Know Your Chairs: The Cesca

We have looked at the work of Marcel Breuer and his chairs in past posts, but I want to specifically concentrate on one of his iconic creations for this installation of Know Your Chairs: The Cesca Chair.

Breuer was one of the first students--and then later a teacher!--at the Bauhaus art school (previously here) which operated from 1919 to 1933 and ushered in Modernism to the world.  Inspired by the bent steel handlebars of his bicycle, he was very interested in a new technique of extruding steel into tubes to create the frame for the chair he referred to as the model B32. Lightweight yet sturdy, the design proved highly successful. In a later interview, Breuer said, "I already had the concept of spanning the seat with fabric in tension as a substitute for thick upholstery. I also wanted a frame that would be resilient and elastic [as well as] achieve transparency of forms to attain both visual and physical lightness... Mass production and standardization had already made me interested in polished metal, in shiny and impeccable lines in space as new components for our interiors. I considered such polished and curved lines not only symbolic of our modern technology, but actually technology itself."

In the early 1960s, the Italian furniture manufacturer Gavina Group acquired the rights to the design. The company’s founder and owner, Dino Gavina, decided to rename the chair “the Cesca” after Breuer’s daughter, Francesca. And in 1968, Knoll acquired the Gavina Group and is the license holder today. Indeed, it is one of the most copied chairs in modern design... my mom got a set for our dining table when we moved here to California in 1979. Mom had a good eye...

Cesca chairs at a Sarrinen tulip table by Studio Hagen Hall

Cesca chairs with contrasting wood in dining room by Alicia Holgar

You can purchase the Cesca chair through a designer or you can visit Knoll for more information.

Happy designing!

The White Kitchen

For those of you who were a little anxious and short of breath contemplating a black kitchen last week, here is something to calm your color nerves... the good ol' classic white kitchen!

There is something comforting about the brightness and cleanliness of a white kitchen. The absence of color lends itself to a super-modern approach:

As we have discussed in past posts, modern elements can be set off by placing them in a traditional context, as seen in the kitchen below. Remember Design Mantra #1, at right: Contrast brings interest!

But of course white looks great in a more traditional setting as well.

And if you want something with a little more kick than white but not as adventurous as black, an accent color like yellow or blue, or a natural texture like brick or wood goes a long way to adding some interest and life to a space.

This kitchen below has always fascinated me. I love how it feels more like a lounge or living room than a kitchen...a fact that is helped by the presence of a few beautiful table lamps!

Whether black, white, or in between on the color spectrum, there are wondrous kitchens out there, waiting to be born. Perhaps one is in your house this very moment. Give me a call...

Happy designing!