Building Ralph Lauren's World

 

Courtesy of Ralph Lauren

 

Even people well outside the orbit of Fashion Week know that Ralph Lauren’s designs are more than the sum of their parts. Blazers, jeans, and leather loafers are all covetable items, but what Lauren does better than almost any designer in the world is bring shoppers and observers alike into a fully realized world of partly-imagined Americana. In Ralph’s landscape, elements of cowboy culture, ranch houses and alpine holidays mix freely with the trappings of elite sporting events, lending the humblest knit polo shirt an air of aristocratic ruggedness. 

How does he do this? One of the most tangible ways—apart from his cinematic ad campaigns—is through the physical settings he creates for his shows. And this year, The Hudson Company was part of the magic: Christy Turlington herself strode down a catwalk made from our own Brown Board in Lauren’s Spring 2024 Show in NY Fashion Week.

 
 
 

Courtesy of Ralph Lauren

 

This event marked a welcome return for Lauren, who according to Vogue had not been part of New York Fashion Week since before the pandemic. Loyal fans including Sheryl Crow, Jennifer Lopez, Julianne Moore and Diane Keaton flocked to the Brooklyn Navy Yard where they sat on an assemblage of charmingly weathered white chairs. Inside a barn-like structure with soaring beamed ceilings, Lauren had created an interior for the event modeled on his own Colorado home. Leather upholstery, wool blankets, and log-lined walls transported guests to Lauren-land as models presented gold-fringed caftans, silk gowns awash in vivid plaids, and embellished denim. 

The New York Times characterized the aesthetic “upscale saloon-themed.” After the show, guests moved into a candle-lit space behind a barn door where dinner awaited and glass chandeliers perched above sumptuous tables. This particular mix of weathered, antique materials and thoughtful luxury is very familiar to us at The Hudson Company, and we were delighted to play a part in helping to construct this singular New York Fashion Week evening.

 

Courtesy of Ralph Lauren

 
 

Courtesy of Ralph Lauren

Courtesy of Ralph Lauren

 

Reflecting on THE legacy of artistic problem-solver Wharton Esherick

 
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If you’re familiar with the work of Wharton Esherick (1887–1970), you’re probably imagining the most famous spiral staircase in Pennsylvania right now. Built in 1930 to replace a traditional staircase, it’s tightly curled and elegantly carved from red oak, with a rustic form that appears to defy gravity. Its thick treads seem to float as they spiral around a curvy central column. They’re actually mortised in place and supported by tenons, but the lack of any supporting structure (apart from a mastodon tusk handrail that was added in the late 1940s) gives the staircase an air of magic. It’s just one example from a long career in which Esherick seemed to ask himself what he could do with wood, and never backed away from a surprising answer. Unorthodox solutions and clever workarounds abound in his unique home and studio in Paoli, PA, which is now the site of the Wharton Esherick Museum. And that makes sense, because he never trained as a woodworker; first and foremost he was an artist, and he was able to fashion wonders from any material, never letting the strictures of carpentry fence him in.

 
The Spiral Staircase in Wharton Esherick's home and studio, 1930.  Photo credit: ©LeslieWilliamson from Handcrafted Modern, Rizzoli, 2010.

The Spiral Staircase in Wharton Esherick's home and studio, 1930.
Photo credit: ©LeslieWilliamson from Handcrafted Modern, Rizzoli, 2010.

Wharton Esherick in his studio with his sculpture Oblivion (dated 1934.) Photo credit: c. 1934 by Emil Luks. Image courtesy of the Wharton Esherick Museum.

Wharton Esherick in his studio with his sculpture Oblivion (dated
1934.) Photo credit: c. 1934 by Emil Luks. Image courtesy of the
Wharton Esherick Museum.

