A new breed of contemporary design is emerging, and it stands a good chance of making a substantial stylistic imprint on the `90s. It`s not fiery; it`s not flashy or as outrageous as the bold Memphis style that revolutionized the way we look at color and form. It shows none of the razzle-dazzle that sometimes marks art furniture. It`s not at all about high-tech industrial chic that ultimately has been judged too sterile for most to live with.
Indeed, there`s a familiarity about this new contemporary style that is comforting. Some might be tempted to call it eclectic, although many designers yearn for a less tired adjective. In part, it borrows from Eurostyle.
”Eurostyle started out as a fairly valid design statement,” says Milo Baughman, a highly regarded veteran furniture designer who teaches at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. ”But when it was reduced to more commercial levels and picked up too quickly by people who make cheap furniture, that led to its demise. It became a frightful cliche-lots of black lacquer and wrinkled leather sofas.
”In a way, that`s too bad, because Eurostyle brought us out of a period that was very conservative and transitional, to cleaner, bolder, more modern design.”
Baughman, always a forward-thinking designer who has led Thayer Coggin Inc. to a leadership role in contemporary manufacturing since its launch in 1953, feels modernism needs to be warmed up. The evolution of country style, perceived by detractors as too cluttered, too cutesy and overwrought with hearts and geese, has helped to do just that.
”Eurostyle was so clean, so European-looking. Americans were ready for that,” says Shirley Van Zante, a former home furnishings editor at Better Homes & Gardens. ”But country style, which has become so much cleaner and so much a bridge between traditional and contemporary, has taken many hearts. It`s an American phenomenon, one that very much is influencing contemporary design.”
With influences from many sources, the new contemporary is still fresh, often derivative but creative in its exploration of form, function and makeup. This new, warmer contemporary style, which prides itself on the unexpected, is heading in several distinct directions.
– Fresh treatments of familiar styles, elements and materials. There are plenty of examples. Crate & Barrel takes a classic Hepplewhite camelback sofa and upholsters it in a woven cotton, piped in canvas. Color is showing up on wood in stains that allow the natural wood grain to show through. A table designed by Amanda Berndt for Simonetti, which teams cherry with red padauk, has all the color of more eccentric art furniture, but is outstanding in a more subdued way. Or a rich rosewood might carry a high-gloss finish in polyester resin, one that doesn`t have the plastic edge that the old lacquer seemed to. Tapestry is being reinterpreted in modern patterns, some actually taken from architects and designers from the early part of the century, such as the Gaudi line by Architex.
The magazine Elle Decor illustrated the point well with a feature, ”The Unexpected Is De Rigueur.” The creative repackaging of tried-and-true images is the theme. A faux Louis XVI chair frame was painted white and upholstered in a Porthault cotton terry towel, complete with red monogram. A Louis XV cane chair was stripped and lacquered in black ”with all the chic of the little black dress.” A Louis XVI chair was covered in an Italian Art Moderne cubist print; a Regency revival chair, in vibrant green, was dressed in a matching cotton sateen.
– The use of high tech or modern materials in unorthodox ways. It`s the little twist that makes a difference: glass block walls that curve, a metal bed shaped like bentwood.
For his firm, Public Domain, Zev Vaughn designed a cool steel chair that clearly has classical references-curved arms with scrolled tips-and upholstered its seat in bold red. Vaughn, who is becoming known for avant-garde style, said, ”The roots of my designs always have been in
antiquities.”
– The mixing of disparate materials. In architecture, that might mean hard-edged elements such as glass, steel or granite, warmed by wood or softened with fabric or furnishings. A good example of furniture is a vanity recently introduced by Arkitektura, which combines rubber and stainless steel with maple and Nevamar`s Fountainhead, a laminate that mimics stone.
The piece features pivoting drawers and cantilevered trays, according to creator Kenneth Smith, who says it was inspired by the Amish ”simplicity of materials, honesty and forthright design.”
At the April furniture market in High Point, N.C., the Lane Co. introduced a collection called Hunt Country, which marries wicker, wood and metal, and draws from such diverse influences as Far Eastern, Empire, Victorian and Arts and Crafts.
Trendsetting French designer Philippe Starck also has paired the seemingly incompatible. His Lolamundo table, which doubles as a chair by flipping up its top, sits on curved legs of polished aluminum. Its top is laminated ash with an ebony stain.
– Contemporary set into a traditional backdrop. Mullions, wood floors, traditional area rugs and moldings all do their part to soften otherwise stark contemporary looks. Balancing is critical. Clean-lined kitchen cabinetry, for example, edged in a rounded lacquer trim, is less strident when it`s positioned in a warmer setting, such as a log cabin.
