milo baughman

have you heard of milo baughman?

i sure hope so.


if not, here is a brief introduction, taken from the thayer coggins website:


"Milo Baughman pioneer in modern design and one of the leading modern furniture designers of the second half of the 20th century. Baughman was brought east from his native California by Thayer Coggin in the 1950s to design the first lines for his collection of related upholstered groups. Baughman's uniquely American designs were forward-thinking and distinctive, yet unpretentious. The relaxed and timeless quality of his furniture created a ready and consistent response and his highly influential work continues to be collected and reinvented and revived by designers around the world. Paramount to Baughman's design philosophy was that good design is enduring design. Baughman's characteristic restraint does not permit the look of mere novelty to enter in. Rather, he achieved a look that is uncompromisingly modern, but which never violates the timeless standards of classic good taste."

(lounge chair design by milo baughman-elle decor)

i first learned about milo baughman when i was in college.
a professor of mine announced to my interior design class that milo baughman (pronounced my-low boff-man) was going to be teaching a furniture design class the following semester, and encouraged us to take it.

(image)

 i signed up immediately, even though the only information i know about him was very limited....this was before the internet exploded (1995. yeah. that makes me feel really, really old, by the way)

not only did i take the "intro to furniture design" class with milo baughman, but i also took the "advanced furniture design" class and did an internship with milo for a few months, assisting him in a few local projects he was working on. he was a kind, and deeply thoughtful and intelligent man with a quick wit and a deep love and knowledge of interior design and modern furniture design.

(a console table design by milo baughman-elle decor)

one of the things he said to our class that has resonated with me for the last 17 years is this: 

(and i am paraphrasing a bit...)

"everyone thinks they have good taste. but this cannot be. inevitably, some of the people who think 

they have good taste are wrong"

whenever he said it, he would softly chuckle. 

(and that would make the entire class chuckle!)

milo's work has become a lot more popular in the last few years.

you can do a quick search on ebay, and come up with dozen of items.

like this rosewood and chrome console table

or this mohair and chrome sofa

(i would LOVE to own this baby!)

crate and barrel is now carrying several pieces that he designed:

including the  milo classic leather lounge chair

and the shelter collection.

it was a great privilege for me to get to know such a wonderful man. because of the internship i did with him, i spent more time with him than the other students, and he was always an inspiration to be around.

you can read more about him here.

you can shop on ebay for his furniture here.

see his collections for thayer coggins here.

to shop his furniture at DWR click here.

happy friday!