rubik's cube

We could not help but notice Saturday night at the Lacoste show in Bryant Park that the 1980s are still going strong in fashion. The models paraded down the runway in primary color-blocked street clothes inspired by early 80s Manhattan hip-hop culture. Later in the week Betsey Johnson’s collection was full of metallic, 1980s inspired cocktail dresses. Some looked like what your sister wore to the prom.

So it only makes sense that the 1980s trend (which we really thought would be dead by now) would translate into the interior design world. Furniture is usually a bit slower to react to trends, but after catching a look at the Cube table, inspired by the Rubik’s Cube, we’re thinking maybe it’s time to add a little eighties nostalgia to our apartment. It’s freaking adorable.

Rubik’s Cube Furniture [Gizmodo]

Eames Lounge Chair

We know some of you were more interested in the chair from these photos we posted this morning. And that is OK to admit, because it’s a beauty. The Eames Lounge Chair was designed in 1965 by the husband and wife team of Charles and Ray Eames. Using leather and bent woods the design is functional and comfortable, while retaining a beauty not often seen in furniture design. Somehow it is beautiful and masculine at the same time.

Charles and Ray Eames are considered masters of 20th century design. Their catalog of designs remains vital and stylish today, 50 plus years later. But we’ve already told you that.

Those photos this morning got us all excited partly because of Micky and partly because of the Eames Lounge Chair. We’re design fags. Sometimes chairs and boys both can get our blood pumping. The chair may cost more, but unlike the boy, it will last a lifetime.

Eames Lounge Chair [Design Within Reach]
Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman [Herman Miller]
Charles and Ray Eames Online [Eames Office]

brini

Style Network star Brini Maxwell is preparing a Christmas show that is playing for one night only this coming Sunday in New York. The performer who has been called “Florence Henderson with a Y chromosome” recently caught up with Bradford Shellhammer, discussing Martha Stewart, Jonathan Adler, and what all gays need this holiday season.

What exactly is A Very Brini Christmas and what can we expect from your upcoming show?

It's a warm, nostalgic look at the holiday season, with gentle humor and delightful music.

What new projects are you working on?

I have a few things up my sleeve, but nothing I can talk about at the moment. You can see the episodes of my second season, now airing on the Style Network on Fridays at 2:30pm and my new book: Brini Maxwell's Guide to Gracious Living is available everywhere - including the show at the Cutting Room.

What are five things every good gay needs to have this holiday season?

Good cheer, good friends, good will, good taste, and good recuperative skills.

More Brini after the jump.

CONTINUED »

tree

Any good queer has already put to bed his final Thanksgiving menu and has already begun planning the glittery and snow-covered extravaganza of Christmas! And if you are not Christian, Christmas is still fun to celebrate. Think eggnog, presents, and snowman sweaters! These are things everyone should love.

In the past we have gone all out Martha at Christmas, putting out our Poinsettias, stringing pearls on our fresh tree, and roasting both a ham and a turkey. This year we are going modern and kitsch. And you should too.

The tinsel tree is a fun, fagtastic way to make any home a happy one for the holidays. You do not have to water them and if you hate the color green you are in luck! Tinsel trees come in the gayest colors: gold, silver, pink, baby blue, and orange!

Many kitsch specialty shops in your town will carry these guys. eBay also has a huge selection. Our pick is West Elm’s 5 foot silver tree. It is the perfect size and looks great with a color scheme of two or three colors. We’re doing pink and green. But really any color would work. These trees are so fabulous that even a colorblind queen could do no wrong.

Sarah Cihat

Brooklyn based artist Sara Cihat’s Fifty-Cents line of dishware is colorful, kitsch, and perfect for any queer home. How could you not love purple dishes with ponies emblazoned all over?

Her graphic arts flatware is actually an “exercise in sustainability that reincarnates existing products.” In layman’s terms, she takes old dishware, paints over them, and makes them new again. It’s brand new and it’s retro.

The press has picked up on her colorful creations. Paper, Nylon, and Teen Vogue have all featured her products. The Future Perfect (our new favorite shop, fyi) in Brooklyn carries the brand as does RAYE in Houston and The English Department in Portland.

They are a bit pricey, but each piece is hand painted and hand fired. It may be the perfect way to keep mom’s old dishware in the family. Or it could be a way to turn that set of dishes you bought at Salvation Army when you first moved out on your own into something actually worth keeping.

