Furniture

In his early designs for shops, restaurants, and bars, Davidson created colorful interiors in shades of yellow, light pink, green, light blue, and brown. Formica and luxurious metalwork provided the structural components. His lighting systems, whether they were discreet or indirect ceiling illuminations, a wall lamp or a table lamp made simply from chrome and a lightbulb, were held in high regard. One example of the latter, from ca. 1940, is preserved in Davidson’s archive at the AD&A Museum’s Architecture and Design Collection. Furnishings for restaurant supplies, like service carts, were all individually designed. An early model of a cart worked on the same mechanical principle as a cigarette box Davidson designed, and so, might have influenced a patent for a Server for Cigarettes or the Like (1937).

Throughout his career, the architect equipped his houses with custom-made furniture, often built-in and doubling as storage. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the production company or how much furniture was made in total, but a draft of a letter from Davidson shows the care that went into the design. Consideration was given to the position and form of the legs as well as to the shape of the tabletop, where color was added with the use of Formica or walnut. In contrast to furniture design at this time in Europe, where the steel tube cantilevered chair was appearing, and to the design movements in California, Davidson confined himself to simple wooden furniture and upholstered armchairs. His own armchair design from the early 1920s, brought to Los Angeles from Berlin, formed the starting point for all his chairs. In keeping with contemporary tastes for the countryside, he also designed a beautiful series of bamboo and rattan armchairs, table and loungers, which were integrated into the Berkson Ranch houses, Encino (1939). In a few houses, such as the James Vigeveno house, Ojai (1941), as well as in the Case Study House #11, much of Davidson's original furniture is still preserved.