Category: Uncategorized

In San Francisco’s Alamo Square, Jensen Architects turns to the past to boldly reinterpret a storied historic home.

John Conomos, an established San Francisco builder and president of Drömhus General Contractors, was living with his family opposite Alamo Square when the Victorian next door went on the market. Although not apparent from its dingy exterior, the home was closely connected to the architectural preservation of the city itself. Living in the adjacent Edwardian—historic in its own right—Conomos and his wife Amanda had zero intention of moving. However, after fearing the possibility of a future buyer carelessly leveling the dwelling in favor of a nondescript mansion, they couldn’t escape the responsibility of restoring the home to its full potential. After devising a plan to fix it up carefully and resell it when complete, they eventually purchased the house next door.

The home—it turns out—had quite a story of its own. In the 1950s, Verta Vinson, a prominent local figure and one of the founders of the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association, was living with her husband in an apartment fronting the park. Vinson was a vocal advocate for the preservation of the city’s Victorians at a time when the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency had their eyes on Alamo Square with plans for demolition. She was adamant that the character-filled Victorians spread throughout the city, especially in older districts like Western Addition, should be repaired rather than being torn down. When the property adjacent to her apartment went up for sale in 1955, Verta and her husband, coincidentally, bought the house next door. The property remained in the Vinson family for decades, with many generations calling it home.

The historic residence had been severely disfigured over the years. Originally built in the Victorian Stick style in 1889, which would have included intricate trims and moldings, the home had seen numerous confounding facelifts in its lifetime. The facade was stuccoed over at one point, and subsequently blanketed in brown shingles (how it appeared when the Conomos family purchased it).

The home needed a complete overhaul, and the couple soon enlisted Jensen Architects to help reimagine the unique property. The team inherited a host of challenges, the most pressing of which was the muddled exterior, which no longer retained any historic integrity. After careful consideration and a historical evaluation of the building’s past lives, the team decided to recreate the original facade. In order to do this, they would reference the historic photographs and architectural clues on the building itself. The first step of the restoration, dictated by the city’s Historic Preservation Commission, would be to pull off the non-historic shingled facade, observe any scarring or shadow lines, and subsequently have the preservation staff conduct a site visit to visually inspect the stripped facade—all before any reconstruction could begin.

Shadows uncovered above the front facade’s second floor bay window matched original detailing above the paired windows on the intact east facade.

To lead the ambitious undertaking, the team turned to Skeeter Jones, founder of Clearheart Fine Design and Building. As both a carpenter and artist, Jones has restored countless Victorians across the city, which has become his artistic passion. Jones’ process at the Alamo Square residence hinged upon both historic evidence and creative improvisation. For Jones, one of the most important objectives in his work is to convey a “sense of place,” which is so critical in defining a city’s identity. In his mind, this is achieved through a strategic infusion of ornamentation and stylized elements that, although not original, are recognizably “of the period.” Jones meticulously resurrected the facade, improvising along the way with input from the Jensen team, especially in sections that remained inconclusive from historic evidence.

Although Jones expected the Jensen team to favor a simpler, more streamlined aesthetic in such areas, they gave him the green light to make the facade as intricate and detailed as possible, provided it was still “of the period.” Deviations from the original facade, although subtle, were thoughtful and strategic. Perhaps most notably, the street level bay window was omitted in favor of a garage—a functional necessity. They also incorporated trim that’s thicker and more prominent at the bottom, especially at the entry, for a more formidable look. These details included heavier handrails and posts, plus a thicker arched entry. For the recreated turnings, the team favored more substantial “shaft-like” columns made from 6x6s, instead of 4x4s. The entry vestibule is much deeper than it would have been originally. Additionally, the glass front door, transom window, and sidelights provide subtle modern cues that hint at the transformation to come beyond the transitional entryway.

From start to finish, the laborious facade reconstruction took five months to complete. Once perfected, it was time to select the exterior color, a decision that would have a big impact on the home’s presence in the historic neighborhood. A stone’s throw from Postcard Row, San Francisco’s famous lineup of dignified and vibrant Victorian “painted ladies,” the Jensen team and the couple had no interest in a kaleidoscopic color palette—a trend that actually didn’t come into fashion on Victorian exteriors until the 1960s. They also didn’t want to conceal or mask the exterior by painting it all black, an increasingly popular trend among renovated Victorians in the city. The team eventually settled on one color: a semi-reflective silver, whose nuanced metallic sheen is most evident up close. “We wanted the house to appear,” says Conomos, “like it was picked up by its foundation, dipped in silver, and put back down.”

“We wanted the house to appear like it was picked up by its foundation, dipped in silver, and put back down.”

