Happy Holidays

I wish all of you and yours a merry modern Christmas, a wonderful end to 2013, and fruitful thrifting in the new year!

source: Buck Brown

Don't touch that dial

Hello all.  I've been busy making my final preparations for Christmas, but wanted to get one more post in there beforehand.

A Peek

Ever wonder what's in that Brasilia gentleman's cabinet sitting in the dining room corner?

Turkey Hangover

Hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day.  The holiday season has officially begun!

Loft Living

Master bedroom update:  it's movin' along

The master bedroom, or as we like to call it, the studio loft, is now looking much more habitable.  Just a few short months ago, this was nothing but a storage space crammed floor-to-ceiling with jumbles of MCM junk. 

It still requires some finishing touches like drywall repair, paint, some electrical wiring, and general decorating, but I like the way is coming together.  That's quite a result for a room that's just full of all the leftover furniture that didn't make the cut for downstairs.  A dining table in the bedroom?  It's the next hot trend!

Hungry, Hungry

 Remember when I said that I wasn't going to go down the Googie / kitch rabbit hole after those Naugas?

I lied.

I was browsing Ebay last week and suddenly this ceramic hippopotamus was all up in my purchase history.

You are Nauganna believe this

I try to keep the place grown-up and understated.  I really do, but the temptation to buy something totally Googie and over-the-top is ever-present for us Mid-Century Modern collectors.

Not only did I have a break down, I dove right in for a double-fisted helping of pure kitch.

Bull

Not much going on with the collection as of late.  Things have been fairly slow on Craigslist and I've been kept busy with work, chores, the St. Louis Cardinals, and some good well-deserved relaxation.

You know me though.  I can't go too long with out getting my Modernism fix.

Admiring from afar

Though my first home-buying experience was, to put it lightly, not at all pleasant, I've not yet given up hope on one day owning my very own perfect MCM gem.

No, I'm not in the market yet.  There's far too much going on in my life and the economy in general to consider another move at this point, but that doesn't mean that I can't wistfully page through the Zillow listings.

I've seen quite a few decent homes come and go, but this one in particular caught my eye.

Right in my price range, great schools, nice neighborhood, entryway garden, spacious yard, all original fixtures/kitchen/baths, A FREAKING BOOMERANG ROOFLINE...

Yeah, this place has just about everything, but it looks as if an offer was accepted last week.  Here's to hoping that the new owners appreciate Mid-Century Modern design, because if I see busted up vintage cabinets and tile sitting on the curb, man tears will be shed.

Office Update

In my last post I promised photos of the new Stanley Furniture desk.  Now it's come time to deliver.

Out with the old...

... and in with the new.

 

Changing it up

To say that I'd been procrastinating on this project would be an understatement, but after more than 2 years, I've finally checked it off the list.  We've bid adieu to my last hold-out piece of non-MCM furniture in the house, this corner cabinet: 

Breakfast: the final frontier

Welcome back, everyone.  As always, another week brings more decorating projects at the Nickarmadillo household.  This time we're changing up the breakfast area.  Yes... again.

First it was the butcher block craftsman set.  Then came the Eames shells, the knockoff Bertoias and the genuine Bertoias.  There might have been a few more in there, but at this point I'm starting to lose track.

Now we've moved in three of the five Burke "propeller"(115) chairs that I picked up a couple weeks back (and hung the new Nelson Polygon clock). 

What time is it?

By now you should all know what this means.

Finally joining the typosphere

While this blog primarily focuses on the furniture and smalls that find their way into my home, I do have several other sub-collections within the overarching Mid-Century Modern theme which I've never really discussed in great detail.  One of those would be my growing roster of 1940's to 1970's typewriters.  If I include both my "workhorse" and "play" machines, the count now stands at 9, so it's a pretty substantial, if not particularly exclusive, collection.  So, I've decided that a few of them needed to make their debut. 

This little guy was adopted the weekend before last.  Care to guess what's inside?

Safety First

Stay safe out there, St. Louis Craigslisters.  Remember to exercise caution by meeting in a public place, not flashing cash or expensive items, not traveling alone, and always telling a friend or family member about the transaction beforehand (who, where, when).

Source: River Front Times

House Tour 8/27/13

Don't mind me.  I'm just updating the house tour with new pictures.

Mid-Century Midwest House Tour (8/27/2013)

Living Room

Welcome to the 21st Century

Guess who just joined the smartphone bandwagon.

This guy!

Yes, that's right.  In the year 2013, I was still clinging to my old flip phone, but a steady stream of Craigslist near-misses finally convinced me that it was time to make the transition.  You know me though.  When I make a purchase, I've got to wring just about every dang drop of value possible out of the transaction. 

So, did I get an iPhone?  No.  The latest Samsung Galaxy?  Nope.  A Google Nexus?  Not even close.

