(Photos courtesy Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec)

It wouldn’t be the Milan International Furniture Fair without a slew of smashing new creations from Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. At this year’s mega-show, which kicks off next week with an eye-watering 1,400 exhibitors, the designing brothers will debut their glossy storage nooks for Vitra, a textured textile/shelving system hybrid created for Established & Sons, and assorted objects for Magis and Mattiazzi. Those who can’t make it to Milano can get their Bouroullec fix in the pages of Works, out next month from Phaidon. “Works is a comprehensive monograph featuring a wealth of images of our projects, models, drawings—that is to say all visual material we found interesting to dig out from the archives of our workshop,” said the brothers in an e-mail. “It documents what we do by proposing an intuitive understanding, a flowing journey from one project to another.” Organized thematically and designed by Sonia Dyakova, the book spotlights the Bouroullecs’ greatest hits—including collaborations with Vitra (Algue makes the cover), Flos, Alessi, Cappellini, and Kvadrat—and reveals previously unpublished images and drawings alongside text by Abitare alum Anniina Koivu. Also weighing in on the designers’ first dozen years of projects, which are all doumented in a catalogue section, are the likes of design critic Alice Rawsthorn, Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum, and Didier Krzentowski of Galerie Kreo.

“I’ve worked very hard in a very short time to gain Michael and Felice’s trust,” a deadpan Jeff Lewis confides to the camera, less than 24 hours into his five-day, live-in makeover of the Steinbeck family’s Brentwood home. “Unfortunately, that trust gets questioned when water starts leaking out of the ceiling in the hall.” Bring on the busted pipes and twisted family dynamics, because the persnickety house flipper is back with a new show, Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis, which premieres tonight at 9 p.m. on Bravo. The frantic project juggling of Flipping Out (now filming its sixth season) is here replaced with feverish yet focused efforts to identify and solve the problems of homeowners, whose cramped closets or shabby bathroom may be symptoms of deeper conflicts—whether turning a child’s bedroom into a posh closet is the best solution is up to the viewer to decide.

Each episode follows Lewis and trusty assistant Jenni Pulos as they move into someone else’s house and get down to business: finding flaws, discreetly rolling their eyes, chatting with adorable children, and calling in reserves (sassy-but-lovable housekeeper Zoila Chavez, a contractor and his ever-growing crew) to accomplish considerable feats of design within the allotted five days. “On Flipping Out, you don’t always get to see the finished products,” said Lewis on a recent press call. “With Interior Therapy, it’s a true before-and-after reveal, which I like, because I get to see the project all the way through, and then so do the viewers.” Tonight’s premiere episode involves a domineering wife, a wildly ambitious tiling scheme (marble, herringbone), and a shopping trip to the aptly named “Interior Illusions.” When a conflict-soothing headboard gets wedged in the stairwell, the only option is cringe-inducing: “Open the wall!” barks the contractor. And for all of his smirking asides, Lewis’s softer side does emerge—occasionally—on the new show. “These people had problems. It wasn’t just about the design, and I really became a champion for them. I really cared about them,” said Lewis, pausing for a beat. “Some of them, not all of them!”
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All is well at Knoll. The mod furnishings company powered through 2011, picking up a Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award along the way to a 14% year-over-year increase in net sales, to $922.2 million. With an eye to further expanding its high-margin, high-design “Specialty” business, Knoll recently announced a pair of acquisitions. The company has purchased Boston-based FilzFelt, the go-to source for German-milled wool design and craft felt. Founders Kelly Smith and Traci Roloff will continue in their executive roles at FilzFelt. Also joining the Knoll family is Richard Schultz Design. “Richard Schultz began his career as a designer with Knoll and co-founded his company with his son Peter in 1992,” noted Knoll CEO Andrew Cogan in a statement announcing the deal. “Together, they have built an international reputation for exploring new materials and forms for outdoor furniture.” Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. In other Knoll news, the Cooper-Hewitt has added five KnollTextiles upholstery fabrics and two wallcoverings to its permanent collection. They include designs by Abbott Miller, Proenza Schouler, and Dorothy Cosonas, creative director of KnollTextiles. All of this Knoll talk making you crave Bertoia chairs and Risom stools? Good news: the Knoll Classics Sale is now on. Peruse discounted goods through Saturday at the NYC Knoll showroom (76 Ninth Avenue) or click over to Design Within Reach, where the sale runs through Sunday.