Cucumber

Everyone knows we love minimalism and modernism when it comes to interior design. This obsession with clean lines and simplicity also crosses over to our cleaning supplies. We could not live without Method.

Method was founded by two guys in San Francisco and their products range from dish soap and specialty cleaners to laundry detergent and candles. Our faves includes the Karim Rashid designed bottle of cucumber dish soap and the fresh laundry candle. Yes, it really smells like fresh laundry. They also have a starter set, which is a great introduction to the brand and its products.

The company believes "that your home is a reflection of who you are and how you want to live, and we know that you want to live clean." Well, actually, we don't mind getting a little dirty from time to time. However, these are the products we want when it is time to clean up. And when there is a half-naked guy on the site, you know it is a better choice than Proctor & Gamble.

Gun Vase

We usually love the Brooklyn based blog, Design*Sponge. However, recently she wrote some things about the UK design team Suck UK and we definitely don’t agree.

"I just think these guys seem like super smarmy British guys- you know, the type that would hang out at a pub and make lewd comments at girls. Ick. I just think the guns thing is soooo cheesy. I mean, they made a cool bottle opener but, so what?"

It is exactly this reason that we love Suck UK. The company not only makes great designs (the slide light is a fave of ours), but it never takes itself too seriously. And that is a hard thing to find in the snobbery of the design biz. A gun flower vase? We don’t find it cheesy. We think it’s rather gay. And that means we need one.

And besides what is so wrong with guys at a bar making lewd comments? We go out drinking hoping that will occur.

Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan

How could you not love a blog dedicated to interior design and urban living? And that is exactly what Apartment Therapy is: the definitive blog covering design news, reviews, resources, and solutions. Co-founder Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan (what a name!) took the time to complete our five-question interview. We are tickled pink that a straight guy, and not a homo, is the talent behind site.

What is your greatest source of inspiration?
Gosh, humans inspire me the most. Gandhi, Steiner, and JK Rowling are among the top picks.

What is the greatest album every recorded?
Good question. This is a too much pressure to put on one album, so I would take English Beat's What is Beat? and a Bach symphony.

What is the greatest book ever written?
Unquestionably, The Divine Comedy by Dante. You need a teacher or SOMEONE to get you through it, but it is absolutely unforgettable on every possible level.

What is your most prized possession?
My wife.

What is the key to happiness?
The key to happiness is not to be caught in illusion. Avoid your hunger, keep to the center, trust yourself, and don’t stop. That is it.

20050922_design.jpg

It's not hard to find a gay architect or designer. Hell, it's hard to find one that's not gay, but finding one that's also good? Well, look no further than Rawlins Design. Founded in 2000 by Christopher Rawlins, the Manhattan firm focuses on residential interior architecture that somehow comes arcoss as looking "smart" and stylish as well.

We love the "Bibliophiles Residence" as well as the "Bathroom for the Filmmaker," but it's the "Essay in Copper, Walnut, and Maple" that really caught our eye. Rawlins works with lots of wood and "woven" copper to create spaces that are modern yet warm.

His website says he's working on designs for a new loft building. Better get those checkbooks out quick. Good design is hard to find.

Gnome

Recently on a trip to the countryside we met a straight couple who worked in the movie biz. Their weekend home was a Queerty dream come true: Swiss ski lodge meets Eichler modernism. They had fur rugs mixed with wood paneling mixed with steel and glass tables. Oh, and they had garden gnomes.

We giggled at the gnomes hiding along the land and the stairs to the cottage. They were so cute and gave the house a sense of humor. They were not as tacky as pink flamingos or plastic deer. They were hidden in the garden and not easily spotted.

By clicking around the internets one can find many garden gnomes, including 1700 on eBay alone. There are satirical sites demanding the end of their enslavement and history lessons too. Apparently, the first gnomes were made in Germany in the 1800s and are said to bring good luck. Even Kartell, the Italian plastics company home to the Ero/S chair, has a few takes on the little guy. Not surprisingly, they are designed by Philippe Starck. We just wish we had a yard let alone a garden.

Jonathan Adler

Most ceramists don't have a manifesto. Then again, most ceramists are not Jonathan Adler. He is the the partner to Barneys' creative director Simon Doonan and the maker of retro, kitsch house must-haves. Jonathan Adler's work is remarkable. Whether a Valley of the Dolls inspired pill dish or one of his decorative fishes, each piece of his work has personality. And they are all so gay.

