Tag: furniture

Favorite Things: Night Tables

A night table is a personal space whose use and appearance depends on your habits.

A night table is a piece of furniture whose use and appearance depends on your habits.  For example, my own night table has so much stuff on it!  It’s usually covered with magazines that I never quite seem to finish reading.  For you, the night table might be a place to store things, display things, or simply keep certain items within easy reach.  The style of your night table can also be a reflection of the rest of the bedroom, using different materials to create an overall mood.  The night table can be sexy with a glossy coat of lacquer or serene when layered with an ottoman.  Or, it can be a simple, understated table!  Here are some examples of great night tables in a variety of styles.

1.  Astro Bedside Table by Oly.  This table presents a lighter feeling when storage isn’t required.

2.  Custom St. Tropez Nightstand with marble top.

3.  Julien Chichester night table I installed in a client’s bedroom.

4.  Jet Setter side tables by Room Service

5.  Weems Table by David Iatesta

6.  A custom night table for a client.

7.  Eve Table from Dering Hall:  I love the combination of nail heads, wood, and fabric.

8.  Frances 2-Drawer Side Table from Bungalow 5

9.  DL Marie Side Table from Profiles:  Old world glam inspired.

10.  Another custom night table for one of my clients.

11.  VH Jeffrey Side Table from Profiles

12.  Olin table from Dering Hall

Favorite Things: Upholstered Chairs

Upholstered chairs are a great way to bring a fun, personalized aspect to any room.

Upholstered chairs are a great way to bring a fun, personalized aspect to any room.  By creating your own custom chair, you let the piece take on its own personality.  With a wide variety of sizes, styles, and fabrics, you can make the chair your own.  Combining fabrics and materials and adding details changes the pitch of the furniture.  A traditional wing chair with some modern elements can completely change the mood of the room.  Chairs don’t have to exactly match; there’s a lot of room to play.  I love designing chairs for my clients and seeing the way they really complete the final project!  Here are some examples of upholstered chairs I really like.

1.  Haute House Home Pantages Chair

2.  Wynn Chair

3.  Rapunzel Collection by Kenneth Cobonpue

4.  Kaare Klint Cuban Mahogany Armchairs

5.  Hopkin Chair from Cisco Brothers

6.  A chair I designed for a client — one of my favorites!

7.  The Doria Club Chair from Studio Van den Akker

8.  Great desk chair — I love the arm detail.  By Coddington Design.

9.  This patterned club chair is a great piece in a client’s living room.

10.  Emma Wing Chair

11.  Collection de Columbe Slipper Chair by Richard Misshan

12.  Modern Wing Chair with Chippendale Base from Dennis & Leen

Favorite Things: Ottomans

An ottoman is such a versatile piece of furniture, able to double as a coffee table or make a statement in the center or a room.

I love using ottomans when designing a room.  An ottoman is such a versatile piece of furniture, able to double as a coffee table or make a statement in the center or a room.  The ottoman doesn’t have to be confined to the living room, either — it can look great at the foot of a bed or under a console table in the entry or hall.  Ottomans are useful for layering a room and come in such a wide variety of sizes and materials.  The ottoman can soften a room or dress it up with just the right details.  Here are some of my favorite ottoman designs:

1. I never get tired of zebra print!

2.  Luther Quintana :  Tailored style and always a classic.

3.  Kenton Ottoman by SR Gambrel

4.  Ernesto Ottoman

5.  Drake Ottoman by Jay Jeffers

6.  Tray Chic Ottoman:  Great for family rooms.

7.  I love the Moroccan influence!

8.  JS Raccan Ottoman

9.  Nikki Ottoman, Bjork Studio

10.  Michael Berman Ottomans

11.  Clubcu Reclaimed Elm Ottoman

12.  Pella Ottoman, another great zebra example.

John Dickinson

David Sutherland, Inc. now offers a collection of John Dickinson’s iconic furniture designs.

One of the 20th century’s most acclaimed and important designers, John Dickinson was born in 1920 and grew up in Berkely, California.  He attended Parsons School of Design and launched his own firm in San Francisco in 1956.  Dickinson was one of the area’s top designers in the 1960s and 1970s when he produced his signature concrete plaster furniture.  He died in 1982, but his pieces are still highly collectible and resell for thousands.

John Dickinson
John Dickinson’s San Francisco residence.

From 1980 until his death in 1982, Dickinson’s furniture designs were represented in David Sutherland’s Texas showrooms.  Dickinson’s rather fragile plaster pieces became known for their unique combination of whimsy and austerity, humor and elegance.  These imaginative designs are easily recognizable and can be found today in museums and high end furniture galleries.

Large, six-legged African table.
Twig Mirror
Footed table.

If you’re hoping to add one of Dickinson’s iconic pieces to your home, you can now purchase reproductions of these designs from Sutherland Furniture.  Ever since he represented Dickinson’s work in the early 1980’s, David Sutherland hoped to recreate the collection and bring those designs to a wider audience.  Sutherland’s hopes have finally been realized.  Sutherland now offers Dickinson’s designs, recreated with a more durable glass-reinforced concrete.

Footed lamp.
Hoofed table.
Three-legged side table.

I think it is really great that Sutherland carries these reproductions.  The indoor and outdoor collections are amazing!  Everyone now has access to these fantastic pieces.  With Sutherland’s innovative materials, you can not only have a John Dickinson design but actually use the pieces in your home without any worries.  I would love to have one of these pieces of history in my own collection!

You can view the entire collection at Sutherland’s website.  They are also on Facebook.

 

Favorite Things: Coffee Tables

Coffee tables come in a huge range of shapes, sizes, and materials, but here are some of my favorites!

The coffee table makes up one of the key components in any room.  It’s a grounding element, a piece that can make a big statement or be a subtle anchor for the space.  Coffee tables come in a huge range of shapes, sizes, and materials, but here are some of my favorites!

