A Perfect Pair: Russel Wright Dining Chairs and Vintage Murano Lamps!

While covering the great industrial and furniture designs of Russel Wright yesterday, we particularly enjoyed a set of dining chairs he designed. Though we normally feature a lounge chair or a credenza for our Perfect Pair series, we think these chairs will work just perfectly with a great pair of Swank Lamps!

Wright’s set of four chairs by for the Conant Ball company in 1935 was part of the "Modernmates Collection" he produced. We really fell in love with the modern and organic feeling these chairs give off. Though the chairs feature a simple shape, the curve of their profile is quite powerful. The upholstery is a fresh and neutral light gray, and the seat is placed on four substantial and blond-colored wood legs. Our favorite parts are the three subtle button tufts in the crease of the seat.

These pulegoso-winged Murano lamps in coke bottle green by A.V.E.M. are rare because you don’t often see vintage Murano glass in this color. The pattern and clarity of the glass is also unique: you can clearly see the tiny trapped air bubbles from the pulegoso process. There aren’t too many air bubbles, though; the glass condition is still a crystal clear. The shape of the lamps features a simple curved form, but also with a subtle swirling. The solid wood bases have been refinished in a gold lacquer and are four inches in height.

We love the combination of these Swank Lighting lamps and the Wright dining chairs. The color of the lamps goes well with the chairs not just because of its complement to the upholstery, but because the color is similar to the sort of color palettes that Wright often used. Both the lamps and the chairs feature simple shapes, but with dynamic outlines and subtle, surprising details. Don’t feel like you would only be able to use the chairs in a dining room; we think they’d make great side chairs in a living room, too. And paired with these Swank vintage Murano lamps they’d be unstoppable!

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A Perfect Pair: Loewy Chests and Swank Lighting Lamps!

Did you fall in love with Raymond Loewy’s work like we did yesterday? Though more well known for his industrial product design than his furniture, he still did a pretty darn good job creating furniture designs that were cool. We think many of his modern pieces would look fabulous with Swank Lighting lamps, but one piece in particular caught our eye…

This chest of drawers designed by Raymond Loewy is apparently very rare and is called the DF 2000 Chest of Drawers. Made in France in 1965 for the Doubinsky Freres company, these two individual pieces are bright, punchy and exciting. The drawer fronts are made of a custom molded plastic material and feature four different (but equally fabulous) colors. According to 1stdibs, the pieces are “extremely heavy and well made, can be used together or apart or as two bedside dressers.” One of the chests has six drawers and the other three drawers and a door. Glossy, with curved edges and a modern aesthetic, these are cool pieces!

These vintage Swank Lighting Murano table lamps in purple with controlled bubbles are luxurious and dramatic. Featuring a simple shape a little larger on top and slowily getting smaller to the bottom, it’s the deep, rich color of these lamps that really has us going. Not quite a purple, with a lot of red and burgundy in it, these lamps are almost the color of a fresh glass of red wine. On top of a simple Lucite base they are simple yet strong.

Though it might seem unwise to introduce another color to a composition containing all the bright colors as this Loewy double chest of drawers, we think the color on the Swank Lighting Murano lamps is just perfect. A deeper color, but with a lot of red and warmth in it, the color of the lamps is almost an extension of the colors you see in the chests. All the pieces feature soft, curvy edges and shapes, perfectly complementing one another. This would definitely be a bold and daring combination to add to a space, but one we think would be well worth it!

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The Industrial and Cool Designs of Raymond Loewy!

We focus a lot on those interior designers and furniture designers of the past whose work was so powerful and life-altering that it still impacts design today. There’s another type of design that has an equal impact on our lives, and that’s industrial design. You have to look no further than Raymond Loewy to find one of the best industrial designers of all time.

What is so striking about Loewy’s body of work is how futuristic and ahead of the time it is. Much of his career took place during the 1930s-1950s (though he is known to have worked for over seven decades); way before many of the most notable Mid-Century Modern designers started turning heads. Though stylish, Loewy took into account many elements other than just looks to create his designs, which no doubt has played a part in their popularity. His designs often feature sensuous curves, bright colors, stark contrasts and other modern elements.

Some of his most famous industrial designs are an interior of a Boeing 307 (Stratoliner) owned by Howard Hughes, steam locomotives for the Pennsylvania Railroad,a 1935 Sears Coldspot refrigerator, Electrolux L300 refrigerator, Lucky Strike package, the 1947 Studebaker Champion, Schick electric razor, Coca-Cola bottle redesign, the Shell logo, the interiors of NASA's Skylab space station, and many, many more items that made an impact.

His furniture and other home items followed the suit of his intelligent industrial design, featuring straight and curved lines, bright colors, forward thinking and great shapes. Though not as popular as other Mid-Century Modern furniture designers, his furniture designs are fun, pop-y and fresh, and would still look great in interiors of today—Mid-Century Modern style or not!

Originally from France, Loewy made his way to the United States with only his military uniform and little money to his name, but with talent, skills and perseverance became one of the most influential industrial designers this nation has ever known, impacting a whole world of products, interiors, vehicles, furniture and more!

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