Thomas Pheasant

One of the great modern American interior designers, Thomas Pheasant is sure to become a classic like Albert Hadley or Billy Baldwin. His simply styled designs are based on classical forms, and inspired by the beautiful architecture of Washington DC. Mr. Pheasant started his firm at the age of 23, and has built an outstanding reputation for himself. His collections for Baker and McGuire have been strongly received by both the public and the design community.

“My personal evolution in design has been built on trying to understand the past and involve the present. It’s an endless yet exciting experience of understanding design history. Taking the familiar and making it new is something I try to do with my interiors and my furniture collections.” - Thomas Pheasant from Architectural Digest January 2006

Check out The Thomas Pheasant Collection for Baker and McGuire at Baker

Autodidact: a person who has learned a subject without the benefit of a teacher or formal education; a self-taught person

I recently had the honor of attending a holiday party at the Embassy of Denmark. The event was beautiful, the guests were interesting, the food was amazing, and the parting gift bag was spectacular, BUT what I was most excited about was the furniture! The embassy is filled with Finn Juhl originals.

The first photo above shows Finn Juhl standing in front of renderings of his furniture for Baker (1951 - 55). The next photos are of the original Finn Juhl renderings which I was lucky enough to see in person in a Baker museum annex in High Point North Carolina. And, lastly there is a photo of some original Finn Juhl for Baker dining chairs. Isn't it amazing how relevant furniture from 1951 is today?!?!

For those of you who are not acquainted with the genius of Finn Juhl, please take a moment to check out the Finn Juhl website. It's got his whole background and photos of interiors, buildings, and furniture that he's designed. Finn Juhl introduced "Danish Modern" to America. I think that the term and the the idea of Danish Modern has become to generalized, but the history remains singular and strong.

I came across a site recently that had this to say about Finn Juhl, "In the early 1950s his name started to become known in the United States due to his ardent fan, Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., who lauded his work regularly in Interiors magazine. Juhl designed an interior for the 1951 'Good Design' show in Chicago, and spoke of the show in Interiors, saying that, "One cannot create happiness with beautiful objects, but one can spoil quite a lot of happiness with bad ones." The same year he was commissioned by Baker Furniture, Inc. out of Michigan to create a series that would appeal to their emerging younger market. The work he did for them-- 24 pieces including chairs, tables, storage units, sideboards and desks-- represented his first successful marriage of modern mass production to his traditionally high craft standards. He was able to bring affordable, beautiful furniture to a large audience without compromising the quality." For me, it's interesting to think that Baker has historically been very current. Today, Baker offers collections from some of the worlds most sought after designers. And, again today, as in 1951, Baker offers "beautiful furniture to a large audience without compromising the quality".

For those of you who thirst for more information regarding Finn Juhl there is a beautiful book, Finn Juhl: Architecture-Furniture-Applied Arts by Esbjoern Hiort. It's not so easy to find, but I did find a site,Alibris, that has copies available.

Check out the Finn Juhl website, I know you'll be interested!

Milling Road

Through The Milling Road Collection, Baker offers an eclectic grouping of furniture that combines international designs with a touch of the unexpected. Sophisticated yet comfortable, impressive yet informal - each individual piece is meant to function within the realities of day-to-day living, while allowing you to create a space that best amplifies your personal style.

These are a few photos that I took while visiting Baker last Market. Please enjoy!