Magical lavender fields in Provence. 

Barbican opened a show called "Constructing Worlds," which brings together eighteen exceptional photographers from the 1930s to the present. Common to them all is they all have changed the way we view architecture. From the first skyscrapers in New York and decaying colonial structures in the Congo, to the glamorous suburban homes of post-war California, and the modern towers of Venezuela, this show is like a global journey through twentieth and contemporary architecture, which emphasize on the power of photography to make architecture matter. 

French interior designer François Catroux and his wife Betty, a former Chanel model are among the world's most stylish couples. For their wedding which was hailed as the most stylish wedding of the 60s, Betty wore a Pierre Cardin fur coat and boots. The decorator to the Rothschilds, King Hussein, and the Shah of Iran, Catroux has demonstrated a preference for the aesthetics of bold stainless steel objects. Their apartment in Paris, which they have recently redecorated, features dramatic pieces of furniture by Vladimir Kagan, Ron Arad, Jean Royère, and François-Xavier Lalanne.

The Kraus House, built for Ruth and Russell Kraus in the early 50s and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Kirkwood suburb of Saint Louis suburb is now open to the public. After Ruth Kraus died in 1992, Russell decided to preserve the house and to open it as a museum for Frank Lloyd Wright; it is owned today by the Saint Louis County. The house is an example of Wright's Usonian houses, which he began building during the Depression for middle income clients of modest financial means, and like all Usonian houses it was built without basements, attics and other features.

I am so pleased to announced that Alberto Aquilino, director of 1950 Delorenzo Gallery will be my guest speaker in the fall edition of the program Collecting Design at the New York School of Interior Design. In the session devoted to the American Studio Movement, Aquilino will speak about collecting furniture by George Nakashima, about the exhibition he held at the Gallery in the spring, and about distinguishing between the best and the mediocre in the work of one of the more ambitious participants of the Movement. 

The design auction season started this week with the Design sale of Phillips London that had a strong presence of mid-century Italian design. 

When I went to graduate school in the early 90s, Leigh Keno was a young and talented dealer whose gallery became instrumental in the world of Americana and he established himself as an expert in early American decorative Arts. Keno has since established Keno Auctions in an Upper East Side charming townhouse, and has expanded into modern design. In his upcoming sale next week, he will be offering iconic furniture by such designers as Gio Ponti, Carlo Mollino, Wharton Esherick, Zaha Hadid, and Ruth Asawa, 

The fact that stylish homes of the Hamptons are no longer just about colonial-style interiors, colorful upholstery and elaborate spaces, is well illustrated in the new and sunning volume by architect, critic, and curator Anthony Iannacci. Entitled “Design in the Hamptons,” and published by Monacelli Press, it bring to light some intriguing homes that reflect a cultural shift in Hamptons homes that reflect a renewed interest in modernist architecture. I particularly loved Todd and Lauren Merrill's home in Shinnecock Hills in Southampton which was built in the 80s and which they restored to its original look, using the spaces as backdrops for objects of fantasy by such icons as Zaha Hadid, Philip Powell, and Paul Evans.

Thank you, Architectural Digest for a beautiful feature on the program Collecting Design: History, Collections, Highlights, which fall 2014 edition begins next week as the world's only program of its kind. Collecting modern and contemporary design has become one of the most dynamic, influential territories in the international marketplace, a territory that stands at the forefront of style and taste. 

I have just told you about the entertaining evening with HIlda Longinotti, former secretary of George Nelson that I attended, and this morning I read that the George Nelson Foundation, is talking a legal step to prevent Los Angeles–based Modernica from continuing production of the George Nelson Bubble Lamps. The lawsuit states that the company’s lamps are “unauthorized” and made of inferior quality. The bubble lamps were first introduced by Nelson in 1952 and were manufactured by the Howard Miller Clock Company. You can read the rest in Jeffrey Head's article in the Architects Newspaper.