 

Famous for saying “If it isn’t fun, it isn’t worth doing,” Esherick crafted furniture, made sculpture, designed lighting and interior fittings, and even whole buildings. He’s considered an icon of the Studio Furniture Movement of the mid-20th century, and having lived and worked in Bucks County, he’s also linked to a group of important Pennsylvania makers of his era: George Nakashima, Phillip Lloyd Powell, and Paul Evans. He came from a well-to-do Philadelphia family, and studied printmaking and drawing at the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art (now known as the University of the Arts), then painting at PAFA, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was discovering the world of painting just as American Impressionism was flourishing in Philadelphia and Bucks County. Esherick and his wife Letty settled in Paoli after finishing school and bought an historic farmhouse. Here he became interested in carpentry and the sculptural possibilities afforded by wood.

Esherick initially carved woodcuts—a natural outgrowth of his printmaking practice from art school—then he began making abstract sculptures from wood from in the 1920s. In 1926 his work was exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art. He then embarked on the long process of designing and building his own home and studio. And by the mid-1930’s, he was creating elaborate interior elements for local clients such as his famous doorway and fireplace for the Curtis Bok House. Considered some of his most important works, the dramatic doorway was meant to evoke the look of draping fabric, while the fireplace, which echoes Art Deco design but veers toward a more extreme, angular style, was inspired by the dramatic shadows cast by a roaring fire.

 
Fireplace and door by Wharton Esherick from the Curtis Bok House, 1935. Image courtesy of the Wharton Esherick Museum.

Fireplace and door by Wharton Esherick from the Curtis Bok House,
1935. Image courtesy of the Wharton Esherick Museum.

“A Pennsylvania Hill House” designed by architect George Howe for the "America at Home" display at the 1939 World's Fair. Photo by Richard Garrison. Image courtesy of the Wharton Esherick Museum.

“A Pennsylvania Hill House” designed by architect George Howe for
the "America at Home" display at the 1939 World's Fair. Photo by Richard Garrison. Image courtesy of the Wharton Esherick Museum.

 

Over the next several decades, his work was hard to pin down stylistically. Some works were crisp and geometric like the Bok House architectural elements. Others, like his own staircase and the biomorphic, abstract forms he sculpted, were soft and organic. In 1940, he created a suite of furniture for the exhibition “America at Home” for the 1939-1940 New York World’s Fair. Sixteen architects were invited to design rooms for the exhibition showcasing new American designs, and architect George Howe, who designed Philadelphia’s PSFS building on Market Street, invited Esherick to take part. Howe’s room was called “A Pennsylvania Hill House,” and its design captured the mix of modern and rustic style that was emerging in places like Bucks County in the middle decades of the 20th century. Esherick’s contributions to the exhibition included a sofa from the Bok house, the famous spiral staircase, a five-sided hickory table, and cherrywood wall panels. This exhibition represented the first time that Esherick’s work was seen by a wide-ranging public. Lousie V. Sloane, who was in charge of publicity for the “America at Home” display, wrote in a letter to Esherick that “The ‘Pennsylvania Hill House’ is a very popular room with visitors… and the stairway continues to bring forth exclamations, questions and comments from those who go through the building.” 

By his later years, Wharton Esherick was known among colleagues and admirers as the “Dean of American Craftsmen.” His work would eventually earn him a retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (now the Museum of Arts and Design) in 1958, and a Gold Medal from the New York Architectural League. His work is included in the collections of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. One legacy of Esherick’s earliest years working with wood—and a renewable form of accessible art—are his printed holiday cards.

When he was first settling in Paoli and exploring his new surroundings, he made prints that captured the seasons, and his snow-covered scenes of houses and hills were very popular when he made them (and they still are today.) One such print, called “January,” appeared in The Century Magazine, and other prints of his were published in Vanity Fair and The New Republic. “January” depicts a person walking up a road blanketed with snow, with a single blackbird perched on a nearby fence, and four more circling overhead. Using the end grain of a block of wood to create the image, he carved away much of the lower third of the print to leave a pillowy expanse of pristine snowfall. It has an air of mystery, with frost disguising the landscape underneath, and the figure faces away from us. Looking at this image now, it seems quite modern for 1923. And in 2020, there’s something uncannily familiar about it. This holiday season, marked in so many ways by the COVID pandemic, means that many of us have carved out small groups to celebrate with, and some of us will celebrate solo. It feels strange, and it’s not easy. Esherick’s print is not overtly “Christmas-y,” and contains no text, but its single figure with his neighborly birds sends us a timely and powerful message. The only thing to do, especially in the cold and unknown, is to walk straight ahead.

