Home Room: Prouvé Raw, 2012 color forecast, Pets on Furniture

Prouvé Raw, 2012 color forecasting, "Carrot City" and other notes from the principal's desk this morning:

Prouvé Raw: Vitra premiered Prouvé Raw, a collaboration with the clothing brand G-Star Raw. Says the publicity machine: "G-Star, the Prouvé family and Vitra have worked on giving some of Jean Prouvé's best known designs a fresh and contemporary look and feel, while re-discovering some of Prouvé's less known designs." Photos above. Credit: Vitra.

2012, the year of blue: Benjamin Moore released its 2012 color forecast, which says "blue will be big in 2012 as the population seeks out a sense of calm, trust, and the tried-and-true." Smug note of self-congratulation: In early 2011, when so many were hailing Pantone's choice of pink as the color of the year, we noted a shifting tide toward blue. Of all the hues highlighted in Benjamin Moore's 2012 color forecast, let me go out on a limb and say I'm most drawn to a gray called Sharkskin. Will we be feeling a bit gray next year? (Sharkskin photo below.)

Home office: In a new survey from the American Institute of Architects, members report that the "specialty room" most requested by clients is (drum roll): the home office. Shocking, thinks the reader taking work home every night. The Home office blew away outdoor living rooms, mudrooms, home theaters and exercise rooms. 

Pet portraits: Modernica, maker of Eames shell chairs and George Nelson bubble lamps, declared its third Pets on Furniture photo winner. The most brilliant contest in the history of retailing?

"Carrot City": Next week the Monacelli Press is scheduled to release "Carrot City: Creating Places for Urban Architecture" by Mark Gorgolewski, June Komisar and Joe Nasr. The pitch: "40 projects, created by designers from the United States and around the world, that explore innovative approaches to making space for urban food production."

Trebor/Nevets in Long Beach to hold warehouse sale

A Chinese Ming-style wood table that sits on square hoof feet with a carved Greek key pattern: What's not to like, especially when the vintage table will be marked down from $2,595 to $950?

This piece is one of dozens that will be offered by the interior design firm and furniture store Trebor/Nevets, whose headquarters is among the vintage emporiums dotting 4th Street in Long Beach.

In anticipation of new inventory, owners Robert Murphy and Steven Sarinana are clearing out their warehouse at 1350 Daisy Ave. later this month. The warehouse sale, which will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept 16 to 18, will include some pieces that have been given a facelift by Trebor/Nevets. Other pieces may need a little TLC. Discounts will range from 30% to 75%. 

Among the items on sale: A Trebor/Nevets-designed microfiber chaise with down blend cushions, above, will be slashed from $1,950 to $895. Items from the sale will not be posted on the firm's website, but shoppers outside Southern California can inquire about pieces shown here by calling Trebor/Nevets at (562) 901-0600.

To see more sale merchandise, keep reading ...

White House decorator opens furniture gallery Duke & Duke

Michael S. Smith, best known as interior decorator for the Obama White House, is far from the traditionalist that his Washington appointment might suggest. A case in point: Duke & Duke, the new gallery for furniture-as-art that Smith and his longtime art collaborator, Maya McLaughlin, recently opened in West Hollywood. Its first exhibition features the wildly inventive designs of Mattia Bonetti.

"Mattia holds true to the French classical artisan ideal of creating quality sculptural design, and then takes it to the next level with his use of magnificent and often unusual materials," Smith said by email. 

These materials include automobile paint and the kind of plexiglass used for the windshields of fighter jets. (The transparent material can be seen in the cabinet behind Bonetti, right, embellished with gold-plated brass.)

"He plays with the idea of old materials versus new materials, traditional versus garish, while always being  in control of how far he pushes the boundaries," Smith said. "His works always have a sense of humor and playfulness."

Indeed, the designs bring to mind styles such as Italian postmodernism (including the off-kilter polished stainless dresser with multicolored acrylic trim at the top of this post) and the flowing shapes of Art Nouveau in a bronze table lamp and Alu, an aluminum dining chair that seems to melt before your eyes (photo toward the end of this post).

