Philadelphia Magazine • March 2000
Two new home stores in Old City devote themselves to an all-out revival of the sleekest styles
Modern Times
by Meg Cohen Ragas
With the Modernist Revival in high gear and design aficionados everywhere coveting Eames chairs and Herman Miller office furniture, Philadelphia is getting swept up in the excitement. The city has two new stores devoted to the modern lifestyle: Minima and Usona, just blocks from each other in Old City.
"Philadelphia is changing," says architect Eugenie Perret, who opened Minima on 3rd Street last October with her stepsister, Juliette Brody. Impetus for the store, Perret says, came from the fact that she usually had to travel outside city limits to find modern furniture for her clients. "Loft living is becoming increasingly popular, and people are building more modern homes," she explains. "We wanted to offer furniture to fill these spaces."
The store resembles an artist's loft in a pristine state: White and spacious, it acts as a perfect backdrop to the sleek designs it exhibits, from the extendable glass-topped aluminum More dining table from Italy's refreshingly innovative DesALTo Collection to the inviting celadon-green alcantara and stainless-steel sofa by Frighetto another Italian line.
Perret, who moved here three years ago from Los Angeles, designed the store with Brody to be "stark but not intimidating, minimal but not alienating." The pair wanted their customers to feel at home, both within the physical space and with the merchandise. They chose a wide range of lines to appeal to a sophisticated crowd made up of serious collectors and people simply interested in modern design. Younger lines, such as BluDot and Blank & Cables, offer chairs, storage units and coffee tables starting at $150. Vitra, known for its high-concept home and office furniture, including the award-winning Meda chair, and Frighetto are pricier, with the latter's ultraluxe sofas retailing in the thousands. "Some of our stuff is very architectural," says Perret, "while some of it is more classic. But everything is versatile."
Perret and Brody are committed to the community-both live in Old City and promote local designer Josh Owen's OwenLogik line-and to raising the city's awareness of modern design. "We try not to go with the trend," says Perret, a self-described "devout minimalist." "Our vision is clear. We're sticking to all things modern, to inspiring designs that are not only attractive but also functional and affordable."
DESIGN 101
When we ushered in the year of the double zeros, we were prepared for high-tech hysteria on the home front: computerized refrigerators that calculate their own contents, self-controlled vacuum cleaners, robotics galore. But the future of home design is a little more down-to-earth than we imagined. Here's what the experts say will prevail in the interiors of tomorrow.
Functionality. Why have a piece of furniture that plays one role when it can perform two or more? Versatile multi-use home furnishings such as Usona's leather Bondi ottoman, which doubles as a storage unit, or Waiter Knoll's Jason sofa (at Minima this spring), whose arms fold down and turn out to provide extra surfaces for seating or cocktails-are in high demand.
"People like the idea of buying something for their living room that might end up in their bedroom," says Usona's Kevin Burns. Adds Minima's Eugenie Perret: "Versatility makes modern furniture accessible to a broader range of people."
Color. Whether it's a butter-yellow throw across the back of a Barcelona chair or a burnt orange Cappellini sofa, color is creeping back into the predominantly monochromatic modernist palette. "Some people feel intimidated by the stark blacks, whites and browns of modernism," says Usona's Tommy Lebo. "They need an accent of color to make them feel more comfortable."
This spring, Usona offers its own line of down throw-pillows in pale, beach-inspired colors and such luxurious fabrics as cotton velvet and chenille. They're bound to put a little punch into modern home decor. For the more daring, colored upholstery makes a strong comeback: According to Perret, the hot hues at February's Cologne International Furniture Fair were orange, royal blue and the ubiquitous white.
Global Modern. Probably the biggest emerging style trend today, global modern is the combining of home furnishings from different regions. "It's all about mixing cultures," says Lebo. "It's about putting an Asian armoire with a Tibetan rug with a clean-lined modern chair. Each piece is striking on its own-it has its own history and its own story-but together, they create a warm, inviting and forward mix." — M.C.R.
