Photograph by Tom Dixon
Home All-Stars: Hallmarks Of Style
January 1, 2006
Many people believe architecture and furniture design were at their most
compelling during the decades between 1910 and 1940, when artists such as Frank
Lloyd Wright, Jean-Michel Frank and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe were at their
creative zeniths. Yet every decade has its share of turbulence and triumph that
inspires waves of design. The past 30 years–from the post—Vietnam War 1970s
through the decadent 1980s to the understated 1990s–proved no exception, giving
rise, respectively, to flamboyant finishes, luxurious shapes and, finally,
environmentally friendly materials that are sure to influence the world of
interiors for generations. On the following pages, we revisit a handful of these
brilliant ideas. Richard Frinier for Dedon GmbH, through Janus et Cie, 800.245.2687, www.janusetcie.com; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Photograph by Dedon GmbH. (Click image to enlarge)
Richard Frinier Canopy Daybed
Richard Frinier may have been daydreaming that he was Aladdin when he
conceived his Hularo woven resin collection for German furniture maker Dedon GmbH.
After all, his Daydream daybed has a wavy, dreamlike quality reminiscent of
mythical flying carpets. “It’s not modern. It’s not traditional. It’s not
transitional. I call it experiential furniture,” says Frinier, noting that the idea was to
create an indoor/outdoor piece. The Moorish cane-woven bed “embodies the
mind-body-spirit connection to rest, drift and dream away a thousand and one nights,” he says. Which is about the same number of copies currently on the market. ; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
David Linley Desks and Humidors
Never has the coexistence of architecture and fine furniture making been
quite so complementary, and extraordinary, as when David Linley, the son of England’s Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon, put his imagination to work on a
collection of handmade marquetry desks and humidors that replicate historic buildings,
including Apsley House, Chiswick House and a Turkish estate. “We wanted to do a Carlton House—style desk, because the art of letter writing is exalted when someone
sits at a desk like that,” says Linley, who launched the Extraordinary Furniture
line of bespoke pieces–complete with hidden drawers and secret compartments–that
have subsequently become the master craftsman’s signature. (Click image to enlarge)
David Linley, +44.207.730.7300, www.davidlinley.com
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Paris Ceramics Stone Flooring
Distressed by what he saw as precious raw materials going to waste,
globe-trotting entrepreneur Charlie Smallbone decided to take action. He has spent the past
25 years in search of historic buildings being excavated or earmarked for destruction, and negotiating with their owners for the rights to their stone foundations. The result was the creation of Paris Ceramics (a company,
ironically, founded in England), which reclaims the ancient stone and tiles from
17th-century French châteaux and structures in other European countries and the Middle
East for reuse in modern living spaces. Smallbone’s searches for antique Dalle de Bourgogne, Grey Barr and Blonde Barr, among other period stone floorings,
have taken him throughout Europe as well as to the Middle East, India, China and
even the Holy Land, where Jerusalem flagstones were once quarried in the southern Hebron mountains. (Click image to enlarge)
Paris Ceramics, 888.845.3487, www.parisceramics.com; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Rattan Seating
By the time orlando diaz-azcuy was named Designer of the Year by Interiors magazine in 1982, the Cuban-born architect had amassed a significant body of
work that included private residences, interior and exterior furnishings and even landscapes, incorporating simple elegance with unforgettable visual impact.
More recently, Diaz-Azcuy has been applying his considerable talents to a
collection of indoor and outdoor furnishings for McGuire of San Francisco, using natural elements such as woven rattan, solid teak and other hardwoods to achieve
similar results. Among his timeless classics for McGuire is his woven rattan Umbria collection, including his distinctive barrel-back, scooped armchair, which
was created to recall the elegance of Italian lounge furniture of the
1920s. (Click image to enlarge)
McGuire, 415.626.1414, www.kohlerinteriors.com; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Kipp Stewart Chaise Longue
How to whittle down classic forms to their bare essences–that was one of the primary lessons that Carmel, Calif., architect and artist Kipp Stewart
learned during his two-year apprenticeship with the late Charles Eames. That
knowledge, and his own interest in 18th- and 19th-century British campaign furniture,
had a profound impact on Stewart’s classic outdoor teak furniture designs for
Summit, with which he formed a design partnership in 1979. “In the past, people would
just throw away their iron furniture when it rusted. Or it was made with the least amount of wood, or cheap wood that wasn’t designed to last,” explains Summit marketing director Gay Reimann. “Kipp wanted to design something of
permanence using the best materials and the best craftsmen.” (Click image to enlarge)
Summit Furniture, 831.375.7811, www.summitfurniture.com
Edelman Leather Floors ; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
Arthur and teddy edelman considered themselves pioneers in the 1950s when
they covered the floors of their New York showrooms in leather tiles and caught
the interest of such style-setters as Neiman Marcus founder Stanley Marcus and
fashion legend Rudi Gernreich. Years later, while perusing vintage photos at a Paris
flea market, they discovered an image of a Jean-Michel Frank—designed card room
circa 1920 that featured leather furniture, walls and flooring. “I suppose cavemen
might have used hides on the floors,” says Teddy Edelman. Nevertheless, the
Edelmans can take credit for breathing new life into the concept by perfecting the
process. In addition to using only the back center of the hides (where the thickness is uniform), they developed a special vegetable dye that completely penetrates
the skin, so that the flooring repels stains while simultaneously retaining its
color over time. (Cick image to enlarge)
Edelman Leather, 800.886.8339, www.edelmanleather.com
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