– John Conomos, builder/resident

When the team turned their focus to the interior of the home, a vision unfolded that would prove to be a bold counterpart to the Victorian facade. John and Amanda Conomos and the Jensen design team, led by principal Mark Jensen and project leads Emily Gosack and Yusheen Yang, traded ideas back and forth—a collaborative process which, from start to finish, “was always fun,” says Conomos. Through design iterations, a critical shift happened that would inform the trajectory of the project. “We were developing it as if we were going to live in it,” says Conomos of the home, “so one day, we decided, okay, let’s live in it!” For his family of four, their home next door challenged the family living dynamic with its choppy (mostly original) layout, regardless of the fact that it wasn’t lacking in space. “You could be downstairs and not know the kids were playing upstairs,” says Conomos. Reflecting on what didn’t work for them in their current house, the team pushed forward with two core objectives: maximizing light and views on the long and narrow lot and fostering a sense of family and social togetherness through design.

One of the most distinguishing design elements, the sculptural staircase, immediately commands attention upon entering the home. Clad in fumed and stained oak, the stairs are folded and contorted through the vertical space in an impressive display of architectural origami. Though a sculptural work of art, the stair was initially designed as a light well in order to meet the utilitarian need of maximizing light into the home. The stair design went through many iterations, beginning with a much simpler “repeating horseshoe” concept. The couple didn’t want something that had been done before and gave Mark Jensen the freedom to “push it” conceptually. “It’s no secret that architects are obsessed with stairs,” chuckles Jensen. The team rejected the conventions of other modern stair designs: often sleek, stacked constructs with cantilevered treads and glass handrails. “We wanted to strive less for ultimate transparency,” he explains.

Due to the stair’s complex asymmetry and tricky articulation, the final design took multiple renderings to get it right. Once designed, fabrication and construction also proved challenging. The engineered European oak was treated with a custom finish by Hayasa Flooring Design and meticulously installed. “It was definitely one of the most technically challenging stair installs we’ve done,” says Hakob Karapetyan of HFD. The construction was challenging, but the result is unique—no two levels are alike. Apart from aesthetics, the stair was designed to function as a social space. “The design was derived from how the clients wanted to live in the house,” explains Jensen. To fill a void that was missing in their old house, the couple wanted the stairs to be a place where the kids could hang out and where people would want to gather during parties. The spacious landings have generous proportions for socializing, some with small windows and reading nooks. The stairs were even given their own zone of music.

“It’s no secret that architects are obsessed with stairs.”

– Mark Jensen, architect

The stairs’ folded volumes juxtapose solid wood forms with light-filled voids.

The stair features custom installations by lighting designer Johanna Grawunder. When turned off, the panels appear as mirrors. When on, they reflect LED lights, giving the twisted stair forms an exaggerated “funhouse-like” effect.

Opposite the stair, the elevator was another opportunity to strategically bring more light into the home. The standard Acme model they chose was tweaked with after-market modifications to fit the home’s aesthetics. Walled on one side in glass, the elevator itself becomes a focal point, with mechanical elements left intentionally exposed and its shaft acting functionally as a vertical light tunnel.

The home’s elevator features a glass cab and exposed mechanical elements. The already high Victorian ceilings were extended vertically to the top of the attic’s pitch, where a skylight was added.

The team inherited soaring ceilings that were original to the home, with heights reaching more than 11 feet on the second and third floors. When Conomos popped his head into the attic after initially purchasing the home, he noticed there were another seven vertical feet to the top of the pitch, presenting a unique opportunity to extend the third-floor ceiling height even further. They subsequently decided to punch through that attic space, making the living level on the third floor dramatically more open and expansive. Positioned between the stair and elevator, the fourth-floor penthouse skylight falls directly at the top of the former attic pitch, beautifully framing incoming light from above. Walkable skylights were also incorporated along the western periphery of the home. The long and narrow structural glass panels are positioned for foot travel on the roof and third floor, which filter light to the floors below.

While navigating decisions about the home’s overall layout, a reverse floor plan was favored, with social spaces localized at the top of the home to take advantage of the best light and views, and the bedrooms at the bottom. This practical approach was also reflective of how the family intended to prioritize their time in the home. The open kitchen anchors the third-floor social space, abutting the family room and sun room. The kitchen space, largely stark and muted, gets an unexpected pop of color at the center island, with teal cabinet fronts and coordinating counter stools. The saturated color pairing makes for a maximum visual impact. The teal color, chosen by Amanda, was the jumping-off point for all of the other color cues throughout the home’s interior. In the living room, which faces the park, an angled fireplace is clad in tile from Waterworks. During construction, the team looked at grout samples for the fireplace for weeks, and in the end, made the decision to forego grout altogether.

The home’s kitchen features dual Miele ovens, a Thermador refrigerator and freezer, and a Thermador induction cooktop. A feature wall clad in natural Carrara marble sits behind sliding cabinet uppers. Heron counter stools by Paola Lenti in ‘verde scuro’ coordinate with custom cabinet fronts, which are accented with Spinneybeck leather pulls.

Interior designer Holly Hulburd of Hulburd Design closely collaborated with the team in assembling a design palette that would complement—not compete with—the home’s unique architecture. It was important that the interior design “grow with the house, not in addition to the house…to respect and address the strength of the architecture,” says Hulburd. Throughout the home’s interior, materials and furnishings have clean lines and a minimal aesthetic. Every piece was chosen with intention. Bold texture and color (mostly green hues) were added strategically for depth and visual intrigue.

