Back In Action

So, my plan to return with new posts the week following the Renovation Sneak Peek didn't exactly happen.  In addition to spending the Thanksgiving holiday with my family back East, we were without an internet connection until this past weekend and with the remodeling madness, I haven't exactly had to time to lounge around at a coffee shop to utilize their access.  In other words, there's a backlog of topics I want to catch you up on, including more photos of the restoration of our Cliff May and news about the Los Angeles Conservancy's 60's Turn Fifty upcoming events.  Stay tuned.

In the mean time, here are some photos from the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, where we were visiting for the holiday.  Enjoy!

A great collection of chairs, everything from Queen Anne-style to Frank Gehry

This wood and leather chair from 1939 is by Wharton Esherick.  He used old wagon wheels to create the frame.  An early example of green design!

Desk designed for Pittsburgh's Frank House (1939) by Marcel Breuer and Bauhaus founder, Walter Gropius

(Close up of the above desk) Love those lucite handles!

Frank Lloyd Wright armchair (1956) designed for the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma

The detail on the spine of the chair is oh-so-wright

Another creation by Breuer - Bauhaus teacher, famed architect, and master of steel tube furniture

A drop-dead gorgeous table by George Nakashima

Close up of above drop-dead gorgeous Nakashima table

A tribute to Le Corbusier by an Italian furniture manufacturer - This chair looks super uncomfortable, but the rubber seat apparently stretches to conform to your body. I didn't try it out.  Museums kind of frown on that.

Louis Dierra (1939) for Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company

(Left) Wendell Castle designed Molar chair (1969)

(Right) Cabinets for Mobay Chemical Company (1969) by Peter Muller-Munk Associates

Manufactured by Pittsburgh's Aluminum Company of America, these painted aluminum 'Alcoa Forecast Program Tables' (1957) are by Isamu Noguchi

Raymond Loewy DF 2000 sideboard (1968) for Compagnie de l'Esthétique Industrielle, manufactured by Doubinski Fréres

Paul T. Frankl 'Skyscraper' bookcase (1928)

Wanted: More Bookshelves

I certainly have an appreciation for International Style and minimalism, but I could not live without bold color and pattern either.  So, my design library is pretty diverse, and while our current collection is literally causing the book shelves to sag, there are three new titles that I must add to the mix.  Kelly Wearstler's 'Hue', 'Eileen Gray: Her Life and Work' and 'David Hicks: A Life of Design'.

One of the most influential woman in design of the early 20th century, Eileen Gray is every bit as fascinating as her contemporaries such as  Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier.  The E-1027 glass and tubular steel table (above) is one of her most iconic designs.

Fast forward to the 21st century and there's another woman who has made her mark on the design world.  Kelly Wearstler's newest book is about to be released (Is this book #4 or #5 for Kelly?)  She has an amazing eye for color and never fears unexpected pairs, such as hot pink and turquoise (above) in the Viceroy Miami.

  

Wearstler certainly takes some cues from the mid-century master, David Hicks, who paved the way for designers to mix new forms with antiques and made electrifying color and eye-catching geometric patterns fashionable.  His son, Ashley Hicks, authored this title among others, and carries on his father's legacy through resurrecting old patterns, such as the (above) 'Groundworks Chinese Fret' for Lee Jofa.