For over 40 years, Cutler & Gross has been turning eyewear into key fashion accessory. When looking for inspiration for their first online magazine, they came to Roomscape for vintage pieces.

Cutler and Gross Magazine Issue-1

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The origins of Brutalism lie in the aesthetics & philosophy of the Modernist movement.

Paul Kingma "Tableaux" vintage Brutalist coffee table, 1970's ca, Dutch

Emphasizing function, the resulting designs were of volume, block shapes and geometric repetition. In some cases the function of the building was expressed on the exterior.

To achieve these forms, concrete was the material of choice and consequently it’s texture became the decoration. These features needed new furniture designs such as the work by Roger Capron and Paul Kingma – designer of the table above.

Vintage wall mirror, 1970's, Italian

Kalmar large vintage brutalist glass chandelier, 1970's ca, Austrian

Brutalism is ‘honest’ in terms of rawness of the materials and straight-forward design. Contrast & texture create an intriguing visual tension as in the mirror above. These ideas were innovative against the clean Danish look and the Hollywood Regency lines.

In later years, Brutalism ‘lightened up’ to include a wider range of materials characteristic of the work of Paul Evans, Gabriella Crespi and Kalmar – maker of the large chandelier above.

"Purity", 1980, 1.5m Rothko style vintage wall sculpture painting mix media

Furniture like this looks great in uncluttered spaces as the style ‘speaks for itself’.

Appreciating Brutalism is challenging – Could the interest which surrounded it be compared to the present industrial trend?

Vintage teak cocktail bar, 1960's ca, Danish

Vintage teak cocktail bar, 1960's ca, Danish

Vintage teak cocktail bar, 1960's ca, Danish

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It’s not just the stock market saying invest in metals – interiors have been touched by the gold rush.  Metallics of the late 70’s, such as these vintage coffee tables added glamour to the rather austere Modernist style.  Cleverly they reflect light upwards.

Vintage mirrored coffee table signed Nazareth by Cidue, 1970's ca, Italian

Vintage Pierre Vandel style coffee table, 1980's ca, French

Metal lighting, like these vintage Sciolari chandeliers, brought texture & a magical glow to homes of the 70′s. Decorators at the time experimented with ‘layers of light’ around the room for maximum impact.

Gaetano Sciolari vintage chandelier, 1970's ca, Italian

Gaetano Sciolari vintage chandelier, 1970's ca, Italian

Vintage Sciolari @ The Union Club

Vintage Sciolari @ The Union Club

Collectors of vintage lighting, such as The Union Club in Soho, know that metals are on the rise and age well. Interested in visiting The Union Club?  Let us know – As Club Ambassadors we can show you around the club to see more of their lighting which we sourced.

Vintage Sciolari from Roomscape is featured in the November issue of Elle Decoration in a special lighting supplement.

Elle Decoration

Gaetano Sciolari vintage sculptural chandelier, 1970's ca, Italian

Danish architect Arne Vodder (1926 -2009) is the designer of this month’s featured rosewood desk.

Arne Vodder

Arne Vodder vintage rosewood desk for Sibast Furniture, 1960's ca, Danish

Vodder studied at the Copenhagen School of Design. He went on to work with alumni legends Finn Juh and Fritz Hansen. While working with Sibast furniture company in the late 50′s, Vodder launched a range of furniture under his name. This partnership was hugely successful with corporate offices and banks, including a desk for US President Jimmy Carter.

A highlight from this period is Vodder’s iconic #26 sideboard, pictured, with its unusual combination of timber, metal and colour.

arne_vodder-sideboard

Vintage sideboard, teak, 1960's ca, Danish

Our sideboard (pictured right) has all the hallmarks of quality Danish Design: nicely detailed and modest, based on natural materials such as rosewood and teak.  Or this set of six dining chairs by Jens Risom.

Jens Risom dining chairs, set of six, 1950's ca, Danish

Vintage dining table by Cidue, 1970's ca, Italian

Pair vintage ceramic table lamps, 1950's ca, French

More photos & details @ www.roomscape.net