center table

Herter Brothers is a design firm located in New York between 1865-1906, owned by Gustave Herter and Christian Herter who was a partner only later to become the owner. Born in Stuttgart, Germany, they both took up the trade of skilled craftsman making cabinets which their father did. Gustave moved to America, worked for Tiffany & Company and later partnered up and created a firm. His brother Christian studied at Ecole des Beaux Art in Paris and then came to America to work for Tiffany & Company and then partnering up with Gustave.

The Center Table was probably designed for Mark Hopkins. There is no documentation for this other than Herter Brothers designed the interiors for the mansion designed by Wright and Sander. More than likely the table was made for the reception room for the mansion. Similar marquetry seen in this room are similar to the table. The Center Table did end up at the Hopkins estate at Sherwood Hall which is also known as the Thurlow Lodge.

Mark Hopkins is part of the “Big Four” who developed the Central Pacific Railroad. Mark was very wealthy but was a very modest man. His wife convinced him to purchase a block of land on Nob Hill in San Francisco. He became ill and died before the mansion was completed in 1878. Mary Hopkins remarried to Edward F. Searles, only to pass away in 1891. Searles donated the mansion to the San Francisco Art Association after her death. The building was destroyed in 1906 by resulting fires after an earthquake.

Sources: Howe, Frelinghuysen, Voorsanger. (1994). Herter Brothers Furniture and Interiors for a Gilded Age. New York: Harry N. Abrams

Space with Lava Lamp

The space that I put my artifact in was a 1970s room which is more free and colorful. My artifact that fits perfectly in the room sits on the table, lighting up the middle of the room and gives you a colorful glow all around the room. I placed the lamp on a glass table and surrounded it with the egg chair. This will gives it a more com and colorful atmosphere. There is a colorful rouge that is placed in the middle of the room that will give it a more comfortable feeling. As dose the lave lamp to the room with the light all around the room. It will give the room a more dim atmosphere and make it a com mood. In the back ground there is a multi-colored wall that is octagon shapes. The room it out of our world today and most would never have in their homes today. The room gives you a look back in to the future and makes you feel good.

My Artifact

The artifact that I have been given is the lava lamp. This is a lamp that came out around 1968 that represented that day and age. It is mostly reflects the hippie like movement. It is shaped like a rocket and has a metal top and bottom with glass in between. The glass is filled with liquid that has wax floating around in side of it. When that lamp is turned on the wax heats up and flows freely with looks a lot like lava giving it the name lava lamp. But it was not always called a lava lamp. Edward Walker took it to a Brussels trade show in 1965, where he called it an Astro. The lamp was then brought over by an Americans company and made it extremely popular in the US throughout the 60s and 70s. The lamps are still being produced and sold because of their very different shapes and colors that you can get. The cool design that cannot be replicated by any other type of lamp or anything that is around today gives the lamp a unique place in the world. The reason for getting a lava lamp is used not to light up the room but dim it down a little. It is to set the mood and give the room a little life and decoration. The different wax blobs give you a com affect and make you feel good, which is why it is known to be hippiesh.

Sheraton Tilt-top Dining Table

The space I choose to place the Sheraton Tilt-top table in is the space in which it resides today. It is showcased in the Nichols house museum. It was designed in the late 1800's in England. This table in particular was designed for Rose Standish Nichols, and was used in her dining room. The hand built table sits a top a red, blue, and beige oriental rug. Being a fairly undecorated piece itself, the table can easily be adorned with runner, place settings, and flowers that correlate with the room. Its function is clearly to be a dining table, but can be easily transformed so that it is no longer functional as a table. The top of the table flips up that that it becomes parallel with the wall. The legs of the table have small wheels so it can be rolled to another place in the space. This creates other opportunities for how the space can be used because there is no longer a big table in the middle of the room.
Although the table is in the middle of the room, it is not particularly the centerpiece. There are many pieces of furniture, like hutches and side tables that are along the walls, along with several portraits. There is also a large fireplace at one end of the room that demands a lot of focus and attention. It is nice to see though that the painting, fireplace, table and chairs, and rug all work together to create a cohesive and collaborative dining room.

Similar: The table is placed in the fancy dining room and this is very similar to the John Betlter sofa that is placed in a luxurious parlor. Both items are seen in upper class homes.