The home’s private spaces, taking a back seat to the more expansive public spaces, have “everything you need and nothing more,” says Conomos. The rear-facing master bedroom, not exceptionally large, was designed that way intentionally. They didn’t want to make the room so spacious that they wouldn’t want to leave. “The whole point of the house was to be among people—no hiding away,” says Conomos. The adjoining master bathroom features Marmorino plaster walls, a custom concrete sink, and Pipe faucets from Boffi, offering a quirky and industrial touch.

The master bedroom, modest in size, features a Stark area rug and a wicker PK22 chair by Poul Kjærholm for Fritz Hansen.

“The whole point of the house was to be among people—no hiding away.”

– John Conomos, builder/resident

With a blank slate for the home’s non-historic and dilapidated rear facade, there was creative freedom to push the envelope. The Jensen team pitched the unconventional idea of a rear facade composed of metal. The cladding would be a subtle connective thread to the front facade’s metallic hue, but the similarities would start and end there. The elaborate composition took final form as a series of laser-cut aluminum screens that would be movable on motorized sliders. The team wanted to take advantage of the great views from the back of the home, and the addition of the screens would allow further privacy, light, and control. The idea, says Jensen, is that “you can re-tune the interior by moving the sliders.”

The home’s dramatic rear facade is composed of perforated metal screens by Flynn & Enslow, which are attached to Fleetwood windows. The second-floor bump out is cantilevered with no structural post below.

As functional as the concept was, it was also a “playful thing” that would allow residents to interact with the building. The impressive rear facade also features a cantilevered bump out that appears to float in suspension with no structural post below. In the third-floor sun room, the cantilevered projection includes two walls of glazing that come together at a seamless corner for maximum enjoyment of unobstructed views.

The team made the most of the “postage stamp-sized” backyard with the help of landscape architects Surfacedesign, who assembled a pattern of pavers that would be graphically interesting to look at. The living wall, by Habitat Horticulture, helps green the backyard in an organic and graphic way. “It’s simple, but it transforms the space,” says Jensen.

Boasting sweeping downtown views, the roof deck reconciles complex geometry to accommodate a staircase, elevator, and usable social space. A fireplace is surrounded by outdoor seating designed by Paola Lenti.

The vertical projections of the new stair penthouse and elevator penthouse were well within the height limits dictated by the city. The restored parapet on the front facade helps obscure the modern additions from public view, which is necessary for the project’s compliance. The outdoor space on the roof, however, was tricky to lay out within the context of the home’s surrounding programming. The challenge stemmed from the vaulted ceiling on the third floor, hitting a penthouse that’s square. “The view is great, but the geometry is complicated,” Jensen recalls of the roof deck. “It was like a 3D jigsaw puzzle.” The complexity required push and pull, and some of the decisions about placement of windows and openings happened live during framing. Eventually, the elevator, stairs, and an inviting rooftop social space all came together in harmony.

“The view is great, but the geometry is complicated. It was like a 3D jigsaw puzzle.”

– Mark Jensen, architect

In the end, the Alamo Square Residence is seemingly a house of contradictions: new and old, traditional and contemporary, muted and bold, simple and innovative. Beneath the surface, however, the disparate elements are woven together with a cohesiveness that allows it to be, at its core, a warm and functional family home. The genre-defying design (whimsically dubbed “Victorian fantasy” by Skeeter Jones) manages to push boundaries in the most beautiful way possible. With a reverent hat tip to the past, it quietly and confidently fits into the vibrant urban fabric of San Francisco, a city both rich in history and ever-evolving as a beacon for creativity and innovation.

Text by Sarah Akkoush  https://www.dwell.com/article/alamo-square-residence-jensen-architects-143c21a0

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE TODAY!

Interior Designers Institute was founded in 1984 and is one of the few Interior Design Schools in California offering an Avocational Certificate Course, Associate of Arts Degree in Interior Design, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interior Design, and Master of Interior Architecture Degree and is nationally accredited and also accredited by CIDA, Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

While the specs for a pre-war apartment in Manhattan by Pembrooke & Ives didn’t flag the project as unusual, they belied its true nature. “It’s definitely a maximalist approach,” says studio director Rendell Fernandez, who spearheaded the architectural renovations. While the clients had come through word of mouth, “they were adamant that we not do anything that was like their friends’ homes,” remembers Jessica Iwaniec, the company’s design director, who handled the interior design.

Fernandez understood they’d be operating well outside the firm’s wheelhouse when the wife vetoed the use of downlights. “I’ve never had a client say that,” he says. “And I’ve been doing this a long time.” That directive, Iwaniec remembers, came with the request that the decorative fixtures be “bright enough to do surgery under.” There were other parameters: Though the apartment’s original floor creaked, the clients didn’t want to update it; they rejected anything stock or standard (even the closet’s hanging rods were custom); and gray and brown was to be avoided, though the wife loved the entire spectrum of blues. Apart from these mandates, “they were up for anything,” says Iwaniec. “Not many clients want to go this far,” adds Fernandez.

