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Showing posts with label Michael Taylor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Taylor. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Michael Taylor

Michael Taylor
Michael Taylor (1927-1986) was born Earnest Charles Taylor in Modesto, California. After his discharge from the U. S. Navy, he moved to San Francisco and enrolled in the Rudolf Schaeffer School of Design. Four years later, when Taylor was only 25, Schaeffer had set him up as a partner in a design business with Frances Mihailoff.

In 1956 Taylor started Michael Taylor Interiors, Inc. His reputation grew quickly and his clientele expanded from the San Francisco Bay area to Los Angeles, New York and Miami. Soon he was working abroad as well.

Taylor was one of the first designers to point out that there was no hard and fast rule against mixing styles and periods in a room. He insisted that as long as pieces didn't compete with each other but instead created a pleasing contrast, using them together was acceptable.

He was also known for his extensive use of plants and natural materials to bring the outside in and his use of white walls as a backdrop for other aspects of a room. His decorating maxims were "When in doubt, throw it out," as well as "When you take things out, you must increase the size of what's left." He also insisted that a room should never look perfectly finished.

Taylor has been repeatedly listed by Architectural Digest and other publications as one of the best interior designers of all time. In particular, he is credited with creating the "California Look" with his post-MCM designs.

From housebeautiful.com, architecturaldigest.com and wikipedia.org
Buffet/credenza
1stdibs.com
(This is a piece like the one I posted about yesterday,
which has been restored with dark stain and cork front.)
Walnut and leather dining chairs
1stdibs.com
Cane front cabinet
1stdibs.com
Occasional table
1stdibs.com
Lounge chairs
1stdibs.com
Buffet
1stdibs.com
Burl and walnut tabler
redmodernfurniture.com
Mahogany chest
1stdibs.com
Bleached walnut bar
1stdibs.com
Dining table
1stdibs.com

Monday, November 28, 2011

In the store: Baker New World

One of the most beautiful pieces in the store right now is a buffet/credenza from the Baker Furniture New World collection by Michael Taylor. It is exquisitely made of walnut with carved rosewood pulls, has drawers and storage compartments behind its doors and is finished on all four sides. My favorite thing about the piece is the floating top. Such simple elegance and attention to detail!

Baker New World buffet/credenza by Michael Taylor