Ellen DeGeneres Selects
https://www-6.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18163895/
Hi there! I don’t know if you know this, but I have always had an appreciation and strong passion for the history of design and architecture. During my travels I have had the opportunity to collect rare and unique objects from all parts of the world. I am inspired by each piece: its history and the story it has to tell. This room is filled with a selection of objects whose origins range from ancient Egypt and Peru to mid-20th-century Scandinavia and 21st-century Brooklyn. I hope you enjoy exploring and imagining the histories and stories behind the objects that I have chosen. This installation is an intimate and personal look into my design aesthetic, my living space, and the special objects that I have come to love. A few of my pieces are dotted around the room! I like to mix a modern feel with a rustic, antique look. I like the juxtaposition. Here an African mask sits near a wall unit designed by George Nelson and plates by Pablo Picasso share a tabletop with a modern Austrian tea set. The Selects exhibition represents all the qualities I love and cultivate in my home. My home is my canvas for inspiration, a place where I generate ideas and learn. I’m always on the search for new, beautiful and interesting objects. And I’m always moving things around and switching things out so I have something new to look at and appreciate.
I collect all kinds of boxes from places all around the world. They are perfect for hiding your gold bars!
This is a unique home accent with a functional quality. I always like to choose items that can be used in multiple ways. For instance, I can have this rooster on my tablescape and use the whistle to call my dogs!
I recently went to Africa and in my travels I found a similar mask to this one. I love to collect masks and discover their history and I always wonder what they were used for. I'm guessing some of the earliest bank robberies.
I am never done designing; I am always arranging and then rearranging some more. This piece makes it easy, a desk and ladder all in one.
For the love of a dog, we would do anything! This illustration really speaks to me and I appreciate the success of Christina Malman, who drew over thirty-five covers and more than five hundred drawings for the New Yorker during her lifetime.
I have been drawn to the work of Picasso for as long as I can remember. Obviously everyone is familiar with his paintings, but then I discovered his ceramics which are equally stunning and a tad more affordable.
I have been drawn to the work of Picasso for as long as I can remember. Obviously everyone is familiar with his paintings, but then I discovered his ceramics which are equally stunning and a tad more affordable.
When I was looking through Cooper Hewitt I came across this timeless, classic piece. I am a huge fan of George Nelson and his American industrial design.
The first iteration of Breuer’s bent-form long chair was an aluminum and steel frame with wood armrests produced in Germany. The choice of plywood, as seen in this example, was influenced by both English taste and the molded furniture of Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto—the wood was less austere than tubular metal.
I have this beautiful stool in my home and it is one of my favorites. Over the past decade Charlotte Perriand has received great recognition for her works alongside Eileen Gray, who is another female designer who I admire.
Drop leaf tables helped ensure efficiency of space in modest Swedish homes; leaves were lowered when not in use, and raised as needed during meal times and work. The hand-wrought iron hinges, seen on the leaves and gate legs, were often forged by a neighboring blacksmith. Variations on this simple but elegant form are seen over the course of several centuries throughout Sweden, and appeared in almost all Swedish homes, farmhouses, manor houses, and castles.
Allmoge is the Swedish word referring to furniture and objects belonging to and made by country or rural folk. This table's simple, rough-hewn form would have been originally designed as a corner worktable and sited in the main living room of the farmhouse. Today such pieces are revered as folk art and appreciated for their simplicity and link with their agrarian past.
These are my personal lamps that I found in a Paris flea market. They have great character and their silhouettes remind me of animals.
These are my personal lamps that I found in a Paris flea market. They have great character and their silhouettes remind me of animals.
This is a one of a kind, hand-woven piece that I worked on with artisans at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn. This is one of my favorite pieces and all my guests comment on it.