INTO EVERY LIFE, A LITTLE CHROME MUST FALL
INTO EVERY LIFE, A LITTLE CHROME MUST FALL
AND INTRODUCING "FETISHY CORPCORE"
In this ISSUE: CELEBRITY CHROME via BRAD PITT’s bed, and NICOLE KIDMAN’s festishy corpcore; if you don’t know “U.S.M.”, you will, + ICYMI U.S.M. NEWS; dinner conversation topics; chrome correspondent LEANNE CLOUDSDALE on chrome as SEX SYMBOL; and STYLING of chrome through the ages (limited to the 1980s and 1990s and now)
PLUS the best chrome for sale
PLUS a special note on THE FUTURE OF FOR SCALE
*AS EVER, READ PHOTO CAPTIONS PLS.*
Dear Snoops,
There is, under our noses, evidence of a massive WFH crossover hit - where the wipeable, sleek, classy-functional of office meets the (literally) self-reflective space of home.
This is CHROME, a.k.a. the marriage of chromium and furnishings.1
Chrome Appreciation, the “WHY CHROME?” of it all:
It is shiny, ergo holds up a much-needed mirror up to society
It is both hard and brittle, as a material. WE SEE YOU CHROME, and we honor you, and we can relate
How refreshing to be low friction in a world of constant chafing
Machine Age paraphernial is “timeless” (vs. early Digital Age paraphernalia which is Nostalgia)
BUT MAINLY:
FOR SCALE has been in a lot of enviable homes recently, and they have ALL HAD some chrome. HOW DO THEY SUCCESSFULLY INTEGRATE CHROME? you might ask. EVIDENCE BELOW, if skip down a bit or continue with patience.
DEFINING CHROME’S CURRENT MOMENT: FETISHY “CORPCORE”
Chrome has a kind of futuristic quality to it – always has. It was a furniture-as-technology, versus furniture-as-craft; it was 1920s Art Deco becoming 1930s ‘streamline moderne’ (the extra ‘e’ might as well have stood for ELECTICITY, which was still very new and quirky at the time).
Perhaps this futuristic-ness is why it is favored in corporate environments, which are incentivized to remind you of time beyond The Present You Find Yourself In (a.k.a. at work), which is of course a time beyond human labor. (DEBATE: Do we want to be?)
But just as the PRE-COVID office was becoming such DOMESTIC SIMULACRUM it was giving IKEA Showroom vibes, currently Home is instead adopting CORPORATE FUNCTIONALITY. (DEBATE: Had the office become too friendly? And/or Had the home become too friendly?)
And why “fetishy” as a qualifier? Simply put:
Chrome goes so well with leather
Chrome is easily disenfected
People who have (good) Chrome in their homes don’t have it by mistake, they are “into it”
REDACTED - The jury is out on Balenciaga
ASIDE: “FETISHY CORPCORE” EVIDENCE (INCL. CHROME):
BALENCIAGA SPRING 2023 CAMPAIGN
And, on that note, not all Chrome is equal.
BEFORE THE GOOD, THE B(r)AD:
It must be noted that much ick has been made from chrome. Its design history is far from flawless. Most notably, peep this atrocity (co-)designed by William BRADly PITT:
YET, the number of design masters who have lost their shit over chrome is evidence enough of how much charm it contains: Eileen Grey, Ray and Charles Eames (SEE BELOW), Le Corbusier (aka “Lay Coo-vwha-zee-ay”, please watch this TRIGGER: Kardashian content), Mies van der Rohe, etc. etc.
Plus, it has found some more contemporary fame, being contextualized by Interesting Cultural People and Quality Furniture Brands.
TODAY: CHROME’S “IT GIRL” BRAND:
The Ultimate in acceptable Corpcore for home is the U.S.M. “Haller” system, designed by bonkers Fritz Haller (kind of a knock-off Buckminster Fuller). The system is sleek, and has yet to be co-opted by the likes of Nightmare on WEST ELM Street.
It is tough to find used U.S.M. for sale, because people tend to keep it forever – but the fall 2022 BILLINGS AUCTION catalogue contained several pieces. (They are ones to watch, generally speaking.)
U.S.M. VIBE BEST ABSORBED VIA DECADES-OLD U.S.M. AD:
U.S.M. color mastery footnote here:2
U.S.M. BEING POPULAR:
And, in RARE “NEW FURNITURE NEWS”:
It is zero % a surprise that SEXY INTERIORS MAG *PIN-UP* launched “PIN-UP home” (a “platform for design objects and contemporary home accessories”) and that they did this with a line of U.S.M. furniture inspired by THE NEW YORK SKYSCRAPER. Anyway, it was designed by talented PIN-UP creative director BEN GANZ and they are hot as hell. See below.
DEBATE: PIN-UP DOES NO WRONG?
U.S.M. ALSO had a recent collab with RIMOWA (For Scale luggage brand of choice). And, this was a revelation because U.S.M. finally had a texture other than “Completely Smooth.” RIMOWA’s texture is “Ribbed”:
BUT ONTO OUR MAIN JAM:
SOME EXCELLENT CURRENTLY-ON-SALE CHROME IN LOS ANGELES
1. ROSITA VISION 2000 HI-FI SYSTEM, 1971. Designed by Thilo Oerke. Honestly would have no idea how to works this, but it’s fully committed SPACE-AGE. For sale by BASA.
2. CHROME APPLE, unknown (to me) origins. For sale by exceptional purveyors of conversation-worthy home furnishings, and FOR SCALE friends, FORMAS
3. Chrome Vase by Walter von Nessen for Chase USA from Chrome’s imperial era, i.e. Art Deco. (It’s a cute 9.25” high) For sale by DEN which has an exceptional about of great chrome for sale.
