Oh Gee, Geometry 101!

...the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties, relationships, and measurement of points, lines, curves and surfaces...a shape, configuration, or arrangement...from Greek geometria "measurement of earth or land, geometry, from ge "earth, land" + metria, from metrein "to measure"...

Bedroom of Axel Vervoordt's Castle 's-Gravenwezel, Antwerp, Belgium

"Peace Ball"

Circle painting by Jef Verheyen

Interior design by Axel Vervoordt

I always look for basic geometric shapes, patterns, and arrangements to help ground an interior design concept.  It never fails to make things simpler and and invokes relief when asymmetry and curving lines are running rampant.  I find the simplest designs the most complex, and ultimately the most satisfying. Mathematics, as it was taught to me as a child, did not come easily. However, geometry seemed logical and I grasped onto the principles intuitively. 

Parsons Table

Home Decorators Collection

When designing a room, we start with the shape of the room.  Is it a box?  A rectangular shape?  Are the window panes in a grid pattern?  How are they subdivided?  Can we relate the architecture with what we put into the space?

Rafael Area Rug

Home Decorators Collection

Grids are always good.  A rug is a good place to start when designing a room.  

Interior design by Geoffrey Bradfield

Bradfield's New York townhouse

Artwork is another great way to inspire the design concept. I love the minimalist painting juxtaposed with the six apples on a classical mantel.  Geometry is the pure mathematics of points, lines, curves and surfaces.

Out on a neighborhood walk, there's a triangular street blockade looking quite comfortable out of doors in nature.

Mason Wood-Top Desk

Williams Sonoma 

This basic table, or sawhorse, gets translated into a desk.

7777 Old Bonhomme, St. Louis Missouri

This is where my accountant Reece has his office.  I always enjoy the feeling of being under a geometric spider web.

Table by Robert Bristow

Ralph Pucci International

 This subdivision of space mixes things up a little bit, allowing for more sturdy bracing.

Polyhedron Model

Restoration Hardware

I advised my Boston client to throw one of these on the top of her built in bookcase.  It is a form that has fascinated great thinkers for ages.

The pause that refreshes.

So go ahead, analyze your favorite rooms, and note the relative arrangements, angles, symmetry, shapes, lines, and volumes. Is there a nice balance of basic geometric forms with figurative and free-form?  A great room can always be reduced to simple geometry! 

Oh My!

I audibly articulated "Oh my!" when I received the April issue of Architectural Digest. Long an admirer of Robert Shapiro's work, this new masterpiece is what great design is all about. It was enough to make one weep, it was so beautiful.

                                       

Malibu beachfront home

Living Room

Robert Shapiro

Shapiro, an antiques dealer, artist, and founder of Studiolo furnishings,  is a beacon of light and hope in the field of interior design.  Like Axel Vervoordt, another antiques dealer and designer that I hold in the highest regard, there is no compromise with quality, artistry, comfort and design.

 Los Angeles home

Atelier

Robert Shapiro

The sensitivity to color and texture is eye candy to the extreme.  Examine and analyze these room ingredients:   Minoma chair, sofa by Studiolo, English captain's chair, Chinese drum serving as a cocktail table, diptych by Shapiro, antique gilt-wood mirror, and Turkish kilim on a stained concrete floor. Note the variance in scale; it's like a symphony orchestra with the bass violins and piccolos, backed up by a whole section of strings. Note the editing, the restraint in judicious color and texture as appropriate.  Note the authenticity of the objects and artwork.  The mirror is not resin and the paintings are not giclee on canvas. Note the masterful blending of art and artifacts, of centuries of civilization.  Note especially, how you could imagine yourself plunking down on one of these chairs or sofa and engaging in a great conversation or just reading a good book, knowingly surrounded by visual poetry.

And then we have the most recent issue of Architectural Digest. When I opened it, I audibly articulated "What the ----"?  After the Shapiro cover, I had hoped that the magazine was going to raise the bar for high design.  Since when does a magazine that now calls itself "The International Design Authority" (previously called The International Magazine of Design) showcase a project that only serves to confuse the public?  What do they mean by Design Authority, only that if you're rich, famous, and arrogant enough, that anything goes?  For me, it's plain ignorance and the public deserves better.

No, I don't think a white shag rug in a California ranch style home makes sense.  What's with the modern ceiling fixture, the dinky little Hepplewhite table, the upholstered furniture arranged so that you'd have to shout to be heard, and the clutter of masterpiece paintings strewn across the wall?  I'm sure Elizabeth Taylor (rest in peace) was a very nice woman and loved by family and friends, but there is nothing here that convinces me that her home should be showcased in a magazine of AD's caliber.  Sure, I might be interested in seeing her home, but perhaps a magazine like People or something like that would be a better format.  This is NOT high design!