Movin' on up

In order to make up for my extended absence, I've got a special treat for you all.

I don't believe that you and my second story have ever met.  After the disastrous pre-blog roof leak of 2011, the subsequent lack of access for cleaning, and the furniture hoarding (Oh, all the furniture hoarding...), it was looking quite the mess up there.

The room pretty much became a dusty, musty dumping ground for everything that I'd pulled out of alleys/dumpsters or found at estate sales and didn't have a place for.  1940's homes don't have the storage required for modern living, much less the life of a furniture hoarding freak, so there simply wasn't anywhere else to put it except the basement and that was already packed with my non-furniture junk.

This is the way our situation remained until my girlfriend visited last week and finally convinced me to get moving on a project that I'd thought would take years: making the master bedroom a master bedroom.

This required completely reorganizing the basement with new shelving and tidy, labeled containers.  Then came the task of dragging all the pieces that I wished to sell down two narrow, twisted stairways and into the basement, where it would be categorized and out of sight of the living areas.

Phew.

A bit of tidying/arranging and one seriously aggravating set of Home Depot blinds later, everything is looking pretty snazzy.  We've got a real, honest-to-goodness master bedroom now!

Rain, rain, go away!

The summer has taken a decided turn for the dreary, so Mr. Modtomic and I (and our respective ladyfriends) decided to take advantage of a break in the clouds and check out the Wentzville flea market.  We had a great time browsing, but neither left with bags overflowing.  There just wasn't a whole lot of Mid-Century Modern going on.

Still feeling the urge to splash some cash, I hit up a few thrifts and antique malls along the route back home and snagged a couple smalls, one of which was this pot/jar/thing.  My cooking is limited to a frying pan and a sauce pot, so I really have no idea when it comes to identifying types of cookware.

This is what pickers' dreams look like

So, yesterday was a pretty good day.

Crossing the Line

I finally did it.

Admittedly, I was already riding pretty close to the line with the MCM furniture collecting, but I've now blown past that divide and entered full-on hipster territory.

Yes, I bought a fixed-gear bike.

If you're interested in joining me, I picked my State Bicycle, Co. ABACABB 2.0 up at Cherokee Street Bikes.

So far, so good.  I've already lost 17 pounds in the last several weeks!

Another Day, Another Plycraft

Want to see that second big find from last weekend?  It's not quite as exciting as that super-cheap Birds in Flight, but everybody could always use...

The flock grows

Man, was it a good weekend on for Craigslisting in St. Louis or what?  MCM goodies kept popping up everywhere.  With a full van, I didn't get in on much of the action, but I did still manage to make out quite well.

The big score of the weekend:  another Artisan House by Curtis Jeré Birds in Flight wall hanging.

"Boy, you really order a lot of old retro stuff"

I really jumped into this Ebay thing with both feet.

So far you've only seen the teak Zooline monkey, but my recent foray into online auctions has resulted in numerous visits from the UPS guy.  "Boy, you really order a lot of old retro stuff," he says.  He hasn't yet seen my attic/hoarder's den...

One such package contained a little something that I've waited forever to get my grubby mitts on, a Panasonic RC-1091 "Spencer" clock radio.  While an alarm clock may not excite some, this is one of the first pieces that really sparked my interest in modernism and holds a special place in my heart.

Sometimes...

Some things just make you wonder.

Company

This week I was joined by two guests, both of which you will likely recognize.

The first, Mr. Modtomic's kitty, is staying over while his mom and dad roadtrip.   The poor guy hasn't yet adjusted to his new surroundings, and this is just about all I've seen of him.

Zenith MT1925

I haven't had much time to post lately.  Work and chores have kept me on my toes, but I thought I'd sneak a quick one in from the office.

"Thrift" Stores

We had a good run, thrift stores, but it's time for me to move on.

Remember those $10 Taylor Smith Taylor place settings for 8, the $40 Brasilia bedroom sets, and the $3 Quartite table lamps?  Those were the days.

I'm not sure when I noticed that things had gone south.  Maybe it was the $2.00 per piece place settings, the $200 no-name laminate-topped writing desk with missing veneer and crayon scribbles, or the pieces with Goodwill price tags that were higher than the (still attached) retail stickers.

I told you about what happened with my ex, estate sales.  You knew how I felt about that breakup.  Now you've gone and broken my heart too.

I'd say it was me, not you, but your addiction to price increases has driven us apart.  Maybe, with time, we can find each other again, but I'm through putting in all of the work for nothing in return.

Full Circle

 The saga of the jack comes to a close.

Barbecue

Source: divaq.ca

Would any fellow St. Louis MCM enthusiasts be interested in a spring/early summer BBQ get-together?  Mr. Mod and I were talking a couple days ago and thought that it might be a good idea.

Nothing fancy, just some burgers, brats, a couple sides, and maybe a few cold, frosty adult beverages in the back yard on a sunny saturday.

