It’s heading right for us! During the late 50’s and 60’s, biomorphic design took over homes everywhere with its blobby, soft forms and rounded edges, only to be quashed by the hard shapes and blunt, straight lines of the sleek 70’s. Fast forward to the current design crisis (har har), which endlessly recycles past trends to form a patchwork pastiche of eclectic styles. Translation: ain’t nothing new under the sun. So it should come as no surprise that the blob is back, in all its space age, plasticized glory.
As architect Greg Lynn, designer of the Bloom House, would have us believe, Blobitecture is a way of life — which is fine, so long as I can snag that coffee table in my local furniture shop. Hubba hubba, that sucka is bubblicious.
But a great deal of the house is characterized not by its furnishings, but by its groovy custom built ins (many of which were made with Corian, the new plastic), lack of ornament, and clean, white spaces.
Of course the vast expanses of white are punctuated by flashy shots of color, often in the form of creepy little Japanime characters. It’s like minimalism for disturbed 5 year olds.
Perhaps taking a cue from Takashi Murakami, there’s a vaguely psychotic undercurrent to the art and sculpture present in the home. The whole house reads like a sterilized acid trip.
Have I mentioned before that my own tastes tun toward the vaguely psychotic? Love those prints by Malcolm Venville — I really have a thing for wrestlers right now. And the wood frame on Lynn’s Duchess Chair warms the room up a bit. I could live here.
But did I forget to tell you that the home owners are Oprah rich? Apparently the lights above the breakfast nook are by Damien Hirst, who probably charged a $987,436 dollar fee for the design. Eight Ikea lights arranged in a circle should create a reasonably good facsimile for about $987,336 less.
However, if you’ve got a zillion Benjamins burning yet another hole in your threadbare hobo jeans, you can purchase one of Lynn’s Recycled Toy Tables. Who doesn’t want a pile of overgrown eggplants grinning up at you WITH TEETH while you slurp down your morning Toasty O’s?
Lest ye think that Lynn has an, ahem, corner on the blob market, may I redirect your attention to the ever zany Karim Rashid’s blobtacular loft?
Well, for a guy who likes to create pink blobby bathroom vanities and tubs, I would say this is practically restrained, wouldn’t you?
Or perhaps you prefer the designed by My Little Ponies look of Rashid’s home furnishings line? The graffitied signature is so “Barbie wuz here, but now she’s gone. She’s left her name to carry on…”
Back to Rashid’s loft. Did I actually use the word “restrained” in the first picture???
I take it back. But I actually do kind of dig the desk, which I expect would inspire grandiose, pink tinged blog postings about wildly surreal furniture.
I guess — if you can’t already tell — I feel a litte conflicted about The Blob. On one hand, it’s sort of extremely infantile. On the other hand, I think I actually like these table lamps designed by Rashid.
What do you think, smart and savvy readers? Would you ever live in these spaces, or do they bring back nightmares of the blob in your closet that summer you did all those drugs? You can tell me. The blob can’t hurt you here.
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The Duchess chair looks like a gold tooth. With fur.
Nope. Couldn’t live here but seriously looks like Barbie Dream House.
Oh, it’s all a bit silly isn’t it? I can’t really imagine real people with real lives living there. One thing killed it dead for me – it was ‘lack of ornament’, yep, I mean how can people live like that?! But I’m so with you on the wrestling prints, they’re amazing. I really want a wrestling mask.
Never go full blob.
Impressive fireplace, but I found the most recent Times Home Design mag disappointing on the whole, largely because I found this look way too cold and impersonal. Some of the pieces might have some wit and fun if they were juxtaposed with stuff with more warmth and character. It’s a fun look for a boutique, but not a home.
And someone spending money on that Damien Hirst light fixture is just sad.
I am not a big fan of blob design, I am more of a post modern/mid-century modern kind of a gal. I do like organic and biomorphic shapes. I like the Green sofa from Rashid’s loft.
‘minimalism for disturbed five-year-olds.’
lady, you are en FUEGO! My cereal came out my nose. I fear for our future, when it is run by these children someday. Will all the buildings look like demented vampire bunnies?
PS – I think you and Karly need these for tooling around Austin:
http://blog.roomservicecleveland.com/2009/04/28/daaaang/
These are interesting examples – some I could even live with!
Maybe one or two of these elements mixed in with a more sophisticated scheme would be alright but those pictures are overflowing with blobbiness. Its great for conversation though.
Adore the Hirst lighting configuration. I want to steal that idea.
I wouldn’t kick that sheepskin-covered gold blob chair out of bed for eating crackers.
i hate the blob!!! and i kind of hate damien hirst now too. he has way toooooooo much money and just pays apprentices to do the work he should be doing.
bitter and grouchy over here. :[
I think, like Andrea so succinctly said, it’s best to never go full blob. Nevertheless, I kind of like bits and pieces of these homes. Some of it is very Ligne Roset, maybe?
Stephanie, I might have to sell my house and buy that bike, even though I don’t actually know how to ride one… It’s that good.
Drollgirl, Damien Hirst pisses me off, too — maybe because I didn’t think of hiring apprentices to stuff sharks and make spin “art” paintings first.
go droll girl!!! you already know my feelings on hirst, that boob. i’m not a blob fan. i dunno really know why,
Not sure about all the blobs – but I would totally live in that bathroom!!!
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I would love to see the blob house in person. I found the article fascinating, must have cost $$$$$$. the clients must be oprah rich.
I couldn’t live there, but that’s not to say I don’t like a little blob here and there. And I LOVE the Duchess chair, hair and all!
To my eye, the blob trend looks like the local skating rink where, at age 13, I spent Friday evenings. Love to skate. Not loving the blob.