New York Fashion Week is in full swing, and on Friday morning, Kate Spade presented a Paris-infused fall 2012 collection dappled with polka dots and painterly prints, all smartly styled by Brad “Pop of Color” Goreski. “I’m kind of the Kate Spade girl but a boy,” he says. “I connect very well with the clothes and the aesthetic.” Meanwhile, Deborah Lloyd‘s ever-sharper, retro-chic brand is also busy rolling out cheeky spring offerings, a tribute to Australian textile designer Florence Broadhurst (1899-1977; we like to imagine her palling around with a young Edna Everage and going by the nickname “FloBro”), with the help of a boldly patterned bus-cum-pop-up shop. The collection is part of a larger collaboration with Helen and David Lennie‘s Signature Prints, which controls the Broadhurst design library. In addition to handbags, shift dresses, and Tretorn sneakers in her mod-nouveau Japanese Floral pattern, Kate Spade has debuted homegoods awash in graphic FloBro patterns. Now on offer at the brand’s just-launched Florence Broadhurst Decor Shop are eye-catching cushion covers, old-school luggage, china, and, of course, wallpaper. Bedding and other items incorporating Broadhurst prints will be added in the months ahead.

“The ‘designer,’ loosely defined, has secured a prominent place in the cultural dialogue…[and] ‘interior design’ as a pastime has never captured more general interest. A growing appreciation for the value of design has fueled the advancement of the professions, but it has also led to dilettantism in the field. Cable television shows and shelter magazines loudly proclaim that anyone can design, thus diminishing recognition for the designer’s unique skills and abilities. As a result, the widespread impression of the role of the designer is that of surface stylist and form giver. There is also an unrealistic perception of the mystique of a talented few ‘artists’ who shape new trends by combining unusual shapes and materials with a certain flair. While this interest in design serves to raise a general level of visual interest among the public, ‘design’ is this most rudimentary sense falls far short of what is needed for the meaningful improvement of the human condition. Regarding interior design as an instrument of the ‘cool,’ ‘trendy,’ or stylish ignores its most important contribution: the advancement of well-being.” -Shashi Caan, president of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers, in Rethinking Design and Interiors: Human Beings in the Built Environment, published recently by Laurence King

From left, David Kleinberg, George Beylerian, Nada Andric, and Patricia Urquiola.

The Interior Design Hall of Fame has welcomed four new members to its storied ranks: interiors whiz Nada Andric of Skidmore Owings & Merrill, importer and curator George Beylerian (founder of Material ConneXion and Culture & Commerce), interior designer David Kleinberg, and Patricia Urquiola, whose Milan-based design studio focuses on product design, architecture, and interiors. Interior Design honored the inductees last night at its 27th annual Hall of Fame awards gala, held at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Meanwhile, tonight the magazine moves down to Hall of Famer Frank Gehry‘s IAC building for its Best of Year Awards. Among the products and projects up for the honor are Andre Kikoski‘s warehouse-to-retail Wyckoff Exchange, the Rockwell Group-designed Untitled restaurant at the Whitney Museum, Karim Rashid‘s “Woopy” chair, and a pendant light from Yellow Goat Designs known as “Fat Fuzzy Thing.” Look for a full list of winners in the December issue of Interior Design.