While Iwaniec scoured the globe for furniture and accessories, Fernandez manipulated the apartment’s spatial limitations. He converted a bedroom into a closet that would encompass the wife’s vast wardrobe. He deftly hid air conditioning and audiovisual equipment. He carved a spacious kitchen and breakfast area out of a series of intricate rooms. New millwork—“None of the moldings are original,” Fernandez notes—adeptly hides drapery elements and re-proportions rooms. Most importantly, it creates a classical backdrop against which the clients’ art and the singular pieces Iwaniec discovered take flight. “We definitely pushed them in directions they’d not gone,” says Iwaniec. That experience was a two-way street. “I got to explore materials and resources I’d never used before,” she says.

The client’s art collection clued Iwaniec into their pop sensibility and appreciation for irony. Those ideas weave their way through the home’s premise. That begins in the entryway, where Betil Dagdelen’s custom alloy bench, shelving by Jim Zivic sourced through Ralph Pucci, a mirror and neon sculpture by Iván Navarro, and a painting by Caitlin Keogh, hung upside down (“We liked it better that way,” says Iwaniec), are poised against the lush topography of the glossy white walls and the herringbone floor.

In some cases, like in the dining room, a bold find led the design. “We identified the Frida Fjellman chandeliers and then made our way to everything else,” says Iwaniec. That includes Pierre Yovanovitch’s Monsieur and Madame Oops dining chairs and a bright turquoise wall installation by Brooklyn-based ceramicist Peter Lane. In other cases, function was the driver. Witness the enormous closet, a sugary confection of bleached oak, brass fittings and pale leather. In the twin daughters’ domain, a dresser by artist Khaled El Mays and a voluptuous hand-painted Gracie wallcovering confirm the level of high-end detail that went into this address. “I think that was part of its success,” Iwaniec says.

Fortunately, effort doesn’t displace the sly sense of humor Iwaniec managed to slip into every room. In the kitchen, a custom, hand drawn Fornasetti monkey graphic over a sink imparts levity to the impeccably controlled puzzle of walnut and white lacquer cabinets, glass countertops and black and white patterns. In the breakfast room, that job is performed by a jocular quintet of Murano globes from the 1950s. In the living room, six overscale brass flush mount lights by Roman and Williams Guild play with candy-hued artworks by Josh Sperling and Austin Lee and a polka dot glazed ceramic table by Hun-Chung Lee. That ebullience is anchored by the strong shapes of the vintage Theo Ruth lounge chairs, a custom Francesco Perini Incontro coffee table and a bespoke wine-red couch in the style of Royère. “It was important to everybody that there was nothing cookie cutter,” says Iwaniec. “I think we achieved that.” Pembrooke and Ives, pembrookeandives.com

Published as: Eclectic Company

Interior Design: Pembrooke & Ives

Text: Erika Heet

Photography: Genevieve Garruppo

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE TODAY!

Interior Designers Institute was founded in 1984 and is one of the few Interior Design Schools in California offering an Avocational Certificate Course, Associate of Arts Degree in Interior Design, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interior Design, and Master of Interior Architecture Degree and is nationally accredited and also accredited by CIDA, Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

Hotel Britomart has 99 rooms and is located in downtown Auckland, New Zealand. For the remodel, Cheshire Architects and Lucas Design Associates restored the existing century old building and constructed a new ten story building. The goal was to use as many local materials and craftspeople as possible on the project.

Above is one of the rooftop suites.  The walls are lined with wood paneling.  The surrounding area is a blend of historic and contemporary projects.  The interiors reflect the mix of the old and new that surrounds the hotel.

The rooms were designed with three different color schemes. Each room’s color theme was based on the orientation to the sun and light levels in the room.

Three of the five rooftop penthouse suites, in the new building, enjoy private terraces that overlook the harbor. Many bespoke objects were made for the hotel. Some of the most notable items are the timber bedside lamps and lanterns, tree branch bronze handles, and the moulded glass chandeliers.

In the main lobby, above, the reception desk has a Totara tree growing up though one section of the desk. The Totara tree is native to the area. The desk is made from sandblasted oak.

Across from the reception desk is a bench crafted from recycled kauri wood, also found only in New Zealand. Below is the seating nook in the lobby that features a blue stone coffee table sourced from the port city of Timaru and a wall of black cracked plaster made using Auckland clay.

The hotel features an open kitchen which is located directly between the two buildings. The kitchen windows are surrounded by logs adding a cozy feel.

The NZ Green Building Council, a voluntary sustainability rating system for buildings in Australasia, awarded the Hotel a five green star rating. The hotel is the first in New Zealand to earn a five green star rating.

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE TODAY!

