Mies Van der Rohe and the BRNO Chair

If you browse my inventory page, you will see I am offering four vintage Knoll International Brno chairs for sale. A modern classic, the Brno chair is elegant and utilitarian. I love this design. And to be honest, they look phenomenal with my red steel kitchen table. Hmm....do I really want to sell them?

 It's worth taking a look at its history and a few of images of the chair in its natural environment: a modern home or office place.

Knoll Productions Brno chairs have become a modern furniture classic. They have very clean lines, consisting of a steel frame in a single piece, bent into a C-shape from the middle of the back, round past the front edge of seat (to create arms), and back under the seat to create a cantilever, with taut seat and back upholstered in leather. There are two versions of these chairs, one in tubular steel and the other in flat steel. The metal was originally polished stainless steel; some modern examples are chrome plated.

Designed in 1930 for the Tugendhat House* in Brno, Czechoslovakia, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Brno chair mirrors the groundbreaking simplicity of its original environment. The design is a modernist cantilever design favored by the Bauhaus.

I think this may be the most versatile chair ever. I hope you are inspired to bring a timeless piece into your own home.

* The NewYork Times ran a great story on the property and its dire need of restoration. It's heart-breaking.

Ode to Jonathan Adler (part one)

I discovered this vintage Drexel Heritage ottoman at an estate sale recently. I've been researching Jonathan Adler a lot lately and have developed an obsession with Adler's Happy Chic aesthetic. If you aren't familiar with it, check it out now!

Adler's use of bold color, interesting textures and vintage furnishings has inspired me to look beyond purely modern forms into more traditional mid-century ones. I see clean lines with a bit of flair, but no fuss. I appreciate how the Adler treatment can take a traditional piece and make it modern with paint and unexpected fabric.

I'm inspired to try it myself. Stay tuned for the completed piece in the next week or so. If it rocks, I'll submit it to the Show Us Your JA Style on the Jonathan Adler website.

The Drexel ottoman in its current incarnation. It has the good bones I look for in a piece, but man, is it boring. Not for long. I have a plan to transform this old lady into a shagadelic swinger.



The traditional legs will be transformed with a few coats of high gloss paint of the hottest pink Benjamin Moore offers: Razzle Dazzle.



I have no idea if this was the original fabric, but it was a nice choice for the traditional Seventies Palm Beach decor the estate must have had at one time.

I'll replace it with a faux Mongolian Sheep fur fabric in white. My second choice was the same fabric, but in variegated brown tones. Think Chewbacca. Wookie fur. Trust me, it's very cool. I'm a big fan of the fabric, so it'll turn up on these pages eventually.

Overall a very cool piece that shows nice example of what can be done with mid century modern furnishings.