Herman Miller blog: Lifework » outdoor

Six Ways to Outdoor Meetings

Jamie Latendresse — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:00:44 +0000

When the weather is right, why confer only in the conference room? These days, a little inspiration from Mother Nature might be just the thing. Join your team for some out-of-the-box thinking out of doors with these six handsome solutions for meeting outside.

1. Eames Table Contract Base Round Outdoor - Let the meeting of the round table commence with Charles and Ray’s vision for the perfect outdoor surface. Choose from a range of elegant and distinctive options including two heights, four tabletop diameters, and a choice of three marble and one granite table materials. See all the options at Herman Miller.

2. Water Jug, Menu & Pil Bredahl - Refresh your meeting’s attendants from this tall drink of water (or tea or lemonade) designed by Pil Bredahl. With its slender waist, the pitcher makes for an easy grasp and includes an ingenious top that opens just enough for fluid and not enough for ice or citrus to escape. Available from A+R.

3. Eames Aluminum Group Side Chair Outdoor - Surround an outdoor Eames Table or Nelson Pedestal Table with these perfectly adapted outdoor versions of the classic Eames Aluminum Group. Supportive Outdoor Weave material covers their lightweight aluminum frames for a truly comfortable seat that holds its own in the elements with effortless elegance. Select from four fabric colors and choose arms and a swivel or fixed base at Herman Miller.

4. Triple Dish, Morph - For a tasty intermission, offer crudités and snacks from this curvy Triple Dish design by Morph for Joseph Joseph. Three large segments for chips and vegetables surround a removable center for dips and sauces. Available in two-tone green and white or stone grey. Grasp yours at Joseph Joseph.

5. Aluminum Portable Document Holder - Windproof your meeting agenda, notes, and memos for external discussions with this classic mobile storage solution. It’s a touch of old school with a lot of convenience, in corrosion-resistant aluminum. Perfect for every team leader. Get them at Kaufmann Mercantile.

6. Nelson Pedestal Table Outdoor - Take the classic, sculpted silhouette of George Nelson’s Pedestal Table outdoors for your meeting. With three sizes to choose from, the table can act as side table, work surface, and more. Select from five different finishes for the table top. Choose yours at Herman Miller.

Photos linked within text.

The Medici Chair: Tradition Meets Technology

Amy Feezor — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:00:50 +0000

Sizeable and sculptural, Konstantin Grcic’s Medici Chair is a love song to wood — the raw material, the woodworking process, and the craftsmen who transform the material into something both beautiful and useful. Grcic, who first trained as a cabinet-maker, found inspiration for the piece on the factory floor of manufacturer Mattiazzi, where traditional woodworking techniques meet the newest digital production technologies. His approach from the start: use only three-quarter-inch planks throughout — a reminder of the beginning of the production process, when a tree trunk is cut into slices. The result is a visible, easy-to-read structure that uniquely expresses the distinct characteristics of wood.

A contemporary interpretation of the classic Adirondack chair, the outdoor version of this semi-reclined design uses thermo-oiled ash, a finish that employs a new process of heat-treating and hand-oiling to seal the wood and keep it moisture-resistant. Get it just in time for the new spring season at the Herman Miller store.

Six Ways to Explore the Outdoors

Jamie Latendresse — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:00:40 +0000

With the recent Groundhog Day prediction of an early spring, yard and patio weather may not be too far off. So with sun and fun in mind, here’s six ways to explore the outdoors.

1. Medici Chair Outdoor, Konstantin Grcic - Reinterpreting its Adirondack Chair ancestor for a contemporary setting, the Medici Chair offers reclined outdoor comfort and relaxation under sun or moon. Spaciously accommodating and perfect as stand-alone piece or gathered around the fire. From Herman Miller.

2. Magis Spun Chair, Thomas Heatherwick - Sit and spin in this sculptural one-of-kind chair designed by Heatherwick to unite architecture, design, and sculpture into “a single practice.” Ideal for both indoor and outdoor, it’s surprisingly comfortable — and undeniably enjoyable. Choose from four colors at Herman Miller.

