Vincente Wolf

Transformed Transoms…Decorating With Ranma and Other Fretwork Screens

Ranma, the pierced or open-work transom panels found in almost all traditional dwellings are a staple of classical Japanese architecture. Placed above shoji or fusuma sliding doors and used to allow light and air to move between rooms when the doors were closed, they also became a place for designers to exercise their decorative imagination.

Like the sake jugs of my last post, Japanese ranma can be found with a bit of searching at most shrine sales here in Japan. In general there are two types, pictorial and geometric, as shown below. The pictorial ranma can be highly carved and detailed, and sometimes even lacquered or gilded. The geometric ranma are comprised of oft repeated Japanese motifs or employ balanced openwork compositions.

Pictorial ranma are almost always oriented horizontally, which would follow naturally based on their form.

The level of open-work in any design varies with the function of the panel – some are almost completely open, while others, like the one below, have very little piercing.

Published examples of ranma screens used in interior design are slim, although I did find this interior featuring a ranma in an overlayed circle pattern called shippou-tsunagi (seven treasures pattern). On the other hand, there are many similar items such as Chinese fretwork and Indonesian transoms out there, which I am going to use to illustrate my post as they perform the same decorate function. And as always I wonder why Japanese antiques continue to be under used by designers, while doing my darndest to remedy that.

One of the most obvious placements for a long horizontally oriented ranma (besides actually building it into construction as an actual transom) is over a bed or even turned into a headboard. Designer Jonathan Pierce has hung what looks to be a Chinese screen over the bed in this apartment…

…and a pair of Asian panels here. He also has a show Interiors, Inc. on HGTV that I am curious to watch this summer. Has anyone out there seen it?

Vincente Wolf is a master at weaving in global wooden screens, such as these Indonesian transoms hung above the fireplace. Note the Chinese fretwork screen just off to the left of the fireplace as well.

Here’s the same room from another angle – you can see the Chinese fretwork screen better here.

Long ranma panels with non-directional designs can easily be hinged together to make standing screens too.

Another great idea courtesy of Mr. Wolf is backing a screen with a mirrored panel, adding a whole new element to the composition and helping to brighten a darker space.

This ornate and gilded ranma in a similarly colored space has quite a similar effect. (And be sure to note the pillow on the chair, won in my ZAK + FOX giveaway!)

Panels can also be propped instead of hung, such as in this Rosemary Beach home by Tracery Interiors.

Their firm also seems to love using open-work panels as both their portfolio and referential company name and logo would imply. Note the small green transom in this project – Indonesian again I believe – in the corner beside the fireplace.

And I am not sure what kind of panel is featured here, but I had to include it if for no other reason than the amazing glass bottle display!

Michael Smith has propped and old wooden panel – this one looks Indian to my eye – along with some other mounted objects on this Malibu home’s mantle.

Ranma in the bathroom? Why not? I love the use of these fretwork panels in this cool and spare Manhattan bathroom…

…and I also love the way these Chinese fretwork pieces cozy up this warm London bathroom.

And let’s not leave out the kitchen – shown here with a stack of small Chinese fretwork doors on the wall.

Image credits: 1. Japan Style by Geeta Mehta and Kimie Tada, photo credit: Noboru Murata, 2-4 & 10. me, 5. D Home March/April 2007, photo credit: Danny Piassick, via My Notting Hill, 6-7 & 18. Pierce & Co., 8. House Beautiful May 2010, photo credit: Eric Piasecki, 9 & 11. via Vincente Wolf Blog, 12. via A. Ridge, 13-15. Tracery Interiors, 16. Elle Decor October 2009, photo credit: Henry Bourne, 17.Elle Decor November 2009, photo credit: Pieter Estersohn, 18. World of Interiors July 2010, photo credit: Bob Smith.

May 6, 2012 By tokyojinja in Design Motif, Interior Design, Shrine Sales and Flea Markets Tags: Chinese fretwork, japanese antiques, michael smith, Pierce & Co., ranma, screens, shrine sale, Tracery Interiors, transom, Vincente Wolf

Where Do You Tansu?