1.  Anders Table by Jan Showers

2.  Montpelier Coffee Table

3.  Vanguard

4.  Maharaja Coffee Table by Martyn Lawrence Bullard

5.  WY – Architect Table

6.  VH – Stuart Coffee Table

7.  Hollyhock Acrylic  Coffee Table

8.  Baldwin Coffee Table by David Iatesta

9.  1950’s Vintage from Caira Mahdaglio

10.  Ralph Lauren

11.  Inset bamboo from Dessin Fournir

12.  Zinc Top Coffee Table from 1st Dibs

Favorite Things: Sofas

Sofas come in all manner of styles, and these are some of my favorites.

Sofas come in all manner of styles, and these are some of my favorites.  What makes a sofa great is attention to details such as nail heads or the turn of a leg, artfully placed tufts, the shape of an arm, or the curve of the back.  The upholstery is customizable and throw pillows add more interest, but the key is starting with that perfect sofa as the base.

1.  B & B Italia Ray Sofa  The steel base influences a modern feel.  Get closer and you can see the beautiful stitching detail.

2.  Coco Beach Sofa  The revel of the arm with the nail head trim is a great detail.

3.  Modern Chesterfield Sofa  Love the tufting detail and the slight flair on the arm.

4.  Benedict Chaise  Think about pairing two of them together.

5.  Chesapeake Sofa  The wood frame adds another dimension to this sofa.

6.  Field Bench  Love the low back and the legs with casters.

7.  Arden Sofa  The Arden Sofa features beautiful tufts that are nicely balanced by solid, chunky legs.

8.  Vicente Wolf Sofa  Another example of great lines and delicate legs.

9.  Classic Bridgewater Arm Sofa  Add tufting to the back and it changes the look dramatically!

10.  D & L Settee  Not your conventional sofa – this is so elegant.

11. Thom Filicia   Stylish structure and the platform wood base adds character.

12.  Redcraft Sofa  With deep tufting and solid legs, the Redcraft Sofa is a sumptuous piece of furniture.

Patricia Urquiola

Patricia Urquiola is an architect and designer who was born in Spain but now lives and works in Milan, Italy.

Patricia Urquiola is an architect and designer who was born in Spain but now lives and works in Milan, Italy.  Her talented design work has earned her quite a bit of recognition over the years.  Her products were selected for the Italian Design 2001 exhibition and for International Design Yearbook 1999 and 2001. In 2001 she was chair of the jury for the 19th CDIM Design Award and was lecturer in the Domus Academy. In recent years, she has received numerous awards including A&W Designer of the Year and Design Prize Cologne. In 2011 her set of glass vases All Ambiq has been exhibited at Glasstress, a collateral event of the Venice Biennale.

I first discovered the work of Patricia Urquiola during a Southampton project where I used one of her pieces — the Nub Chair.  It’s comfortable and sweet and introduced me to her other items.  I quickly became a big fan of her very cool sculptural furniture.  Her clever designs are intricate and composed of the layers I look for when designing.  Her pieces are truly works of art, showing how Urquiola is thoughtful of lines and details that never feel harsh.

Patricia Urquiola Fat Sofa

I loved the Fat Ottoman/Coffee Table – the Fat Sofa is another great piece from the same line. It looks so comfortable!

Nub Chair

We installed this Nub Chair in Southampton and it is absolutely gorgeous!  The detail on the back has an organic feel.

Canasta B Italia: Fabulous for the exterior!
Bohemian Seating Collection

The leather tufting of the Bohemian Seating Collection makes you want to cuddle up in this chair.

Vieques Agape

She even has the bath covered!  The steel tub is so chic.

Crinoline Collection

The Crinoline Collection is a wonderful blend of bronze, natural fiber and polyethylene weave.  Fabulous height – truly a sculpture.

You can follow Patricia Urquiola on Facebook .  Her posts are in Spanish, but she also features photos of her work.

Restoration Hardware, Spring 2012

When I recently received Restoration Hardware’s hefty Spring 2012 catalog in the mail, the understated, monochromatic cover gave little hint of the incredible products displayed inside.

When I recently received Restoration Hardware‘s hefty Spring 2012 catalog in the mail, the understated, monochromatic cover gave little hint of the incredible products displayed inside.  I was completely blown away by so many of the pieces — right now, nothing else can compete.  They nailed it!  Restoration Hardware’s current lines have so much to offer to many clients on many levels.  I could easily see myself doing a whole house with these pieces!

I believe the Spring 2012 catalog signals the pinnacle of Restoration Hardware’s shift over the years from a focus on authentic period hardware to true furniture gallery offerings suited to a luxury lifestyle.  When Gary Friedman became CEO in 2001, Restoration Hardware was still being affected by multiple store closings and restructuring of the company.  They began to expand their offerings to include bathware, textiles, furniture, and lighting and gradually moved away from such items like toys, books, and gadgets.  The core of the company now seems dedicated to fine, historical design as well as updated classics, all with superior quality.  If this most recent catalog is any indication, Restoration Hardware has truly come into its own as a distinctive and responsive source for home decor.

The bath furniture is just genius.
Couturiers Chair - love the metal frame. Really charming!
Sputnik Filament - a great nod to the mid century!
Soho Tufted Chair - Think about grouping two near a fireplace.
I love the idea of the metal with the geometric pattern.
My all time favorite nail head ottoman. So reasonable!
Vintage factory bar cart - it looks like an antique!
Concrete dining table, in 2 sizes! I can't wait to install this in my next project.

Have you seen this Restoration Hardware catalog?  If so, what do you think and do you have a favorite piece or line?  I know I am really looking forward to incorporating a lot of these furnishings in my own projects!