Bonetti also seems to be a fan of Salvador Dalí, Antonin Gaudí and, in the case of tables made from what appear to be beads, Coco Chanel.

Prices? Brace yourself. The Alu chair costs $8,500. The Chanel-esque Broken Pearl Necklace with chrome- and gold-plated brass bead legs and a lava stone top, right, is $75,000 (produced in a limited edition of 12).

The pieces can be seen through Sept. 7 at Duke & Duke. The gallery then will have a show of Christophe Come work and, in mid-November, pieces by Mira Nakashima, the daughter of legendary designer George Nakashima. 

"We want to build a gallery that elevates furniture designers who cross over into the contemporary art arena," McLaughlin said.

Keep reading to see more of Bonetti's designs ...

Sneak peek: Kenneth Cobonpue's Ferris chair

Kenneth Cobonpue's forthcoming Ferris chair, premiering Sept. 9 at the Maison & Objet show in Paris, puts you at the center of your own amusement park. The new collection from the prolific designer follows a slew of new releases. You also may have seen Cobonpue's work in Maroon 5's video for "Never Gonna Leave This Bed" or in our roundup of new patio chair designs.

Ferris may not be my favorite Cobonpue design, but I do like how it plays with scale -- a bit of Santiago Calatrava in the form of a poolside perch. We all could use a little levity now, no?

You can see more of the designer's work on the Kenneth Cobonpue site.

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-- Craig Nakano

Photo credit:  Kenneth Cobonpue

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The Deal: Outdoor furniture up to 70% off at Maison Bertet

Maison Bertet will slash prices on outdoor furnishings and accessories as much as 70% during its semiannual parking lot event and Web sale this weekend.

A high-backed rattan South Beach sofa, regularly $1,550, will be $950. The matching chair, regularly $1,150, will be marked down to $550. More savings: The Bora Bora hanging chair, regularly $195, will be $137, and a Stark bathroom vanity, regularly $750, will be $600.

Everything in the store, including accessories, will be at least 10% off.

The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 8348 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; (323) 651-5110. If you can't be there in person, shop for other sale items, such as the Eternity lounge set shown above, regularly $2,100, now $1,470, on the Maison Bertet website. 

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credit: Maison Bertet

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The Deal: Kartell storewide sale ends Saturday

This morning Kartell begins discounting its contemporary plastic furniture by 15% during a storewide sale running through Saturday.

Everything -- chairs, tables, lighting and accessories including pieces by designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Piero Lissoni and Marcel Wanders -- will be reduced. The sale will also include the new Magic Hole collection of outdoor furniture designed by Philippe Starck with Eugeni Quitllet; as shown above, the hollow curves of the arms can be used as magazine holders. The sofa, regularly $899, will be $764.15; the chair, regularly $630, will be $535.50.

The sale applies to Kartell's showrooms in Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Miami. The Los Angeles showroom is at 313 N. Robertson Blvd.; (310) 271-0178.

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-- Lisa Boone

Photo: Kartell

The Deal: Room & Board summer clearance sale

During Room & Board's online clearance sale, selected furniture and accessories are up to 40% off while supplies last.

The Room & Board' sale includes the two-seat sofa by Le Corbusier, above, regularly $4,000, now $2,299.99; the three-seat version, regularly $6,000, is marked down to $3,399.99. Other discounts include the orange-upholstered Monica California king bed, regularly $2,099, now $1,649.99; a modular cabinet in maple and stainless steel, regularly $1,749.99, now $1,499.99; and the York L-shaped sleeper sofa in navy fabric, regularly $3,800, now $3,099.99.

A great selection of decorative pillows in assorted fabrics is disappearing quickly. Regularly $49 to $129, they have been reduced to $29.99 to $89.99. (800) 301-9720.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credit: Room & Board

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20%-70% off everything at H.D. Buttercup

Los Angeles Modern Auctions offers unsold Eames, Maloof and Warhol at minimum prices

Although the cabinet shown above was one of the most popular items at the Los Angeles Modern Auctions preview last week, it did not sell Sunday at auction.

Good news: The 50-year-old piece by an anonymous Dutch architect can still be had. Design fans who missed the bidding or simply decided afterward that it must be theirs can buy it for $2,500.

