Masked balls have gone the way of the orange spoon, archaic relics of a lost elegance. (I think we can all agree that Halloween doesn’t walk the sexy line between anonymity and exhibitionism with quite as much sophistication as the costume parties of the past). Let’s take a look at the most famous masked ball of the 20th century, Truman Capote’s Black & White Ball, held November 28, 1966, at the Plaza Hotel.
Last week we discussed the brilliant designer Eva Zeisel, born November 13, 1906. What else was going on in 1906? The San Francisco Earthquake struck, the first radio broadcast was aired, the muffuletta was invented in New Orleans, and a lady named Mrs. Frank Learned published The Etiquette of New York To-Day, a handbook for high society. In honor of Entertaining month at Apartment Therapy, let's look at Mrs. Learned’s tips on dinner party customs and etiquette from yesteryear.
In honor of Entertaining month at Apartment Therapy, let’s take a look at the mid-century tableware of Eva Zeisel, the prolific designer who turns 103 next week. An important designer from Modernism through Post-Modernism to today, her work is both seminal and accessible, classic and contemporary.
The Arco lamp is one of those classic designs where form and function meet and live happily ever after. Designed in 1962 by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, it is so practical as to seem almost obvious — how else would you turn a floor lamp into an overhead light? — but the Castiglionis' interest in ready-mades and functionalism makes this design complex in its simplicity.
Chesterfield sofas appear to be sweeping the nation (including — full disclosure — my own living room). They are both cozy and tailored, and can suggest anything from the library of a gentlemen’s club (image 2) to a bordello (and hopefully neither, in my apartment). Strangely, its origins are pretty much a mystery — a mystery that we will explore, but by no means unlock, today.
Last week we discussed the controversial Swiss architect Le Corbusier. Although his architecture is largely out of style — the apex of 20th century functionalism — his furniture is still a popular modernist touch in many contemporary interiors. The designer primarily responsible for Le Corbusier’s furniture was Charlotte Perriand, one of the rare women in the field at the time. Hers is a great story of talent combined with determination, and we’ll look at it today.
Le Corbusier was one of the most celebrated architects of the 20th century. His designs were inspired by the automobile, and celebrated modern materials and technologies, but his favorite building was an ancient Greek temple — go figure!
Last week we looked at Louis XIV’s over-the-top Baroque style — so this week let’s look at the exuberant curves and graceful sensuality of the Louis XV style, also known as Rococo. This era was defined by comfort, luxury, and by Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV's most famous mistress (image 1).
If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me the difference among the Louis styles, I could buy a few postcards of Versailles. So today, let’s do a quick survey of the style of Louis XIV, the famous Sun King, who brilliantly used architecture, gardens and interiors to construct the ultimate image of majesty.
In honor of Artwork, Crafts & Collections month at Apartment Therapy, let’s take a look at the origins of a hot trend in display, Salon-style hanging.
September is Artwork, Crafts & Collections month at Apartment Therapy, and in honor of this theme, let’s talk about teapots, which I’ve always wanted to collect. Teapots are fascinating objects. No, seriously. They are functional, and nearly all have the same few elements: handle, spout, lid. But within these parameters, teapots vary wildly, reflecting the styles and fashions of their age.
You asked about the history of Windsor chairs (image 1) and Scandinavian stick-back chairs, so let's look at these icons of vernacular design. Windsor chairs always seemed to be the ultimate colonial American chair — for me they evoke captains’ houses on the New England coast, or the principal’s book-lined leather-desked office at a prep school. But the chair’s origins can actually be found in England, around — you guessed it — Windsor.
We’ve all seen Marcel Breuer’s famous Wassily chair — the first to use tubular steel for a domestic setting — supposedly inspired by a bicycle frame (image 1). Would you believe this chair, maybe the most famous design to emerge from the Bauhaus, is a grandfatherly 84-years-old?
Oh, IKEA. For some, the name itself conjures up images of off-kilter bookshelves and teetering tables. For others, the modern-on-a-budget wares are necessary to adequately furnish a home. But though IKEA has become an international brand and a consummate capitalist success story, its roots in Scandinavian progressivism — both aesthetic and social — remind us that there’s more to the company than meets the eye.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
