There are myriad angles to furniture design that makes it an entertaining subject to explore, especially when unleashing the imagination on the subject. I often pair furniture with historical figures that I think would have enjoyed living with it, such as a piece titled A Midcentury Cougar on the Prowl in which I explored the mid-century furnishings in the movie The Graduate, suggesting newer pieces Anne Bancroft’s character might have enjoyed!

In The Valentino Lair, I suggested a bedroom setting in the Bernhardt Showroom in High Point would have been the perfect hangout for Rudolph Valentino: did you know he published a book of poetry? In An Unsung Hero of Modern Design, I presented the favorite author of one of the mid-century’s iconic designers Edward Wormley; and in Timothy Oulton Design Adventurer, I channeled his adventurous designs through Mr. Biggles, Oulton’s favorite novel as a child.

For a riff on the Barrymore Avignon chair, I had one speaking to the other—the seating standing in for Petrarch and Laura, who met in a church in the French town of Avignon. I really adore imagining scenarios such as these, letting my imagination run free as I write!