DWR – Design Within Reach

Within reach? Ha, within reach for blue bloods possibly, but the only thing I’ve got is a loveable little blue collar honey 🙂

Cost restrictions aside, DWR, which is one of the greatest sources for finding ‘the real thing’ when it comes to modern and mid-century designs, is also one of the greatest sources of inspiration for modern design.

Yes, the likes of West Elm, Crate and Barrel, IKEA and company all provide us with wonderful, more affordable versions of these classic pieces, but at the end of the day, to purists, they’ll always be rip-offs. I’m not on my soap-box people, I’m scheduling my next IKEA visit as we speak, it’s just that I’m not pretending it’s anything other than a stylishly and affordably great little accessories place.

In fact, I’m pretty anti-soapbox, for I figure, if it weren’t for all these affordable versions that I would have grown so fond of, I would have ne’er shown the slightest interest in their origins! Think of it, but for the enthralling cheapness of this great Docksta table at IKEA ($150) I would have never thought to one day acknowledge the great minds and designs of the past century (to the tune of $2,352.00)!

DWR describes itself as “the source for fully licensed classics” which they mean as being “manufactured by the company holding the license to the original design.”

Here’s some eye-candy from DWR, and some tid-bits of information DWR provides about their ‘original’ designs.

————————————————————

The Cherner Armchair:

‘Although a pioneer in prefab housing, Norman Cherner is best known for his molded plywood seating line he created for –and ultimately sued— the manufacturer, Plycraft. After telling Cherner that his design for what is now known as the Cherner® Chair (1958) had been scrapped, Plycraft’s owner continued to produce it, claiming himself as the designer. The Chair’s popularity soared when it appeared in Norman Rockwell’s 1961 painting “The Artist at Work” on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. While Plycraft agreed to pay Cherner royalties, the line was out of production by the early 1970s. Then Cherner’s sons formed the Cherner Chair Company to revive the designs and produce them as their father originally intended.

————————————————————

The Noguchi table:

Following his apprenticeship with the legendary Constantin Brancusi, sculptor Isamu Noguchi began to experiment in environmental design, theatrical sets and later, product design. Noguchi created his first furniture prototypes for Herman Miller® in 1942 and went on to work with companies such as Steuben and Zenith. The Noguchi Table (1947) conceals nothing; revealing everything about the nature of simplicity. Two simple, smoothly shaped pieces interlock to form a tripod that supports a .75″ thick slab of transparent glass.

————————————————————

The Barcelona Chair:

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Chair and Stool (1929), originally created to furnish his German Pavilion at the International Exhibition in Barcelona, have come to epitomize modern design. Mies van der Rohe designed the chair to serve as seating for the king and queen of Spain, while the stool was intended to accommodate their attendants.

————————————————————

The LC4 Lounger (Le Corbusier):

LC4 Chaise Longue (1928), dubbed the “relaxing machine,” is a lounge that mirrors the body’s natural curves while appearing to float above its supports. A tubular bow-shaped frame holds a bed of fabric atop a rectilinear steel base. The moveable frame adjusts along the base from upright to full recline with ease, anticipating later ergonomic furniture.

————————————————————

And lastly, remember the old $150 version at IKEA? Well here’s the ‘real deal’, the Saarinen Dining Table:

In a 1956 cover story in Time magazine, Eero Saarinen said he was designing a collection to “clear up the slum of legs in the U.S. home.” Later that year, he completed his Pedestal Table and Tulip™ Chair Collection (1956) and obliterated the “slum” by creating a cast aluminum base inspired by a drop of high-viscosity liquid.

New York – gardening addendum

So along with the beachy/shoppy/seafoody/NYC adventures that I’m sure await me on a roadtrip to New York, allow me to add the following…

A few days past I managed to catch a bit of the Martha Stewart show, which as always, is alternately nauseating (due to the impossible perfection craziness) and inspiring (due to duping me into thinking that I, too, can someday acheive such perfection craziness!).

As the final segment of her show, she brought on a lovely lady, who spoke on behalf of the Wave Hill New York Public Gardens.

It’s officially added to the list! This 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades in the Bronx, is full of gorgeous spaces, art events, concerts, cooking demonstrations, even bee-keeping classes!!!!

Be still my beating heart 🙂

Honeymoon before we Honey-do

So before shacking up, and embarking on the actual real work of my ever-growing Honey-Do list, the honey and I will probably be looking to get hitched and get away from it all for a while.