In the Entryway?
Perfect for hats and scarves, keys and keeping other clutter out of view, this iron strap isho dansu is mixed with other Asian antiques and objects in this elegant entry by Vincente Wolf.

Even shoes or rainboots can fit if the tansu is big enough. Love the similarity between the spare Shaker-like English rush-seat chairs and the simple mizuya tansu.

In the Living Room?
The gilded doors and elaborately grained wood on this early 20th century tansu dresses up a corner of Chris Barrett’s tiny home.

In the Dining Room?
Designer and blogger Lauren Liess uses the bottom half of a tansu as a sideboard in her dining room. The big sliding doors and deep cabinet make storage easy.

In the Kitchen?
I know I’ve shown this Michael Smith photo before, but I love it so much I’ll show it again. He is a master at using Japanese antique furniture in his designs. For more great examples from him click here.

In the Family Room?
This example is a bit of a cheat as it actually a Korean bandaji (blanket chest), a family heirloom of Ally’s of From the Right Bank.

In the Bedroom?
A big tansu, perfect for clothes, blankets and pillows in the Chelsea bedroom of Ray Booth and John Shea…

or a small one on raised metal legs, making a perfect nightstand in this gorgeous Madeline Stuart designed bedroom.

Smaller chigai dana with their open staggered shelves, often laquered and decorative, are incredibly versatile too. Besides the most famous one residing in the White House, you can find them tucked in numerous interesting spaces. Check out the one in the left corner of this Markham Roberts designed living room…

…and another hidden in the left corner of Celerie Kemble‘s bedroom.

I’ve had a few questions lately from readers on how to blend Japanese antique furniture into Western interiors, so this post proves my adage that a tansu can work in almost any design style, whether modern, traditional or eclectic. Perpetually underused in the design world, tansu are great for storage and display as well as gorgeous in their own right.

So friends and readers, where do you tansu? I’d love to do a follow-up post showing photos of tansu in your rooms! Get out your cameras, do a little styling if you want and send me photos of tansu in your homes!

Image credits: 1. Metropolitan Home November/December 1995, photo credit: Simon Watson, 2. credit unknown, perhaps Kelly Hoppen, 3. House Beautiful July/August 2011, photo credit: Victoria Pearson, 4. via Pure Style Home, 5. via Chinoiserie Chic, 6. via From the Right Bank, 7. Elle Decor September 2007, photo credit: Eric Piasecki, 8. Elle Decor January 2007, photo credit: unknown, 9. House Beautiful May 2011, photo credit: Thomas Loof, 10. Lonny October/November 2010, photo credit: Patrick Cline

Oct 25, 2011 By tokyojinja in Furniture, Interior Design Tags: antiques, Celerie Kemble, Chris Barrett, japanese antiques, Lauren Liess, Madeline Stuart, Markham Roberts, michael smith, tansu, Vincente Wolf

Come Catch My Drift…Sculptural Wood Furniture

This is the table that started it. Shown here, now safely ensconced in Atlanta, a dear friend and I found it at the Kanarusha sale last year. I loved it so much that I was ready to go down to the mat and fight for it, but the depth of the friendship coupled with the fact that I had nowhere (nowhere!!!) to put it kept me from the wrestling match.

Actually, I may have to take that back. Maybe this is the table that started it all off for me. This image was ripped out of a World of Interiors but I had the pleasure of being in the new Rose Uniacke shop on the Pimlico Road in London a year and a half ago. I love the juxtaposition of the Sheraton style sofa with this organic tree slice slab table and an industrial light thrown in for good measure.

No, I might even have to take that one back too and go all the way back to my first ever sighting of iconic Japanese-American designer George Nakashima’s wooden slab tables. Radical and homemade, smooth and rough at the same time, the contrast between them and their extraordinary workmanship makes his pieces art as much as furniture. I can’t remember exactly when I first encountered one, but it left an indelible impression. This photo of the table at Kentuck Knob will do for illustration. Nakashima plus Frank Lloyd Wright – can’t top that.

