Items of Interest - Part 4

It's no secret that emerald green was one of the colors of the year.  With fashion, fabrics and design making it a feature, it seems that it really was everywhere (even posted about it here).  So when I came across this table by François Champsaur on one of my searches I thought that it would make a nice end to this week of Items of Interest.  Manufactured by the French master metalworkers Pouenat, the shape, color and changes in plane make this piece fun and functional.  

Pouenat

PS - I am happy to say that I have finally joined the world of Instagram and I am addicted.  For all of you that want to share I can be found at handle @abaraness.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Items of Interest - Part 2

There has been a surge in the design world with brass and copper.  What has been thought to be 'traditional' (and sometimes tacky in it's likeness to gold) is now regarded of as 'cool' and 'refined'. The Cloche lamp by Lars Beller Fjetland fits perfectly into this scenario. By creating an anchored cast iron base, the ash wood stem of the lamp rises elegantly to the bell-shaped shade which were made in either brass or copper - I think that the copper adds that extra little bit to it. The piece comes in four essay to assemble parts and really plays to the Norwegian designer's fascination with how materials and form work together.  Unfortunately this piece is just a prototype, but hopefully in the support of up-and-coming designers we will be able to have pieces like this on our projects soon.

Trendland

Items of Interest - Part 1

I have been doing research for a project into new and interesting Galleries, suppliers and artist.  As designers I feel that we are always searching for what is new, exciting and interesting and this project is no exception - especially since the client has several other properties and seems to know everything about the industry and the furnishings we show her.

Over the next couple of days I thought it would be good to share the things that have really stood out to me, and while we aren't using them, perhaps they can help inspire other designers or those reading for what they need. Hope you all enjoy!

The Virtu Series by DE INTUÏTIEFABRIEK (a Dutch design studio) features this wonderful vanity/dressing table.  I am not a girly girl, however there is something about this table that makes me want to sit, take time, and be a girl!  With it's simple palette, lines and change in finishes for me this vanity really is everything one should be.

Priveekollektie

The Glass House

My parents were visiting this past week and so in true 'holiday with my dad' fashion we went on an architectural tour of Connecticut last Saturday.  Since there was so much to see I will be splitting out our day over several posts (even keep your eye out for a guest post) and what a better way to start then with our first stop Philip Johnson's Glass House.  

The Glass House

Completed in 1949 this building, just shy of 1,800 sq.ft. was built as a weekend retreat for Johnson and his partner.  With relatively uninterrupted views over the surrounding woodlands, this 'pavilion' as it's called, really is a little piece of heaven.  Large glass panels make up the walls - even called by Johnson as "expensive wallpaper" - with steel structure that sit at each of the four corners.  The palette is simple and uncomplicated really allowing one to feel as though you are part of the surrounding landscape. The glass walls are cleverly punctuated by a centrally located full-height door on each side, giving the house a great through draft and keeling the symmetry apparent.

The only solid structure of the house is a brick-clad cylinder that houses the bathroom on one side and the fireplace on the other.  The interior of the bathroom is covered with green mosaic tiles that mimic the greenery outside, and then a completely decadent leather ceiling. LOVE! The house is furnished almost entirely by Mies van der Rohe furniture which came from Johnson's New York apartment.

On the property there are several other buildings acting as art galleries for Johnson's extensive collection and a guest house - known as the brick house as it's exterior walls brick, punctuated only by three relatively small round windows the back.  Only an hour drive outside of Manhattan the house is in New Canaan and would be appreciated equally by those in the design field and those not.  

The Detailed and the Modern

I am working on a project in Greenwich which is a traditional stone house, however the clients - a younger couple - have a more simple modern sensibility. I've been looking for concept images with more detailed interiors filled with simple clean furnishings. While the images below aren't really appropriate for this house they are a wonderful mix of ornate architectural details with contemporary furniture and fittings.  Published in Elle Interior Sweden last year, one really does get a sense of how these people live and how a room with striking details and great volumes can really hold it's own with whatever furnishings you see fit.  I just love the green colour of the dining room walls. Happy Tuesday all!

