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Domestic Goddess By Rebecca Teagarden
Domestic Goddess
The Domestic Goddess has a theory, and here it is: We spend the first 40 years of our lives gathering everything we can get our hands on and stuffing it into our nests — much like robins with bits of twine, sticks and other assorted bird bric-a-brac. But for us the burden is a bit heavier: the armoire somebody at the office was selling off, or that tattered but (you thought) elegant rug discovered at a yard sale for practically nothing. And let's not even talk about all the pressboard that went into the cart at Ikea. But we're older now. (Some of us are, anyway. If you're still in the feathering stage, please carry on. By the way, I have a really nice desk you would just adore.) Now it's out with the old, the mismatched, the chipped and the torn. So what's it in with? Is it one of those fancy condos coming to a street near you? Is it a smaller house and a simpler, easier-to-manage life? A city house and a country house? Thought so. Moi, too. Don't fret, dears, it's just the cycle of life. Have a yard sale, you'll feel better. Meantime, do enjoy some more fab finds from the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York, the Fashion Week of home décor. Do notice that if one were to gather up each item mentioned, one would have a cozy little contemporary corner in which to curl up with a good book and a fine port. Happy birthday to you, Mr. Chair! Let's start with a game. Let's play Marilyn Monroe and JFK. We will all be Marilyn as we pucker up and sing "Happy Birthday" in our best kitten whisper to one sexy, distinguished, elegant, graying-at-the-temples-but-still-dashing-as-ever-dude — the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Yes, that "contemporary" stalwart designed by Charles and Ray Eames and found in many of the best homes is 50. The chair is considered among the most significant and collectible furniture designs of the 20th century; handcraftsmanship meets technology. Charles Eames said his goal for the chair was the "warm, receptive look of a well-used first baseman's mitt." Home run, then. Herman Miller has given the pair a little face lift, to keep them looking their best for the next 50 years, and so they are now available in a santos palisander veneer, a sustainable tropical wood that is FSC certified (the original was made with rosewood, but the company shifted to cherry and walnut in 1991). The santos palisander version is available for $3,995 through Herman Miller retailers. Also, chairs purchased this year will be marked with a special commemorative medallion. All chairs ordered during 2006 are shipped with a 200-page hardcover book titled "The Eames Lounge Chair: An Icon of Modern Design." Yes, it's a lot of brouhaha over a place to sit, but this chair has a home in New York's Museum of Modern Art. Fun fact: The first lounger was a birthday gift for director Billy Wilder in 1956. Check it out at www.hermanmiller.com.And locally? Design Within Reach in Seattle (1918 First Ave., 206-443-9900) and Kirkland (126 Central Way, 425-828-0280), www.dwr.com, and Inform Interiors, 1220 Western Ave., 206-622-1608, www.informseattle.com. Into the woods One Northwest artist displaying his wares at the furniture fair was fourth-generation Vancouverite Brent Comber, who turns bits of wood into furnishings quietly extraordinaire. His work can be so spare and subtle that sometimes a block of wood appears to almost remain a block of wood — but deftly encouraged to be something more. He told me that he loves walking the beach with his children, always watching for wood. The Gallery line, for example, is an "exploration into the inherent beauty of wood. These pieces embody softness, movement and art, transformed into function while retaining an allure and substance." And that may mean including the natural cracks and checks that come with real wood in real life. Comber specializes in contemporary, sculpted natural wood seating, tables and one-of-a-kind works of art using the natural shapes and materials of the Pacific Northwest in a modern urban aesthetic. Says his Web site, "Anyone who has walked through a Pacific Northwest forest walks out the better for it." Who knows that better than ourselves? Prices start at about $500. See his work at Inform Interiors, 1220 Western Ave., 206-622-1608, or on the Web at www.informseattle.com or www.brentcomber.com. The fireplace, redux
Now here's something for every chilled, damp Northwest home of high design: contemporary fire. That's right, it's the same hot stuff, orange flames and all that, but the folks at SPARK Modern Fires have updated the fake log thing. (They call those "relics," but, really, there's no need to be harsh here.) Brand spankin' new are the Fire Ribbon direct vent and the Fire Bowl, which both debuted at the fair. The goal is to pare the fireplace to its essence — the flame itself. The Fire Ribbon (about $4,000) is set in a simple rectangular surround, which can be rendered in almost any material specified by a designer. Inside the frame and behind a thin pane of glass is a horizontal ribbon of flame. That's it. And, of course, being a direct vent it can be vented through the roof or wall. Also new is the Fire Bowl (about $1,500), the retrofit answer to ye olde wood-burning masonry fireplace. The centerpiece is an 18-inch neutral-colored bowl. The bowl is installed in the fireplace on a base and the flames appear to be dancing above the rim. All SPARK fireplaces can be fueled with natural gas or propane and are ignited by remote control. The Fire Ribbon/Vent Free, the company's original product, requires no venting and no glass. Sounds downright cozy, doesn't it? Check it out at www.sparkfires.comor call 866-938-3846. Nurturing nature, wall to wall Maybe you made it to the Frye Art Museum this spring, and maybe you didn't. If you did, you know what I'm talkin' about when I tell you that you've gotta take a gander at Amy Helfand's flora fantasies. The Brooklyn artist had a lengthy show here — Modern Nature — featuring her prints, fabrics and carpets, all inspired by Wild Garden at Wave Hill, the famed public garden in the Bronx. At the same time she was pitching her custom Tibetan wool/Chinese silk carpet designs at the furniture fair in New York. The A.T. Collection she showed there are contemporary abstractions of trail maps and flora and fauna of the Appalachian Trail. Her pieces, whether framed or for the floor, are colorful takes on nature with names like "Plants for Calcareous Soil." Her goal is to "deconstruct one landscape to form another to better understand the tension between order and chaos . . . between nature and culture." Prices begin at $100 per square foot for an all-wool rug, $125 for Tibetan wool/Chinese silk. See her rugs and other work at www.amyhelfand.com.You also can still see a bit of Helfand's work at the Frye, 704 Terry Ave. The museum commissioned her to reupholster one of its "gossip chairs," seating that allows three people to sit facing different directions and then lean in for conversation. Who says you can't touch the art? Heck, you can sit on it. The Domestic Goddess can be reached at pacificnw@seattletimes.com.
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