Michael Jackson’s Custom Furniture Heading To Auction Block  Michael Jackson |
A top Italian furniture maker is to auction off sofas, chairs and desks Michael Jackson commissioned for the English home he never saw after generously handing over the cash he paid for the extravagant items to the King of Pop's parents.
The late pop star planned to fill Foxbury Manor - the luxurious $21 million U.K. residence he planned to rent during his 50-date stint at London's O2 Arena - with costly Louis XIV and Louis XV replicas.
Aides were dispatched to Colombostile in Meda, near Milan, to handpick items for Jackson's English home and order custom-made, eye-popping furniture, crafted using the finest silks, leather, wood, gold leaf and even Swarovski crystals.
The King of Pop reportedly paid over $700,000 for the 20-plus pieces, which ranged from a winged wall-mounted console and a Versace-inspired animal-print style table to a lavish hand-printed leather armchair with crystal legs and a replica of an ebony and inlaid wood desk, which was a gift to Louis XV from the Italian Ambassador.
But he never lived to see the furniture finished - it was still waiting to be shipped to England when Jackson died last summer (Jun09).
And rather than pocket the cash he paid the craftsmen to create his dream decor, Colombostile bosses decided to refund it all to the star's grieving parents, Katherine and Joe.
Beverly Hills Luxury Interiors boss and designer to the stars Kenneth Bordewick, who worked as a consultant on the furniture project after designing the look of the rented Hollywood home where Jackson died, says, "It was a very generous gesture and the Jacksons were so appreciative they sent Colombostile a letter of thanks.
"The Jackson collection really is remarkable - one parlour set was inspired by furniture at Tsar Nicholas II's Winter Palace for Michael Jackson's English palace. That alone would cost $600,000 because it features hand embroidery with 24-karat gold thread, Swarovski crystals and fine silk.
"Everything was grand and royal because Michael really wanted to be the king of his castle. He wanted to live like a king."
And though the parlour set, featuring a Russian eagle emblem, was the collection's highest price item, Bordewick, a world-renowned designer, expects a lavish $170,000 sofa to be the big item at auction.
He adds, "That was to be used onstage for Michael's This Is It shows - it was crafted using red-crushed velvet, 24-karat gold and Medici stones, or onyx as it's more commonly known.
"It's a monstrous piece, very Alice in Wonderland, with swags of silk on the back."
Jackson also commissioned Colombostile craftsmen to create furniture for his mother's bedroom - one of 30 at Foxbury Manor.
The company has yet to decide when and where the items will be auctioned.
Bordewick, who spent Christmas surveying the items that were to help Michael Jackson feel at home in south east London, reveals, "It's very sad. It was all packed away behind closed doors at the Colombostile factory."
