5Ws of... Louis XVI Style

 

 

What: The period of Louis XVI, King of France, also known as Louis Seize, is marked by revival of ancient classicism, severe rectangular lines and architectural ornament.  The character and function of individual pieces scarcely varied from the lines established under Louis Quinze.  Commodes, chairs and sofas, desks and tables merely assumed straight lines.  Fabrics were of small-patterned silks, (small patterned tapestries, and the whole range of Louis XV materials.  The vogue for printing cotton and linen create the toiles du Jouy.

Who: Jean Francois Riesener was the great master of the era.  Others such as David Roentgen, Georges Jacob and his son known as Jacob-Desmalter, and others also contributed to the signature style of the era.  Others, like Beneman and Weisweiler, worked so closely to the antique architectural ideal that they actually created the later Empire style.

Where: Though the style is most closely associated with France, it was greatly influenced by architectural unearthing of Pompeii and Herculaneum.  Ancient architectural forms became the basis of furniture design.

When: 1774 – 1793, the period associated with Louis XVI, is also known as The Classic Revival, or the first phase of Classicism.

Why: Marie-Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst): So, I hear you like to make keys as a hobby? Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman): Yes. Marie-Antoinette: And do you enjoy making keys? Louis XVI: Obviously.

Information: The Encyclopedia of Furniture.  Images: Furniture, Niermann Weeks; Fabric, Brunschwig; Interiors, Elle Décor; film still from “Marie-Antoinette.” Quote from “Marie-Antoinette,” 2006.   

5Ws of... Pomander Walk

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What: Pomander Walk is a village-in-a-city, a tiny pedestrian-only street of tiny houses running from 94th to 95th Street between Broadway and West End Avenue. Although apparently built as a temporary improvement, landmark designation in 1982 has kept it permanent.  It is named for the play ''Pomander Walk'' -- a romantic comedy set on a small street in Georgian London – which opened in New York in 1910. 

 Who: The popularity of “Pomander Walk” crested just when Thomas J. Healy was at the height of his fame as a nightclub operator.  Born in Ireland, Healy arrived in the United States as a boy and accumulated a string of cafes and catering operations.  He acquired a 200-year leasehold on the property and hired the architectural firm of King & Campbell to create a mews based on the set of the popular play.  

 When: Healy filed plans for Pomander Walk in 1921 and announced plans to build a large hotel on the site shortly thereafter. The diminutive size of the buildings and Healy's announced plans for the hotel indicate that he considered the Walk an interim improvement.  But the hotel was never built and Pomander Walk acquired Landmark status in 1982.

Where:   King & Campbell designed a row of two-story Tudor-style residences with varying facades of brick, stucco and mock half-timbering. These carried over the scale but not the exact style of the original play's stage set.   Twenty two-story houses facing one another across a walkway run from West 94th to West 95th Streets, along with seven houses fronting only on 94th and 95th Streets. 

Why: ''You have no idea the number of people who walk by and stop at the gate and say, 'You mean people actually live here?' '' – Resident Stan Clickstein

Info via The New York Times.  Images: urt.parsons.edu (1), daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com (2,3), bitingthebigapple.blogspot.com (4), forbes.com (5). 

5Ws of… Philip Johnson’s Glass House

What:  The Philip Johnson Glass House, a National Trust Historic Site, offers its 47-acre campus as a catalyst for the preservation and interpretation of modern architecture, landscape, and art; and as a canvas for inspiration and experimentation honoring the legacy of Philip Johnson (1906-2005) and David Whitney (1939-2005).

 

Who:  Philip Cortelyou Johnson was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1906. Following his graduation from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design in 1943, Johnson designed some of America’s greatest modern architectural landmarks. Most notable is his private residence, the Glass House, a 47-acre property in New Canaan, Connecticut. Other works include: the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden at The Museum of Modern Art, numerous homes, New York’s AT&T Building (now Sony Plaza), and the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. An associate of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the 1950s, Johnson worked with the modern master on the design of the Seagram Building and its famed Four Seasons Restaurant.  Before practicing architecture, Johnson was the founding Director of the Department of Architecture at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. His landmark 1932 exhibition, The International Style, introduced modern architecture to the American public. Johnson continued a relationship with MoMA throughout his life as a curator, architect, trustee, and patron. He donated more than 2,000 works of art to the Museum including works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and Robert Rauschenberg.

Where:  The Glass House sits on Johnson’s private estate in New Canaan.  The 49-acre campus now includes 14 buildings and an extensive art collection as well as an educational center. 