Petra Whips for Elle Interior Sweden

A Concrete Idea

Architectural Digest - Michael Weschler Photography

I am a little behind in my reading and so I was going through April's Architectural Digest (okay, I'm a lot behind on my reading) and was struck by the article on the new David Zwimer Gallery by architect Anabelle Selldorf.  The article features the amazing five story staircase and it's wood board imprinted concrete walls (see image above). I have loved concrete as an interior building material and am constantly amazed at how creative and boundary pushing designers are with this material.  No longer do I think that people associate it with being a cold material, but rather that it adds an element of bespoke design that some might say is unparalleled - where else can you find a material that will literally take any form or impression you give it? 

Design Milk

Apartment 34

Randy Weinstein Design

Archdaily

Objects of Desire

ModGirl

I'm also loving the fact that concrete is being used for furnishings - whether lighting or exterior furniture. Some of my favs are below.

Loop Chair by Willy Guhl via DesignBoom

Heavy Desk Light from Benjamin Hubert via Dezeen

Maison Jansen

Founded in 1880 by Jean-Henri Jansen, Maison Jansen was a forced to be reckoned with in the design world.  Sadly it closed it's doors in 1989, but not before creating a legacy of interiors and furnishings that shape the way many of us work within this amazing industry.  Maison Jansen was not afraid to take chances, push boundaries and explore how materials, work together, how different styles compliment each other, and how interiors can be usable without losing their WOW factor.  With project throughout Europe, The Middle East and most of the globe (including a couple of rooms in The White House), their interiors and furnishings have been (and still are) coveted works of craftsmanship, materiality and design.  In a design world where I feel it is few and far between to find workrooms that really know their craft, Maison Jansen reminds me of the beauty and balance one can achieve when you strive for perfection, and although they are not around today, it doesn't mean that we too cannot strive for this kind of beauty.

Jansen

1stDibs

Architectural Digest

Furniture pieces are still available for purchase through antique dealers and sites like 1stDibs today, so we can still own a little piece of design history.

1st Dibs

Artemis Decorative Arts

Christies

be-dsgn

The White House

Wikipedia - Maison Jansen

Christophe Côme

Happy April to all.  Well it has been quite the month, and I have to say I'm happy to see the end of March.  I know it has been a while since I posted and thought that a good step back into the blogging world would be through an artist whose work I am currently fascinated with.

Christoph Côme is a Paris based designer who in my opinion is a true craftsman. Working in glass, metal and lavastone, he creates the most incredibly sculptural pieces of furniture and lighting - really more art objects than furnishings.  With a keen eye for design and unique modern takes on form, color and pattern, Côme creates pieces that have the ability to stand alone in any space.  We recently commissioned a piece for a project and I was truly speechless when it was installed. The detailing was perfect, the precision of material was unparalleled and it really is a piece of art.

Triscota Cabinet 2011 - textured iron with grey patina, glass

Sconces - iron with matt nickel, glass

L’onyx chandelier 2008 - iron & onyx

Screen - iron & glass

Tube cabinet - iron, glass rods

Red lava cabinet 2010

All photos courtesy of Christophe Côme

The house Jens Risom built

Although prefab is at the forefront of people's minds and design ideals, it is not a new, or even revolutionary phenomenon.  In 1967, danish designer Jens Risom had an A-Frame house built on Block Island, RI completely for pre-ordered parts.  Assembled on his property, this 700 square-foot holiday home housed everything one could need, including furniture designed by Risom himself. At a time where prefab equalled boring, this little cottage proved everyone wrong using materials, forms and the elements of design seemingly lost on the other such homes of the time.  Originally showcased in Life, and recently published in Dwell, this escape  as a homage to the now 97-year-old Risom and his influence on the design world as we know it.  

Dwell Magazine - Foto + Warner Photography