 
“January”, 1923, wood engraving by Wharton Esherick. Image courtesy of the Wharton Esherick Museum.

“January”, 1923, wood engraving by Wharton Esherick. Image courtesy
of the Wharton Esherick Museum.

 
 
 

The Finishing Touch on a New York Showroom

 
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If Schotten & Hansen had a kindred spirit in the interior design world, it may have been Christian Liaigre, the French designer of furniture and interiors who passed away in September aged 77. Back in 2018, his eponymous firm opened a new showroom on 29th Street in Manhattan’s Nomad district, where his signature aesthetic—described in The New York Times by Penelope Green as “muscular and elegant”—was made manifest with flooring from Schotten & Hansen. Liaigre was devoted to fine craftsmanship, and admired the skill of accomplished makers. He designed interiors for Calvin Klein and Karl Lagerfeld, and he loved using elemental materials like bronze, stone, and wenge wood. He’s also credited with pioneering the concept of the boutique hotel, having designed SoHo’s Mercer Hotel in 1997—his first big project in the United States.

 
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Liaigre showroom, New York City.

Liaigre showroom, New York City.

Hotel Montalembert, Paris.

Hotel Montalembert, Paris.

 

Born in 1943 near La Rochelle, Liaigre studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. His inspiration came from an array of sources, many of which, like African art, had widely influenced French Modernism. He was also the grandson of a horse breeder, and growing up he studied the ingenious design and construction of saddles, bridles and stirrups carefully. He liked exposed joinery, and disliked applied ornament, which meant his interiors and furniture were in sync with the pared down modern look of post-industrial lofts in the 1990’s and 2000’s.

He designed the Hotel Montalembert in Paris for a 1990 renovation before moving to the United States, and there he made bold, eclectic choices like pairing carved African sculptures with Ancien Régime furniture. He was also famous for a stool he designed in homage to Brancusi’s “Endless Column,” a square block of wood that flares out at a dramatic angle at the top, forming a primitive seat.

 
Liaigre showroom, New York City.

Liaigre showroom, New York City.

Custom floors by Schotten & Hansen at the Liaigre Showroom, NYC.

Custom floors by Schotten & Hansen at the Liaigre Showroom, NYC.

 

Liaigre’s reverence for craftsmanship comes through in the design of his New York showroom. The floors are Schotten & Hansen’s Shrunk Face European Oak, which is a light, straw-colored wood (the color is custom, in fact) and adds a depth of natural texture to the crisp space, emphasizing Liaigre’s particular love of wood in all its subtle variation. The interior is meant to be a neutral setting in which to stage Liaigre’s pieces of furniture and lighting, which are invariably bold in design, at times massive, understated in color, and usually sumptuous in their material.

Shrunk Face Oak is now available in 20 colors at our New York showroom through the Schotten & Hansen Collection for The Hudson Company.

 
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A Thousand Skills: George Nakashima

 
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You’ve probably seen George Nakashima’s furniture in the pages of shelter magazines, at auction, and in museum and gallery exhibitions across the country. His aesthetic influence is everywhere: your favorite cafe might have an eye-catching espresso bar with a live edge, or you might see a midcentury-style bench you like at a mass-market furniture retailer that ‘echoes’ one of Nakashima’s designs, to put it diplomatically. Or you might have heard his name and seen photographs of him with his family in an episode of the series Artbound on KCET, “Masters of Modern Design: The Art of the Japanese American Experience,” which tells the story of some of the renowned artists and designers who spent time in internment camps during World War II. Writing in Curbed in 2017, the architecture critic Alexandra Lange examined the connection between American design history and Executive Order 9066, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed in 1942. The order granted authority to the military to transport citizens to “relocation centers” in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. We call them internment camps today, and about 119,000 people—most of them Japanese immigrants or Japanese-Americans—were sent to live there for several years during World War II. George Nakashima was among them, as were the artists Ruth Asawa and Isamu Noguchi.

