Cabinet on Stand from Bart NiswongerJanet Ramin - Whenever I visit the Architectural Digest Home Design Show, I make a beeline for the furniture displays. The AD show has everything a home design addict would love: artwork, furniture, lighting, tabletop displays, kitchen, and bath – so much so that it can be overwhelming. But furniture is the heart of every room, so I love to check out the latest furniture lines from the big, established firms to the new work from the smaller furniture studios.
Just as bold bright colors were the top trends in fashion, brilliant colors were also seen in many furniture designs. The cabinet on a stand – seen above - from Bart Niswonger is a perfect example with its red-hot and yellow colors and floating yellow-green flowers. Made of ash, cherry, and cast urethane, the cabinet provides that pop of color and touch of unexpectedness to any interior. Another whimsical piece is the ball side table. Floating orange urethane tops the table as red balls pop out from its sides.
Janet Ramin - It may have started with Valentino stealing a kiss in the casbah or Lawrence of Arabia storming across rippling sands astride a camel, but our fascination with desert cultures has had a long history and continues till today. In our latest mood board, let's explore the exotic desert land of Morocco to discover the elements of Moroccan style.
Natives of the desert have lived primarily a nomadic, tribal life and consequently their furnishings had to be portable too. Through their travels, they carried with them
- pillows for their seating
- small tables and folding chairs for dining
- rugs to cover the sand
Eventually some natives settled into walled cities - the casbah - but their homes still echo their past nomadic lifestyles.
In our mood board above, we show the traditional pillows and ottomans that would typically grace a Moroccan home. The blue Ikat pillow and the large, fringed ottoman are both from Wunderley. The small portable Zeneb table features Moorish geometric patterns, including the pointed arches as its legs. The Hamsa Eye mirror above is made of camel bone and silverplate.
Janet Ramin - Scandinavian furniture has seen a strong resurgence in the past decade. Its simplicity and timelessness attracts many admirers around the world. There are different periods of Scandinavian furniture of course, and here, for this month’s Mood Board, we'll visit the early Scandinavian period from late 18th century to the early 19th century.
The late 1700s saw the ascension of Gustav III to the throne of Sweden and during his reign, Sweden experienced a transformation of its art and design fields. Gustav spent time as a young man at the sophisticated French Versailles court. When he returned to Sweden, he hired architects and artisans trained in the French style to update his court and residences. Soon, the small isolated country with a provincial look became a trendsetter for the rest of Scandinavia and Europe.
When craftsmen started to build French-styled furniture and accessories, they incorporated their own Scandinavian characteristics of simplicity and austerity; out of the merging of the two styles came the elegant and simple Scandinavian style. Much of the gilt and excessive sculptural motifs were removed or pared down - but the graceful bones of the French Louis XVI style remained. Another uniquely Scandinavian feature was the choice of cool color schemes, reflective of their long wintry season. Pale blues and greens, along with whites and soft grays, abound in many interiors.
In the first mood board above, French neoclassic motifs are applied to the chair, stool, and console table.