What’s Old Is New Again
August 14, 2025
Knoll’s modern classic, the Eero Saarinen Tulip Table, is taking on a new look. Several new surface finishes as well as the addition of a new base finish take this design staple to new heights. While the white base with a white top will always be my first choice, I’ve found myself flipping the script and opting for the black base, black top. Now, with the addition of an available gray base and Clay laminate surface these tables can find a comfortable home right in the middle. The new Emperado Light stone top and the Topo Noir Veneer top add additional variations in neutral tone and texture. Add these new options to the numerous available sizes and shapes and you have, as they say, something for everybody.
Classic. White laminate tops on white bases
Clay Laminate top on a gray base
Emperado Light stone top on a white base
Emperado Light stone Top on a gray base
Classic black on black
Topo Noir veneer top
Topo Noir veneer top on a black base
photos: Knoll
Cleared For Take-Off
February 22, 2019
Picture it…1966…the height of the glamorous age of jet travel. Arriving and departing through the Jetson-esque TWA terminal designed by Eero Saarinen. It was the modern future. And, it was stunning. Now all of that MidCentury style has been recaptured in the new TWA Hotel in New York. The original iconic terminal structure is the centerpiece piece of a complex that includes not only the new hotel towers, but a fitness center, meeting spaces, a restaurant and a vintage 1956 Lockheed Constellation put into new service as a cocktail lounge. The guest rooms have been fitted with Knoll Classic furnishings including Saarinen designed pieces like the classic Womb Chair for relaxing and his Executive chair at the desk. Set to open its doors in May, room reservations are being taken now, online. Wow.
Photos: https://www.twahotel.com/
If your Valentine is feeling generous….
February 12, 2017
you might ask to forgo the chocolates…the expensive evening out…the case of Veuve and wait a few more days for the annual Knoll sale. An investment in something from the Knoll Classics collection is sure to make your heart skip a beat or two. If you’re lucky enough to have a vintage piece in need of a recover, you might consider a few yards from their extensive textile collection.
Right place…right time…
May 5, 2016
It’s always good to follow ones intuition. While this particular stop was not planned, it couldn’t have produced a better result…this vintage Eero Saarinen executive lounge chair with walnut legs designed for Knoll in 1957.
Photos:gp
Put it in neutral
October 25, 2015
I’ve owned a pair of vintage Womb chairs in a sunflower yellow with black frames and then a single in royal purple with a chrome frame, each a nod to the time in which they were produced…first the fifties, then the seventies. The first pair was acquired during an impromptu stop at a Beverly Hills yard sale and the latter from a similar unplanned stop in the mid-west. Now I’m feeling the urge to buy back my simplequietmodern favorites that have been long gone to new homes. Lucky for me this classic is still in production. And, bonus, Knoll has re-issued the Saarinen Womb settee. Hmmmm, what to do. In any case, the textile selection for me is a no brainer….the classic wool boucle is always my first choice. And, as if it could get any simpler… the color is aptly named “Neutral”. Hard to make a mistake here, especially when combined with the black frame. That settled, it’s on to choosing a chair and ottoman, a chair and settee. a pair of chairs or the settee alone. Good to know that there are no bad choices here.
photos:http://www.knoll.com/shop
Heads it’s black…
April 6, 2014
tails it’s white. You might have to flip a coin to make this decision. After fifty plus years as an icon of modern interior furnishings, the Saarinen table is now available for outdoor use. As the white top/white base configuration of the 1957 original has been my all time favorite, I can’t see changing things up now…or can I ?
photos via http://hivemodern.com/pages/product7267/eero-saarinen-outdoor-dining-table-knoll
Sometimes, a little order…
March 12, 2014
is all that is needed. Trees in neat rows, simple tight clipped forms, a straightforward place to rest…a small piece of soft turf like a rug anchoring the whole. A simplequietmodern look at a personal oasis contrasted against the naturalized wooded areas beyond this intimate enclosure. And after the winter we’ve had…OK, are still having… who wouldn’t want to come home to this? Mother Nature is clearly giving us the time to prepare for a space like this of our own as it doesn’t look like we will be moving outside to our own yards anytime soon.
first three photos via Gardenista http://www.gardenista.com/posts/landscape-architect-visit-a-london-courtyard-gets-a-grownup-update-del-buono-gazerwitz-landscape-architects
and the allee of locusts and lawn at the Miller House in Columbus, Indiana via http://www.imamuseum.org/visit/miller-house/landscape-architecture
The apple doesn’t fall…
February 17, 2013
too far from the tree, which is pretty apparent in this Eero Saarinen Armchair. Designed in 1957 at the same time the design and construction was taking place on the iconic TWA Flight Center at New York’s Idywild Airport, the influences between the two are unmistakable. Originally designed as an executive office chair, this groundbreaking seating , with its use of a fully upholstered flexible fiberglass frame, offers comfort that is equally at home in any residential setting requiring a modern note. As time has passed, Idylwild was renamed JFK International, TWA has ceased to exist, and the simplequietmodern days of early elegant air travel has given way to…well, you know. The good news is that this chair is still available, in multiple variations, to satisfy your need for comfortable seating with a light touch… and, this magnificent building has undergone a recent multi-million dollar renovation and is now a National Landmark.
http://nyc-architecture.com/BKN/BKN002.htm
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