A Dollhouse for Grownups

Italian dining room, c. 1500. The objects in this room were inspired by both Italian sources (the Davanzetti Palace in Florence) and Viennese interiors. The chest in the corner is one of the few pieces carved by Mrs. Thorne herself.

Italian dining room, c. 1500. The objects in this room were inspired by both Italian sources (the Davanzetti Palace in Florence) and Viennese interiors. The chest in the corner is one of the few pieces carved by Mrs. Thorne herself.

If you want to research historic interiors, where do you turn?  You could buy a book like Mario Praz’s indispensible An Illustrated History of Interior Decoration; search the internet or a digital photo archive for specific dates and locations. Or, for an especially fun field trip, you could visit the Thorne Miniature Rooms.

French Louis XV Salon, 1715-1754. The reign of Louis XV was an age of feminine influences, as seen in the gentle, curving lines of the furniture and walls. Even the corners of this room are rounded! The parquet floor is made of oak and walnut, and laid in a Versailles pattern.

French Louis XV Salon, 1715-1754. The reign of Louis XV was an age of feminine influences, as seen in the gentle, curving lines of the furniture and walls. Even the corners of this room are rounded! The parquet floor is made of oak and walnut, and laid in a Versailles pattern.

The 1:12 scale Thorne Miniature Rooms cover European, American and Asian interiors ranging in date from the late 13th century to the 1930s. The models are the brainchild of Narcissa Ward Thorne of Chicago (daughter-in-law of Montgomery Ward co-founder Richard Thorne). She began by amassing a collection of miniature furniture from around the world. By the early 1930s she had decided to have the rooms painstakingly and perfectly executed by master craftsmen, work which continued over the next decade.  Some of them replicate actual rooms that Mrs. Thorne saw in her travels, while others are simply true to period. To give an example of the level of detailed execution, in some cases period rugs were woven in miniature scale specifically to fulfill her vision! Continue reading →

Sourcebook of Scandinavian Furniture

Designs for the Twenty-First Century

Judith Gura’s definitive new sourcebook. All images courtesy W. W. Norton.

A compendium, with more than five hundred full-color illustrations, of the best modern furniture from the Nordic countries.

Scandinavian design brings to mind forms that are minimal and clearly functional out of beautiful, if not sumptuous materials. It is the kind of design that most of us “know when we see it” but we don’t often know what the pieces are actually called. Now, luckily for us, there is a “bible” for that kind of design.

Judith Gura is a decorative arts historian and professor at the New York School of Interior Design. She is an authority on the history of interiors, especially 20th century interiors, and their furnishings. Her 8th book includes a CD-ROM with easy-to-use screen resolution files of all the illustrations. Continue reading →

Danish Teak Peppermills

Photo courtesy Mark Perlson

What comes to mind when one hears the words Danish Design: Modern furniture with long thin legs, teak and rosewood, maybe Hans Wegner? How about pepper mills?

While Danish design is synonymous with restraint, in contrast Danish teak pepper mills are expressive and idiosyncratic. Teak is a material that has become a leitmotif of Danish furniture. Danish pepper mills share the use of this richly colored, water resistant and durable wood. The similarities, however, stop there.
Continue reading →

Gold, Jasper, and Carnelian: Johann Christian Neuber at the Saxon Court

The Breteuil Table on view in The Frick Collection’s Oval Room; photo: Michael Bodycomb

The Breteuil Table, designed and made entirely by Johann Christian Neuber (1736-1808), is distinguished as one of the most exceptional and important pieces of eighteenth-century furniture ever made. It is not a big table, standing at only 32 inches in height but it’s use of materials and it’s flawless execution made it more than a delight, this piece is a wonder. Shown for the first time outside of Europe, the table was the centerpiece of a recent exhibition Gold, Jasper, and Carnelian: Johann Christian Neuber at the Saxon Court, at the Frick Collection in New York City.
Continue reading →

LEGO Architecture: Building blocks for grown-ups

Falling Water, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, built 1935. All photos courtesy LEGO.

Frank Lloyd Wright played with blocks. So did Buckminster Fuller. Their toys were actually Froebel blocks and both attributed this kind of play with being instrumental in their early development. But what would a modern child architect choose as his building block of choice? LEGOS!
Continue reading →

Know Your Sweaters!

 

An Irish Aran cardigan, made with bainin yarn. Photo courtesy Lisa Dusseault from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/aransweater

A winning combination of icy northern climates and large populations of sheep has produced the perfect winter artifact: warm wool sweaters. Each country that boasts these elements has produced its own distinctive design solution. From the rainy west coast of Ireland comes the Aran or Irish “fisherman’s” sweater. Norway has its traditional black and white Lusekofte sweater. Sheep from the Shetland Isles provide wool for both the Shetland sweater and the colorful Fair Isle sweater. And there is the Lopapeysa sweater from Iceland.
Continue reading →