Concrete Echelon

Robert Remer’s unique, biophilic approach to design incorporates organic forms into modern garden furniture, ornaments and sculptures, inspired by the evolving relationship between nature and civilization. 

In 1992, Remer graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. While at Yale, he studied sculpture under American sculptor and installation artist Alice Aycock, known for her important contributions to the land art movement of the 1970s.

In 1994, Remer began his studio practice before founding the Opiary design and production studio in 2010 in Brooklyn, New York. At Opiary, Remer focuses on integrating natural elements into every design, from his concrete Echelon planter and modern, minimalist Ukiyo Saucer fountain to his distinctive Caldera coffee table. 

Remer’s collection of hand-sculpted, nature-inspired furniture also includes the concrete Hoodoo standing lamp and the classic, yet contemporary, Queen Anne dining table. The innovative Eero center table features a tempered glass table top and open area to grow ornamental plants, flowers, or cooking herbs, or to house artificial plants. 

Remer’s designs at Opiary have garnered critical acclaim at several exhibitions and art fairs. In 2019, Opiary won Best in Show at the New York Metro Architectural Digest Show Awards and Best Exhibition Booth at Boutique Design New York. The organic Drillium club chair was named Best Piece of Furniture by the International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA) at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in 2021.

Opiary has been featured in numerous prestigious publications, including Forbes, Interior Design, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful and Vogue.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of Robert Remer building and garden elements, decorative objects, tables and more.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”

Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.

Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.

It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.

Beautiful plants deserve beautiful homes. It’s time to introduce antique and vintage planters and jardinieres to your home’s interiors and outdoor garden area.

The word “jardiniere” has roots in French, but the appeal of these vessels is global. The popularity of jardinieres — ceramic pots intended for cut flowers or plants — quickly gained traction in the United States during the start of the 20th century, when you could find them in some middle- and upper-class American homes. Jardinieres had already been coveted goods overseas for at least a couple of centuries by then, as intricate planters crafted from Chinese porcelain or gilded-bronze versions from Japan could be found in the living rooms of wealthy Europeans.

Today, the love for planters and jardinieres knows no bounds. And whether you consider yourself a proper gardener or merely a doting plant parent, there is likely a use for a planter inside or in the lively outdoor space around your home.

Outside, a pair of marble and terracotta planters or cast-iron urns designed in the neoclassical style can add a stately touch to your landscape design while helping establish boundaries between the areas you’ve created for gardening and entertaining.

Bare corners in your living room or dining room can often be difficult to populate with furnishings that fit just so, and a planter can change that. While it’s possible to get maximal impact from minimalist pottery — an understated mid-century modern planter could deliver on that front — you might be pining for an on-trend planter with pizzazz. Look to an outwardly angular fiberglass design decked out in bright colors to give your blooms a run for their money, while mounted or vintage hanging vessels can serve as the frame for nature’s organic artwork, quite literally taking your gardening skills to the next level.

Browse a broad collection of antique and vintage planters and jardinieres on 1stDibs today.