 
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Nakashima was already a citizen of the world prior to the war, having spent a year traveling abroad on a round-the-world steamship ticket after graduate school. Born in 1905 in Spokane, Washington to Japanese emigré parents, he grew up hiking and camping in the forests of the Pacific Northwest with the Boy Scouts. He studied forestry at the University of Washington-Seattle, but was drawn to design as well, and graduated with a BA in architecture in 1929. He earned an MA in architecture from M.I.T. in 1931, and embarked on his world tour, spending a bohemian year in France, then traveling to North Africa, and finally to Japan. Nakashima met and eventually worked for the American architect Antonin Raymond, an associate of Frank Lloyd Wright, and he toured Japan studying building techniques and design. In the late 1930s, he was the project architect on the Golconde Dormitory at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India, where he discovered two practices that would shape his life: yoga and furniture-making.

 
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He returned to Japan in 1940, where he met the woman who would become his wife, Marion Okajima, and the two settled in Seattle after marrying in Los Angeles. But in 1942, now with a new daughter named Mira, the Nakashimas were sent to Camp Minidoka, an internment camp in Hunt, Idaho. Incredibly, he used the time there to apprentice himself to a woodworker named Gentauro Hikogawa who had been trained in Japan. Hikogawa taught Nakashima to work expertly with Japanese hand tools and helped him master Japanese joinery techniques. He used whatever wood scraps he could find to practice his craft and develop his first designs for furniture. In 1943, his old mentor Antonin Raymond sponsored the Nakashimas for early release, and offered them his chicken farm in rural New Hope, PA as a place to stay. Mira Nakashima recalls that her father believed the name of the small town—which was becoming a mecca for woodworkers at the time—augured well for a fresh start. Nakashima quickly made connections with Knoll, for whom he designed several furniture lines such as the Straight Back Chair, and he designed a sofa for Widdicomb-Mueller which has gone back into production.

 
 

But most of Nakashima’s works were unique. He was famous for using butterfly joints, which allowed him to select unusual, asymmetrical pieces of wood and transform them into inviting dining tables and coffee tables. Nakashima had numerous lifelong clients, and he often signed their names in ink on boards that he selected especially for them. The largest private collection of Nakashima furniture was, for a time, that of Nelson and Happy Rockefeller, who owned over 200 works that Nakashima had designed for their Pocantico Hills estate. His passion for architecture, like his passion for forestry and trees, never wavered, and he was able to weave all three activities together at his home and studio. He designed buildings on his property, and was especially enamored of parabolic shapes, which led to the creation of a line of chairs called “Conoid,” with gently curved backs, which were named for the dramatic roofline of a building he called the Conoid Studio. In a sense, Nakashima didn’t believe in flaws. In his 1981 book The Soul of a Tree, which offered a glimpse at his philosophy and his technique and life story, he wrote: “Each flitch, each board, each plank can have only one ideal use. The woodworker, applying a thousand skills, must find that ideal use and then shape the wood to realize its true potential.”

 
Nakashima’s Conoid Studio in New Hope, PA. Courtesy of George Nakashima Woodworkers.

Nakashima’s Conoid Studio in New Hope, PA. Courtesy of George Nakashima Woodworkers.

 

The George Nakashima House, Studio and Workshop is now a United States National Historic Landmark and a World Monument, and although it’s temporarily closed as of July, 2020 due to the pandemic, the site is generally open to visitors. Today, Nakashima’s daughter Mira, who is an accomplished designer herself, works alongside a team of highly skilled woodworkers to produce both classic and new designs. A grant from the Getty Foundation has helped in the preservation and conservation of the site and its many unusual structures. There’s a museum and gallery in the city of Takamatsu, Japan where Nakashima once had a studio. In 1983, the man who once jokingly referred to himself as a “Japanese Quaker” was presented with the Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government. A key figure in American Modernism who spent most of his life in Bucks County, PA, Nakashima deftly combined the woodworking and design traditions of the United States and Japan. Despite his harrowing wartime experience as a Japanese American during the conflict that pitted the two countries against one another, he seemed to remain deeply rooted, aesthetically and philosophically, in both worlds.

