Airings on Design by Area Aesthetics

Disappearing Designs - USPS Doesn't Get My Stamp of Approval

I've never been a stamp collector, but I've always selected my stamps with a very personal eye. No staid American flags or Liberty Bells for me!. For years, I've been choosing stamps that represent things I love and one of the things I really love is great design.  

So when my cache of wonderful, oversized Eames and Noguchi commemoratives depicting some of their most notable achievements in interior furnishings and design ran out a few days ago, I did what I always do.  I headed to the U.S Postal Service's Web site to purchase some more, fully prepared, with the recent postal rate increase, to find a two-cent issue worthy of standing alongside these great icons of design.  

Alas, with the exception of the 4-cent Chippendale Chair  and the 1-cent Tiffany Lamp, none of the stamps commemorating great interior design are available any longer.  If you look beyond the online store and search the site, you can still find a collector's series first day issue pane of the 16 Eames stamps for sale (premium priced and unusable as they are already cancelled).   However,  it's as if  Noguchi, a sculptor by trade who viewed his furnishings and interior designs as a way to make sculpture useful in everyday life,  never even existed. 

I admit, it seems a little silly to be lamenting the passing of postal stamps, especially since I mail so very few hard copies these days.  But that momentary connection with these two great masters of design while stamping my envelopes always put a bit of joy in the chore.

A Delight from Disegno - A Perfectly Balanced Contemporary Glass Table

I'm in the design centers in New York - where we have many such buildings and hundreds of showrooms - sourcing furnishings for clients every week.  Racing around from showroom to showroom with my "shopping list",  it's easy to glaze over,  especially when looking for an item as common as a contemporary glass coffee table.

So when one jumps out at me, as did this two-tiered table from Disegno by James Dipersia at the NYDC,  it stopped me in my tracks.   Not a big fan of tiered tables, this one caught me by surprise.  Beautifully designed,  its profile suggests a graceful sculpture with  two framed glass tiers in perfect balance over its fluidly arced legs. 

ModKat - A People-Friendly Litter Box

Earlier tonight, I was sifting through the literature-laden tote bags and the 70-odd photos I took at ICFF a couple of weekends ago.  My trade show rule is to let it sit for a week or two and then see what really stays with me.  Of the 30 or 40 items that made an impression,  most turn out to be fleeting and only a handful are really lasting. 

This year, fewer than usual have made the cut.  While I'll get around to posting most of my favorites in the next few days, in honor of my bulldog Spike's 5th Birthday today,  I thought I'd tell you about my favorite accessory from this year's show which happens to be a pet accessory.    

A client once asked me to figure out where to put her cat litter box.  There was no room in the bathroom and, like most new construction in New York City, her apartment  afforded none of the nooks and crannies or out of sight hallways that you can find in pre-war buildings.    We ended up ordering a small wooden bench with an open side, which we faced away from the sightline, into which a litter box could slide. 

It was a serviceable, but far from perfect, solution.  The bench could be placed in plain sight without giving away its secret, but there still remained the problem of "wandering litter" as the cat left the box.  And while the agile cat had no trouble getting in and out,  it was a bit less convenient for a human being to scoop.

The ModKat Litter Box I saw at ICFF,  is  a stylish, fresh approach to litter box design that promises to best the "wandering litter" problem as well.  As the name implies,  it will look best in modern interiors, but no matter your style, it is unquestionably a great improvement over the standard litter box look.  A perfect blend of form and function,  it comes with a washable, reusable deep liner making it an eco-friendly choice as well. As someone who can't figure out how to get the cat box liner out of the box without spilling half of the litter on the floor (yes, Spike lives with some feline friends), I especially appreciated that the designers have incorporated handles on their liner for easy lifting.

It won't be available until later this summer, but you can sign up on ModKat's Web site to learn about availability.

As for Spike,  I'm afraid the days of poking his nose into the litter box to see what those cats are up to, are soon over!

Nelson's Nursery on "Living in Color with Sonu"

An admitted color junkie, even in the beige-est of times,  I am an avid follower of Sonu Mathews' blog, "Living in Color with Sonu."  

So imagine how pleased I am to see this post about the color rich, nautically themed nursery I designed for the winners of Similac's (Abbott Nutrition) Custom Nursery Design Contest.

Sonu Blog

http://livingincolorwithsonu.typepad.com/sonu_blog/2009/05/meaningful-color-and-design.html

You can see some photos of the nursery in the "Nelson's Nursery" photo album here.

ICFF Best of Show - Stunning Glass Furniture from Glas Italia

For the second year running,  I have to give my ICFF "best of show" kudos to Glas Italia. I discovered this company a few years ago at ICFF and always make a beeline for their booth upon entering the show.

Glas Italia has mastered the art of glass furnishings with unexpected design and extraordinary craftsmanship that makes even their largest tables seem weightless.

