Equestrian Elegance - Revisited

What happens when you combine the Equine world and one of Frances top designers - a clean, timeless and impeccably detailed space.  Enter François Champsaur and his Yearling Auction House in Dauville, France.  I have a love and fascination with horses and rode for most of my childhood and adolescence (see Equine Elegance post one here) and so for me this is the perfect marriage of the French design philosophy at the moment and one of my lifelong loves. What I find truly amazing about this space is that he has personified the refinement of the equine world in a contemporary way, something that we aren't accustom to - usually it is all about pomp and pageantry.  While I wonder how the space actually functions, for me the aesthetic is so successful that really does it matter? Sometimes not...

Photos courtesy of Francois Champsaur

Going, Once, Twice, Sold!

The Scandinavian contries have played an leading role in Mid-Centrury modern design we all know and love.  Architects such as Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen and furniture designer Hans Wegner are names that are synonymous this era.  The creation of functional, cost effective elegant pieces meant that the pieces not only have lasted but at the time were found in most households.

Recently it seems that there has been a big push on making everyone think Scandinavian - a feature on Denmark in the recent Vanity Fair, the Norwegian, Swedish and Danish Royals spending a press-filled week in New York - and Wright Auction House is not missing this boat.  Their upcoming Scandinavian Design Auction is set for tomorrow (November 17th) in Chicago and is full of wonderful pieces.  Although priced as collectors pieces now, they are all still relevant to design and interiors today.  Here are the items that top my list:

Lot 146 - Vases by Berndt Friberg

Lot 154 - Sofa by Borge Mogensen

Lot 113 - Shell Chair by Hans Wegner

Lot 120 - Pair of armchairs by Hans Wegner

Lot 102 - Egyptian stool by Josef Frank

Lot 167 - Pair of table lamps by Le Klint

Lot 147 - Pair of pendant lamps by Paavo Tynell