Interior Designers Institute was founded in 1984 and is one of the few Interior Design Schools in California offering an Avocational Certificate Course, Associate of Arts Degree in Interior Design, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interior Design, and Master of Interior Architecture Degree and is nationally accredited and also accredited by CIDA, Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

Is this the world’s wackiest bookstore? The defining feature in the newly opened Zhongshuge bookshop in the city of Shenzhen, China, is an enormous spiral staircase that twists around the shop – but customers can’t climb it. The jaw-dropping snaking staircase, which even features an ornate bannister, in fact serves as a fantastical bookshelf.

Li Xiang of Shanghai-based X+Living studios is behind the design of both the shop and the bookshelf, which doubles as ‘a huge artistic installation’. Describing the story behind the design, Li Xiang says: ‘In the process of researching the cultural background of this city, I realized that I could design a space which could become a symbol of Shenzhen itself as an inclusive and vibrant city of migrants, paying tribute to all those who have struggled to make history in this city. Thus, this retail space, which seems to have grown out of a giant art installation, was born.’

The bookshop, which opened this autumn, is divided into four separate spaces – a ‘concept’ area, a ‘forum’ area, a children’s reading bay and a conference space. There are also ‘levitating tables’ with legs that blend in with the black-tiled floor to create a ‘surreal atmosphere’. According to a statement from the studio, the staircase-bookshelf runs ‘in a curved trajectory through the entire concept area’ and connects with the entrance and exit, with bookworms able to wander through the coils, picking up novels along the way.

‘The designers have taken the symbolism of the ladder of wisdom and integrated the elegant and dignified bookshelves in the forum area into a towering ladder, creating a sacred temple of knowledge,’ the statement explains, adding that the structure intends to create an ‘intimate reading experience’.

Elsewhere in the shop, the children’s reading area is a riot of pastel colors and cartoonish shapes that aims to conjure up ‘colorful and joyful memories’. A Ferris wheel and a castle are built into the wall in yet more whimsical bookshelves, created using ‘simple lines and graphics’ and ‘childlike brushstrokes’. The table at the center of the space was designed to look like an amusement park carousel, ‘inviting children to make friends with books’. Zhongshuge bookstores are a chain of bookshops across China, founded by book publisher Jin Hao. Since 2010, X+Living studios has designed over 20 of the chain’s premises, creating spaces with spectacular, awe-inspiring interiors.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-10258947/Jaw-dropping-bookstore-spiraling-bookcase-opens-China.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed_article&ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed%EF%BB%BF

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE TODAY!

Interior Designers Institute was founded in 1984 and is one of the few Interior Design Schools in California offering an Avocational Certificate Course, Associate of Arts Degree in Interior Design, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interior Design, and Master of Interior Architecture Degree and is nationally accredited and also accredited by CIDA, Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

Over the past 160 years Louis Vuitton has collaborated with many leading artists. To celebrate, they created an exhibition in Los Angeles. At the exhibition there were custom bags and a tropical pop-up shop. The Louis Vuitton X exhibition was located at 468 North Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills. There were also almost two hundred items from their fashion house’s archive on display.

There were many different spaces, everything from vibrantly colored rooms to dark black spaces with glowing lights.

Above, is one exhibit room featuring rosey checkerboard walls, ceiling, and floors. Toward the top of the room is the illusion of an ocean complete with a boat, dock, and cliffs. Another space, below, is covered in large, black Louis Vuitton writing on a stark white backdrop for the contemporary art display.

Included in the exhibition are six Louis Vuitton Monogram leather duffle bags that have been reinterpreted by renowned artists and designers, including the late Karl Lagerfeld and Zaha Hadid, as well as, Rei Kawakubo, Yayoi Kusama, Cindy Sherman, and Frank Gehry.

The display above shows custom-designed Capucines bags designed by Sam Falls, Urs Fischer, Nicholas Hlobo, Alex Israel, Tschabalala Self, and Jonas Wood. The designs are part of the Artycapucines collection.

On the top floor there was a pop-up store. The space was decorated with pink palm trees and a domed yellow ceiling that gives the illusion of a glowing sunset. The shop included products curated by Sarah Andelman who is the founder of the consulting and curating company “Just an Idea” and former creative director of the Parisian concept store Colette. The store offered everything from women’s ready-to-wear clothes, leather goods, accessories, shoes, and fragrances.

Additional highlights included a collection of early twentieth-century special order Louis Vuitton trunks, art deco perfume bottles, and window displays designed by Louis Vuitton’s grandson, Gaston-Louis.

The exterior was vibrantly colored creating a cohesive flow in the design of the interior and the exterior.

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE TODAY!

Interior Designers Institute was founded in 1984 and is one of the few Interior Design Schools in California offering an Avocational Certificate Course, Associate of Arts Degree in Interior Design, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interior Design, and Master of Interior Architecture Degree and is nationally accredited and also accredited by CIDA, Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

Take a look at the many ways to incorporate Shaker style into your design. Clean lines, function over frill, and natural wood with a focus on craftsmanship; built to last sums up the style.

The bedroom above, in the Círculo Mexicano Hotel in Mexico City, embraces the Shaker style with a traditional peg rail. The rail was typically used to hang garments and light weight furniture. The warm wood tones are framed by the white walls.

