Look at this beautiful gem in the Catskills mountains of New York. You may ask yourself, “the Catskills?”. Yep, was hard to believe that a modern gem like this would be located amongst Adirondack chair neighbors and more traditional mountain homes.
Nevertheless, you’ll find a couple of Paradigm Gallery gems inside this home, including the LEM Piston Bar Stool and the Eames Style LCW. Great job to architect Audrey Matlock!
Courtesy of the LA Times: Holger Schubert won Maserati and Architectural Digest’s Design Driven contest for best garage and you can see why. We love cars at Paradigm Gallery and obviously design; what a great pairing here.
With the new season of Mad Men now upon us, a question comes to mind: is mid-century modern furniture still fresh? Yes, during “the movement”, modern furniture classic designs were daring, new, and used materials never before seen in furniture. Not only that, but the manufacturing process allowed unique shapes and furniture styles to be created.
So, now, nearly 60 years later, these modern classics, like the Barcelona Chair, Eames Lounger, Womb Chair, Tulip Table, and others are still relevant. Not only are these designs still relevant, but they permeate the media in movies, music videos, TV shows, lifestyle magazines, and other outlets.
Question is, how long will this last? How long will these items be the sought after, cream of the crop in furniture? “Contemporary” has been somewhat slow to take off, but maybe we have to wait years to truly appreciate what’s coming out in the 21st century, like the LEM Bar Stool. But, mid-century modern furniture didn’t require the same time to appreciate. So, is mid-century modern just overhyped, lusted after, or is contemporary furniture just not delivering?
Recently, we ran across a great post in the LA Times Home & Garden section that listed some of the worst design trends that top experts wish would simply, DIE in 2009. These “experts” included interior designers, designers, retailers, and other design pros, so they kinda know what they’re talking about. Here’s a quick rundown, plus a little Paradigm Gallery analysis
“Please, in the kitchen, no more granite countertop. It came into vogue in the ’80s, and it makes a place look dated instantaneously. I am pushing for an orange Formica comeback. If you don’t think you can pull that off, then honed white marble is always beautiful, soapstone or poured concrete looks great in rustic homes, and Corian gives a simple look that does not dominate any room.”
Our Take: Yeah, we are equally appalled by the question “Is this granite?” on House Hunters.
2) Residential Kitchens that Look Commercial
We kinda like sterility
“A kitchen chock-full of stainless-steel appliances is cold and old. Viking and Blue Star have a number of custom finishes that give a warmer, fresher look that can integrate your appliances with your cabinetry or add a fun pop of color to your kitchen.”
– Kristine Paige Kamenstein, Jackson Paige Interiors
Our Take: I guess it’s up to you. We’re somewhat split here. Some enjoy a cold sterile appliance set with punchy cabinetry incorporating bright and vibrant red, orange, and blue cabinet covers.
3) Mass Produced, Oversized Club Chairs
You look so small in that chair...
“I am tired of furniture that is scaled for a giant. Even if you have high ceilings in your home, you can buy furniture that is human-scaled. I love Ralph Lauren’s Colorado club chair, and for a less expensive alternative, a vintage club chair is a good option.”
Our Take: You are right Andrea. Seriously, there is comfort, but it’s like clothes. You don’t want to be swallowed with a baggy fit. We certainly prefer a Pavillion Chair or Le Corbusier Chair in petit, grande, or even extra grande sizes. Know what we mean?
4) Oversized Sleigh Beds
Did Brenda Walsh have one of these?
“If you have a team of Clydesdales, drive this old chestnut straight to the barn. Try something that brings pizazz back into the boudoir, like a headboard of soft gold-leaf leather with a nailhead design.”
– Craig Olsen, designer and retailer
Our Take: ABSOLUTELY! Too much in the bedroom almost chokes your sleep. Sleek, platform beds will be around a while. Take advantage now, like the Worth Bed, shown below:
Clean and mean
5) Cubed Ottomans and Faux Zebra Prints
Interesting...
“Little cubed ottomans are o-u-t,” designer and retailer Craig Olsen says. “Hexagons and ovals will lead the eye straight to the piece and make the room remarkable.” When it comes to faux zebra prints, designer and retailer Suzan Fellman sounds off: “Good God, how does a zebra print translate onto a cowhide rug? There are superior floor treatments, in a reasonable price range, that do not pretend to be something that they are not. I would opt for an Arzu Firuz vinyl carpet with laser cutouts that create a great pattern for the floor and are so easy to maintain.”
Our Take: Ok, ok, so we offer the “Pony Cube”, so we’re somewhat guilty to a degree, but we do have tons of non-cube ottoman and coffee tables to take advantage of.
So, what do you guys think? Any dreadful Design Trends that you just want to cast off for good?
Every year, just like GQ names a “Sexiest Man Alive”, and Motor Trend names its’ “Car of the Year, Pantone, a leading color authority named “Blue Iris” as its’ “Color of the Year” for 2008.
As 2008 comes to a close, we noticed that “Blue Iris” didn’t really take off as much as other colors, especially in interior design.
In fact, 2008 seems to have been the year of Green, from a color and environmental movement. Everywhere we turned, greens, ranging from lime to olive green popped up all over the place. Just walk into Crate and Barrel and you’ll see what we mean.
One of the recent “Color of the Year” winners, Cerulean, which won in 2000 made a guest appearance in “The Devil Wears Prada”, so Pantone’s picks definitely do shape fashion, design, and the mainstream.
Check out how Meryl Streep lets Anne Hathaway know about the importance of fashion in conjunction with Cerulean:
However, we Blue Iris did impact Paradigm Gallery in one major way: The Egg Chair. Our Egg Chair had always been a very popular modern classic piece. Typically, our top selling Egg Chair color is black or red. But, this year, Cobalt Blue came to the forefront as our most popular color Egg Chair color of 2008. Cobalt Blue is very similar to Iris Blue, so maybe the Pantone folks were onto something.
What colors stood out to you this year? Did Iris Blue play a part in your design?