It was a bit of a shaky restart for the recently rehabbed Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Planning to reopen on Thursday after a reconstruction effort to the 200-year old former train station that cost nearly $30 million and required a closure of two years, the museum was hit by staff protests, which pushed back its opening. The NY Times reports that the staff, most of whom were security guards, were angry over planned “broad government cutbacks that see retiring civil servants – including museum workers – not replaced by new hires” and decided to use the reopening as a publicity-heavy method of getting their message across. That temporary disruption eventually lifted on Friday, giving people a first look at the addition of more than 20,000 square feet, the newly hung Impressionist masterpieces, and most importantly: get a look at the color of those new walls. Perhaps one of the more talked about aspects of the rehab effort is the museum’s decision not to go with the standard all-white gallery walls. Saying that “white is the enemy of painting” given that it can reflect light too brightly and create a subtle aura that washes out the works of art, the museum decided to go with subdued shades of green, gray, etc. Thus far, no one seems particularly bent out of shape over the decision, but the Guardian‘s Jonathan Jones has stood up for white walls in one of his most recent columns, arguing that “there are lots of whites, good and bad” and that sometimes it’s just the best color for art to exist alongside.

The Stirling Prize? The Pritzker? Who needs ‘em when there’s been a winner selected for a far more important contest. Following up on a story we’d posted over the summer when the shortlist was announced, and something we’re sure you’d been on the edge of your seat about ever since, the America’s Best Restroom contest has chosen Chicago’s own Field Museum as the greatest in the country. Granted, the whole thing is just a marketing effort for Cintas, a provider of restroom equipment, and it’s perhaps not the greatest accomplishment to be known for, but still, we here in Chicago will take what we can get. Here’s a bit about what brought the Field Museum the gold:

With two large family-friendly restrooms on the ground floor, the Field Museum features sufficient stalls and sinks, as well as eco-friendly hand-dryers. The women’s restroom has a special nursing room with a shut door, sink, and small sofa for new mothers. The women’s restroom also has a large Tot Area with smaller toilets for our littlest guests. The restrooms are also right across a Nanny Caddy filled with diapers, band-aids, wipes, etc.

Eager for the inside scoop on retrofitting the Manufacturers Hanover Trust building on Fifth Avenue (pictured) for retail use? Want to know how Beyer Blinder Belle restored the Beacon Theater? Fancy a peek inside the restored and renovated Gracie Mansion? Don’t miss “Living With History: Restoring, Redesigning, and Reviving New York’s Landmark Interiors,” which takes place tomorrow at the Museum of the City of New York. In showcasing some of the extraordinary projects aimed at bringing historic NYC buildings back to life, the half-day symposium will highlight the various and sometimes controversial approaches to preserving the past while accommodating the needs of modern life. The presenters include architectural historian Matt Postal, Frank Mahan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, designer Jamie Drake, and Franklin D. Vagnone, executive director of the Historic House Trust. UnBeige readers can register at the $25 member rate by clicking here and entering the discount code Living1022 at checkout.

Photo: Alexandre Guirkinger

Back in June, we told you about director David Lynch being in the middle of an effort to construct a nightclub in Paris based on his film Mullholland Drive. The club finally opened this weekend, letting paying visitors (it’s a members-only establishment, with varying rates between roughly $1,000 and $2,000) get a first peek at Club Silenceo. Among those getting that early look was the Guardian‘s Fiachra Gibbons, who finds the space to be just as mysterious and meticulously designed as both Lynch and his work. Here’s a bit:

You do feel you are descending into another world as you go down the six flights of stairs into Silencio. Buddhist cocktail bars with their own bijoux cinemas, library, dream forest and stage straight from Twin Peaks are thin on the ground, even in the second arrondissement. One minute you are in the dark, the next you are in a golden tunnel of mini-mandalas. The effect is somewhere between nirvana, a classy Cincinatti cocktail bar circa 1975, and Goldie’s mouth.

The director’s Facebook group, Lynchland, has a number of images if you’d like to see more.