This artisanal bakery, Flourist, in Vancouver, Canada, was designed by Ste Marie. Shaker influences can be seen in the simple, natural wood, and clean lines giving the bakery a handmade feel.

The Toronto store Mjölk had an exhibition and on display was the above furniture piece made by the Shakers. The pressed flowers in the simple frames pay homage to the connection to nature that the Shakers relished.

In Queens rowhouse above, the Shaker style cabinets are embellished with a saturated blue paint. The counter top and shelf are simple and clean lined.

The seating above is a great example of function being the primary goal of the Shaker design. Even the light fixture and accessories repeat the concept of simple, clean lined forms.

Architect Ravi Raj designed the above Clover Hill Residence with the traditional angular Shaker style stove as a focal point. The warm, neutral color palette is framed by the dark blue accents. Again, we see simple, clean lined, wood furniture to finish out this Shaker inspired bedroom.

Designed for the Furnishing Utopia exhibition, above is a wooden bench with a matching table. The simple setting of stone and wood further the design esthetics of the furniture pieces.

Above we see Terracotta House, in Australia, which is a communal space designed after the Shakers’ common practice of communal living spaces. Simple, functional furniture anchors the room.

In your next design Shaker it up!

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE TODAY!

Interior Designers Institute was founded in 1984 and is one of the few Interior Design Schools in California offering an Avocational Certificate Course, Associate of Arts Degree in Interior Design, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interior Design, and Master of Interior Architecture Degree and is nationally accredited and also accredited by CIDA, Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

Hermès has popped up in Brooklyn with a temporary gym that takes aesthetic cues from its signature accessory designs.

https://wwd.com/tag/hermes/

Against all likelihood, Hermès has headed for Brooklyn to open something of a branded jungle gym. The French house has opened an installation in Williamsburg called HermèsFit. Forget working out with therabands and stainless steel weights, though. Through Sunday, fans and customers can book special exercise experiences featuring Hermès scarves, which have been applied to boxing bags and inspired new yoga sequences. Those with more of a taste for jewelry can participate in a “kickboxing with bracelets” class that incorporate Hermès’ classic enamel Clic Clac bangle designs.

There are Hermès-inspired barbells, a climbing wall, photobooth and juice bar. Interested participants can pre-register for classes on Hermès’ website or drop by the space at 60 North 6th Street for a peek at the experience. Proof of vaccination is required for entry.

This is the HermèsFit concept’s first stop in the United States after an inaugural run in Chengdu, China, this past May. From here the concept will travel to Paris, Taipei and Shanghai.

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE TODAY!

Interior Designers Institute was founded in 1984 and is one of the few Interior Design Schools in California offering an Avocational Certificate Course, Associate of Arts Degree in Interior Design, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interior Design, and Master of Interior Architecture Degree and is nationally accredited and also accredited by CIDA, Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center.

September 9, 2021 – April 3, 2022

Palm Springs Art Museum has reopened the Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion with the exhibition The Modern Chair.

This special exhibition will follow a timeline of the development of the modern chair starting with the famous Thonet “B-9” bentwood armchair (circa 1905), which is widely considered the first modern chair. Le Corbusier frequently used it in his early architecture as there was no other modern furniture readily available at the time. 

The Modern Chair will trace the evolution from the first cantilevered example by Mart Stam, and then onward to designs of current times including examples by Cini Boeri, Charles and Ray Eames, Frank Gehry, Eileen Gray, George Nakashima, Charlotte Perriand, Rudolph Schindler, among many others.

Technological and stylistic advances pushed chair design forward at a breakneck speed in the 20th century like no other time before. The exhibition will also contain important examples of 21st century as well.

Drawn in part from the rich collection of Palm Springs Art Museum, the exhibition will also include key loans from noted collectors and collections. In total, The Modern Chair will include more than 50 works by designers of international scope, and is open to the public on September 9, 2021.

Palm Springs Life’s editor Steve Biller recently took a deep-dive into the exhibition in an article entitled Hot Seats

The Modern Chair exhibition expresses how design reflects the way we live.

DESIGN

Sometimes, a chair is more than something to sit on. It might be a work of art or a precious heirloom with great sentimental value. To a collector, it could be a trophy object, while others may value its familiar and reliable comfort. The go-to chair in my living room, a reproduction of Eero Saarinen’s Womb Chair and Ottoman, appeals in all these ways — a curvaceous ergonomic design in a molded fiberglass frame, padded and upholstered in fabric, and set on chrome legs to accommodate all the ways I sit in it: usually with my feet up on the ottoman and sometimes sideways across the arms of the chair. Its 1946 design responds to architect and fellow furniture designer Florence Knoll’s request for “a chair that was like a basket full of pillows,” something she could “really curl up in.”

The Womb Chair was the pinnacle of design, beautiful in form and function and embodying modernism’s spirit of experimentation and innovation. Seventy-five years later, it’s a midcentury classic, with Knoll reproductions and a variety of knockoffs still in high demand.