 

When: The Philip Johnson Glass House was completed in 1949. The Glass House began a fifty-year odyssey of architectural experimentation in forms, materials, and ideas through the addition of many "pavilions"—the Brick House/Guest House, Pond Pavilion, Painting Gallery, Sculpture Gallery, Ghost House, Library/Study, and DaMonsta—and the methodical sculpting of the surrounding forty-acre landscape.

Why: Johnson was a singular tastemaker, influencing architecture, art, and design during the second-half of the twentieth century. He referred to the Glass House site as his “fifty-year diary.”

The Glass House mission is twofold: for the 49-acre campus to become not only a center-point and catalyst for the preservation of modern architecture, landscape and art but also to foster new ideas and cultivate talent honoring the legacy of Philip Johnson (1906-2005) and David Whitney (1939-2005).

Images: Info and images (except Image 1) courtesy The Glass House/National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Image 1 courtesy New York Architecture.

5Ws of... 2012 Gift Guide, Part One

This holiday season, there’s a W for every design afficianado on your list… Starting with some great videos.  Check back next week for book suggestions, and the following week for gifts that give back to the design community.

What: A look behind the scenes… “Sketches of Frank Gehry”

Acclaimed film director Sydney Pollack took a five-year break from the realms of fiction to assemble a lovingly crafted tribute to longtime friend and acclaimed architect Frank Gehry in this documentary born from the sketches of its talented subject. A notoriously shy craftsman whose impressive body of work includes the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Ghery is shown working in his studio unobstructed as Pollack attempts to capture the very essence of the artist's bold works through use of film and digital video. Driven by an intimate but informal series of discussions between Ghery and Pollack, Sketches of Frank Gehry uses the subject of architecture as a launching point to discuss the creative process, and paints a fascinating portrait of how one humble man was able to create some of the world's most awe-inspiring structures.

Who: The iconic architect…  “Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision”

Maya Lin is the young artist who created the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. This documentary profiles this and her other politically motivated artistic creations. It also chronicles her maturation from a very young, enthusiastic 20-year old artist who, just for a lark, submitted her winning entry in the national contest for would-be designers of the monument, to a mature and articulate artist.

Where: A little place in the country…  “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House”

Fed up with crowded big-city living, advertising executive Mr. Blandings (Cary Grant) decides to seek out a big, roomy house in the country. Armed with more enthusiasm than common sense, Blandings causes many a headache for his lawyer/business manager Melvyn Douglas, who tries to keep the costs within a reasonable amount. Alas, Blandings bulls ahead on his own, first purchasing an estate on the verge of collapse, then opting to build his dream house from scratch.

When: Midcentury modern… “Eames: The Architect and the Painter”

Actor James Franco narrates this richly textured documentary on the celebrated husband-and-wife design team of Charles and Ray Eames. In addition to creating extraordinary plywood and fiberglass furniture, the Eames' also produced everything from children's toys to splints for wounded World War II soldiers.

Why: Because “Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!”… Auntie Mame

Images and copy courtesy bn.com.

5Ws of… Diana Vreeland’s Living Room

What: “Then a photograph of her living room appeared in a magazine.  Never had I seen such profusion, so much red! Red on the floor, red up the walls, and textures, textures, TEXTURES! Plaid on top of paisley, flowered chintz next to silk stripes, and silver, tortoise, ebony, conch, gilt – a magnificent explosion in the midst of a beige decade, a world in which the worst sin was to ‘clash.’ You knew the moment you looked at Mrs. Vreeland’s living room that you had seen the future. And indeed, it eventually became the great cliché of New York décor.” – Mary Louise Wilson, introduction to D.V. by Diana Vreeland.

Who: Billy Baldwin designed the living room in 1955.

When: Diana Vreeland burst onto the scene in 1936, when she began working at Harper’s Bazaar. She later worked at Vogue and The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

 

Where: Legend has it she wanted her living room to look “like a garden, but a garden in hell.”

Why: “Why don’t you paint a map of the world on all four walls of your boys’ nursery so they won’t grow up with a provincial point of view?”

Images: With Fabulous Flair, Habitually Chic, Apartment Therapy, Architectural Digest, Harper's Bazaar (SJP as DV)

5Ws of... Hit the Books!

One of the best parts of back-to-school is cracking open all those new books.  If the back-to-school season has you in the mood to brush up on the Who, What, When, Where and Why of iconic design, the following books can help.

