note from london/hofmobiliendepot vienna

Just arrived in London yesterday and I admit it to you freely my friends! It is 3h30 in the afternoon and I am still in my PJs! Feels pretty good to languish around for a day.
But I had to tell you about the most amazing place that Maria Aubock sent me to in Vienna on Saturday. Wow did she have my number!! She sent me to the Hofmobiliendepot, which is basically a museum for Austrian furniture, but also looks at the era where the Habsburg monarchy moved their furniture around from castle to castle in long processions of carriages. So all of their residences were empty and furnished from a huge warehouse of furniture. Part of this museum is like a big furniture warehouse...it is amazing! I am not really one to read all those little placards at museums, but I read every one here and my eyes were wide with the slight craziness of this whole concept! Can you imagine how many carriages and horses and how much furniture there would be to furnish just one? The caravan would be a mile long!
The upper floors look rather in depth at the rish history of furniture design in Austria. Here are my favorite pics from the day. But honestly there are a lot more. I thought my iPhone was going to burst into flames it was so hot from taking pictures!

Love the mix of modern patterns with classic shapes here.

Couldn't ignore my cheeky little cherub, especially when surrounded by such serious faces. Of course what you cannot see is that he is actually pulling out his own heart, but I didn't want that part in the image. Not nice...


Shot in the stairwell, but just such good wallpaper!

One of my absolute favorite parts of the exhibit turned out to be about Lucie Rie again. I tweeted an interior of her Potters studio at the V&A awhile ago ( https://twitter.com/#!/lwillphoto/status/189459124235415552/photo/1 ). I was admiring this particular room and it turned out to be her home before she fled Vienna for London. Designed by then 25 year old Ernst Plischke. When she left for London, she deconstructed the room and took it with her and then customised it to fit her little London flat. She lived in this same space for the rest of her life. Love it!