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Mizzou alumnus Ron Mann uses
such natural materials as wood, cement and raw steel in
his designs of simple living environments. Photo courtesy
of House of Mann |
Designer
for the Stars
By Nancy Moen
For years, Architectural
Digest magazine has included Ron Mann, BA ’58
art, in its list of 100 top international designers and architects
of the year. Mann is known as a designer of furniture and accessories
for the stars. He works out of House
of Mann in San Francisco.
Mann’s designs in home interiors
are innovative, simple, sophisticated and beautiful, according
to a feature story from the San Francisco Examiner
that says his work appears in homes worldwide.
The House of Mann web site illustrates luxurious
rooms with furnishings that feature clean lines and elegance.
Mann says he draws inspiration from life and nature.“This
earth is a candy store,” he says.
Mann started Ron Mann Design in 1980 to
produce his own furnishings rather than buying products from
manufacturers. He and his wife, Louise, custom-make most everything
he uses in decorating, including furniture and fabric, which
his wife hand-finishes.
The Manns design complete living environments
that focus on simplicity and use natural materials such as wood,
cement and raw steel.
Mann grew up in Chillicothe, Mo., worked
in Columbia for Robnett Putnam Interior Designs and majored
in ceramics with Professor Robert Bussabarger, who stays in
contact with his former student.
“As a student, Ron had a good feel
for artistic things and did some interesting ceramic sculptures,”
Bussabarger, now professor emeritus, says. “He’s
had a lot of input in the Bay area.”
Bussabarger visited Mann at his home in
Sonoma, Calif., and saw the house Mann designed for himself.
“He put things together in unusual ways, using natural
materials.”
The Manns’ house reflects their taste.
They live in an old, converted bunkhouse, which Mann describes
as a one-room shack set amid wild sunflowers and rolling fields
of lavender. “I love it. It’s perfect,” he
says of the house and surroundings. “All the doors and
windows are open. I live in an absolute paradise.”
View
Manns’ work on his web site.
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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