 
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INSTALLATION IN FOCUS: DOWNTOWN IN COLOR BY HALLIDAY GREER, 8th STREET, MANHATTAN

Interior design by Halliday Greer, Capella, Flat Sawn flooring by The Hudson Company, Photo by Annie Schlechter

Interior design by Halliday Greer, Capella, Flat Sawn flooring by The Hudson Company, Photo by Annie Schlechter

Interior and architectural designers Andrew Halliday and David Greer focused on chroma and pattern while thinking about their design for this bright and color bathed residential renovation in lower Manhattan.

Early in the process, the designers and owners were aligned in wanting to use a light colored floor to amplify the brightness of the space without competing with the rest of the colorful elements of the interior. They selected Capella, Flat Sawn White Oak Select Grade flooring for the project. “We wanted something light, neutral and airy so that it didn’t ever feel dark or too heavy…a clean and contemporary envelope that didn’t compete with the deep colors and patterns on the walls,” said Halliday.  “We think it looks terrific.”

Photo by Annie Schlechter, Typographic art by Russell Maret

Photo by Annie Schlechter, Typographic art by Russell Maret

Photo by Annie Schlechter

Photo by Annie Schlechter

The entryway paneling is painted a deep teal blue and creates a wonderful arrival that opens up into the rest of the bright apartment.  Bold patterned wallpapers were integrated with other graphic elements to create an environment that truly represented the owners themselves.  Russell Maret, a type designer and family member, provided some of his typographic artwork, which adorn the walls with color and symmetry. 

“Working with The Hudson Company was a terrific and seamless process,” commented Halliday, “we will use their floors many many times in the future.”

Photo by Annie Schlechter

Photo by Annie Schlechter

5 Questions With Architect Sarah Zames of General Assembly

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The Hamptons is an interesting place because it has both a very formal and a more relaxed artistic history. This project was a balance of those two ideas.
— Architect Sarah Zames
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Flooring is one of the biggest decisions you make on a project and locking that decision in in the beginning is important in order to keep the other decisions on finishes in line. What I enjoyed about The Hudson Company was the education they brought to the clients.
— Sarah Zames

Meet Sarah Zames of General Assembly

Brooklyn-based architect Sarah Zames grew up in Northwest Connecticut and has been living and designing in New York City and Los Angeles for the past two decades. After working at several international firms, including Skidmore Owings and Merrill, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects, and Rafael Viñoly Architects, her attraction to the intimacy and scale of residential design led her, in 2010, to start General Assembly - a team of designers and project managers who believe that the details of a home should come from the unique, personal details of the people who live there. In addition to ground up and full renovation projects, GA designs custom lighting and furniture.

Creating A Family Refuge In The Hamptons

In 2018, The Hudson Company worked together with Sarah and GA to provide the custom milled flooring for the ‘Watermill’ project - a complete residential renovation in The Hamptons. Describing the project in their own words, GA says:

“This 3400 square foot home in the Hamptons was gutted down to the studs and rebuilt to create a family refuge from the busy city. We were inspired by the idea of juxtuposing the informality of a traditional country house with the formality that such a grand space required, in order to create something entirely unique, filling the house with our modern interpretation of some very classic details. GA handled all aspects of the process from architectural design to interior design, including all lighting, finishes and several custom designed furniture pieces.”

5 Questions with Architect Sarah Zames

After the successful completion of the Watermill project, which features Hudson Company Bare, White Oak, Flat Sawn floors, we wanted to sit down with Sarah to discuss a bit about her team’s creative process and how they brought the Watermill project to life.

First off, how did you distill the clients' needs / ideas into a clear vision for the design of this project?