 Who: Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator by Adam Lewis

The definitive book on the legendary decorator Billy Baldwin, known as the "Dean of American Decorating," famous for his classical taste, streamlined modernism, and brilliant use of color. In the tradition of Rizzoli’s Albert Hadley and David Hicks, this is the first fully illustrated account of the career of Billy Baldwin (1903–1983), one of the most important decorators of the twentieth century, whose work has influenced contemporary designers from Bunny Williams to Jeffrey Bilhuber. With a foreword by Baldwin’s former student Albert Hadley, and enriched by never-before-published transcripts of four 1974 lectures that Baldwin gave at the Cooper-Hewitt, this is an important book for anyone interested in interior design.

What: Hans, His Chair and The World - a Children’s Book about Hans J. Wegner. 

With his 100 years anniversary just around the corner, Danish design icon Hans J. Wegner has become the center of a renewed international attention – resulting in new literary projects and exhibitions.  The richly illustrated book opens the world of the famous Danish furniture designer to the younger generations and draws attention to the old water tower in Wegner’s native city Tønder that has been transformed into a permanent collection of the Danish iconic chair designs.

When: The Stylemakers: Minimalism and Classic Modernism 1915-1945 by Mo Amelia Teitelbaum

In Paris in the 1920's a new style was born, rejecting the embellishments of Art Nouveau and Art Deco, paring down superfluous detail to the essence of classic modernism.  This new study documents how their interchange of partners and ideas led to innovation in every field of the arts. It is packed with fresh material and original insights on artists such as Man Ray, John Singer Sargent and Diaghilev.

Where: At Home with Town & Country by Sarah Medford 

These remarkable homes, lavishly photographed to the publication's singular standard, reflect the latest developments in residential architecture and design, including the “Invisible House,” Tadao Ando's avant-garde dwelling for the Benetton family in northern Italy and Antoine Predock's art-filled Dallas retreat for Deedie and Rusty Rose. But classic design also plays a part: here, too, are Chatsworth, the 400-year-old ancestral seat of the Dukes of Devonshire; Ralph and Ricky Lauren's 1920's-era family estate in Bedford, New York; and Spike and Tonya Lee's historic Manhattan town house. 

 

Why: House & Home by Orange Art Press

Go, little book, and wish to all

Flowers in the garden, meat in the hall,

A bin of wine, a spice of wit,

A house with lawns enclosing it,

A living river by the door,

A nightingale in the sycamore!

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Images and info: 1: Danish Agency for Culture/Press Release; 2, 3, 4: Potterton Books; 5: Orange Art Press.

5 Ws of... DOMINO Fall/Winter 2012

What: Domino’s new issue just hit stands this morning.  It’s a mix of old favorites from the late, great Domino magazine and some new spaces not published before. 

Who: This issue introduces the Domino Style Council, an eclectic (of course!) group of 13 designers from legends such as Steven Gambrel and Bunny Williams to retail powerhouse Jonathan Adler to bloggers and authors such as Heather Clawson and Phoebe Howard.  Their insights and advice are sprinkled throughout the issue.

Where: Inside the magazine you’ll find three sections.  For living room, dining room and bedroom ideas, see The Rooms.  In The Homes you’ll find features on six houses including the original magazine’s iconic feature on Jenna Lyon’s Brooklyn townhouse. And “It’s All in the Details” offers styling tips for mantels, bookcases and reading chairs.

When: This Fall/Winter edition will be on newsstands until December 3.  Not sure what the official on-sale date is, but copies have been popping up on a few newsstands near Conde Nast in Times Square and on the Upper East Side.

Why: “This special Domino issue satisfies several very basic human urges: the longing to stare open-mouthed at things of great beauty, to covet them, to copy them, even make them our own… Let the drooling begin…” – from the Editors’ Letter

Images courtesy Domino Fall/Winter 2012.

Happy 100th Birthday Julia Child!

 

“We arrived back in Washington, DC in November 1956, and almost immediately dove into the task of renovating our little jewel of a house at 2706 Olive Avenue [sic].  It was a 150-year-old, three story wooden house, on the outskirts of Georgetown…  What fun to feather our own little nest, the only nest we actually owned.” – Julia Child, “My Life In France” 

Image via The Ten Mile Square.

5Ws of... The Woolworth Building

Who: Designed by Cass Gilbert, the building, at Park Place and Barclay Street, was commissioned by the retail magnate Frank W. Woolworth and constructed between 1910 and 1913. Woolworth famously financed the building without loans or help from developers.

