Image | Tim Street-Porter

With his celebrated interiors gracing pages from Architectural Digest to Vogue Living, Jeff Andrews’ designs are stunning achievements in their beauty, comfort and livability. Jeff got his start as an innovative choreographer, but this designer brought his in-demand moves to the interior design world more than a decade ago.

What sets Jeff Andrews apart in the world of design is his natural talent for taking bold design concepts and infusing them with warmth, sophistication, and most importantly, a sense of home. Andrews’ signature style is plush and contemporary with an eclectic mix of modern and quality vintage pieces. His monochromatic palettes are calming to the eye and soothing to the spirit.

Jeff Andrews built his business by word-of-mouth beginning with the home of Eleanor Mondale. This television host and daughter of former Vice President Walter Mondale was inspired by Jeff’s style and asked him to take a crack at interiors. They have since completed four projects over the years. As her homes began to receive recognition among the industry and design enthusiasts, Andrews went on to work for other creative leaders including television & radio personality Ryan Seacrest, actress America Ferrera, actor Michael C. Hall, NBA star Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian, choreographer/director Jamie King (Madonna, Britney Spears), Italian director/choreographer Luca Tommassini (Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams), and the Greenberg family (Skechers footwear).

I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Andrews for another special installment of “If Design Were…”

SY: If design were an object?
JA: Then people could buy it directly and my job would be obsolete.

SY: …a food?
JA: My friend Luca’s home made gnocchi. Perfection.

SY: …a moment?
JA: That last ray of light before the sun sets in Maui.

SY: …a memory?
JA: My first trip to Paris.

SY: …a place?
JA: Heaven

SY: …a song?
JA: “A House Is Not A home” Streisand. My first design client Eleanor Mondale used to sing it to me. She still does.

SY: … a film/video?
JA: Casablanca

SY: …an era?
JA: Late 1950’s to mid 60’s. Think Mad Men.

SY: …a person?
JA: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

SY: …an animal?
JA: Zebra

SY: …a city?
JA: Paris

The Siglo Moderno showroom is the newest kid on the famed Melrose block, with a fabulous space nicely nestled between Alexander McQueen and Bisazza Tiles. Officially opening their doors to the public in March, designer and founder Jorge L. Cruzata expresses his delight with the new space, “Fashion has always had a heavy influence on me when designing interiors, specifically the fashion of the late Alexander McQueen [...] Spaces I design, evoke an effortless, timeless, sexiness in the same way that his collections did.”

Jorge curates his showroom with a sophisticated coverage of iconic vintage designs, contemporary designs and the in house collection: S+M. The current vintage focus is on iconic 70’s Italian designs by designers such as Tobia Scarpa, Mario Bellini, and Gaetano Pesce. The current contemporary focus is on 70’s Glamour designs by designers such as Carlo Colombo, Kemistry of Style and Fredrikson Stallard. The in-house collection, S+M Furniture is currently featuring extraordinary Saddle Collar Mirrors from actual horse collars which have been repurposed.

Siglo Moderno’s defined vision comes from the synthesis of modernity and tradition. “Siglo Moderno is for those who, like me, relish in the romance, the nostalgia of decadent and modern design, yet flee the dangers of trends and prefer to maintain future relevance” says Cruzata.

For more info, visit Siglo Moderno

SIGLO MODERNO
8373 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90069
tel 323.377.9255

(Pair of Rounded Cane-Back chairs, by Lajos Kozma: The recognizable bentwood design and old world caning method are quintessentially Kozma Deco.)

(Walnut Secretary with Starburst Inlay, by Lajos Kozma : The rounded corners, simplified lines and veneers with geometric shapes express the stylistic development from deco to Modernism.)

Images | Szalon Antiques

The pre-eminent architect and designer of 20th century Hungarian Modernism, Lajos Kozma, was known for his distinctive deco style, inflected with abstract, indigenous folk motifs and nature-inspired themes. Predominately working with luxurious woods and employing old world methods such as the elaborate marquetry of local artisans in Budapest, Kozma’s deco explored a native influence that was unlike the French and American counterparts. Often treating woods with polishes rather than lacquers, and opting to use natural elements in an era that celebrated the Machine Age, Kozma straddled the generations and perplexed his contemporaries with nature-loving forms rather than through the explicit use of man-made materials.

At Szalon Antiques in the famed La Cienega Design Quarter, their collection of Kozma Deco exhibits the works and themes of a designer who has been considered on par with Frank Lloyd Wright, and whom others have hailed as the Renaissance man of his era. As contemporary design moves more and more toward a green lifestyle,
a rediscovery of the nature-inspired themes of Kozma Deco may make for a unique, modern living space.

For more info about Kozma Deco, as well Szalon’s complete collection of Modernist antiques, please visit: Szalon Antiques

Hi friends,

I’m gonna keep this pretty simple. I really don’t like plugging myself, but I have a new online, side project that I think you may enjoy and find useful. After four years of producing my namesake blog, I’ve decided to diversify with THE CULTURE CREATIVE. Whereas this site is a content-rich dialogue about design and style (and will continue to be,) THE CULTURE CREATIVE is an ever-evolving, visual mood board. The audience I’m speaking to are Creatives who can visit the site daily for visual inspirations. Whether you’re in fashion, interior design or film, you’re probably quite use to creating mood boards to convey a project your working on. My goal is to provide a platform to share the most provoking images, curated in a replenishing and ongoing series of pages (or mood boards,) as a resource to you. Another important component for THE CULTURE CREATIVE is that I will primarily archive high-res imagery, so be sure to click on an image if you’d like it enlarged. For me, finding high-res images can be somewhat of a challenge online and a deterrent for putting a mood board together, so I’m shooting to be a resource in this arena.