The house was designed for four different people (from two different generations) to enjoy. So, we naturally had some differing opinions on style.  We wanted to make sure we were able to work the personality of everyone into the design, and took input from everyone involved. One unifying factor between everyone was their love of travel. They often traveled as a family together, and brought back some great art pieces. We made sure to find places to include those in the space. 

Clearly there is a focus on natural materials in this project—woods, marble, stone, and plants—can you talk a bit about these choices of materials and why they are a good fit for a, 'family refuge from the city?'

We tend to use natural materials in all of our projects because they are ageless and will not go out of style. For this project, using natural materials was a big part of bringing balance to the design. We combined natural materials with more modern details and, in doing so, we were able to achieve a comfortable elegance.

How did the design of this home fit into or contrast the historic design vernacular of the Hamptons?

The Hamptons is an interesting place because it has both a very formal and a more relaxed artistic history. This project was a balance of those two contrasting ideas. We wanted to maintain some of the formality, but also create a comfortable place to enjoy the weekend. We achieved this balance by creating more modern versions of some traditional details (for example, the paneling on the stairs and family room ceiling), and by bringing in natural materials that would age over time.  

It's clear that your team loves the custom details of design (from finishes, lighting, furniture, etc.). Can you talk about this high-level of creative detailing and how this style of work allows you to serve your clients and create unique design?

We feel that the best part of doing a full renovation is being able to have everything designed exactly to your taste. Designing custom details, like the brass tops to the railing balustrade, is one of the best parts of what we do. It means that the homeowners get to enjoy something that is unique to them, and we get to experiment with design and work with really great craftspeople.

Lastly, can you talk about your experience collaborating with The Hudson Company during the Watermill project?

We started working with The Hudson Company very early on in the project. Flooring is one of the biggest decisions you make on a project and locking that decision in in the beginning is important in order to keep the other decisions on finishes in line. What I enjoyed about Hudson was the education they brought to the clients. They respect the fact that [wood flooring] is a big investment and they took the time to educate the clients on the importance of quality flooring. 

Learn more about Bare, White Oak, Flat Sawn

Go inside the Watermill residential project here and here.

Project Credits:

Ridgefield Showroom Profile In Architectural Digest

Profile Excerpt from Architectural Digest, Dec 13, 2018

“When Jamie Hammel bought what was then known as Antique and Vintage Woods of America eight years ago, he recalls, "I thought the product was beautiful, but it wasn't being presented beautifully." Fast forward nearly a decade and Hammel is operating what is now The Hudson Company, providing new and salvaged wood surfaces to architects and designers for projects (including, most notably, Renzo Piano's Whitney Museum) in the New York area and beyond. And his latest showroom is proof that beautiful presentation is core to the brand.

The Hudson Company's third location is in a woodsy area of Ridgefield, Connecticut. "So many of our clients co-locate between the city and a house upstate or in Connecticut or the Hamptons," Hammel explains of the choice. "We have the mill, in Pine Plains, so that helps us cover that territory, but we didn't really have a presence in Connecticut. Ridgefield is a beautiful town and is not in the heart of Greenwich." He clarifies: "Being on Greenwich Avenue would feel just like our Manhattan showroom. This is a little bit off the beaten path, but it's central to both Westchester and Connecticut."“

Read The Full Article and Go Behind The Scenes

Click here to read the full article in Architectural Digest, featuring interviews with The Hudson Company’s Jamie Hammel and designer Brad ford. Story by Hadley Keller, photos by Michael Biondo.

The Hudson Company In The Wall Street Journal

From the Wall Street Journal homepage, Dec 17. Project photos by François Coquerel for the Wall Street Journal. Click the image to read the full profile.

From the Wall Street Journal homepage, Dec 17. Project photos by François Coquerel for the Wall Street Journal. Click the image to read the full profile.

A Modern NY Farmhouse Designed by Architect Tom Kundig

We are thrilled to see our recent work for the Millerton, NY home of Daniel and Estrellita Brodsky, designed by Tom Kundig of Olson Kundig Architects, featured in the Wall Street Journal this week.

