It’s only natural that those with an eye for the geometry of flying buttresses and soaring skylines also turn their eyes toward smaller-scale objects. Architectural giants have produced furniture and accessories so that even if your house wasn’t designed by someone with a big name, you can have something inside it with their name attached.
Thinking Outside the Box
From the Bilbao Guggenheim to the Disney Hall, Frank Gehry’s designs define landscapes and stand as benchmarks of inspired design. His Wiggle Stool, originally designed in 1972 as part of his Easy Edges cardboard furniture series (1969-1973), has been reissued by Germany’s Vitra Design Museum. Reminiscent of African stools and sculptures, the organic shape and lacquered side panels show that even plain-Jane materials can find their inner beauty. $490. Studio 111 in Palm Springs has a cardboard chaise, signed by Gehry, for $40,000. 2675 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, 323-5104.
Opposites Attract
Bent on ensuring that Netherlands’ Gerrit Rietveld is remembered for more than just the Zig Zag Chair, his descendents at Rietveld by Rietveld have re-released the iconic, asymmetrical Steltman Chair — originally designed for the Steltman jewelry house in The Hague. Originally covered in white leather, the chairs were (and still are) created in both right-handed and left-handed versions so that they can serve as mirror images of each other. Create your own symmetrical statement with versions in whitewashed, natural, or black oak. $3,950. M2L Collection.Time-Honored
For Bauhaus protégé Max Bill, design was a balancing act between creativity and utility, austerity and luxury, philosophy and function. Bill’s obsessions are writ large in the clean lines and elegant façade of his namesake watch. Still painstakingly produced by the original manufacturer, Junghans, the 1962 Max Bill Watch features a stainless-steel case, 21-jewel Swiss mechanical movement, and calfskin band. $598. Museum of Modern Art.Main Frame
Architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s Brazilian Paulistano Chair (1957), a sultry version of the Bauhaus classic, holds its own against its cantilevered cousins by Alvar Aalto and Mies van der Rohe. Just recently available in the U.S. market, the chair boasts a sinuous — and continuous — stainless steel frame. Choose a slipcover from black, white, or cognac leather or reversible floral/striped cotton by Rosita Missoni. $700 frame, $800 slipcover. Design Within Reach.Screenplay
In this era of full-disclosure and transparent identities, privacy has become the new luxury. The next time the world feels too close for comfort, enclose yourself in serpentine seclusion with Alvar Aalto’s lacquered-pine screen. Undulating through almost seven feet of space, the screen is as much a piece of art as protection from the prying eyes of the world. $1,840. Produced in Finland by Artek, available through Matter.Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Borrowing its clean lines and lofty dimensions from architectural principles, Ligne Roset’s Fes Lantern piques interest. Designed by Didier Gomez using smoked Plexiglas and gleaming chrome accents, the lantern stands over two feet high and almost a foot square. Dial down the integrated dimmer to add ambiance; raise it to make a shining statement. $1,195. Ligne Roset, 69930 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, 328-9900.Clear as Day
Though not an architect, Charles Hollis Jones began designing cabinets, lamps, and tables for his father’s house-pattern business. His talent with all things translucent made his lamps and desks design-house staples and earned this 33-inch Lucite and metal Edison Lamp a California Design 11 award, honors from the German government, and a spot in the Pasadena Museum of Modern Art. Jones proves that innovation and illumination make a stunning pair. $3,500.