Although it’s not included in The Modern Chair, the season-long exhibition at the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center, Saarinen is represented by his iconic Tulip Chair. The show, drawn from museum’s collection as well as from other public and private collections, continues through April 3, 2022, and features 60 eye-popping and comfy-looking specimens spanning more than 100 years.

“During the last century,” says curator Brad Dunning, “new industrial materials and technological and stylistic advances pushed chair design forward faster than at any previous time. The exhibition follows the development and evolution of the modern chair.”

It begins with two early examples — a simple and unadorned bent wood Thonet B-9 armchair created in 1904 and used in the designs of architect Le Corbusier as well as the first cantilevered chair created by Mart Stam — and continues through the “fertile and innovative” midcentury years and concludes with contemporary designs.

Visitors can trace the history of the cantilever chair from Stam to the diminutive Rudolph M. Schindler example commissioned by Herman Sachs for the Manola Court Apartments in Silver Lake, and find many familiar designs, such as the Charles and Ray Eames’ molded plywood Side Chair (Model DCW), which Time magazine named as the best design of the 20th century in 1999. “I’m showing a rare early version,” Dunning says of the low-slung icon and Herman Miller best seller. “It launched the Eames’ career.”

Innovative entries reflect technological advances and aim to solve problems. Saarinen’s Space Age and single-legged Tulip Chair, for example, resolved what the Finnish-American designer described as the “ugly, confusing, unrestful world” underneath tables and chairs — the so-called, “slum of legs,” while the Danish designer Verner Panton’s S-shaped Panton Chair, created in the 1960s, became the world’s first molded plastic chair designed in one piece without legs.

Panton has a second work in the exhibition: his bright red Heart Cone Chair. He designed it in 1958, based on his striking Cone Chair. The heart-shaped form of its seat shell, also molded as a single piece, inspired the chair’s name. “Panton always loved the big English wingback chairs that envelope you,” Dunning says. “He was trying to do his own version of it. It was out in the 1960s and really has that pop sensibility.”

Vitra, which has produced Panton’s designs since the 1960s, reissued the Heart Cone Chair in the 1990s; the newer version replaces the cross-shaped foot with a round plate, lowers the heart “wings,” and adds a leather option.

Terje Ekström offers one of the most unusual forms in the playful and ergonomic Ekstrem armchair, created in 1972, commercialized in the 1980s, and now experiencing a revival. Its spider-like design was an instant hit for its odd look and imaginative versatility: You can sit on it like a regular chair, sideways, or even backward. “It’s fun to imagine how many ways the chair can be used,” Dunning says.

One of Dunning’s favorites in the exhibition is the Module 400 chair by French designer Roger Tallon. It has a cast aluminum pedestal base and egg crate latex foam seat and back. “It looks so industrial,” he says. “Tallon was fascinated with the foam that’s in packing crates. He [designed the chair] for a friend who had a disco in Paris. The whole floor was made of interchangeable tiles the same dimensions as the base of the chairs, as well as matching barstools and standing ashtrays.”

Materiality plays an important role in the exhibition, which includes two chairs constructed with paper, including Frank Gehry’s Beaver Chair and Ottoman, designed in 1980 and produced by Vitra in 1987.

“Gehry was doing architecture way before furniture and always made his models with corrugated cardboard,” Dunning explains. “There would always be tons of scraps around his studio. One night he started gluing them all together, took an X-Acto knife and hacked at them, and ended up with the Easy Edges [Cardboard Furniture series]. We’ve all seen the squiggly [Wiggle] Chair; this armchair is quite rare.” (It’s from an edition of 100 pieces.)

More delicate, at least in appearance, is the Honey-Pop Armchair by Tokujin Yoshioka, who formed wafer-thin sheets of paper into a honeycomb design to create a strong structure. It arrives folded flat, opens like an accordion, and takes the impression of the first rear end to sit on it.

Other chairs in the exhibition, like Danish designer Hans Wegner’s Round Chair, became popular in part because of the people who used them. This piece gained worldwide publicity in September 1960, when Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy sat for the first nationally televised presidential debate. “This may be one of the most beautiful chairs in the museum collection,” Dunning says. “Talk about delicacy. Wegner is the master of the wooden chair. This one is made of 11 different parts of wood, and he somehow joins them so they’re seamless and elegant.” The chair actually debuted in 1949 at the annual exhibition of the Cabinetmakers’ Guild in Copenhagen.

A few chairs might ring familiar to visitors, including Eames’ classic 670 and 671 Lounge and Ottoman — “The design for this chair has never gone out of production and remains a bellwether of success and status,” Dunning says — as well as Harry Bertoia’s Welded Wire Side Chair based on steel grid wire forms and Marcel Breuer’s reductive Wassily Chair.

Some are artful, like Gerrit Rietveld’s Red Blue Chair, which epitomizes the Dutch de Stijl aesthetic pioneered by Piet Mondrian and Theo van Doesburg.

