STYLE: DESIGN : This Art House

Blurring the boundaries of art and craft, the handmade pieces that emerged from artists’ studios in the ‘80s have been dubbed “art furniture” but, over the last decade, have evolved into, well, regular furniture.

“Five years ago, this was furniture to look at,” says Lois Lambert, director and owner of the Gallery of Functional Art in Santa Monica. “Today, it’s less arty and more real.” In other words, if it’s a chair, you can actually sit in it . . . comfortably. “It’s also less quirky and defiant,” says Denise Domergue, who wrote the seminal text on the subject, “Artists Design Furniture,” in 1984. And art furniture is becoming less exclusive as artists who once fashioned one-of-a-kind pieces create limited editions for clients who want a set of chairs or a pair of loveseats.

In the world of interior design, art furniture has been used sparingly to add esprit to a room. Which is why it is surprising that the Venice Art House works as well as it does. In a sort of model home-cum-art exhibition, Lambert furnished a 3,600-square-foot, Bauhaus-inspired condominium designed by architect Anthony Greenberg with nearly 150 artists’ furnishings, all for sale. Here, Lambert proves that this artful furniture has not only come of age, it’s almost mainstream.