Read the profile article by Sarah Medford online here.

Project and Press Details

- Project Location:  Millerton, NY

- Architect: Olson Kundig

- Contractor: United Construction

- WSJ Magazine story by Sarah Medford

- Photographer:  François Coquerel

- Featured Hudson Company Materials:  Reclaimed Barn Siding and Reclaimed Oak flooring.

— More photos and project details to come.

Hudson Company Product Installations

To see more commercial, residential, and cultural design installations featuring Hudson Company wood products, visit our online installation gallery.

Installation In Focus: The Carriage House By Workstead, Charleston, SC

The Carriage House, interior design by Workstead, Reclaimed Heart Pine, Vertical Grain flooring by The Hudson Company.

The Carriage House, interior design by Workstead, Reclaimed Heart Pine, Vertical Grain flooring by The Hudson Company.

Reclaimed Heart Pine Heads South

Originally from The Hudson Valley, the talented team of designers at Workstead also have a strong presence in the American South—particularly in South Carolina (their work inside Charleston’s Dewberry Hotel is a must see).

For a recent residential project in Charleston known as The Carriage House, The Hudson Company had the pleasure of working alongside Workstead co-founders Stefanie and Robert to select and custom mill some Reclaimed Heart Pine, Vertical Grain flooring. Since the initiation of The Carriage House project, Robert and Stefanie have moved the bulk of Workstead operations back home to New York and we certainly look forward to working together with their team on more projects in the future (including the interiors of their new luxury, multi-unit renovation project in Brooklyn, opening in 2019).

But, until then, enjoy this peek inside the stunning Carriage House project, designed by our friends at Workstead.

Notes on The Carriage House

Detailed project notes from the design team:

“The Carriage House contains 2,000 square feet of livable space distributed over two floors, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.  The first floor living room features two gas fireplaces, originally used for cooking and laundering.  A brand new kitchen serves as literal and figurative hearth of the home, with cabinetry tucked under the stairs and a grand island providing the counter around which life revolves.  A cozy window seat situated within cypress and caned cabinets compliments the dining room along the south-facing facade.

The second floor features an anteroom for use as an office or library with an adjoining bathroom.  A south-facing bedroom with windows on three sides includes a cypress-clad closet, while the large master suite is complete with two closets, laundry, and master bathroom.  A balcony overlooks the brick courtyard below with green hedges for added privacy.

At the heart of the Carriage House is connection—with time and place as with collaborators.”

Learn More

Explore More Hudson Company Flooring Installations

Learn More About Reclaimed Heart Pine, Vertical Grain Flooring

See The New York Times Feature Story on Workstead in South Carolina.

Check Out Workstead Full Portfolio and Bespoke Webshop

All Photos below taken from www.workstead.com unless otherwise noted.

Designers and Workstead co-founders Robert Highsmith and Stefanie Brechbuehler. Photo by Kathleen Robbins for The New York Times

Designers and Workstead co-founders Robert Highsmith and Stefanie Brechbuehler. Photo by Kathleen Robbins for The New York Times

At the heart of the Carriage House is connection—with time
and place as with collaborators.
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The Coast Installation Wins NYCxDesign Award

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Either / Or

Congratulations to Paul Chan, founder of The Coast, on his award-winning presentation at Collective Concept. Either / Or  won in the "made in the boroughs" category at the NYCxDesign Awards produced by Interior Design

The Coast showed a mischievous yet austere lighting series composed of three lamps for nightstands, tables and floors. An ensemble of silver translucent fabrics, dark fresco paint, and forged French oak flooring from The Hudson Company coalesced as an immersive backdrop for the light series.

The Coast is an architecture and design studio that creates buildings, environments and objects. With a profound belief in unexpected connections between forms, functions, materials and cultures, its projects are characterized by a genuine curiosity, always expansive, never limiting, to explore the in-between. We are pleased to have collaborated with Paul and The Coast.

Sponsors
Pure & Original
The Hudson Company