– Traditional furnishings set into a contemporary backdrop. Just as traditional surroundings soften the lines of some contemporary furniture, by the same token hard edges of modern architecture disappear when rounded shapes or decorative pieces or traditional patterns are introduced. A simple Louis XV chair frame or a bentwood rocker in an all-white setting punctuated by glass block is a compelling example.
Crate & Barrel, which built its reputation as a contemporary housewares store, has taken an interesting tack in its young Chicago furniture store.
”Being the modernists we are,” says Lon Habkirk, creative director for the company, ”we feel that form follows function, and the function of furniture is to be comfortable.
”That means softening the edges, padding out, making furniture welcoming, relaxing to be in and live with. Everyone does not want the same steel-and-glass coffee table and leather sofa.
”The flip side of looking at contemporary style in a new light is the freshening up of traditional,” Habkirk said. ”We`re taking another look at classic, traditional furniture design-pieces that have been around for decades or a century or two-and reinterpreting them for the `90s and taking them right down to their essence, to their form and line. Their wonderful qualities transcend the trends, make them relevant.
”The whole movement is one away from the stark, impersonal architecture of the `60s and `70s. It has influenced furniture as well so that modern has become much friendlier.”
”As consumers grow more sophisticated, we`re seeing more looks combined. They are using things they really love in their homes. People are willing to mix more formal with contemporary,” says Van Zante, who has written a 48-page booklet titled ”Haven: Planning a Comfortable Home,” which is available to consumers free through the Home Furnishings Council (see last paragraph for address and phone number).
”Manufacturers have made it easier,” she adds. `They`re making more unmatched collections, not everything in suites. That`s healthy.”
– Ornamentation, especially effective when used sparingly, as it can be in contemporary interiors. Rich fabrics-damasks, jacquards and silks trimmed with passementerie, such as those in the collection New York interior designer Bebe Winkler has assembled-can dramatize a simple, unembellished niche.
– Reinterpretations of the past, with distinct nods to specific styles such as Art Deco or Biedermeier. The latter`s simple elegance appealed to Milo Baughman, who has designed a collection that now numbers 50 for Thayer Coggin. An upholstered sleigh bed, in teal with a patterned cover and pillows, is among the newest entries.
The current rediscovery of Shaker and Mission styles demonstrates a desire on the part of the consumer to have it clean and warm at the same time. Thomasville and Lane have collections of the former. Crate & Barrel Furniture will introduce an interpretation of the latter.
The crafts movement and a renewed appreciation for handmade things also have extended into modern interiors.
This category goes hand in hand with rediscovery of the modern classics-the designs of Eliel and Eero Saarinen and Josef Hoffmann. ”They`ve become very popular with people who are pure, almost clinical in their tastes,” says Baughman. ”But we can`t go on forever using antique masterpieces exclusively.”
But most of all, comfort is critical in the new contemporary design. Some in the industry feel that`s a residual of Eurostyle. ”We`ve kept the softness, the soft flowing lines,” said Van Zante.
What`s interesting about the newest directions in contemporary design is that there is no single trend. Perhaps that`s what will give it staying power. The romantic look, while not overemphasized, is also appealing.
In one of Crate & Barrel`s ads, a nicely tailored black-and-white striped, cushy, upholstered sofa is described as being ”modern enough for a high rise” and ”romantic enough for a country hideaway.”
”The old throwaway mentality is past,” says Van Zante. ”Let`s face it. Furnishings are an investment, no doubt about it. When people are spending a major part of their budget on furnishings, they want them to last, to stay in style.
”Consumers are looking for styles that are classic.” –
Sources: Arkitektura, 379 W. Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10012
(212-334-5570); Crate and Barrel Furniture, 725 Landwehr Rd., Northbrook, Ill. 60062-2393 (708-272-2888); ”Haven: Planning a Comfortable Home,”
produced by Meredith Publishing Services, is available free through registered retailers or through the Home Furnishings Council (800-521-HOME); Public Domain, 148 W. 16th St., New York, N.Y. 10011 (212-727-3729); Simonetti, 219 N. 2nd St., Suite 401, Minneapolis, Minn. 55401 (612-375-1185); Thayer Coggin Inc., 230 South Road, Box 5857, High Point, N.C. 27272; (919-841-6000); Bebe Winkler Interior Design, 135 E. 55th St., New York, N.Y. 10022 (212-838-3356).