Whichever way you slice it, I have been scoping for sculptural wood furniture since the day I arrived in Japan. Tree trunk or table slab, I am easy. The problem as always has been finding somewhere to put something. As you look over the post, the key-note that binds all these interiors together is their pale simplified palette, whether it be the silvered hues of the driftwood or the warmer tones of some of the other pieces. Adding natural wood is easy, but making it look good in its surroundings requires a controlled hand.

A recent New York Times article featured the beautifully spare home of Michael Fleming, a Maine artist and furniture maker who works with driftwood and his partner, Jennifer Wurst. The theme of the piece is how cheaply they created their personal haven – much of it picked up at the dump – but the furniture and artwork that brings it alive are Fleming’s amazing creations from driftwood. Here in the dining room, the floor lamp, named “Long Reach” and the massive canvas on the wall are both his work.

The living room has the only item – the sofa – which cost over $100 and just barely at that. Tucked in the corner is a great tree stump table.

The hall has a branch of driftwood standing guard at the doorway.

The bed is made from logs of oak and maple.

This piece of wood is awaiting its fate as a floor lamp. Amazing!

The article inspired me to pull pictures from my files of other art furniture made from raw wood. While photographer Victoria Pearson takes luminescent interior shots for the major shelter magazines, her own home is no less beautiful. Here is a version from 2005, with an amazing trunk-like wooden lamp…

…and here it is again a few years later.

Like the piece in Fleming’s hallway, Vincente Wolf uses branches, or maybe even roots, as sculpture on the wall in this project.

This sleek city aerie by Alexandra Angle features a coffee table reminiscent of the one in the Rose Uniacke ad above. The super modern condo is a perfect counterpoint to the natural wood pieces.

In this peaceful beach home, Jarlath Mellet uses a glass top to make a table from branches.

Mellet used raw, distressed or knotty wood furnishings similar to the driftwood and timber you’d find at the beach or in the country throughout this house, including this tree sofa. Not sure if it is comfy, but it definitely makes a statement

Todd Alexander Romano has a similar glass topped table in his new L.A. home.

Sometimes a small accent is all you need. I love the contrast between the branch candlestand and the much more formal antiques in James Huniford’s NY State home.

I haven’t found much in the way of artisanal wooden furniture at shrine sales, although there are shops here in Japan that specialize in Nakashima style pieces. What I have seen quite a few of are wooden hibachi with organic shapes and natural details, perfect for adding a bit of sculptural wood to an interior.

Perfect as planters and accent tables, or perhaps we should follow Markham Roberts’ lead and make the best use of a vintage hibachi that I can think of….

… a giant drinks cooler. Time for a party!

Image credits: 1. W. Gagnon, 2. via Rose Uniacke, 3. via Kentuck Knob, 4-8. The New York Times, August 31, 2011, photo credit: Trent Bell, 9. Martha Stewart Living September 2005, photo credit: Victoria Pearson, 10. House Beautiful August 2008, photo credit: Victoria Pearson, 11. via Vincente Wolf, 12. via Alexandra Angle, 13. Lonny July/August 2100, photo credit: Patrick Cline, 14. via Jarlath Mellett, 15. Lonny May/June 2011, photo credit: Patrick Cline, 15. Elle Decoration Hong Kong date unknown, photo credit: Guillaume de Laubier, 16-19. me, 20. Markham Roberts, credit unknown.

Sep 13, 2011 By tokyojinja in Furniture, Interior Design, Shrine Sales and Flea Markets Tags: Alexandra Angle, driftwood furniture, George Nakashima, hibachi, James Huniford, Jarlath Mellet, Markham Roberts, Michael Fleming, Rose Uniacke, Todd Alexander Romano, Victoria Pearson, Vincente Wolf

En Masse…Iron Teapots, Vincente Wolf and the Art of Grouped Displays

Jet lag always knocks me for a loop. Not so much physically – as a mom I have gotten used to sleep deprivation – but emotionally. The point of transition from my one life to my other is always a bit rocky. And invariably I forget each time that the previous change caused me any anxiety, imagining it to have been seamless. As I creakily fold myself back into my Tokyo routine, my husband reminds me of how discomfited I was upon arrival in New Jersey at the beginning of the summer. I find it hard to believe, but know it to be true and can even read the proof here. And so I know this state of “in between” shall also pass. My blog seems to share this schizophrenic life with me as I tend to write about that which is around me. Luckily, the wonderful Kawagoe shrine sale, held on the grounds of the Narita-san Betsu-in temple on the 28th of each month, welcomed me back with open arms. Filled to the brim with goodies like always, I was particularly struck by the proliferation of antique and vintage iron teapots.

