Remembering Vladimir Kagan

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We were so saddened to hear of the passing of iconic furniture designer, Vladimir Kagan, recently, who died of a heart attack at the age of 88. He started his career, designing furniture, over 65 years ago and was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 2009.

The son of a Russian cabinetmaker, he was born in Germany in 1927, and emigrated to the United States in 1938. Early on, his focus was painting and sculpture, but soon found himself deeply attracted to architecture and design. He graduated from the School of Industrial Design in 1946, majoring in architecture and later continued his architectural studies at Columbia University. 

In 1947, he joined his father in his woodworking shop, where he learned to make furniture. In an interview he recounted his father telling him, "'Measure three times and cut once'; I would be of the school of cut three times and never measure"

His early interest in sculpture was evident the design of his furniture pieces, with their organic curves and continuous lines. Over the years we have reupholstered several of his pieces, such as this Swanback sofa:

We have also made pieces that are influenced and inspired by his beautiful designs and shapes:

For another client, we reupholstered their Serpentine sofa, and designed an ottoman to match the style.

He will sorely be missed, but his designs live on. 

Architectural Tour: Schindler House Los Angeles

Los Angeles is home to a great concentration of cultural & architectural icons, but sometimes we don't realize what we have sitting under our own nose. Design junkies that we are, it's such a treat to stumble upon one of those special places when we least expect it.

During a recent walk down Melrose Avenue, in the heart of West Hollywood, I ventured down Kings Road, which is one of the most beautiful streets in that neighborhood. It's tree-lined, mostly residential, and the quaintness is out of sync with the traffic & bustle nearby. It was on this detour that I noticed a small sign for Schindler House. I was not hugely familiar with R. M Schindler, but I did know the name as a pioneer in the modernism era, so I had to investigate further.

What strikes you first is that you would never know a historic home is located on this quiet and serene street, never mind in the middle of the city. It's set back from the street, behind a fully mature bamboo hedge, with just the small sign proclaiming its' existence. 

Schindler House Los Angeles, or the Kings Road House, as it is commonly known, was built in 1922 and was actually considered to be one of Schindler's most important works. It is considered by many to be the first house built in the modern style, and was experimentally built for communal living, housing another couple besides the Schindlers. 

The lot was divided into seven sections; four of them were assigned to each of the four inhabitants of the home, to express their own individuality and there was a shared kitchen and outdoor sleeping areas (on a rooftop deck). The structure draws upon European modern architecture (Schindler was Austrian) and, like many European buildings of that time, incorporated concrete, glass and wood in the construction of the home. This had become a popular trend in Europe thanks to Mies van der Rohe's work in experimental concrete buildings in the 1920's. 

The residence was used for political, social and cultural events during the time they lived there, and it was also used as housing for visiting artists, architects and writers (Frank Lloyd Wright and his son, Lloyd Wright, were frequent visitors). I can only imagine how astounding the guest list must have been during those days. The Schindlers eventually divorced, but the house continued to be a meeting place for left-wing political radicals in Los Angeles. 

Today, the house is maintained and funded by the MAK Center for Art and Architecture Los Angeles at Schindler House. There are year-round events and exhibitions and programs geared toward the creative arts. When we were there, we were lucky to be treated to a small Eames exhibit.

Schindler House is located at 835 North Kings Road, West Hollywood, CA 90069. It is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am - 6 pm, and admission is $7.00.

It is well worth the visit.

Images: Top photo via MAK Center for Art & Architecture Los Angeles. All other photos my own.

Happy Birthday Eero Saarinen

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Today would have been Eero Saarinen's 105 birthday! Born in Finland on August 20, 1910, he immigrated to the US, with his family, at the age of 13. His father, influential architect Eliel Saarien, taught at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where Eero took courses and became friends with fellow students, Charles & Ray Eames, and became good friends with Florence Knoll (it's like the mid-century brat pack, right?).

His accomplishments were many, and his talent was diverse. We are lucky to have so many of his wonderful and amazing designs in our lives. And, we at Classic Design, are so honored to have a part in restoring his legacy back to their original splendor.

Happy Birthday Mr. Saarinen!

Classic Design sighting!

I love clicking and scrolling around, and finding work that we've done online (or in print)! While I'm very happy with the photos I am able to take in our little makeshift photo studio, there's nothing better than seeing a project in it's home, being used.

Earlier this week, after I uploaded to Tumblr, I scrolled down to check on a few of my favorites, and came across a link to an article about a historic A. Quincy Jones home (Tyre House) that was restored. As it turns out, we had restored & reupholstered the built-in sofa featured. Here it is as featured; it is truly beautiful in the home:

image via LA Times

Here it is pre-restoration:

And after restoration:

If you would like to read more about this historic home & its' restoration, the L.A. Times article is here. It's humbling to be involved in these iconic restorations, and we are so happy that people are reviving these classic modern homes.

Palm Springs Modernism Weekend

If you are a Southern California local, did you get a chance to visit Palm Springs for Modernism Week? It's been on my to-do list for a couple of years, and last weekend I headed out to the desert to warm up and see some beautiful architecture.  Modernism Week is 10 days of lectures, tours, and exhibits celebrating all things mid-century modern. As it turns out, Palm Springs has the largest concentration of mid-century modern architecture in the United States, and it's all in our backyard!

One of the exterior home tours I went on was in the Vista Las Palmas area, which back in the 40's, was home to many celebrities including Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Peter Lawford and Sidney Sheldon. Here are some of the remarkable homes we saw:

These simple homes, against the backdrop of the San Jacinto mountains and the blue sky, are just spectacular.

But my favorite, by far, was the opportunity to see Richard Neutra's Kaufmann House, which was built in 1946, and later restored to its' original condition by Marmol Radziner in 1992.

Here are a few extra images found via Mid-Century Modern Freak on Tumblr.

I think I could get used to that.

Palm Springs Modernism Week will conclude on February 24, so there is still time to head out to the desert and check out some of the events.