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Fears and Kahn do what it takes to celebrate mid-century designs. Some designs are simply cleaned up, others refurbished to regain their old luster and some pieces get a whole new lease on life through Fears and Kahn’s bold and colorful designs. Above is a vintage chest of drawers that dates back to the 1930s that now get’s to behave very 2011 in this free form mixed media design.
Metropolis Drawers is a vintage 1950′s dresser, this time refinished in handpainted whimsy as a naive cityskape complete with color block handles. I don’t know that I could resist the urge to color it in.
And similar to the Outline Drawers above, this vintage cabinet becomes a statement piece where elegant curves meet free form art. Most vintage signature pieces run between $3000-$5000.
This is vintage original, a parrot chair designed by IB Arberg in Sweden 1974, upholstered in 1970′s Bauhaus fabric by Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell.
And finally a 1960′s sideboard, finished in blue lacquer with birch handles. Want more furnishings, accessories and posters by Fears and Kahn? Head on over there and tell them Modenus sent you.
Posted by admin on August 18th, 2011 at 1:28 pm.
I’ve always been mesmerized by globes, love the idea of exploring every little detail, of closing my eyes and letting my finger land on a place which is then added to a long list of places I want to go and see. Cheating of course is allowed if the place in question isn’t actually one I’d like to have on my list (hey it’s my game so I make the rules) or, as is often the case, ends up being the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific really has an unfair advantage in that it covers one third of our entire planet , so the odds of landing on it as opposed to say, Bali, are pretty good. Interestingly, I’m just finishing a book about the world’s first explorer to circumnavigate the planet, Ferdinand Magellan, who it turns out had made a rather monumental mistake when planning his journey. He didn’t realize the Pacific Ocean was actually there. At all. Had he known he likely would have never proposed the daring feat in the first place. But, back to what we love, globes, especially when they’re being re-purposed into objets d’art. Continue Reading…
Posted by admin on July 20th, 2011 at 6:23 pm.
Zoe Howarth, another gem we found at the New Designers show, makes luxurious fabrics using a combination of traditional techniques and a modern digital Jacquard loom. Inspired by the natural textures and colors of the Cornish coastline their muted colors are part of their subtle appeal. Incidentally the image above was taken by Modenus CEO and avid traveler Veronika, on a recent trip to Cornwall.
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Posted by admin on July 7th, 2011 at 9:43 am.
When someone asks you to do an installation for a restaurant in one of Barcelona’s most iconic shopping centres you know it needs to be special. When Scabetti were approached by Watatsumi, a Japanese restaurant in Barcelona’s iconic Las Arenas shopping centre they produced this wonderful “Shoal” sculpture made up of the aforementioned 900 clear glazed fine bone china fish, give or take a few. Continue Reading…
Posted by admin on July 1st, 2011 at 6:54 am.
Modenus Tim is packing his new Gresham Blake suit, counting his Euros, and heading off to Milan. He is as excited as we are jealous but looking forward to some entertaining interior design blogs. But what is he expecting to see? We’ve been highlighting our picks from the main show but there is a lot more to Milan than the Salone. We had a sneaky look at Tim’s diary – here are some of the places he hopes to be.
First stop will be Molteni the French maker of luxury stoves which are veritable altars of the art of cooking and entertaining. Many of them are roughly the size of Tim’s kitchen so we can expect plans for buying next door and knocking through when he has seen a few of these. When he saw the pictures he was completely speechless. Expect to see him fondly stroking some spectacular kitchen equipment in Pavilion 20.
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Posted by admin on April 9th, 2011 at 11:18 am.
No, it’s not an extension of unrest in the Middle East. Let’s call this a bit more friendly fire with a grand contingent of of British Designers showcasing fab new designs at this years Salone in Milan April 12-17. Among them we are proud to say, several manufacturers we know, love and already show here on Modenus. An all-time favorite Angelpoise is launching the Anglepoise Type C LED by Kenneth Grange and while I’m still a big fan of the classic Anglepoise design, I do know good design when I see it and this piece with the new glass shade will be a show stopper, you can quote me on that. Continue Reading…
Posted by admin on March 10th, 2011 at 8:17 am.
