In the same vein as my last post, this may or may not be an older trip at this point… but I still loved it and want to talk about it OKAY??!?? I promise I’ll write about my trips closer to when they happened from now on :’)
The Trip:
This was another trip through AAPIDA (check out my last post for more info on the group), so I got to meet with some new faces I hadn’t met yet as well as some of my new friends, which was great! We were scheduled for a special guided tour through the Nakashima property as well as the workshop and wood storage facilities. What we didn’t know was that the normal tour guide was not available that day, so we were treated to a private tour with George Nakashima’s DAUGHTER, Mira! She is not only the daughter of the world-renowned furniture designer and maker, but she also works in the business as a furniture designer.
Our tour started pretty normally with a short history of George Nakashima’s life as we sat on original and mass-produced designs on display in their visitor center.
Our next stop was the original home of the Nakashima family while they were growing up on the property. Out of respect for their privacy, I have not included photos of this portion. It was gorgeous in there! All of the wood detailing, the beautiful floor planks, the furniture, and the special artwork that George received from many of his friends in the art world. Then, our first surprise special peek happened! Mira actually took us back into the little-seen bedrooms and office spaces of the home. This is not something that is normally part of the tour, so we were all extremely honored to be shown such a personal detail of the building.
As we proceeded to our next stop, we entered the guest house. This is used for entertainment and to house guests staying over. It had a gorgeous bathroom with hand-laid tiles, a kitchen hidden behind a traditional paper room divider, and a tea room tucked behind a low archway. Again, I have not included photos of this area for their privacy, but it was stunning to say the least. The floors continued to amaze me in each room, and the furniture was, of course, top-notch.
The next stop was a fun one – the wood storage! There were two areas, one in a smaller space, and then a huge storage shed built specifically for the wood! Mira showed us all the stocked-up timber and shared how this massive supply was acquired. I don’t want to spoil the tour, as I think it is a really awesome one if you love Japanese architecture, but George often accepted wood that timber dealers and sellers did not know what to do with. I LOVE that resourcefulness, and I really enjoy seeing artists minimize waste as part of their creative process.
After marveling at more than 1,000 sq. ft. of unique wood, we made our way down the lovely green path to their venue space. This area hosts events selected and approved by the organization, including concerts and other events. This building had arguably one of my favorite spaces on the property… the loft. Now, I’m a sucker for a good loft, but WOW WOW WOW… it was so good I made it the first image in this post! There was also an incredible technique employed on the ceiling of this building that I still think about. George Nakashima was an architect by trade, so he knew more than just how to make a space look beautiful; he also knew how to build it. Because of that, this ceiling was built using differing heights on each angle, which resulted in a curved or warped slope that was mesmerizing.
Our final stop on the tour was the design center. This area is where the design staff does their work on the daily, and where the clients come for their in-person consultations and meetings. There were parts of this that were not to be photographed as well, so I will just add my favorite photo that shows how COOL the ceiling in here was! The main room featured a wall of windows as well as a quaint seating area for the guests, then some historic furniture as well as prototypes for new products (hence the limit of photos). The ceiling was certainly the star of the show, however, and featured a gravity-defying curved concrete structure – something that George himself was not sure would work. The outside was just as awesome as the inside, with a scalloped edge facing the walkway.
After everything was all said and done, our AAPIDA crew went to lunch in the nearby town. But guess what… MIRA JOINED US! It was so surreal to be sitting across from such a legend in the industry – we both got the same soup 😉
My thoughts:
Between Shofuso and the Nakashima property, I’m convinced I will never love any other architecture more than Japanese architecture. If Shofuso lit the flame of interest in researching and learning about it, Nakashima added a ton of wood and stoked the fire. Not only did it make me consider if I would be interested in learning how to make high-quality wooden furniture, but it also made me even consider going back to school for architecture. I definitely want to focus on building my interior design business right now (shameless self plug, check out my website if you’re in need of services!), but maybe in the future.
It also pushed me to start getting more serious about visiting Japan. I have always wanted to go for the culture and food, but now that I have a newfound appreciation for their architectural prowess and techniques, I would love to tour some of their greatest achievements and landmarks of architectural innovation.
Since I have been going on these trips, I have really felt my creative juices flowing a lot more freely, almost to an uncontainable and aggressive level. I can feel myself full of ideas and with new inspiration I had not previously ever experienced. I always wondered how successful designers constantly found new ways to reinvent spaces, and I think this might be how – by seeing and learning about the industry in meaningful and self-fulfilling ways.
I’m excited to use my new passion and knowledge on my future designs, and have actually started a new personal interior design project just recently. I am in the design ideation phase as of right now and am perfecting the mood board, but look out for updates on that at the end of my blog posts moving forward!
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