In the store: Eames, Saarinen and more

The store has so many new and beautiful things that it's hard to know where to start. Wherever you look, there's another iconic shape to amaze and delight...designs by Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Eero Saarinen, Alvar Aalto and Paul McCobb abound. Here's a look.

1957 Eames RAR

Large brutalist wall sculpture

C. Jere' brass lamp

Carrara marble tulip tables by Eero Saarinen for Knoll

Coffee table by Alvar Aalto

Drop-leaf desk by George Nelson for Herman Miller

Slate top La Fonda table by Charles and Ray Eames

Winchendon coffee table by Paul McCobb

Red marble tulip table by Eero Saarinen for Knoll

Long teak credenza attributed to Rosengren Hansen

In the store: Furniture and wall decor

We may have to wait a few days for the Nelson clock, but Wednesday's picking trip out of state was instant gratification. My SIL came home with a red lounge chair and ottoman designed by George Mulhauser for Plycraft, another great console stereo, a nice little tea cart and a large Brutalist wall sculpture.

Plycraft lounge chair and ottoman by George Mulhauser

Vintage stereo with orange fabric

Danish tea cart

Brutalist wall sculpture

Paul Evans and Brutalism

The term “Brutalism” was coined by architects Alison and Peter Smithson in 1953 and made popular by British architectural critic Reyner Banham when he used it in the title of his 1966 book, The New Brutalism: Ethic or Aesthetic?. It sprang from a French term used by Le Corbusier to describe the raw concrete (“béton brut”) with which he worked and which was to become the material most frequently used in stark, blocky Brutalist architecture from the 1950s through the 1970s.

That same blocky starkness, often with a patchwork appearance, is exempliefied in Brutalist furnishings, whether they are made of wood or metal. Paul Evans (1931-1987) is probably the best known designer of Brutalist furniture, creating roughly sculpted pieces out of wood and metal. While some of his pieces are highly decorated, it tends to be rather raw and harsh in appearance, not at all sleek or sinuous like much mid-century design.

Although Brutalism has had severe critics, it is enjoying somewhat of a comeback among young loft-dwellers who appreciate its industrial aesthetic and understand its honest, intellectual approach to function over form.

Faceted credenza
a212.com

Argente low cabinets
1stdibs.com

Bronze sculpted chairs
1stdibs.com

Metal sculpted credenza
tikiroom.com

Sofa
redmodernfurniture.com

Cocktail table
1stdibs.com