Here’s what we love about mid-century modern. We love the timelessness of the style, the fact that many of it’s elements are rooted in the once necessary post war simplicity and yet, harmonize perfectly with today’s design and architecture. Never offending or appearing out of style, always fresh, inspired and inviting. And yes, mid-century has enough of an edge to make us smile and hold our attention and that isn’t always easy. Going another step further in this philosophy is a Modenus favorite, Modwalls, who’s fun and very modern tile collection is an intricate part of a newly renovated 1950′s lodge in Big Sur, CA and not just any old lodge, but the Glen Oaks motor lodge, recently featured in Travel & Leisure magazine as one of the most romantic hotels in the world. Continue Reading…
Posted by admin on February 21st, 2011 at 5:42 am.
While we’re on the subject of green design we have to make mention of a dear friend who has left the interior design market and moved toward fashion, but not just any old fashion. These are designs created by Diane Arnn at Riggs&Pulley from old t-shirts and second hand knitwear. So now tell me, is going green and working with re-purposed materials dull, lifeless and always a bit grungy looking? Or are we right in saying it might just have potential to be fun, sexy, playful and creative. Another blog we’ve just posted about Suzie Stanford clearly shows the fun element and we’re thinking this one may qualify in the sexy department.
Each setstarts with a good quality recycled shirt which is then fully lined with a second t-shirt. The whole thing comes packaged in a custom small drawstring bag designed from the same two t-shirts the costume is made from, and embellished with found seashells or sea-glass. There are four bikini bottom styles offering varying amounts of coverage ~ small, medium, large and Brazilian Bikini Shorts, and three bikini tops ~ medium triangle, large triangle and a sport top. Riggs and Pulley also make sweaters which are every bit as sexy as their bikinis. If you find that hard to believe you are just going to have to click continue! Continue Reading…
Posted by admin on February 15th, 2011 at 10:12 am.
…don’t worry, now build foundations under them” said Thoreau and the ones we’re about to show you most certainly are well established and have stood the test of time. Something we find very appealing about castles, the sense of endurance and perseverance through time. I’m told that there is a common misconception amongst the not so seasoned traveler, that Europe may very well be awash with castles. Well we do have a few nice ones, especially if you cheat like we have and include the occasional palace or chateaux. But we will leave you to view the short Eddie Izzard clip at the end of this blog for his take on that subject. Meanwhile, we hope you enjoy our selection. Continue Reading…
Posted by admin on February 14th, 2011 at 8:19 am.
Maybe it’s the approach of Spring, maybe it’s Valentine’s day, maybe its our focus on all things green this week but this morning we found ourselves thinking about holidays and gardens. When you’re seeking solace from your battle with rampant knottweed or the ravenous raccoons that ate my Florida based rhubarb, nothing beats a trip to someone else’s garden. We’ve already written about our favourite Chaumont Festival and we promise a Modenus at Large report later in the year, but for now we wanted to share a little about the less well known gardens of the Languedoc and a tiny plug for Hidden Gardens – Hidden France, a company with the raison d’etre to show you around these lovely places and on whose web site we have based this post.
Languedoc stretches from the Rhone to the Garonne and HGHF, if we may reduce them to an acronym, tell us that includes great stretches of dramatic landscape and river gorges from the Cévennes mountains to the Montagne Noire and the Corbières hills, unforgettably romantic Cathar castles, some superb ecclesiastical architecture, Roman remains, medieval towns, the Canal du Midi and, of course, the vineyards where emphasis on quality has resulted in many prize-winning vintages. And, of course one or two gardens.
This is the fortified city of Carcassonne overlooking the lush countryside of the Languedoc and the distant Pyrenees Mountains. We promise you a blog about our favourite castles (and yes, we know this isn’t a castle) very soon. More pictures of the region, and the occasional plant follow.
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Posted by admin on February 14th, 2011 at 7:40 am.
