Category Archives: Design
A Love of All Things Asian: The Freer Gallery’s Peacock Room
I tend to think of the influence of Asian art on Western design as being a recent trend but in fact it has had a significant impact for over 150 years.
Katsushika Hokusai, South Wind, Clear Sky (1830-1833)
Photo: The British Museum
In the 1860’s, Japan opened up to international trade, which provided Europe with greater access to the Ukiyo-e woodblock prints that were gaining popularity in France. The style of artists like Katsushika Hokusai was completely different from the realism found in traditional European painting at the time.
Mary Cassatt, Maternal Caress (1891)
Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Artists of the Impressionist and later movements emulated the clean lines and bold colours of the Japanese masters, as well as the scenes of everyday life and landscapes.
Vincent Van Gogh (after Eisen), La Courtisane (1887)
Photo: Hokusai Online
People in Paris and London went crazy for all things Japanese, including ceramics, bronzes, and clothing items like kimonos and fans. As interest in the East grew, so too did an interest in the art of other cultures, like China.
19th Century Dress Made from a Kimono
Photo: The Dreamtress
Perhaps the greatest example of this fascination with incorporating elements of Asian culture in 19th century design is The Peacock Room. Originally created for British shipping magnate Frederick Leyland to showcase his Chinese porcelain collection, it was redecorated in blue and gold by James McNeill Whistler in the 1870’s to reflect the patterns of Leyland’s ceramics. Whistler even installed one of his Japanisme paintings, The Princess from the Land of Porcelain, above the mantle.
The Peacock Room
Photo: Picturing AmericaMIAC
In 1908, Charles Lang Freer purchased the room and it shipped to America and installed in his house in Detroit. Like Leyland, he used the space to display his collection of Asian and Islamic ceramics.
The Peacock Room
Photo: The Freer Gallery
The room has once again been transported, this time to the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C., complete with its ceramics just as it stood in Detroit. I recently visited the Freer to view its collection of Islamic art but ended up spending almost an hour in this room. I was mesmerized by the rich gold and bluish-green colour scheme; it was both overwhelming and comforting and if I didn’t have a train to catch, I could have spent the rest of the day there taking in the many wondrous details.
The Peacock Room
Photo: Smithsonian Studio Art Blog
Since then, I have found myself a little obsessed with this space, wondering if a modernized version might be possible. Peacock blue has been a popular paint colour in recent years, and that would be the easiest fix, with added touches of gold and a few Asian accessories.
Photo: House of Turquoise via Vignette Design
If you want to go really bold, you could use vintage-style wallpaper, like this damask print.
Photo: Kaboodle
I think the Victorian horror vacui wallpaper/painting is a little much (and who can afford to have someone like Whistler come and paint their living room?) but a screen with a peacock design would help to evoke its spirit.
Photo: Whitehaven Interiors
Perhaps the easiest way to replicate the Japanisme décor of the original room is with groupings of Asian ceramics or other collectables.
Photo: Greentea Design
These don’t need to be precious antiques and in fact I think it would be far more interesting to use modern items, perhaps set on gold lacquered shelves against a bold blue background.
Photo: Greentea Design
If you are in Washington, I urge you to visit The Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery. If you can’t, you can at least take a virtual tour online. But what I would really like to see is your interpretation of this Western take on Eastern style. Have you mixed East and West in your décor?
Ikebana for Mother’s Day
Katsuko Thielke via ikebana.org
Flowers are a staple of Mother’s Day, but before you stop by the florist for a bouquet consider giving her a true work of floral art with an ikebana arrangement. For those who don’t know, ikebana is a specific type of Japanese floral arranging that aims to bring humanity and nature together. Ikebana is an art form that is exceptionally powerful because of its impermanence.
Another idea would be to get together with mom so you can both try your hand at Ikebana inspired floral arrangements. Gather the materials beforehand, purchase some wonderful teas and spend the afternoon centreing yourselves while creating flower arrangements.
It takes years to learn and master the art of ikebana but here are a few of the basic principles and materials you will need to get started.
A few popular styles of ikebana are:
Rikka- meaning standing flowers.
Nagiere- a non structured design the often features a tight bundle of stems and an asymmetrical triangular shape.
Seika- where three main branches represent ‘ten’ heaven, ‘chi’ earth and ‘jin’ human.
Jiyuka- a free form design that often utilizes materials other than flowers.
This website gives a good overview of the various styles with pictorial examples.
Japanese Flower Vase from Doug Smith Pottery
Materials:
Container- the container you choose should be cohesive with the type of arrangement you’re trying to create. Don’t be afraid to use an unconventional object as a vase.
Kenzan- also know as a ‘floral frog’, is a small disk with pins protruding from it that sits at the bottom of your container. It will hold the stems or branches in place which will help you achieve your desired shape for the arrangement.
Flowers, Grasses, Vines and Branches- Really any kind of plant life can be used, but some popular choices are orchids, long grasses, cherry blossoms and branches of Japanese Maple.
Small Garden Shears- a pair of small pointed garden shears will be helpful for trimming and cutting plants.
ikebana by junko
When you’re finished creating your masterpieces mom and you can exchange them so you each have a memento of the day.
Happy Friday everyone and Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there!
Backyard Hideaways
Who needs a place for tools and a lawnmower, wouldn’t you rather have a summer sleeping cottage with a pretty view? The luxurious building above was originally a prefab greenhouse that was modified with solar panels and wood floors to make it a backyard retreat and guest residence.
This is not the only example of homeowners and designers rethinking how outdoor spaces and outdoor structures can be used for a variety of purposes: like relaxing, working, sleeping and even bathing.
