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In
the same town as his famous Glass House lies this wonderful
house, commissioned by the architect's friend, Alice Ball.
Philip Johnson fondly referred to this house as "his
little jewel". After several years of neglect, it was
recently renovated, and brought back to life through a special
exhibition designed by interior designer Victoria Lyon. In
this photo the elegant simplicity of it's rectangular form
is highlighted against the silhouettes of the surrounding
trees at dusk. Matthias Alfen's 13 ft. long Seated Nude draws
attention from the street towards the house, it's sensuous
curves offering a pleasing counter-balance to the strong linear
forms of the house.
House
by Philip Johnson. Design by VIctoria Lyon. Sculpture by Matthias
Alfen. |
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The
back wall of the living room looks out on an open courtyard
and to the woods beyond in the back yard of the house. The
Standing Nude sculpture draws the eye out to the landscape
as well as providing a coutner-part to the much larger Seated
Nude by Matthias Alfen in the front of the house. The glass
wall, as well as Philip Johnson's device of extending the
floor plane outside, firmly tie the house to the landscape.
The gray sofas echo the color of the stone flooring and the
color of the gravel, stone wall and tree trunks outside, while
the green accessories link to the greenery outside.
Sculpture
by Matthias Alfen, furnishings courtesy of Room & Board
and The Conran Shop. |
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Here
the designer has provided an eclectic but well balanced grouping
to occupy an awkward corner between two glass window walls
with doors. The use of raw wood in the console table and sculptures,
as well as colors in the painting and the bronze leaf reference
the architect's interest bringing the outdoors in. (The vintage
lizard encased in Lucite is the interior designer's tongue-in-cheek
reference to the current famous artist Damien Hirst.) The
strong rectilinear shapes of the architecture, echoed in the
console table and painting, are off set by the curvilinear
qualities of the sculptures.
Painting
over console table by Bart Gulley, contemporary Brazilian
wood console table, courtesy of Espasso, Wooden Chain, Totem,
and Bronze Leaf sculptures by Bryan Nash Gill, Seated Nude
sculpture outside by Matthias Alfen, lamps courtesy of The
Conran Shop. |
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Paintings
line the walls of the studio building and provide a visual
link to the landscape beyond.
Paintings
by Janet Slom. Console table by Gregory Clarke of Artifact
Design Group. |
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The
architecture of Philip Johnson was designed around the concept
of bringing the outdoors in, especially through the use of
large walls of glass, and the use of natural stone on the
floor, which is carried on the same plane both inside and
out. Here the designer emphasized the concept of bringing
nature indoors through the use of wood in many of the furnishings.
The clean lines of the sofas and tables echo those of the
architecture, while the paintings and sculpture add a layer
of richness and meaning, as well as referencing the architects
love of modern art.
Painting
over the fireplace by Robert Natkin, Wood Tray, Tall Vases
and Console Table by contemporary Brazilian artists, courtesy
of Espasso, Wooden Chair by Hans Wegner, Painting over Console
Table by Bart Gulley, Wooden Chain, Totem, and Bronze Leaf
sculptures by Bryan Nash Gill, additional furnishings courtesy
of Room&Board and The Conran Shop. |
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The
front and back doors centered on the glass walls of the house
provide the only separation between the living and dining
areas, giving a more expansive sense of space. The dining
table, custom designed for the space, brings nature indoors
through it's use of materials. The live-edge slab of wood
floats on glass slab legs, which continue the play of light
offered by the glass walls.. Philipe Starck's transparent
"Mr. Impossible" chairs continue the theme, while
the cantilever chairs reference the wood table, as well as
the art of George Nakashima. The mesmerizing color filed paintings
by George Chaplin offer a play on two dimensionality versus
three-dimesnionality, a concept also embraced by the architects
and artists of Philip Johnson's time.
Table
and chairs by Johnny Geraghty of grain of Thought, paintings
by George Chaplin, courtesy of art+interiors. |
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The
architect designed this sleek white kitchen with the greatest
efficiency in mind. The designer's addition of the abstract
painting, gives the sense of added space, as though looking
through a round window to the sky beyond. The curved black
steel legs on the stool echo the forms of the painting, and
offers a place for a visitor to rest and chat while dinner
is being prepared.
Painting
by Mary Manning. Stool by Gregory Clarke of Artifact Design
Group. White vases above cabinets by Ceramic Matters.
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Sunlight
pours into the adjacent guest room through the large window
wall which also connects to the private walled courtyard.
In a smaller house like this, it is important that spaces
serve multiple functions. In this case, the room serves as
a room for reading and watching TV when not occupied by the
occasional guest. Gregory Clarke's elegant TV easel references
the art collection displayed in the house, while also serving
a useful function. The abstract painting on the wall provides
a visual link between the sculptural forms of the easel and
the rectilinear forms of the house, while the white sculptural
vases in the courtyard, and the large plaster foot doorstop
echo Matthias Alfen's large Seated Nude sculpture in the front
yard of the house.
Painting
by Bart Gulley, TV Easel by Gregory Clarke of Artifact Design
Group, tall fiberglass vases and plaster foot door-stop courtesy
of The Conran Shop, chair courtesy of Room & Board.
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On
the other side of the sunny guest room, a daybed beckons.
Here is a place to read and relax, or take a nap. The Zig-zag
side table serves a dual function as side table and book-shelf.
The artwork brings warmth and color to the space.
Paintings
by Ashley Andrews and Liz Dexheimer. Furniture courtesy of
Room& Board and The Conran Shop. |
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The mid-century modern desk by Arne Jacobsen provides a large
work-surface, as well as storage with it's foldable cubbies.
The Brazilian stools and the Cherner chair are also vintage,
while the modular Brazilian credenza is contemporary. The
large abstract paintings add drama to the space. the delicate,
rod-thin floor lamp casts a silhouette of a nesting bird on
the back wall, which moves gently with the slightest bit of
a breeze, adding a connection to the landscape outside, despite
fewer glass walls in this building. The large rubber buckets
are made of recycled tires.
Paintings
by Janet Slom. Desk courtesy of Mondo Cane. Stools and credenza
courtesy of Espasso. Lamps, chair and buckets courtesey of
The Conran Shop.
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The
master bedroom overlooks a private garden set within a walled
courtyard. The glass wall gives a sense of the room and the
garden being connected. The stunning Macassar ebony bed and
side tables were custom designed for the space. The headboard
of the bed features individually dimmable reading lights encased
in lucite speckled with silvery money plant leaves. The horizontal
lines of the bedside table lamps, as well as the headboard
lights de-empahsize the vertical nature of the space. The
art work lends a bright note to the otherwise neutral, quiet
space.
Bed,
tables and bench designed by Gregory Clarke of Artifact Design
Group. Artwork courtesy of art+interiors. |
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The
private walled courtyard offers a glimpse into the two bedrooms
of the main house. The grey steel table with it's sculpted
rubber tablecloth provides a pleasant spot for morning coffee,
or a cocktail at sunset.
Tables,
chairs and fiberglass vases courtesy of The Conran Shop.
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