Kawagoe is well known for its great metalwork antiques, although the best dealer of them has been supplanted by new bathrooms, arguably a reasonable trade-off although I wish they had relocated him elsewhere in the market. If anyone has seen him (the guy that was always in the front corner), please let me know!

The iron braziers and kettle stands are lovely in their own right.

You can always count on finding teapots at Kawagoe – this photo was taken last October and I could easily add more from other previous visits. Not sure who the red superhero guys are….

Whenever I see vintage Japanese teapots I think immediately of designer Vincente Wolf, one of the great masters of display, especially of weaving in Asian artifacts to his interiors. His love of travel permeates his work as does his photographer’s eye. In addition to 30+ years as a designer, he also has a showroom with an eponymous furniture line, antiques and decorative objects from around the world and a blog. He was the designer who showed me early on that a mass grouping of similar objects will always trump a scattered display. His are so successful because they activate his otherwise pure and spare rooms, creating unexpected focal points. The vignette below, from an apartment he designed featured in a 1995 Metropolitan Home, was a keeper in my inspiration files. As I left to live in Hong Kong less that two years later, it was highly influential to my own collecting habits.

In more recent designs, Wolf tends to mount individual objects on simple metal stands to great effect. For sale at the VW Home showroom, Wolf has ingeniously hung similar Chinese water vessels on stands.

Kawagoe yielded more items than just teapots that reminded me of Wolf’s designs. Also having great visual impact possibilities were these spool thread gears. Lying in the box they don’t look all that impressive, but mounted on stands or hung on a wall they would be stunning.

Wolf uses a pair of large gears hung on the wall in this room…

…and often uses other kinds of antique discs to make truly effective tableaux.

Another great accent are these roof tile caps found regularly at Kawagoe…

…and elsewhere.

They would look great displayed in a similar fashion to these finials.

Throughout his designs he uses all kinds of objects grouped together, from Buddhist stupas like these on the table…

…to Victorian door knockers shaped like hands elegantly arranged on a tray.

And while I have never seen Vincente Wolf use them in a display (although they certainly do look great en masse), there were also many small Japanese fishing floats for sale at Kawagoe this past weekend. Which of course brings me to my next order of business…

As for my previous identify this post, there were 4 correct answers! The item pictured is a kenzan used in the Japanese art of flower arranging called ikebana. In English we would call it a frog! Since I don’t know how to use that blogger give-away random selector, you will have to trust me as I do it the old-fashioned way and put the four names in a hat and choose one. (Rustling noise of paper) And the winner of a pair of small glass fishing floats is Julie Fukuda! Thanks everyone for your great guesses!

Having just taken a break from this post to skype with my best friend back in the States, I am reminded, by contrast, of how easy we modern-day expatriates actually have it. Instantaneous email, cheap telephone rates – through our computers we can shrink the world to the size of a pea. I think about the adventurers who left their homes through the centuries, not knowing if they would ever return or see family and friends again. For all of my whining above, I know that will never be an issue and that through my writing I am getting to share moments in my life and inspirations with those I love even when they may be far away.

Image credits: 1-4, 7, 10-11, 15-18. me, 5. Metropolitan Home November/December 1995, photo credit: Simon Watson, 6. via VW Home, 8-9, 12-13. via Vincente Wolf’s blog, 14. Metropolitan Home December 2007, photo credit: Vincente Wolf.

Sep 1, 2011 By tokyojinja in Expat Life, Glass, Interior Design, Metals, Shrine Sales and Flea Markets Tags: antique teapots, display, flea market, Japanese glass floats, Kawagoe, shrine sale, Vincente Wolf