Happy Solstice and Happy Holidays 2022!

As we wrap up 2022, I send warm Holiday Greetings to all my clients present and past, followers, and regular readers. And Happy Winter Solstice which takes place this Wednesday, December 21 at 1:47 PM.

Happy designing, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and I hope to see you in 2023!

Know Your Chairs: The Origami Chair by Frank Lloyd Wright

For this posting in our ongoing series Know Your Chairs, let's look at a very unique classic.

When the legendary architect and furniture designer Frank Lloyd Wright began building his Taliesin West compound, a winter home in warm Arizona for when things got too chilly at his primary Taliesin compound in Wisconsin, he naturally designed and furnished the interiors as well. And his Origami Chair first built in 1949 for the Garden Room has become a much sought after piece of furniture.

Officially titled the Taliesin1 chair and made from a single sheet of 4' x 8' laminated plywood, the armchair appears to be folded much like a piece of paper folded in the ancient Japanese style of origami. Here are the oirignals in situ at Taliesin West!

The chair was briefly in production for purchase by Italian furniture manufacturer Cassina in the 1950s, then reissued from 1986 to 1990 but fell out of favor as being too odd and avant garde. And now, I am happy to report, Cassina has brought the chairback once more with some slight modifications. They consulted original plans and drawings for the chair and removed the front "feet" for a cleaner look, and made the back recline at a greater angle for more comfort.

This classic can be configured with several different wood and upholstery choices and purchased at Cassina.com.

Happy designing!

Happy Thanksgiving 2022!

I wish all of my readers and followers in the United States a very happy Thanksgiving Day!

"Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life."
--Rumi

Happy designing and Happy Thanksgiving!

Know Your Sofas: Mae West Lips Sofa

We've looked at a lot of different types of sofas in this recurring feature "Know Your Sofas" but probably none so whimsical as our next offering: The Lip Sofa.

A few versions of this sofa were first created in the 1930s. The master of Surrealist painting, Salvador Dalí, had an English art patron named Edward James and the two of them became quite friendly. When Dalí stayed with James at his estate in England in 1936, the pair dreamed up a host of Surrealist objects and furniture to create (including the Lobster Telephone!). The artist has already made a plan for an art work he loosely titled "Face of Mae West Which May Be Used as a Surrealist Apartment" in which the Hollywood actress' blond curls became drapery, her eyes became paintings hung on the wall, and her lips transformed into a divan. James was interested in having a pair of these lip divans created for his dining room.

Several iterations were made: some upholstered in pink satin, some in dark red, some with fringe at the bottom, some with a band with nail heads. One of the original Dalí-James creations is on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

On display at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam NL, 2017

In 1970, Franco Audrito, one of the founders of the Italian design and architectural firm Studio 65, created an updated version of the sofa as an homage to the Dalí-James sofa. He worked with foam furniture manufacturing company Gufram to realize an iteration entirely of block foam and instead of any reference to Mae West, he called it Marilyn after Marilyn Monroe (who had died only 8 years before). It's now called the Bocca (which means mouth in Italian).

Franco Audrito on the Bocca sofa in 2021, from The Corriere Torino

This elusive icon of design is still in production, available through Gufram, here, in an array of colors.

Happy designing!

Happy Halloween 2022!

Happy Halloween to all my clients, subscribers, and regular readers! Here's a bit of inspiration for your spooky decorating urges...I like to hang cut up black trash bags in a fringe as shown here. I also have a giant spider I hang from the eaves of my front porch. Colored lights go along way to conjuring up a mood of unease...use green tinted lights for a sickly tint. And ghosts cut out from translucent tracing paper taped up in windows offer a chill.

Have a wonderful, fun, and safe holiday!

Happy designing and Happy Halloween!

History of Furniture: George Hepplewhite

In the context of the history of furniture, there were a lot of cabinetmakers (an old term for furniture makers) in England in the 18th and 19th centuries but there are only a handful of legendary names:  Thomas Chippendale, Thomas Sheraton, and George Hepplewhite are known as The Big Three.

We have covered Chippendale in a post post here but let's take a look at George Hepplewhite. Not much is known of Hepplewhite's early life. Even his precise birthyear is unknown. But we do know he opened a cabinetmaker shop in London and died in 1786. However his widow Alice kept the business in operation.