His manifesto includes some choice words:

We believe that when it comes to decorating, the wife is always right. Unless the husband is gay.

We believe minimalism is a bummer.

We believe handcrafted tchotchkes are life-enhancing.

We believe in our muses: David Hicks, Alexander Girard, Bonnie Cashin, Hans Coper, Gio Ponti, Andy Warhol, Leroy Neiman, Yves Saint Laurent, and Madonna.

We believe in being underdressed or overdressed always.

We believe in infantile, happy emblems like butterflies and hearts.

We believe celebrities should pay full price.

We believe in rustic modernism: Big Sur, A-Frame beach houses, raw beams, and geodesic dome homes.

We believe our designs are award winning even though they've never actually won any.

We believe colors can't clash.

We believe Adler is a genius.

Thad Hayes

When it comes to interior design, we usually go for an the ultra-modern downtown look, but when we see a designer that can pull off a tailored traditional look and not come across as looking like our grandma's dream home, we're all over him.

Meet Thad Hayes. Mr. Hayes's designs have been featured in just about every damn issue of Architectural Digest, the mag's almost become a walking advertisement for the man. We see why, though: his look is like a fine Armani suit: no matter who you are, or where you're at in life, you're gonna' look good in one. Sophisticated without being stuffy; hip without being pretentious, and subtle while all the while silently screaming to your dinner guests "I am so much richer than you!"

Oh, and we are so moving into the master bedroom of that "fifth avenue residence" under the "portfolio" section as soon Queerty goes public, or the owners forget to lock their doors. Whichever comes first.

Eames Lounge Chair

We are Eames junkies. It is alright to admit. We want everything they ever designed. Hell we have a lot of it already. But we want more. It is sad. It is an addiction. Like Tasti D.Lite. But a lot more expensive.

Charles and Ray Eames are among the most important designers in America history. Their list of creations include architecture, furniture design, industrial design and manufacturing, and the photographic arts. The husband and wife team created a series of furniture pieces that have stood the test of time and remain icons of design, embracing function and beauty in equal parts.

Herman Miller manufactures their design in the US. Vitra in Europe. We suggest you hunt down these pieces, either new or on eBay: Eames lounge chair, the plywood lounge chair, the hang-it-all, the RAR rocker, the aluminum management chair (which we sit at at Queerty), and the $7,000 Eames La Chaise.

On a budget? The Eiffel base side chair is $200 new and even less on eBay. Or opt for Kid Robot's Eames Kubrics. They are a great way to start an urban toy collection or the perfect gift for any design enthusiast.

More pics after the jump.

CONTINUED »

Tulip Collection

Eero Saarinen may be most remembered for his dramatic airport terminals, TWA Terminal at Kennedy Airport and Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. It is his furniture, however, that we at Queerty are most fond of.

The Tulip collection for Knoll, designed between 1955 and 1957, is still in production today. Initially conceived to eliminate the "slum of legs" of interior designs, the collection retains its sculptural simplicity in the shape a pedestal. The chairs, typically white, are either armchairs or side chairs. The tables are most dramatic in white marble.

Ranging in price from $700-$1000 for each chair and nearly $3000 for the marble topped table, we know the Tulip chairs and tables are not in most people's price range. But there is hope for the penny-pinching, design-savvy queen. Check Ebay often for great deals. And if still out of your range try the German company Vitra's miniature version. It is a fraction of the cost and the size.

Stitcht Blanket

I have to tell you all something. That Aberclonebie and Fitch shirt you wear, yes the one you love, um, its not working. I hate to break the news, but it is true.

Too many gays, in an attempt to look younger, have adopted an obsession with vintage t-shirts and teenager looks. While Queerty loves t-shirts (especially classic white, Nice Collective, and Threadless) we hate when a 30 year old man is wearing a high school football shirt. This only works if it is from your actual high school, ladies.

It is time to move on. Yes. No more Abercrombie, American Eagle, or Hollister.

I know you have grown attached and that is why we love Stitcht. You can send them your old shirts and they will make a blanket from them. Have a bunch of old concert shirts that do not fit? Want to start dressing your age? Keep memories of your past without looking like someone trying to be someone they are not. I hate to break it to you, but you're not 18 anymore.



Queerty Team

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Japhy Grant

Editorial Director
David Hauslaib

Publisher
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