3. King’s Game, Fruitsuper Design - A handsome update of King’s Game or “Kubb” as it’s known in Sweden, this unique lawn game’s object is to knock over wooden blocks by throwing sticks — a mix of bowling and horseshoes. Comes in a handy go-anywhere tote and is made in the USA. Get one from Fruitsuper Design.

4. Urbanfire Wood Burning, Modfire - Originally designed to match a mid-century patio and perfectly roast marshmallows, this cone-shaped, wood-burning fireplace warmly accents any patio or deck. Rolled steel with handmade shaping and detail. 48″ high. Find yours at Modfire.

5. Air-Chair (with arms), Set of 4, Jasper Morrison - Air-molding technology combines high tech with fine design to deliver this stackable, lightweight, and comfortable seating solution. Choose the arm-chair version for bit of extra comfort and distinctiveness. In a variety of colors, from Herman Miller.

6. Eames Table Contract Base Outdoor, Charles & Ray Eames - With a broad spectrum of sizes and newly developed outdoor-ready finishes, the Eameses’ classic table design wears and weathers beautifully no matter where you place it. A substantial, yet simple centerpiece to your patio or sun porch. Configure yours at Herman Miller.

Photos linked within text.

Need More Reasons To Go Outside?

Jamie Latendresse — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:00:25 +0000

In no time at all spring will be sprung and you along with it. Here are a few spring flings to bring you out of doors.

1. Jawbone Jambox Go wireless and go anywhere with this beat-ridden brick house. Stunning hi-fi audio that fits in the palm of your hand. Get it: jawbone.com

2. Bird House by Droog Practically a case study, nudge nudge, in fine bird dining. Marcel Wanders’ birdhouse for Droog struts mod plumage to attract all the hot birds. Get it: droog.com

3. Bodum Fyrkat Picnic Grill Bold, enamel coated steel heats up this bbq before the first match is struck. Add a little gift from Prometheus and you’ll do kebabs like the gods. Light it up: bodum.com

4. Eames Aluminum Group Lounge Chair Outdoor Originally produced to bridge indoor and outdoor living, the Aluminum Group is once again sitting pretty in the sun. Just grab a seat: hermanmiller.com

5. Solé Ocean Front Walk Fixie Flaunt your fixie in the springtime sun. Solé was started by two Cali buds who envisioned a world with…well, fixed gears. Affordable and gorgeous. Peddled here: solebicycles.com

6. Historical Reserve iPad Case Planning to storm the beach? Better grab some war era gear to protect iThis and iThat. Made from original canvas untouched for 60 years. That’s tough. Requisition here: killspencer.com

Photos: Linked to sources within text

What’s Outside Your Window?

Amy Feezor — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:00:45 +0000

Maybe it’s because there will be a little more daylight in a few short days (mark your calendars: Daylight Saving starts Sunday). Or perhaps it’s that, in less than two weeks, the spring season will officially arrive (first day: March 20). More than likely, it’s due in part to having the Herman Miller Collection Outdoor on our minds. Either way, we’ve been staring out the office window a bit more than usual lately. What’s your view right now?

The Upper East Side, as seen from a New York City residence designed by interior designer Magdalena Keck. (Photo: Herman Miller)

Knock Knock founder Jen Bilik’s former home office in Los Angeles. (Photo: Design Sponge)

A scene of green from A Creative Mint’s Leslie Shewring, also in LA. (Photo: Leslie Shewring/Herman Miller)

A sunny outlook for two in Denmark. (Photo: Line Thit Klein/79ideas.org)

The view from the Eames Aluminum Group Management Chair in the Vancouver home office of Shalina Lawrence. (Photo: Shalina Lawrence/Made By Girl)

Opening Photo: Egg Collective designer Hillary Petrie’s office via Andy Sternad/Design Sponge

The Playlist: BeBop Garden’s Ricki Grady

Amy Feezor — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 12:00:13 +0000

This week, Herman Miller introduced the Herman Miller Collection Outdoor–which is why we found it fitting to feature the playlist of Ricki Grady, a former graphic designer and now garden writer and author of the book BeBop Garden. Listen to the mix that you may just hear playing in (or outside of) her cozy nest of a studio near Portland, Oregon.

