Why Gray Matters
October 31, 2018
“The single most important lesson of architectural color is that every color only appears to be what it is relative to its surroundings,” explains Donald Kaufman, the famed color consultant. This is a lesson long known to artists who value gray for its supporting role—in the Renaissance gray was the preferred portrait background to emphasize the richness of the sitters’ costumes, while the Impressionists and Fauvists, for all their love of color, often used gray to make their other colors spark with life. read more
Vibeke Klint
August 01, 2018
Vibeke Klint is Danish textile artist born on December 13, 1927. She is famously known for her wide variety of tapestries, carpets, silks and home textiles. Her designs were all initially inspired by functionalism, and often featured geometric motifs. read more
Maison Jansen-The Decorator's Decorator
July 31, 2018
At the culmination of Belle Epoque splendour, the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle was a fabulous showcase for dazzling creations, many of them designed by immigrants. One of them was Dutchman Jean-Henri Jansen, whose furniture store with its famously lavish window displays had opened on the Rue Royale in 1880, offering antiques and furniture of his own production. The spectacular Art Nouveau writing desk the firm presented at the exhibition is considered one of the supreme examples of the period. read more
Indian Decorative Carpets
June 01, 2018
In today’s market, the terms “Agra,” “Amritsar” and “Indo-Persian” are synonymous with types of highly decorative carpets, which were woven in India during the last decades of the nineteenth century. The art of pile carpet weaving was imported into India by the Mughals, descendants of the Central Asian Mongols, when they conquered the Indian subcontinent in the sixteenth century. Indian decorative carpets continue the Mughal heritage of fine craftsmanship and their designs feature diverse Mughal and international influences. read more
Kips Bay Decorator Show House 2018
May 16, 2018
Kips Bay Decorator Show House 2018 showcases so many wonderful and skilled designers. This year’s 46th annual show boasted 22 design firms and was located at 110 East 76th Street, New York. FJ Hakimian is proud to present three rugs that were incorporated into 2 room designs at this year’s show. The designers we worked with have incredible skills and are in the forefront of today’s modern interior design world. read more
The Last Project of Jean-Michel Frank
February 19, 2018
Nelson A. Rockefeller's apartment was famously decorated by Jean-Michel Frank. The French Modernist designed the interiors of Rockefeller's salon with a modern take on vintage furniture while incorporating other artists into his vision. Using Christian Bérard's carpet design, he tied the room together with Matisse and Léger paintings. Rockefeller's salon is just one of many the contributions Frank made to the design world. read more
The House that Mӓrta Built….
May 06, 2016
Märta Måås-Fjetterström (1873-1941), a trained Swedish Textile artist was bit of a revolutionary — her life story and the subsequent establishment of the MMF Workshop is legendary amongst Textile collector’s world over. read more
BERBERS: What Did Alvar Aalto and Peter Marino Have In Common?
January 04, 2016
The Berbers are Morocco’s semi-nomadic tribes. About seventeen Berber groups inhabiting the Northeastern Azilal province of the Moroccan High Atlas region form the confederation of the Beni-Ouaraïn. read more
SCANDINAVIAN FORESTS: Bringing Nature into the Interiors with Vintage Wall Hangings
December 15, 2015
The term “Scandinavian design” originates from an exhibition that traveled the US from 1954 to 1957. Promoting the “Scandinavian way of living,” it exhibited various works by Nordic designers and established the meaning of the term that continues to endure: accessible, simple and clean designs, inspired by natureand the northern climate, with an emphasis on enjoying the domestic environment. read more
BARBRO NILSSON & Midcentury Swedish Textiles
November 23, 2015
A few decades later, Scandinavian modernist aesthetics drastically rose in popularity. The bold, yet unfussy, Scandinavian textiles proved to work well alongside the modern art in many of our clients' environments. One of the 20th century Swedish textile designers whose work I am very fond of in that regard is Barbro Nilsson (1899-1983). read more