Bergere Love

Rendering and Design by Michelle Morelan, 2010

The lines, the feathers, the piping, just the right ratio of wood to fabric…I love the proportions of the Bergere. Jazz it up with a new linen and wood finish.

Hotel Lobby

I'd call my look nature inspired, but love the juxtaposition of mid-century modern with natural materials. In this hotel lobby, I've used different tones of wood as a treatment on the fireplace (could have code issues here), a monolithic chunk of wood for the coffee table from Live Edge Design, and a 8' long fire strip by Sparkfires.

The Eames Aluminum Group Soft Pad lounge chairs, the George Nelson Bubble lamps and the glossy Flos Spun Light F modern floor lamps provide balance, and remind us of man made vs. natural.

maybe these alder rounds by Brent Comber


Again, I am into this palette of moss green and rusts. Red and green are opposite each other on the colour wheel, and the two colours have the same value within their own family. Greys give a neutral background and black anchors the room.

I love hospitality design, with it's mix of residential, restaurant, retail and lounge spaces...it's the marriage of the program and the concept that excites me.

See my thesis project here. I'm still waiting for that developer with a vision to develop the Ucluth Lodge and Spa in Ucluelet BC.

Also, for some eye candy, Colour Me Happy did a post recently on hotels in London.

renderings by Michelle Morelan, Interior Designer, BID

Wings

I have a thing for the chair...especially wing chairs, which I find to be the big daddy of all chairs.

They were once used to keep warm around a fire, and the drafts away from your shoulders and back. I love the silhouette of a sideway glance of one in the chair. Picture a fine hotel in London, a roaring fire, a black pair of stockings and heels, crossed legs and glancing around to see your man walking towards you, as your face glows of the fire. Oh, and add a glass of a warm liqueur.

They are just so sexy, with their wide shoulders and big arms which you can perfectly position your elbow on to balance your brandy glass. I'm speaking of the chair, of course...pheew...I'm heated.

So many modern versions have hit the market recently, so I thought I would put together a few I am lusting over.

The granddaddy of them all...the Wainscott Chair by Victoria Hagan

Eric Brand Right Band Club Chair-this one is barely a wing, but the small returns on the top hint of wing

Victoria Hagan Emma Small Wing Chair

Victoria Hagan James Wing Chair

Custom or Artistic Frame 2918 through Merchandise Mart or your Design Center

Ralph Lauren Barrel Back Wing

Ralph Lauren Hudson River Valley Wing Chair

Colie and Harris

Ralph Lauren Kerry Chair

Ralph Lauren Irish Coast Wing Chair

Mitchell Gold Perry Chair

Mitchell Gold Sloane Chair

Mitchell Gold Gustave Chair

Mitchell Gold Delia Chair

Mitchell Gold Carter Wing

Mitchell Gold Ashton Wing

Wyland Wing Barclay Butera

River Wing Chair by Stylus; this chair retails for under 1000. cdn dollars...great for lots of budgets

McCartney Chair by John Charles Designs via 2Modern

Hans J Wegner Wing Chair c.1960, but still in production today

Thomas Pheasant Modernne Wing Chair by Baker

Baker Rattan Wing Milling Road

Regina Chair by Poltrona Frau

Laura Kirar Cradle Wing Chair

Baker Milling Road Host Wing

Baker Manor Wing by Bill Sofield

Baker

Seth Stevens

This slipcovered monogrammed wing from the Windsor/Smith Home Collection comes via Joni at Cote de Texas.

My Favorite Chair

Hans J. Wegner

It was love at first sight...when I first saw Wegner's Three Legged Chair at Alda Pereira's office during a work tutorial. Alda was my mentor for our final year mentorship program at Kwantlen, and her office and material boards were inspiring. It's where I first saw Cole and Son's "Woods" wallpaper, FLOR carpet tiles, 3Form products, Inform and the Wegner designs.

That lead me to the Wishbone chair by Wegner; it is simple yet complicated. Wegner's inspiration was classical portaits of Danish merchanants sitting on Ming Chairs, adding "... it was rather a continuous process of purification, and for me of simplification, to cut down to the simplest possible elements..." I like this black version.

We toured the home of Nancy and Neils Bensen as a site tutorial trip at school (someone at school worked in the Inform showroom), and was not surprised to see that they had perfectly used them around a simple very modern table. The lines of the chair were the interest, and the white kitchen confirmed that furniture design was thier life. The furniture popped against the simple lines of the modern house, which was inspired by Eames Case House #6. Bensen has a great sofa...the Canyon...check out thier website.