about popcorn ceilings
love you, patrick!
that monkey scares the sh*t out of me!
Modernize anything by painting it white, black or turquoise. Matte, satin, or glossy as requested by the space and your personal style.
Sherrybinh, you remain remarkably consistent. And oddly practical for being an artist.
I painted a beautiful brass lamp a matte chalk white about 6 months ago, and the base a high gloss black, its so beautiful, but its true...it cant get dirty realllllly fast and its hard to clean. Its best for items that never need to be touched.
Love it!! I recently painted over an old repro gilt mirror that was out of place. Four coats of White matt emulsion and it's got a new life in our hallway! That Hector lamp would look great next to it.... Google here I come!
These are amazingly dull and bland. Oh, and impractical (as has previously been mentioned).
No thanks for me.
Y'all must touch your lamps way more than I do.
Calling it trendy doesn't excuse what he did to that wonderful monkey. And in addition to the white, chalky trend, he also seems to be riding the wave of the mania for soulless, cheap-looking, gimmickry.
How is making something you like into something you love "soulless"? That seems a tad harsh when the category is "Decorative Home Accessories."
Is it just me or isn't 4 and 9 the same table?
Same table design, two sources... one vintage, one for the reissue by Sutherland.
The "soullessness" comes from the fact that the monkey, in its original state, looked handmade and was saturated with the feel of authentic world culture, ageless techniques, an embrace of the exotic, and a sense of comfort with history. As "fixed," it's been sanitized and blandified. No longer an artifact, it now looks like a commodity ordered by someone at Pier One who said, "Monkeys are coming back. I better order a hundred thousand safe, 'transitional' monkeys."
I actually disagree... I think the original looked very mass-produced, dated (not vintage!), and this looks like a hand-carved object, to me, now. To each his or her own, though!
I HAVE A ORIGINAL 3 LEGGED JOHN DICKINSON STOOL I FOUND AT A ANTIQUE MALL N A SUBURB FOR LIKE NOTHING-$75.00!!!!!!! THE BEST !!! LUV IT...
That's actually worth caps lock.
Where can I purchase a monkey like yours and when you do get tired of the one you have, contact me and I'll take it off your handsl.