Last year, I couldn't tear myself away from their Post Modern  line of baroque-legged tables.  A stunning blend of styles, they are available in dining and low table heights with round, oval, square or rectangular tabletops that seem to float on air. 

This year, did not disappoint. The new Wireframe line of low occasional tables is a whimsical series of twisted and irregular box-like forms executed in tempered glass so transparent that I had to touch them to convince myself the surfaces really existed between the piped edges.  Edging is available in black, white, lime green and red.   

Another new introduction this year at the show, was a stunning, finely-detailed three-panel etched glass screen that was flawless in its execution.

(Apologies for the poor photography - lighting in the Javits Center doesn't lend itself to the best shots.)

A Twist on the Traditional - Lighting by Michael McHale

With ICFF  2009 getting underway, I've been thinking about some of the great design finds discovered there.  Way up on my list is the fabulous lighting by Michael McHale Designs, which takes the traditional crystal light fixture in a whole new direction.  

Combining the most ordinary and extraordinary in each hand-crafted fixture, industrial materials and refrigerator bulbs are joined with the sparkle and grace of Swarovski crystals to create chandeliers, table lamps and a new line of sconces that are as commanding as they are interesting.

I love pieces that tell a story.  When I first met Michael, a former entertainment lawyer, he was sourcing distressed brass pipes and fittings from the destruction of Katrina for the "bones" of his fixtures.   He continues to repurpose materials from Katrina sites in Mississippi and Louisiana, as well as building sites here in New York.   All of the fixtures are assembled locally.  Michael is hands on, doing much of the work himself with UL-certified wiring handled in Queens. 

You can see Michael's lighting in Manhattan at Desiron in SOHO and StudioMix on Madison Avenue and 30th Street.  Trust me, it's worth a look!

 

Great Modular Open Storage from Phase

In recent years, the West Coast pops up more and more frequently on my radar screen when I 'm looking for  something new in furniture design. Some of the more delightful pieces I've seen have been designed by Reza Feiz of Phase Design in Los Angeles. 

I often find that modern furniture, while wonderful to look at with its clean bold lines,  can be cold.  Not so with Feiz's pieces.  His choice of richly detailed woods and bold use of color make his contemporary furnishings read unexpectedly warm - so much so that, at first glance, you almost miss the stark simplicity which gives them their strength.  

I love this stackable storage unit assembled from Phase's Ally cubes and think they are perfect for children's and informal family rooms.  Available in black, white and a variety of custom colors,  they are easy to integrate into your space plan and color scheme while providing great functionality.

Phase Design will be in Booth #1044 at ICFF. 

International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF)

If you're near New York City,  you may want to check out the International Contemporary Furniture Fair  which opens to the trade this Saturday at the Javits Center.  The show sells tickets to the public for its closing day, Tuesday May 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Most trade events are hit or miss for me.  Given my busy schedule, and that I live in a city with so many design centers that you can see almost anything on the market at your convenience,  it's not always my highest priority.  But I make it a point never to miss ICFF.   It's the one place I always find new and exciting furnishings,  including a lot of innovative lighting, kitchens and seating.  

Too, it really is an international show. Some of the best in contemporary furnishings comes from Italy, Spain, Japan and, more recently, South America from where we also see a lot of new exciting materials introduced.

If you're only going to do one home show a year, this is the one not to miss!

I'll post some photos from the show this weekend.

Mother's Day - 2009

My mother taught me about unconditional love. And peace.  Not in so many words, but by her actions. Actions that I could easily take for granted when directed toward me, but which I could see so much more clearly when directed toward others.  She also taught me about design, again not in so many words, but by the homes she created and the care that went into making each room something special.  And this, I never took for granted.

 

She loved things that were finely crafted, finds from flea markets in London and Paris, carpets painstakingly woven in Italian nunneries, antiques speaking to the pride that long ago craftsmen took in their day's labor.   Her rooms were brilliantly arranged and finished, never pedestrian, and never like anyone else's.  And, as expensive as many of the furnishings were,  even as children growing up on Long Island we were encouraged to live in them to the fullest.

 

In later years, in her homes in the Florida Keys and the Bay Harbor Islands, she showed me her range,  moving from the traditional periods of my childhood homes to  contemporary and Asian sensibilities and, finally,  bringing it all together in  a display of eclecticism that spoke to the entire experience of her life.  In these homes, she honored the local culture and the local artist alongside elements that spoke as clearly as a memoir about the journey of her life and the times, places and people that she loved.

 

She informs everything I do as a designer, most importantly, that rooms are for lives to be lived in, that a wonderful setting is only a foundation to accommodate and celebrate life as it unfolds long after the designer has left.   I remember her in her last home In New York City,  having just put the finishing touches on the living room and summoning her family into the room.  We stood off to the side, remarking on how great the room looked and taking delight in this detail or that.  But she took no pleasure in our praise, until we piled into the room and began to live in it.

 

 

 

Mother's Day 2009