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April 10, 2012

Loving Frank

So here’s a random question: have you ever read the novel Loving Frank by Nancy Horan? It’s about Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress, Mamah Borthwick Cheney. The story is riveting, especially the shocking tragedy that occurs at his residence Taliesin. Well, (awkward segue alert!) this post is actually about another famous architect named Frank.

Frank Gehry is arguably America’s most renowned living architect. Yes, his design for the Eisenhower Memorial on the National Mall is currently the subject of debate but visiting the stunning Guggenheim Bilbao remains on my bucket list (duh). Besides his small jewelry collection for Tiffany (which doesn’t appeal to me at all), I have realized that my opportunities to own a piece of Frank Gehry are few and very far between…

And then one day, I was trying to figure out how to decorate our finished basement. (My practical fashionista ethos* applies to my approach to home decorating too.) Since we’re going to use the space as a laid-back TV room, I definitely wanted some fun, durable furniture. I ended up reusing stuff from our apartment but we still needed a coffee table. I didn’t want anything traditional so here’s what I came up with:

Orange sofa bed from cb2 (I bought it back in 2005); metal end tables from Urban Outfitters (I think those were only $25 each several years ago); green and magenta Frank Gehry Twist Cubes from Design Within Reach.

You want details?  The new Frank Gehry cubes that I bought from Design Within Reach are made from virtually indestructible “rotational-molded polymer” and can support up to 300 lbs. They are made in the USA, UV protected, weatherproof and versatile. We can use them as end tables, for seating outdoors or in, etc. And of course, the preppy colors of pink and green make me happy.

The basement also features built-in shelves.  You can see a bit of them in this shot:

And here’s a close-up of some of our books on display:

 Adding some accessories like throw pillows and artwork comes next.  Stay tuned…

* The orange sofa is treated with Scotchgard and its cover zips off (with a lot of effort) and can be dry cleaned.  The colorful end tables were so cheap that I don’t care what spills on them.

Update on April 17, 2012: I’m noticing these Gehry cubes in a lot of different places these days—check out this post on Design Milk.

 

Join the conversation! 2 Comments

  1. […] out back has been the sole neglected space. I happily threw myself into decorating each room (e.g. our basement, our living room, my office), but the prospect of working on the landscaping outside? Major groan. […]

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