Contrast: The Alexander Calder mobile that is placed in the National Gallery of Art is clearly in a very different location than the Nichols House Museum. The National Gallery is much more modern and simple, and it is not a house.
Sources: Nichols House Museum

Le Corbusier's Petite Loveseat

In the 1920s when Art Deco and Art Nouveau thrived as the popular design aesthetic, Le Corbusier and other designers took a totally different approach through partaking in modernism. Le Corbusier worked with stainless steal to create the solid frames of his LC2 collection, which was featured in the 1929 Salon d’Automne.
In its original context the petite love seat was placed in a space considered the epitome of luxurious modernism. The space was a model apartment meant to showcase the works of designers such as Le Corbusier and the new materials of the time. Light was a key concept for the Salon d’Automne and this was achieved in the space through a glass floor and ceiling as well as furniture supported with tubular steal structure.
Today, reproductions of Le Corbusier’s original collection are sold to those who appreciate modern design. You can find reproductions of Le Corbusier’s petite loveseat from his LC2 collection selling for about 2,000 dollars online. The LC2 collection is practical yet stylish and sleek. A more wealthy family may use the collection in their living or family room for practical every day use. While many middle class Americans may simple marvel at the collection in their boss’s office or a friend’s stylish New York apartment. Because technology is such a large part of our culture today, pieces such as Corbusier’s petite loveseat, which was modeled after the machine, thrive in the modern environment. Furthermore, the classic minimalist style allows for the collection to look beautiful in almost all spaces from traditional to contemporary.


Sources:
http://hivemodern.com/products/?view=sub_product&sid=1132
http://cart.1929.co.uk/index.php?p=product&id=13&parent=2
http://www.designmuseum.org/design/charlotte-perriand

Murphy's bed in space

Murphy's bed came about in a time of expansion. There were more people than ever before and finding a place for all of these people was becoming a challenge. Murphy's bed allows the same room to be used for multiple purposes. In the past the bed could be found in lower economic households in the urban area. It was a practical solution for lack of space.
Murphy's bed can realte to the space in two different ways. During the day it functions as a cabinet against the wall. It doesn't take up much space and stays out of the way. This allows you to transform the room into a sitting area during the day. When the bed is folded up into the cabinet it feflects the murphy's bed practical and functional side. Once you unfold it the bed is more about luxury. When you wish to sleep you simply open the cabinet doors and pull the bed down. Most modern day Murphy beds come with lights and paintings built into the cabinet frame. As you unfold the bed it starts to transform the room into a more comfortable place. The soft lighting, paintings, and comfortable bed make the room feel more like a place to rest than a place of activity. It also effects the size of the room. When folded up the room would feel more open. When the bed is out it breaks up the space and the room becomes smaller and more centered. The Murphy bed also helps us relate the past o the present through it use of using the same space for two different purposes. In the past this was a necessity because of expansion. Today we find outselves wanting to be more sustainable and use less materials. Muphy's bed is perfect because it allows us to build less rooms. It also helps look to the future and gives us a sense that design should be stylish yet multi-functional.

pictures are coming as soon as blogger cooperates.

Victor 2 Humpback Phonograph

The Victor 2 Humpback Phonograph can certainly be described as an artifact intended for the upper echelon of society. A common phonograph was already considered to be a luxury and was rarely found in lower class families. But the Victor 2, as it was larger, louder, and made of fine materials, was even more rare. And if that wasn’t enough, the Victor 2 could be customized specifically for the buyer. In this way, the Victor 2 was not just an appliance to listen to music through, but it also served as a symbol of wealth, class, and taste. To have a Victor 2 meant sophistication, that one listened to fine music and had a refined taste.
In addition to a status symbol, I also feel the Victor 2 could be used as a means of escape. As it probably could not get as loud as some stereos today, the Victor 2 would be most effective in a smaller environment. In the featured picture, the phonograph is placed in a study or drawing room ca. 1907. The study was a wind-down room, used to kick back and relax after a hard day’s work. Full of designer furniture, expensive trinkets, exquisite art, and volumes of texts, the study is also a symbol of status. The study is almost a dream world, filled with delicacies and trinkets, completely unlike anything in the real world. This would be ideal, however, to get away from the noisy streets and the troubles of the outside world—the perfect place to turn on a Victor 2 and immerse oneself in a symphony of tranquility.