What: “The Skyscraper and the City: The Woolworth Building and the Making of Modern New York,” by Professor Gail Fenske, contains numerous illustrations, including one showing a 1929 advertisement for the building, calling it a "Cathedral of Commerce" -- a name that has stuck -- and lauding its height (792 feet), number of floors (60), weight (206 million pounds), floor area (15 acres), exterior windows (3,000), tons of steel (24,000), bricks (17 million) and tons of terra cotta (7,500).

When: On the evening of April 24, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson pressed a tiny button inside the White House, lighting up the Woolworth Building in Manhattan. It was "the tallest structure in the world, with the one exception of the Eiffel Tower in Paris," The New York Times reported, and it was a marvel of architecture and engineering.

Where: Construction will begin soon to turn The Woolworth Building’s neo-Gothic tower, one of New York City’s most recognizable landmarks, into about 40 luxury apartments, including a five-level penthouse in the cupola.   An abandoned 55-foot-long basement swimming pool, originally part of a health club, will be restored as an amenity for residents.

Why: “The question of whether the Woolworth Building is, indeed, a great work of architecture may still be open to debate. Yet Woolworth and Gilbert's project represented in the eyes of contemporaries more than a vulgar contraption for producing a profit, and more than a dubious expression of corporate power, egregious advertising, or an aggressive assault on New York's new signature skyline.” – Professor Gail Fenske

Note: The information in Who, What, When and Why is reprinted from “A New History for an Old Skyscraper,” by Sewell Chan, published on NYTimes.com on July 25, 2008.  The information in Where is reprinted from “Luxury Living in Old Temple of the 5 and Dime” by Michell Higgins, published in the New York Times on August 7, 2012.

Images: Big City Blog Boy, Ronnie Elgavish (2, 5, 6), Saturday Evening Post, New Construction Manhattan.

5Ws of… Winterthur

What: Winterthur (pronounced “winter-tour”) is the premier museum of American decorative arts, with an unparalleled collection of nearly 90,000 objects made or used in America between about 1640 and 1860.  The collection is displayed in a magnificent 175-room house as well as in permanent and changing exhibition galleries.

Who: In the early 20th century, H. F. du Pont and his father, Henry Algernon du Pont, designed Winterthur in the spirit of 18th- and 19th-century European country houses. The younger du Pont added to the home many times thereafter, increasing its number of rooms by nearly sixfold. After he established the main building as a public museum in 1951, he moved to a smaller building on the estate.

Where: Winterthur is set amidst a 1,000-acre preserve of rolling meadows and woodlands including a 60-acre naturalistic garden, in Winterthur, Delaware. 

When: On Tuesday, June 5, Learn more about Winterthur and other iconic houses at “Addicted to Old Houses: Iconic Rooms and Influential Interiors,” presented at Sotheby’s by Tom Savage, Director, Museum Affairs, Winterthur Museum.  For more information, please visit www.kipsbay.org

 

Why: "I sincerely hope that the Museum will be a continuing source of inspiration and education for all time, and that the gardens and grounds will of themselves be a country place museum where visitors may enjoy as I have, not only the flowers, trees and shrubs, but also the sunlit meadows, shady wood paths, and the peace and great calm of a country place which has been loved and taken care of for three generations." – Henry Francis Du Pont

Images courtesy Winterthur.

5Ws of... Kips Bay

 

What: The 40^th Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House is the ne plus ultra of all show houses, a show-stopping tour-de-force of design trends, art history and timeless craftsmanship created by a team of the industry’s best designers in less than five weeks.

 

Who:  This year’s show house features 31 designers and standout rooms by Jamie Drake, Todd Alexander Romano and Raji Radhakrishnan. 

Where: Two duplex apartments at the Aldyn Residences, 60 Riverside Drive between 62^nd and 63^rd Streets were combined to create one large residence for the show house.  This is only the second time in its history that Kips Bay takes place in a newly constructed high-rise rather than in a townhouse or single family residence, and one of the very few times it has not been held on the Upper East Side. 

When: The show house was created from empty space in less than five weeks, and there are just three weeks left until it closes on June 14.  For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.kipsbay.org.

Why: “I love decorators. I love the idea of their odd, now struggling profession, with its famous lineages (Parish-Hadley, McMillen Inc., Colefax and Fowler) reminiscent of circus dynasties (think Flying Wallendas). I admire their skills, their professional lore, their gifts as psychologists and mind-readers called on to enter strangers’ houses and help those strangers feel somehow more at home. It must take moxie to convince others you have better taste than they do, since taste, after all, is little more than habit and can be acquired.” – Guy Trebay

Images: 1: New York Times; 2, 5: Habitually Chic; 3, 4: So Haute.