Fascinatingly, it was not until 1788 when Alice posthumously published her late husband's designs in the CABINET MAKER AND UPHOLSTERER'S GUIDE that his work gained any notoriety. She published two further editions in 1789 and 1790. Chippendale was producing furniture at the same time and while he worked in a variety of styles, Hepplewhite stood by a single distinctive look featuring a neo-classical silhouette. Instead of the curvy cabriole leg of Queen Anne and Chippendale pieces, Hepplewhite looked to Grecian and Roman columns to make his straight legs--whether round or square--which were often fluted like a column of antiquity. He also pioneered and made popular the sideboard and the short chest of drawers which he designed with a serpentine or bow front, a relatively new feature in furniture for that period. Pieces are of contrasting veneered woods with inlays in interesting and pastoral shapes.

Hepplewhite created a unique chair back that is known as a "shield back chair," and it is easy to see why: the shape is that of a shield.

Hepplewhite also pioneered a decorative and functional object that every well appointed dinign room of the period held: the cutlery urn or box. These were carved wooden vessels with removeable lids that held knives but also spoons and forks. They were displayed on pedestals of their own often flanking a sideboard. The urn shape was popular but  Hepplewhite and Sheraton also designed square boxes with sloped and hinged lids.

Happy designing!

The Pebbles Collection from Caesarstone

Earlier this year, Caesarstone (the inventor of quartz surfacing celebrating its 35th anniversary this year in 2022!), unveiled their new nature inspired Pebbles Collection that features five designs celebrating the never-ending transformation of wind and water over stone.

Their press release says, "The new Pebbles Collection embodies the bigger essence of small stones. A palette of warm, dynamic monochromes is laced with softer hues and enriched by distinctive textures that are inspired by the everlasting path of the pebble, bringing the blessings of sunlight and rain into the heart of the home."

1001 Riverlet: A gentle off-white touched by honied amber capillaries that flow softly across the surface, with Honed finish for a tinge of freshness that reflects more light in the kitchen. Available in honed finish.

1002 Wyndigo: Warm earthy gradients wash over a soft greige surface veined with foamy greys, capturing a pebble’s two-toned mottled patina. Available in honed finish.

1003 Raindream: Two layers of slate greys are accentuated by soft dark grey strokes contoured in neutral highlights with a finish that makes the surface look like a wet river stone. Available in polished finish.

1004 Stoneburst: Two shades of sage grey with soft mineral undertones and subtle grey veining that complements this calm complexion. Available in honed finish.

1006 Agger Grey: A rich two-toned base of warm smoky greys with delicate clay undertones and white veins that create a two-toned surface. Available in honed and polished finish.

These look to be perfect choices for many different types of kitchens.

Happy designing!

A Princess Bathroom by Fiorito Interior Design

When a large family renovated a home nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains, all bathrooms received dazzling upgrades, but none more so than this sweet and beautiful bathroom for their nine year-old daughter who is crazy for every Disney heroine or Princess.

We laid down a herringbone floor of sparkly white Thassos marble edged with an exquisite mother of pearl mosaic. Every space can use something shiny and the mirrored vanity, gleaming and curvaceous chrome fixtures, and glittering crystal light fixtures bring a sense of glamour. And light lavender walls are a gorgeous contrast to a Thassos and intricate mother of pearl floral mosaic on the shower wall. This is one lucky little Princess!

All photos by Bernardo Grijalva.

Happy designing!

La Cornue by Martyn Lawrence Bullard

Celebrity interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard has collaborated with La Cornue, the venerable French company making high quality ranges since 1908, to create ten new colors in their Château series based on high performance race cars.

Bullard says, "The colors I chose for the collection, apart from being iconic racing car colors, are colors that bring such personality to a space. Color is really something that we can use to show our personalities in our interiors. So, for me, everything from our beautiful deep black, to our rich and sexy oranges and reds, are all colors that are so vibrant and so full of expression and personality. It adds such excitement into a kitchen in a way we haven't seen before."

I can see these working really well in kitchens of many different styles. The colors allow for varied directions of feeling and expression in a home remodel.

Happy designing!