Okay, there you have it! THE CULTURE CREATIVE

Thanks for listening and stay inspired!

-S

An Exclusive Tour of the Art Guru’s New Los Angeles Home.

After being appointed the new director of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) this January, former New York dealer and downtown impresario Jeffrey Deitch needed some digs on the West Coast. Seasoned aesthete that he is, to truly feel at home he needed to surround himself with the art he loves (click play above for a sneak peek of the pieces by Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Aaron Young and Andy Warhol, among many others). Deitch’s new “movie star” home, in LA’s Los Feliz neighborhood, isn’t just any old Spanish revival house—it’s the former residence of Cary Grant. (Meanwhile, another prominent figure in the art world is buying into Hollywood history: Larry Gagosian recently purchased Gary Cooper’s old abode, in Holmby Hills.) Deitch is particularly interested in where art and entertainment merge. As part of his early activities at MOCA, he allowed his friend James Franco to film an episode of General Hospital within the museum; and the first show under his leadership was a major Dennis Hopper retrospective. For today’s short, filmmaker Alison Chernick and food artist Jennifer Rubell toured Deitch’s house—including his “super Tudor-pop” party room, as he calls it—and sounded out his theories on celebrity, his new vision for MOCA, and his belief that you need a painting of Jesus over your bed.

I had the pleasure of attending Voila! gallery’s launch party for their new line of custom moulding designs by Martyn Lawrence-Bullard. The new line is beautiful and quintessentially MLB of course, but it was the entire collection of interesting curiosities that really blew me away about the showroom. Voila! explores, discovers and exhibits their treasures, mixing vintage oddities with antiques and contemporary art, to truly create an authentic space with a unique point of view. As gallery owner and designer, Katrien van der Schueren explains, “we mix old with new [and] we make our own creations, edgy with a sense for humor. I am from Belgium, and surrealism is close to my heart and my aesthetic.”

I’ll let their work do the rest of the talking. For more info and to check out their entire collection, check out: Voila!

Friend Voila! on FB

-S

CARIBOU – Sun from Caribou on Vimeo.

Video for Caribou’s “Sun,” directed by Simon Owens. Interpretive dance at its best!

Prestigious rug purveyor, Victoria Hagan. Hagan’s guest collection for Mansour Modern is true to her signature aesthetic, “My design philosophy is about the juxtaposition of the old and new, the blending of materials and periods to create a thoroughly modern environment,” says Hagan.

Hagan has contributed an impressive, twenty-seven designs for her collection for Mansour Modern. A collection that Hagan says was inspired by nature and bold geometric forms, “We are all connected to the outdoors and our interiors live in harmony with the elements around us, I look to the landscape, and try to bring the outdoors in. The mixture of organic and geometric creates environments that are complicated yet simple, light yet strong,” says Hagan.

Ben Soleimani, principal and head designer for Mansour Modern utilized his rug expertise to translate Hagan’s designs into indisputable works of art. Soleimani made the rugs in the most luxe materials befitting Hagan’s aesthetic; silk, linen and mohair, which are as plush underfoot as they are pleasing to the eye. Taking from his vast knowledge of texture and his natural leaning towards innovation he wove in sustainable materials such as hemp and other natural fibers with the more luxurious, creating a perfect balance for Hagan’s designs to be highlighted. 

“We are very happy to have the opportunity to work with Victoria, she’s a true talent and her offerings are stunning,“ says Soleimani. It seems the admiration is mutual. When asked why she chose to work with Mansour Modern Hagan answered, “I have known Ben for many years and was thrilled when they asked me to collaborate with them. It was a chance to explore gorgeous materials, and to work with such a highly respected international brand with an eye toward creating modern classics.“

Hello friends and fashionistas,

My latest piece, “Style Trumps Trends,” is in the September issue of Instinct Magazine, on newsstands now. I always have loads of fun with my articles for Instinct because the editorial team puts almost no limitations on me, if any. They’re just the nicest guys who understand the beauty of collaboration, and subsequently I feel like my most authentic work comes out with them. The September issue has a fashion theme, and so does my article which explores fashion as a point of inspiration for interiors. “Style Trumps Trends” is a quippy evaluation of fashion and interior design, with some fun tips for decorating your home in celebration of icons like Chanel, YSL and Dior. There’s a sneak peek on Instinct’s site, but if you want to read it in full please consider supporting a worthy print mag that still believes in original content.

Thanks for your support,

Sean

Last Friday, the LA design community was shocked to hear of the passing of John Chase. As West Hollywood’s urban designer for 14 years, John Chase was responsible for so much that has put the city on the map, internationally as a beautifully and progressively designed place to live. John was not only a mentor for me in many ways, but also a colleague at the A+D and a genuine, good friend. Most of the time, we only truly appreciate and realize the blessings of our relationships when they are over. I will tell you – something about John made me fully aware, with each meeting, how lucky I was to know him. He had an authenticity, happy energy and genius about him. As a writer, he spoke of nuances in design, so provocative, that it impacted and changed me as a design writer. A few months ago, John and I collaborated on a review of his classic, Exterior Decoration: Hollywood’s Inside Out Houses. If you haven’t read it, I believe that it describes John’s personality and passions better than anything I can further articulate.

For those of you who knew him, a memorial will be held in John’s honor at Plummer Park in West Hollywood, next Tuesday, August 24th 2010 4:00pm to 7:00pm Fiesta Hall, Plummer Park 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard West Hollywood, CA 90046-6620