What do you listen to while you work? How do you listen? When I am writing, it is a struggle to maintain focus, so silence is my friend and ally. Working in the garden, I like to be fully present. The subtle (and occasionally not-so-subtle) sounds of nature conspire to produce their own low-key, atonal symphonies, while my own quietude allows me to blend in and observe interactions that would elude me if I were surrounded by my own “sound barrier.” (Ever had a butterfly land on your toe?) By contrast, when I am sewing and working on products for my Etsy shop, I listen to the sweet little Bose radio in my studio.

Does music influence your work? You might get the idea that music takes a back seat, but not so. In fact, the first couple of paragraphs of BeBop Garden allude to the ways in which gardening, and, by extension, garden writing, have come to stand in for my lack of musicianship. Early on, I found myself calling certain plants “divas” and others “chorus girls.” It wasn’t long before the analogy “took root” and I began to see the whole garden in musical terms.

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? Portland has a 24-hour jazz/blues station, KMHD, that is our radio mainstay. Most days, I try to tune in to NPR’s “Fresh Air” to hear Terry Gross interview the world’s most fascinating people. When musicians are her guests (Patti Smith, Yo Yo Ma, Robert Plant and Alison Kraus…) she will play cuts from their various recordings…or there will be reviews at the end of the show. We also have a huge collection of vinyl from as far back as the 50’s and lots of CDs from more recent years. Heavy on jazz, Motown, and classical, most genres are represented.

Who influences your musical taste? A French friend has made a number of CD mixes for us, introducing us to Amy Winehouse, Adele, Pink Martini, and a bunch of French artists I will not attempt to name as these things come sans liner notes.

If your work was a song or a musician, what or who would it be? I would love to be able to say that the garden compositions I create and the words I write have the offbeat, minor key dissonance of Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man, the swinging syncopation of Dave Brubeck’s Jazz Impressions of Eurasia, and the sublime cool of anything by Miles Davis. Maybe someday…when the light is just right.

RICKI’S PLAYLIST

Trout Quintet by Schubert, Clifford Curzon Vienna Octet
Hey Sweet Man, Madeleine Peyroux
Bird on a Wire, Leonard Cohen
Seed, Afro Celt Sound System
Wash Me Clean, K.D. Lang
Take Off Your Cool, OutKast featuring Norah Jones
Tutu, Miles Davis
The Forest (album), David Byrne
Good Dog, Happy Man (album), Bill Frisell
Sweet Tea (album), Buddy Guy
Queen of the Night, Yusef Lateef
Rubber Band Man, The Spinners

Photos: Ricki Grady

Take It Outside: Home-Office Garden Sheds

Amy Feezor — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:00:25 +0000

Inspired by this Financial Times article on “the joys of working out of a backyard hideaway,” TreeHugger recently put together a roundup of home-office garden sheds. Here are a few we could spend a little time working in (such as the modular House Arc, above).

Constructed predominantly from timber, the Archipod is specifically designed to “complement a garden landscape, be efficient, ergonomic, and unusual.”

The Cube Project was originally conceived as an eco-friendly living space home for one person (it contains a kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping area). But at just 97-square feet of floor area, it could also serve as an easy home-office option.

Scott Lewis Landscape Architecture helped convert this former shed into an ivy-covered painting studio in a San Francisco garden.

Made from locally-sourced timber and glass and clocking in at 160-square feet of space, Spacecraft was inspired by a 19th-century Japanese house at the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena, CA, and the wooden lifeguard towers on the beaches of Malibu.

See more of this article at TreeHugger. Want more reasons to work outside? Check out the new Herman Miller Collection Outdoor.

Photos: TreeHugger