Los Angeles Modern Auctions sold $1.5 million worth of goods on Sunday and will continue to offer lots that went unsold, but this time with no bidding. Lots are listed at set prices, the minimums the owners of each object is willing to accept. Prices include the auction house commission.

The leftovers range from a $200 American Modern lacquered coffee table to a $56,250 Andy Warhol  screen print called "The Marx Brothers." Other items include a Charles and Ray Eames ESU-420-C storage unit, $8,750; Eames lounge chair and ottoman, $4,375; and a 1965 Sam Maloof armchair with green upholstery, right, listed at $6,000. 

LAMA Managing Director Shannon Loughrey said she expects the inventory to last through the next three weeks. A complete list of available lots is available online. The authenticity of every item offered for sale is guaranteed. All sales are final. (323) 904-1950.

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-- Lisa Boone

Photo credits: LAMA   

Hotel Surplus Outlet parking lot sale includes TVs and furniture from Peninsula, Kelly Wearstler hotels

Furniture from the Kelly Wearstler-designed Avalon, Maison 140 and Chamberlain hotels will be part of Hotel Surplus Outlet's summer parking lot sale this weekend.

Shoppers will find plenty of used desks, tables, lamps, nightstands, headboards and decorative accessories. The selection includes a Drexel Heritage armoire from a Peninsula hotel ($225), Drexel Heritage nightstands ($89.95 each), an Eames shelf from Modernica from the Avalon Hotel ($150), a pewter-colored cabinet from the Chamberlain ($150) and 30-inch LCD TVs from the Peninsula ($199.95 each).

Armoires outfitted with 30-inch TV, speakers, digital safe, minibar and DVD/VHS player will sell for $525.

A wide selection of items -- tables, lamps, desk chairs, framed art -- will be priced at $25. Merchandise snapshots from the company hint that the decor leans heavily toward the staid and traditional.

The sale runs from 10 a.m. to  5 p.m. June 25-26. Hotel Surplus Outlet is at 6843 Valjean Ave., Van Nuys. (818) 787-7807.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credits: Hotel Surplus

 

The Deal: 20%-70% off everything at H.D. Buttercup

The H.D. Buttercup half-yearly sale begins Friday with prices on everything in the Los Angeles and San Francisco stores reduced 20% to 70%. The Timothy Oulton showroom, above, is among the manufacturers with departments in the store. Others include Sferra linens, Cisco Brothers, Environment Furniture and sellers of vintage pieces too.

Those enamored of Timothy Oulton's Euro-industrial style -- think Union Jack upholstery, Danish modern chairs with riveted metal bases, and steamer trunk coffee tables -- will appreciate the reductions.

The Bilbao day bed, regularly $2,295, is now $1,836. Sleek chairs that regularly are $2,095 apiece are now $1,676. Prices on a dining table have dropped to $1,276 from $1,595, and a tufted three-seater sofa has been reduced to $3,596 from $4,495. Accessories are 20% to 40% off. 

For those on a tighter budget, H.D. Buttercup also has a collection of upholstered furniture and cabinets priced under $1,000.

The Aragon wingback armchair, right, has a lathe-turned mahogany frame that has been hand-rubbed black. The pinstripe fabric is studded with nail heads. The chair is marked down to $795 from $995.

Modernists will also find good values: A clean-lined, two-cushion H.D. Buttercup sofa in goes-with-anything charcoal fabric is knocked down to $750 from $950.

The Cincinnati cabinet, below, is a sleek piece reminiscent of the work of midcentury masters Paul McCobb and Milo Baughman. Tapered brass legs exhibit an Italian flair. With two doors and four drawers, the piece is suitable for use as a buffet or dresser. It's shown here in a natural walnut finish but also comes in off-white or taupe. The price, originally $1,295, has been reduced to $995. 

H.D. Buttercup's half-yearly sale continues through July 10 at 3225 Helms Ave., Los Angeles, (310) 558-8900; and 290 Townsend St., San Francisco, (415) 820 4788.

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Photos: New patio chairs

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-- Lisa Boone and David A. Keeps

Upper photo credit: Timothy Oulton

Middle and lower photo credits: H.D. Buttercup