I am so excited for Museum of Design Atlanta’s upcoming Eero Saarinen exhibit – it starts this Sunday April 14th and will run through June 30, 2013. For those of you who won’t be in Atlanta during that time, I thought we could do a post on Saarinen here to let you enjoy his work too. Here’s a quick peek at a fe of his greatest hits:

The Miller House, Columbus, Indiana 1957: Now owned and maintained by The Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Miller House is open for tours. If you visit, be sure to pay attention the landscape by Daniel Urban Kiley; it’s one of the most spectacular modern gardens in the U.S. and the interior fun provided by Alexander Girard. Tickets sell out fast, so be sure to plan ahead if you’re planning a trip to the modern-architecture rich Columbus! You can buy them here.

photos via The Indianapolis Museum of Art

The TWA Terminal at JFK 1962: The last time I was in this building, it was leaky and there was a bird flying around, but this architecture was all about the Jet Age, back when flying was glamorous and exciting:

photo by Ezra Stoller

John Deere Headquarters, Moline, Illinois 1964: After catching the eye of John Deere’s president, William Hewitt with his designs, Saarinen designed the striking headquarters for the company. The project is a wonderful example of modern architecture living in harmony with its surroundings:

photo via johndeere.com

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis 1965: One of the most iconic structures (at 630 feet high, it’s also the tallest monument) in the U.S. is also by Saarinen. Again, he teamed up with Dan Kiley to complete the landscape. Isn’t this picture crazy? It gives me vertico just thinking about it, and it also makes me miss my erector set!

Saarinen’s furniture designs continue to be some of the most popular examples of mid-century modern style today.

He designed the Womb Chair (1964) at the behest of his good pal Florence Knoll, who wanted a chair she could curl up in. If one wants to stretch out in it, the matching ottoman is a great addition.

Of course, his tulip table, a.k.a. Knoll Saarinen Table (1956), is one of the most iconic pieces of furniture from the mid-century modern period. Saarinen was not fond of legs and wanted a cleaner look when it came to kitchen and dining areas. “The undercarriage of chairs and tables in a typical interior makes an ugly, confusing, unrestful world,” he said. “I wanted to clear up the slum of legs. I wanted to make the chair all one thing again.”

For a typical kitchen table with four legs plus four chairs, Saarinen decreased “the slum of legs” from 20 legs to 5 pedestals. Not too shabby!

For those of you in Atlanta during the next few months, be sure to check out MODA’s Eero Saarinen exhibit!

This week, a home in Salt Lake City submitted by Patrick Davis Designs caught my eye on flickr. I love the way the simple palette makes the wood walls and beams really stand out, as well as the beautiful mid-century furnishings. Thanks for adding it to our Fresh New Spaces Group!

All photos property of Patrick Davis Designs. To see the rest of this house, click here. Also, check out patrickdavisdesign.com.

I am so excited to see Sterling Cooper Draper Price’s new digs in the Time Life building. Apparently there is a non-existent second floor, and they have The Emporer’s New Conference Table. The set designers on this episode are so genius. I’ve been all over AMC.com today looking for videos about the new sets but so far I’ve come up with nothing, but they are great about feeding us tidbits about their process so I feel hopeful there will be some good videos about the sets there soon.

There were many nuances in the set design. Betty, who now has a new husband in her bed, has tossed out the peacock blue velvet upholstered headboard for something more traditional (along with all of her fifties nipped-at-the-waist frocks for frumpier roomy suits and a double strand of oversized pearls). Don has moved into a depressing, pre-furnished, divorced dad apartment in the city (above), complete with bunk beds for overnights with the kids. It has absolutely no feeling of home, unlike his old house in the ‘burbs.

The most exciting thing about the episode were the shiny new offices of the new firm, Sterling Cooper Draper Price. Some of the artwork has evolved, their are shell chairs and Saarinen everywhere, and everything looks just a little bit more modern than the old firm. I can’t wait to see Cooper’s office and accompanying artwork, which they did not reveal last night. Doesn’t this area look like something that could exist in some hip start up? I love the detail of the Lanvin shoe on the inspiration board on the right.Oh wait, you can’t see it in this shot, but you can in the one below it:

Roger Sterling’s white office is my favorite. Complete with tulip table, I’m blanking on what that white lamp is called (please help me in the comments section! Thanks CapreeK “Nesso Table Lamp by Giancarlo Mattioli for Artemide”), white mirrored console, graphic black and white curtains and black and white painting. Check out the chrome table lamp and coat rack!

Breaking through more glass ceilings, Joan now has her own office. She’s kept it more traditional:

Still no conference table – it will be funny to see how that works out:

Finally, Don’s office hasn’t changed much. He still likes his mid-century modern dark woods, though it’s lightened up a bit. The spirits are still the most important part of the office:

Did you watch? What was your favorite part of the set design (or the show, I’m always happy to dish about this show!).

all images from amctv.com