I took another blow-out European trip last summer, and decided to make the timing coincide with switching energies away from international ticket purchases, and toward finding and building a home. A girl can only do so much! So as far as a honeymoon, we’re definitely looking to do something domestic, and frugal, and fun. While I’ll definitely be adding to my world-travel-to-do list over the next few years – there’s just so much to see and do right here stateside!

Just a quick disclaimer – I may yet fight for the teeniest bit of shore-jumping, just a wee bit over the border to some Carribbean getaway – but otherwise, I think a roadtrip with my honey would be super sweet 😀

We’re pretty well decided on New York – both for a quick stop in the city, but probably more for a campy-roady trip around Long Island.

Did you know there are over 50 vineyards planted on approximately 3000 acres of Long Island??? I had no idea, here’s a list for starters.

And lots of campgrounds, and beaches, and seafood! Ok, so I’ll leave the fire building to my pyromaniac, and he can leave the seafood gorging and beach lazing to me 🙂

Cutchogue Beach in Southold

the Hamptons

Montauk Point

Chess Table – Seating

So here’s a rough idea of what the final chess table will be (from GameCorner)

Once mine is complete, I’m going to figure out the right chair height, and then have to decide what kind of space constraints we’re working with (still house shopping eternally), and then hope to have a comfortable set of chairs to lounge in, drink in, eat in, relax in, oh, and play chess in 🙂

The Cole Chair, $749 from Room&Board

or the Quinn Chair, also from Room& Board

or the Calandria Chair, from Anthropologie, found via CreativeEnvy

or, in case I flop upon a spare few thousand bucks, how about this hugely comfy linen-covered couch from Caravane (you know, to pick up the next I’m in the Marais District in old Pari’  😉 )

Kitchen Renovation Hope

So lucky to have come across the candid commentary, and beautiful progress of the RamblingRenovators blog – makes me excited and hopeful to do great things whenever I do finally have my own place to play with.

Wanted to share their lovely montage of photos from their recent kitchen remodel

Travertine Scrap Ideas

(Honey here) I’m in the middle of doing a massive travertine coated bathroom at work, and have been collecting all of the leftover scraps to re-use. Maybe in a bathroom wall (cutting the scraps into small subway tiles), or doing a random square/rectangle kitchen backsplash?

I’m excited to be able to re-use it, especially since it would otherwise be thrown in the junk pile – hopefully it will come out nicely. While I did upload the picture, I have no idea how to insert it in this post, maybe someone else can do it, *wink* *wink*.

——–

I got your back hon, see lovely photos below  😛

Light travertine subway tile backsplash kitchen found via RamblingRenovators

or how about how about chopping it up to make a tiny square mosaic wall

or some mini travertine bricks in the bathroom

Attics and Wine Corks

Two neat ideas:

1. A fabric alcove in the attic from photographer Paul Massey

2. A wine cask for holding wine corks (my collection is outgrowing it’s vase) from MintDesign

Antique Repro Chess Pieces

Here’s a little sneak-peak at the latest project on my DIY docket – a gaming table – as in, a small table with a chess board inset.

Dad and I went to the lumber yard, and have been piecing together this little project over the past few months, and I wanted to share the chess pieces that started it all.

They are antique reproduction, and contrary to the standard black and white, these are red and white (which apparently was a popular combination back in the day, when the pieces were constructed of wood and painted). I really enjoyed the details and decided it would be a great impetus for another dad & daughter carpentry project.

Will show more as it nears completion (working on the inner box lining at the moment), but for now, here are the pieces still wrapped!

Now if only my chess skills were as sweet as my chess pieces…

Happiness in the everyday

Du bonheur au quotidien – Happiness in the everyday. A charming simple French phrase sums up for me the lovely collection of ‘favorites’ that SimpleLovely rounded up from Courtney Barnes of StyleCourt:

Lanterns in the trees…

Lots of family photos, and pineapple centerpieces!

and lovely blues and white gardenias against garden greens…

Graphic/Sculptural – Iannone Design

Found the unique furniture artist/firm of Iannone Design while browsing 2Modern.com, and loved the graceful forms and modern sensibility of the pieces. Was particularly enjoying this Ginko-print Shelving pair:

and this bamboo chaise, found compliments of purecontemporary’s blog

and this lovely graphic armoire – with doors made from the reclaimed stalks of sorghum (i.e. wheat!)