I had a great time this weekend checking out the Architectural Digest Home show with Kimberly Lewis. The show was bigger than I had anticipated, and loved seeing so many New York/Brooklyn based artists and designers. Here are a few of my favorites from the show:

Glass lighting and objects by Furthur Design

Angle Shelves by Andrea Summerton of ALS Designs. I liked this faceted take on wall shelves and imagined it might be a great alternative to an entry way table in a small NY apartment.

Ceramic lighting with a metal interior skeleton called Cmesh by Scott Daniel Design.

Balancing Blocks by Fort Standard caught my eye at the Gift Fair in January but I failed to write down the company’s name, so I was excited to find them again at this show. Created by Brooklyn designers Gregory Buntain and Ian Collings, the blocks are hand made in Red Hook, Brooklyn from repurposed hardwood scrap collected from local furniture shops. They can be utilized as a game for all ages, as well as admired as a set of objects with their appealing soft finish and vintage color palette.

Lighting by Lindsey Adelman Studio. I wish I had a photo of her newest piece she showed called Burst which incorporates her trademark hand blown glass bulbs mixed with textured metals and makes it almost reminiscent of clustered jewelry. Perhaps it will be on her site later in the Spring when design season is in full swing.

This custom made record storage cabinet by Atocha Design really won me over. It was gorgeously made with smooth grainy wood and long rectangular gold pulls, and was wishing my husband and I could organize our record collection in this bespoke beauty. Jennifer Levin Atocha, Founder and Creative Director, created this piece after being unsatisfied with keeping her collection hidden away on shelves and not being able to see and enjoy the record covers, only the spines. My feelings precisely about how our existing record storage is not suiting our needs functionally or aesthetically. This one goes on my wishlist.

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For more exhibitors and show information, visit the Architectural Digest Home show website.

Whatever home my husband & I end up settling in will have to have some serious built-in bookshelves given our love of books, and coffee table books for me especially. Actually, as long as I am going down daydream lane…a library would be even better. Here are some book storage ideas collected with the help of Pinterest.

Images top to bottom: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Some books I would like to be  leafing through right now. Clockwise L-R Library Lamp | Leo Fuchs: Special Photographer from the Golden Age of Hollywood | A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life | The Private World of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge | Encyclopedia of the Exquisite | Gecko magnifying glass | Vogue Living: Houses, Gardens, People {one of my favorite wedding gifts I received} | DIY Tassel bookmarks and Penguin Classics books | Vintage Cocktails | Agate Bookends | American Fashion Designers at Home | Etc | Cecil Beaton: The Art of the Scrapbook | Library Books mug | Engraved Book plates | Red reading glasses

Two of my favorite places in New York city to browse coffee table books are Clic Bookstore & Gallery by former Calypso owner Christiane Celle and Assouline, located inside the Plaza hotel’s mezzanine {images via Luxist}

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Home page photo via Book Shelf Porn

Pretty picks for the home in silvery blues and greys.

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1. Curtis Jere Urchin Wall Sculpture {Contact Dealer for price} | 2. Palace glasses $22 | 3. Agate plates and coasters $59-$65 | 4. Dotted Trellis Charcoal Pillow $62 | 5. Distressed European Wall clock $59 | 6. Beetle Oval Platter $225 | 7. Oversized Zinc Letters $98 | 8. Faux Fur Throws $99 {This is amazingly soft and cozy. I was lucky enough to receive this last xmas} Sold out online from Pottery Barn sorry! check PB later, they carry them every year | 9. Black Orchid Pitcher $195 | 10. Cire Trudon candles $75 Click here for retailers {and for a tour of the stunning new NYC Store click here} | 11. High Neck Vase $36 | 12. Ittalia Toikka Ruby Glass bird $170 | 13. Sly fox doorknocker $24 | 14. Pyrite heart $52 | 15. Snow globe $25

{Exterior of D|R Cambridge building, photo by ESTO}

Last fall when we visited family in Cambridge, we happened upon an intriguing building at 48 Brattle Street in Harvard Square with five floors of floor to ceiling glass that appeared to be a store filled with eye popping Scandinavian design in the form of textiles, furniture and tabletop items. There was no entrance or any other info available besides some signs about it being an installation. Like so many other designers, I have always had an ongoing fascination with Scandinavian design, so when an article popped up recently in the NY times Style magazine, it was exciting to finally discover the history of this landmark building and its creator, Ben Thompson.

Ben Thompson shown in the D|R store in Cambridge, Mass. Photo by Design Research, Inc. Thompson is also known for his creation of Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and South Street Seaport.

Architect Ben Thompson and chair of Harvard’s Architecture Department was the founder of a store called D|R which stood for Design Research. Inspired by Scandinavian textiles and design he discovered in Europe during the 50′s, he decided to open a retail store in 1953 with the sole purpose of making modern design accessible to American customers. The first store was located in a residential home, but years later when Thompson completed construction on a building of his own design, the store moved to its new location at 48 Brattle Street in 1969. Eventually the store opened locations in New York, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.

{Above} The original D|R Cambridge store housed in a former residential clapboard home photos by Design Research, Inc.

{Above & Below} the interiors of the D|R store in Cambridge at 48 Brattle Street that opened its doors in 1969, photos by ESTO

{Above} left photo by Michael Proulx and right photo by ESTO

{Clockwise left to right:} The D|R store on 57th street in New York City photo by George Cserna, D|R storefront in San Francisco’s Ghiradelli Square photo courtesy of © Jane Thompson via Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, and the D|R installation in 2009 in the former D|R building at 48 Brattle Street photo by Richard Schieferdecker via NY Times

Perhaps the most lasting influence on American consumers is D|R’s introduction of textiles by Marimekko. Thompson met Marimekko’s founder Armi Ratia in 1958. By 1959 Marimekko’s bright textiles were displayed in D|R’s store, and by 1960, Jacqueline Kennedy was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine in a bright pink Marimekko dress, creating national attention for the Finnish design house. Julia Child was also a huge fan of the store, forming a close bond with the Thompsons. For her show The French Chef, Child often used cooking equipment and furniture provided by D|R.

Life Magazine’s iconic spread on Marimekko, June 1966. Photographed in Finland by Tony Vaccaro

{The D|R installation, September 2009. Photos by Luster}

D|R’s legacy also paved the way for some of the most well-known retailers of our time. Most notably, Crate & Barrel is the closest follower with its original inception based on the impact it had on C&B’s founder, Gordon Segal. Segal began buying Marimekko textiles wholesale from D|R, and when D|R folded in 1978, Crate and Barrel moved into the storefront at 48 Brattle street for the next 30 years. If you go into any C&B store today, the retail concepts founded by Thompson are very evident in the merchandising and product choices as well as Marimekko’s textiles which they continue to infuse into their collection. Other famous D|R followers include Sir Terence Conran’s stores Habitat and The Conran Shop, Williams-Sonoma, Room and Board, MOMA Store, and Design within Reach.

For more information check out Chronicle’s book co-authored by Ben Thompson’s widow: Design Research: The Store That Brought Modern Living to American Homes © by Jane Thompson and Alexandra Lange.

{Images from Design Research: The Store That Brought Modern Living to American Homes © by Jane Thompson and Alexandra Lange, unless otherwise noted. All written content by ©Luster 2010}

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