Office Pod via demilked
For people who work at home and are short on office space a backyard office like this one could be ideal. The best thing about this is the reduced commute time to and from the office. The size of this particular model is a miniscule 2.1m x2.1m, meaning that in most areas you won’t even need a permit to build one.
image via demilked
Here’s a pic of the interior of the office pod so you can get a sense of its ingenious design.
Having a dedicated place to hold parties and get-togethers would be such an amazing thing. Love the mix of bright colours and vintage pieces in this inviting and cheerful space. For someone who does a lot of entertaining this would be a dream.
backyard playhouse from natalme
This gardenside playhouse looks like fun for the kids, and would be a welcome edition to the backyard for modern-design-loving parents. It’s the details like the bench, planter and moon shaped window that give this structure its personality.
This shed-turned-relaxing-backyard-retreat reminds me of one of those tiny churches you find in the American south. If I had this shed in my backyard it would be my designated place for reading and drinking tea in the mornings.
image via sunset
Finally, how would you like an outdoor room for seasonal bathing? This shed came into being because the homeowners wanted to compensate for their too-small master bath. Instead of renovating inside the house they decided to repurpose an old shed on their property, turning it into a charming outdoor bathhouse.
Here’s a picture of the inside. It does not feel like an outdoor space at all, and that antique tub leaves me speechless. It would be like having your own private spa right outside your door.
Would you consider creating an outdoor living space? What would your dream backyard hideaway be?
The History of the Step Chest
When they first encountered the step chest, or Kaiden Dansu, in the 19th century it was love at first sight for travelers from the West. It’s such an iconic piece of Japanese furniture, with an instantly recognizable shape. Their asymmetry; the many drawers and sliding doors; the intricate Japanese joinery techniques that ensure they’re built to last: Step chests strike a perfect balance between art and design, form and function.
Image via Pinterest from Picasaweb
These beautiful solid wood pieces first appeared during the late 1700s custom built by the local carpenter for stores and loft spaces in Japan. They were built to serve the practical purpose of acting as both staircase and storage. These step chests are constructed in three parts that can be arranged in various configurations.
Historically, building step chests in multiple parts served a couple of key purposes: it allowed the pieces to be easily transported, carried on shoulder poles, from one place to another (tansu were generally considered fancy storage boxes); but it also allowed the furniture to be reconfigured depending on a space’s needs.
Greentea Design’s 3D Step Chest Guide
And the need, from time to time, was to screw the taxman. Space has always been a hot commodity in Japan. And as the story goes, these step chests would function as staircases to the upper level of a loft, where you’d find a family’s living space. The government at the time taxed owners on their livable floor space only, so when the tax inspector came around, the step chests would be reconfigured – poof! The staircase was gone! – and the owner would claim the loft above was soley used for storage – with no permanent access to the space – and therefore untaxable. This worked for a while until, predictably, that loophole was closed.
Today, using traditional building techniques, Greentea Design has a range of step chests that fit beautifully in modern spaces. With two-sided design, they function as room dividers and offer loads of storage that can be customized to your needs. These are heirloom quality pieces, the unique focal point of any room, that imbue a space with a little culture and a little history.
Vietnamese Crafts
Image via Gone Thrifting
I visited Vietnam a couple of years ago, and I had no idea what incredibly beautiful pieces of artistry I would encounter there. I made so many memories in this beautiful country, but there are a couple of them that I live with. One of them is a lacquered wine bottle holder, and the other is an embroidered shoe bag that I take with me when I travel.
Embroidery and lacquer, it turns out, are two of the crafts that the Vietnamese excel in. The skills needed to create beautiful objects out of thread or tree sap are not learned in art schools, seminars, or workshops, but are ingrained in village culture. Different villages specialize in different crafts, and these crafts are passed on in unending streams that have been gushing forth for many hundreds of years.
And the world has gladly embraced these fruits of Vietnamese creativity. Anybody can partake of this bounty, whether with a budget of a few dollars or a few hundred.
Embroidery
From afar they look like paintings, and it is only when one draws near that the texture of the thread becomes visible. The skill and intricacy of these museum-worthy works are heart-stopping and thrilling.
Vietnamese girl practicing her craft. Photo by Nathalie Mariano.
Gallery of embroidery. Image by Nathalie Mariano.
Image from XQ Vietnam
Image from XQ Vietnam
Sometimes the embroidery is done on sheer silk, and the transparency of the material gives the piece a wondrous ethereal quality.
Image via XQ Vietnam
If framed art pieces are too much commitment, there are a lot of functional objects that are embellished with lovely hand embroidery — tablecloths, table runners bed covers, handbags, underwear travel pouches and shoe bags, just to name a few.
Shoe bag from Vietnam. Image by Nathalie Mariano.
A stall in Benh Tanh Market selling embroidered items. Image by Nathalie Mariano.
Lacquerware
The Vietnamese artisans also express their skills in the “high-brow” and “low-brow”, with the ones that venture into the realm of fine art definitely take more time, skill, and artistry, and therefore cost quite a bit more.
A lacquered art work with an eggshell mosaic depicting a fishing scene. Image via Vietnamese Artwork.
Image via Tudo Art
Image via News Hopper at Sulekha.com
Lacquerware shop. Photo by Nathalie Mariano.
And Vietnam has beautiful lacquer products whose functionality do not diminish their status as beautiful art.
Image via Geoff James
The aforementioned wine bottle holder. Image by Nathalie Mariano.
Another bottle holder, this time with mother of pearl and eggshell inlays. Image via Nathalie Mariano.
For more about lacquerware, check out Midori’s post from the previous month.