Others, like Cini Boeri’s glass Ghost Chair, will surprise. “Boeri wanted a chair that just disappeared,” Dunning explains. “Of course, it doesn’t, but it’s less than a half-inch thick of poured sheet glass.”

Visitors to the show might be tempted to pick up Italian designer Gio Ponti’s Superleggera chair. Its name translates to “superlightweight,” as it weighs only 3.7 pounds but can support the weight on a 350-pound person. Advertisements for the chair, designed in 1949 and continually produced by Cassina since 1957, featured a young boy lifting it with one finger. (Security will stop anybody who attempts it.)

In the center of the exhibition space, Dunning has organized a section to focus on California design that includes William Haines’ Custom Armchair (circa 1950), as well as a wicker example by Miller Lee Fong, who, Dunning says, “found a way to make rattan hip. It fit the sophisticated yet casual California lifestyle of the 1960s. The lines are both organic and sculptural.”

The California section also includes examples by the Eames duo, such as the popular Rocking Shell Chair, as well as Richard Neutra, Paul Tuttle, Luther Conover, Daniel Wenger and several underappreciated women, including Muriel Coleman and Dorothy Schindele.

The Modern Chair makes no attempt to be comprehensive; rather, it’s a survey exhibition that showcases the evolution of design over more than a century. “So much of design is cyclical and transitory,” Dunning says, “but a lot of the chairs that we’re showing are in the design zeitgeist now. There’s interest in them again.”

While visitors cannot sit in the chairs on display, he adds, each demonstrates how design reflects and expresses the way we live and have lived. psmuseum.org

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE TODAY!

Interior Designers Institute was founded in 1984 and is one of the few Interior Design Schools in California offering an Avocational Certificate Course, Associate of Arts Degree in Interior Design, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interior Design, and Master of Interior Architecture Degree and is nationally accredited and also accredited by CIDA, Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

The postmodernist AT&T building in Midtown Manhattan was redesigned by Gensler’s New York studio. The goal was to pay homage to the existing structure. The landmarked Philip Johnson-designed building is located at 550 Madison.

The building’s large 110 foot entrance, along Madison Avenue, leads visitors to the triple height, vaulted lobby. According to Gensler they set out to create a “bright, minimalist space.” The redesign maintained the lobby’s height, volume, and vaulted features.

The lobby entrance welcomes visitors through a large scale arch. The grandeur of the entrance area surrounds guests with lavish finishes; such as, bronze mesh, leather, and stone. The geometric patterns on the floor were created with terrazzo in varying greys.

To help define the space and bring it to a human scale Gensler incorporated bronze mesh panels. The panels bring the eye line down from the marble above which leads to the triple height ceilings. Rust hued leather wrapped, recessed seating booths are inset into the bronze mesh panels. In line with the geometric floor pattern, you can see a welcome desk made of stone.

A marble sphere installation by Alicja Kwade was hung by chains from the vaulted ceiling twelve feet above the ground.

Strip lighting enhances the lines of the ceiling and decorative features.

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE TODAY!

Interior Designers Institute was founded in 1984 and is one of the few Interior Design Schools in California offering an Avocational Certificate Course, Associate of Arts Degree in Interior Design, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interior Design, and Master of Interior Architecture Degree and is nationally accredited and also accredited by CIDA, Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

Marble is a metamorphic stone known for its smooth appearance and veining. It is often used on floors, walls, and countertops.

Above marble covers all the surfaces creating an opulent space. Ghanian-British architect David Adjaye designed the interiors for the apartments in the 130 William skyscraper in New York.

London interior design firm 2LG Studio remodeled the bath above with colourful accents. The white carrara walls frame the vanity in elegant fashion.

Marcante-Testa used colorful marble in the Teorema Milanes remodel above. The modern design above combines ancient marble and modern fixtures to create a truly unique space.

The project above, in Porto, designed by Portuguese studio Fala Atelier combines ceramic tile with marble floors and vanity. The geometric quality of the tile contrasts the marble veining.

Above we see emerald green marble designed by Sārānsh in the VS House in Ahmedabad. The curvilinear layout of the marble repeats the shape of the mirror adding a dramatic look.

The home above was designed by Innauer-Matt Architekten in the Rhine Valley. By bringing in the natural elements of wood and marble the outside and inside flow into one another.

The late 19th-century Lisbon apartment above was renovated by local firm Rar.Studio. The veining on the marble was installed both horizontally and vertically drawing the eye around the room.

London and Vienna-based design firm SIRS redesigned the above home which is located in a 1960s apartment building in England’s capital.

Above the 19th-century house near Paris that was renovated by Spanish studio 05 AM Arquitectura. The bookmatched slabs in the shower add a dramatic touch.

DESIGN YOUR FUTURE TODAY!

Interior Designers Institute was founded in 1984 and is one of the few Interior Design Schools in California offering an Avocational Certificate Course, Associate of Arts Degree in Interior Design, Bachelor of Arts Degree in Interior Design, and Master of Interior Architecture Degree and is nationally accredited and also accredited by CIDA, Council for Interior Design Accreditation.