Two new home stores in Old City devote themselves to an all-out revival of the sleekest styles
Modern Times
by Meg Cohen Ragas
With the Modernist Revival in high gear and design aficionados everywhere coveting Eames chairs and Herman Miller office furniture, Philadelphia is getting swept up in the excitement. The city has two new stores devoted to the modern lifestyle: Minima and Usona, just blocks from each other in Old City.
"Philadelphia is changing," says architect Eugenie Perret, who opened Minima on 3rd Street last October with her stepsister, Juliette Brody. Impetus for the store, Perret says, came from the fact that she usually had to travel outside city limits to find modern furniture for her clients. "Loft living is becoming increasingly popular, and people are building more modern homes," she explains. "We wanted to offer furniture to fill these spaces."
The store resembles an artist's loft in a pristine state: White and spacious, it acts as a perfect backdrop to the sleek designs it exhibits, from the extendable glass-topped aluminum More dining table from Italy's refreshingly innovative DesALTo Collection to the inviting celadon-green alcantara and stainless-steel sofa by Frighetto another Italian line.
Perret, who moved here three years ago from Los Angeles, designed the store with Brody to be "stark but not intimidating, minimal but not alienating." The pair wanted their customers to feel at home, both within the physical space and with the merchandise. They chose a wide range of lines to appeal to a sophisticated crowd made up of serious collectors and people simply interested in modern design. Younger lines, such as BluDot and Blank & Cables, offer chairs, storage units and coffee tables starting at $150. Vitra, known for its high-concept home and office furniture, including the award-winning Meda chair, and Frighetto are pricier, with the latter's ultraluxe sofas retailing in the thousands. "Some of our stuff is very architectural," says Perret, "while some of it is more classic. But everything is versatile."
Perret and Brody are committed to the community-both live in Old City and promote local designer Josh Owen's OwenLogik line-and to raising the city's awareness of modern design. "We try not to go with the trend," says Perret, a self-described "devout minimalist." "Our vision is clear. We're sticking to all things modern, to inspiring designs that are not only attractive but also functional and affordable."
DESIGN 101
When we ushered in the year of the double zeros, we were prepared for high-tech hysteria on the home front: computerized refrigerators that calculate their own contents, self-controlled vacuum cleaners, robotics galore. But the future of home design is a little more down-to-earth than we imagined. Here's what the experts say will prevail in the interiors of tomorrow.
Functionality. Why have a piece of furniture that plays one role when it can perform two or more? Versatile multi-use home furnishings such as Usona's leather Bondi ottoman, which doubles as a storage unit, or Waiter Knoll's Jason sofa (at Minima this spring), whose arms fold down and turn out to provide extra surfaces for seating or cocktails-are in high demand.
"People like the idea of buying something for their living room that might end up in their bedroom," says Usona's Kevin Burns. Adds Minima's Eugenie Perret: "Versatility makes modern furniture accessible to a broader range of people."
Color. Whether it's a butter-yellow throw across the back of a Barcelona chair or a burnt orange Cappellini sofa, color is creeping back into the predominantly monochromatic modernist palette. "Some people feel intimidated by the stark blacks, whites and browns of modernism," says Usona's Tommy Lebo. "They need an accent of color to make them feel more comfortable."
This spring, Usona offers its own line of down throw-pillows in pale, beach-inspired colors and such luxurious fabrics as cotton velvet and chenille. They're bound to put a little punch into modern home decor. For the more daring, colored upholstery makes a strong comeback: According to Perret, the hot hues at February's Cologne International Furniture Fair were orange, royal blue and the ubiquitous white.
Global Modern. Probably the biggest emerging style trend today, global modern is the combining of home furnishings from different regions. "It's all about mixing cultures," says Lebo. "It's about putting an Asian armoire with a Tibetan rug with a clean-lined modern chair. Each piece is striking on its own-it has its own history and its own story-but together, they create a warm, inviting and forward mix." — M.C.R.