4. LEOLUX cutie love seat, available via CRAIGLUST from a seller in Venice Beach. (Don’t buy this though, we might.)
5. This fucking lovely little TIN MAN chrome lamp (our name for it) which was peeped at MERCHANT MODERN in Atwater Village:
6. MARCEL BREUER (for Knoll) sexy corset-like B-33 cantilever chair sold by FOR SCALE pal Jacob
🍽️ CHROME DINNER CONVERSATION: THE BICYCLE
AS DISCUSSED, origin-story-wise, chrome had its first Interiors moment care of the streamline moderne movement, circa early 20th century. Sure. Fine.
But honestly, it’s better dinner table convo to get into more granular inspirations:
We present: THE BYCICLE.
The bicycle is sexy AF. Ergo no surprise it has inspired some sexy *other* stuff. FOR EXAMPLE, the mechanism at the heart of the Maralunga sofa by Magistretti (see the M’lunga in motion HERE at Joseph R.’s house). But in a more obvious specimen, it was the bent chrome handlebars of a bicycle that gave legendary MARCEL BREUER an idea for his sexiest chair, THE WASSILY.
WASSILY, aka, BIKE AS CHAIR:
See the Wassily in motion here (at Sael B.’s house). N.B. THE ABSOLUTE BEST Wassilys are worn in. Newnewss is bad, leather must have some “used” energy for a Wassily not to feel like a total knock-off even when it isn’t. In this respect, Wassily shares DNA with Chuck Taylors by Converse and The Hacky Sack.
COUNTERPOINT
CHROME IS SEX. CHROME IS HOSTILE. HERE IS HOW TO DO IT SAFELY. BY CHROME CORRESPONDENT LEANNE CLOUDSDALE
Chromeo, Chromeo, wherefore art thou, Chromeo? A familiar tale of forbidden love, our affection towards the electroplated genius of Chromium never wanes. We seek our own reflection in its silver, space-age shining surface – we fear rejection in its ice-cold industrial touch. Like a slut in fancy knickers, we know we shouldn’t, but oh, yes, we should.
The sleek and sexy antidote to lumpy old wood, the gleaming pizzazz of chrome never fails to get pulses racing. A red stiletto in a room full of clogs, this head-turner begs for attention and reels you in with the promise of a life lived happily ever after – and then slips off to the toilet to call an Uber.
Chrome and I have had a turbulent relationship (can’t you tell?!). Just when I thought I was ready to go steady with some U.S.M., I was reassured by the luxurious, seriously grown-up quality of Vitsœ instead. I assumed my opportunity to get together with bad-boy chrome had passed, until one day, idly scrolling through the world wide web, I happened across a set of six Mart Stam chairs. Second-hand but in perfect nick, I pinched and zoomed in on those candid shots, convinced they’d look perfect in my newly renovated Victorian terrace. A pop of utopian Bauhaus against my freshly painted, glossy and white (creaky) floorboards. What could possibly go wrong? A lot.
Cantilevered peril teamed with S&M black leather wasn’t exactly the softcore Mills & Boon paperback I was after.
Think Christian Bale in American Psycho; beautiful to look at, but ultimately hostile, unwelcoming and fucking uncomfortable. Like a lover who speaks English as a third language, they just couldn’t hit my sweet spot, no matter how hard I tried to explain. I felt like a failure. Useless. Frustrated. Ashamed. As a self-confessed design-snob how could I tell my community that these iconic tubular chairs just weren’t for me?
We broke up a month or two later – a short-lived, illuminating affair. I listed them cheaply for a quick sale and didn’t shed a tear when their delighted, soon-to-be owner was busy Jenga-ing them into the back of his German estate car (a pretty nice black Audi A6, for anyone asking). He sent me photographs of them, nicely settled into his spacious, glass-roofed conservatory, with a text saying, “They love it here, Leanne! Are you sure you don’t want them back?”. No. I absolutely didn’t.
Chrome. Corrosion-proof and rust-resisting, it’s the mirrorball to your shallow soul. Sure, go on a few hot dates for a confidence boost, just don’t introduce it to your parents.
AND FINALLY: CHROME STYLING
CELEBRITY FURNITURE MOMENT, the Wassily in the film 9 1/2 Weeks:
FROM SOME LOS ANGELES HOMES WE’VE VISITED THIS FALL:
“*I* AM IN THE BOOK BUSINESS”: CHROME IN TEXTBOOKS OF STYLE
*IF YOU GET THAT REFERENCE, THEN EMAIL US AND WE WILL VENMO YOU $1. THIS IS NOT A JOKE.
BONUS TRACK, ARTISTS AND CHROME:
ON THE FUTURE OF FOR SCALE:
We are THIS SUBSTACK before also launching a unique digital marketplace (in partnership with ON) for unnew furniture and objects.
As a brand, For Scale invites in elements and emotions not typically appreciated in domestic marketplaces or publications – messiness, "bad taste", sex appeal, novice – as well as being reverent to time-tested style.
The DIGITAL MARKETPLACE will have some great twists and turns, and generally just be cooler than Etsy or 1stDibs or Craigslist or whatever else.
Some of our branding by the AMAZEEN Some Days:
FOR SCALE ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB, with an unreleased typeface c/o DINAMO:
Chromium + pop music =
Loved this! So many delicious moments. All the chromy puns--I’m always a sucker for one--and the selection of archival interior images. Divine! Can’t wait for the next instalment!