High Contrast
Striking image by photographer Richard Powers, taken in the New York home of designers George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg. The strong perspective and bright light draw you in, but the high contrasts of light/heavy, smooth/rough, and shiny/dull in the furnishings are what bring it to life. Divine.
Black Hoodie
This fireplace is very cool and a bit sinister looking (just like Darth Vader). In the all white Spanish living room, the striking black metal hood is the focal point. The elevated wall-to-wall horizontal hearth with firewood storage below is a clever and practical detail. Unfinished brick and terracotta tile floors add warmth and texture to the stark black and white palette, and the sculptural Eames chair and Miguel Mila lantern soften the rectilinear space.
Magic Mushroom
On my visit to Toronto I picked up this trippy mushroom lamp from a vintage shop in Kensington Market. It’s German, from the sixties or seventies. I love this style of mottled glaze pottery and have acquired several vases over the years, but I’d never seen one quite like this. It’s one cool toadstool!
Stephen Burks at the Design Exchange
While visiting the Design Exchange in Toronto I checked out the Stephen Burks: Man Made exhibit. Collaborating with basket weavers from a village outside Dakar, Senegal, the New York based industrial designer created objects that “challenge the way that we think of traditionally crafted objects and contemporary design”.
Chic & Cozy
This room by French decorator and furniture designer Jean Royere is a stunner. From the 1950’s, his use of textural materials and simple graphic contrast create an environment that is both chic and cozy.
From Galerie Chastel-Marechal via You Have Been Here Sometime
Ghost in the Screen
This is a wonderful example of a simple, inexpensive and clever way to create an interesting and functional environment in a non-descript space. For a salon near Tokyo, designer Tetsuya Ito installed hanging screens of semi-transparent mesh fabric silkscreened with ghostly images of classical European building facades. The screens define areas and lend the all white space some architectural detail while maintaining a light, ethereal feel. I also like the chandelier made out of fluorescent tube rings.
Cloud Nine
Here’s the view looking up from my bed at my Cloud Light, designed by Frank Gehry. Dreamy, huh? Constructed of panels that snap together, it can be shaped by hand and glommed onto other clouds to make a larger cloud. The polyester membrane fabric emits a soft glow that can be dimmed to “set the mood”.
By de-constructing the iconic Japanese paper lantern and George Nelson Bubble Lamp, Gehry has shed new light on the form.
Light Tentacles
While we’re on the subject of things with tentacles, how about this ceiling light I devised and assembled at the JLD Showroom. A power strip, vintage style cloth-covered wire, light sockets, CFL bulbs and . . . voila! The bulbs are called Plumen and have been winning design awards left and right. I generally despair of the look and light quality of fluorescents, so I was thrilled when I discovered these. Aren’t they cool? (actually, the light is quite warm as far as fluorescents go). Best of all, these five bulbs together use less energy than one 57watt incandescent bulb.
Giant Squid Eye?
Check out this amazing art deco light fixture from the Paramount Theatre. It’s massive, about 8 ft. diameter, and the ceiling is covered with them. Up close it reminds me of a giant squid eye – like the one Kirk Douglas and James Mason wrangle with in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, one of my favorite childhood movies.
JF Chen Antiques in LA
Now that you’ve watched Ice Cube rhapsodize about Charles and Ray Eames, head on over to JF Chen Antiques for another Eames fix. The owner, Joel Chen, has amassed one of the most extensive collections of Eames furniture, and it will be on exhibit as part of Pacific Standard Time thru January 14, 2012.
While there, you’ll also be treated to an amazing collection of antiques, rarities, and vintage design. A warehouse with three 20,000 sf floors chock full of top-drawer goodies. I visited recently for the first time, and it blew me away. I’ve never seen as much quality and interesting stuff under one roof. The photos above are just a snippet of what’s on offer. Everywhere you look is something rare, unique, and usually very valuable. Alfie’s Antique Market in London is pretty great, but this takes the biscuit.
941 North Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038