If you'd be interested, just let me know and we can hopefully make something happen.

The end of an era

I don't mean to crow, but this was a pretty sweet deal.

Well, look what we have here.  It's another special delivery!

WTF

>sitting watching the Boston shooting coverage
>new photo of accused killer comes on screen
>something catches my eye

> Those Dorothy Thorpe drinking glasses!


Well, I'm going to hell now.

Thump

Hello strangers.  It's certainly been a while.

The long absence wasn't intentional.  I just got caught up with the girlfriend's transcontinental visit and haven't had a chance to upload.  Now that she's left, you once again have this lonely blogger's undivided attention.

So, I thought that I'd do something a bit different for my return.  Today I'm going to instruct you how to build a super-hot (and affordable) desktop audio setup.

I've always had a thing for audio (check out my review of the exceptional Sony MDR-V6 headphones here), whether it's in films, music, or the occasional (the girlfriend would disagree ) video game.  However, due to my persistent tight-fistedness, all of my desktop entertainment needs were, until recently, fulfilled by a Logitech X-540 system.  It provided decent-enough surround sound for its $40 fire sale price, but one of the speakers developed a rather distracting rattle outside of the warranty period.

 

Sighting

Once you get bit by the MCM bug, it's nigh on impossible to stop yourself pointing out pieces in advertisements, TV shows, and films, often to the great annoyance of your friends and relatives.

They might not be as enthused as me when I begin yammering on about furniture, but I thought that I would share my latest sighting with all of you.

MCM Bible

Are you ready to see one of my all-time coolest thrift store finds?

What a crock

Good things almost always seem to come in multiples, just like this vintage West Bend ceramic bean crock.

Kilim them softly

I'm not sure exactly when this happened, but I suspect that I might have developed some variety of rug-related mental disorder.

You all probably remember my year-long, borderline obsessive-compulsive quest to find the perfect floor covering for the living room.  Well, now the time has come for the office and front door to receive their textile treatment.

The surprising part is that the whole process went fairly smoothly this time around.  Rather than a dearth of fitting options, I'd say that there were actually way too many.  I think that the whole kilim thing is catching on, so there are many more styles to choose from, though this can be a problem in itself.

But here's where the crazy kicks in.  Below you will find four rugs... for two spaces.  Why make a final decision when you can postpone it just a while longer, right?

So here's the deal.  Two of these (one doormat and one office rug) are going back.  I need to figure out which ones, but I'm smitten with all of them.  ARRRGGGH!  So many first-world problems.

Heads up

I've got a couple really cool things to share with you tomorrow, but I just wanted to give you all a quick heads up.  They're doing another sale today.

I know.  I know.  Two sale alert posts in one week is a little much, but these things tend to go fast and they are great bargains compared to the others that you'll find online.

They've also got a new repro of the spike clock that I've never seen before.  The regular versions have stained/painted wood spikes, which I assume are oak or another cheap wood.  This new one is somewhat more expensive, but is constructed of solid walnut, which looks to give it a really nice color and grain.  It's definitely worth a look.

Check them out here.

Flying high

Cross one more project off of the list (sort of).  The Curtis Jeré "Birds in Flight" is now hung and the star of the show in the dining room.

Alert

The Foundry hasn't had any particularly good sales as of late, but they definitely made up for that today.  It's a Mid-Mod lighting bonanza!

Swag on

I got swag!

No, not the douchebaggy kinda swag.  This is REAL swag - free stuff!

Who's a good boy

 Having a feral cat who lives at the office qualifies me as a pet-owner, right?

And wouldn't you say that every good kitty cat needs a treat now and again?

On a budget

Fakes on film

After sucking down candy, cakes, and roast dinners all winter, it's time to fight the podge and start my bike regimen anew.  The plan this time around is the same as the last: 20 - 30 miles on the stationary bike a day and light weight lifting.

The best part about using a stationary bike is that I can work (OK, more like procrastinate) on the computer and watch movies while exercising.  However, I've exhausted Netflix and the list of decent films coming out of Hollywood in recent years is rather thin.

So, despite my trepidation, decided to give Adam Sandler's Click a watch. I'm not exactly the biggest Sandler guy (the novelty of fart jokes and weird voices wore off around the time that my age hit double digits), but I'd been tipped off by numerous blog posts, websites, and forums that an Eames 670 lounge makes an appearance.  That's as good a reason as any, right?

So I get to the Eames cameo and...

 

... something's off here.  

The Barcelona in stonewashed denim: a work of tongue-in-cheek postmodern art or the world's worst upholstery job? You decide.

There are some sights so horrifying that words simply cannot convey the shock and revulsion that they induce, so I'll just post the pictures.

Is it spring yet?

Did you all enjoy that nail-biting Superbowl 2013?  I must admit, the whole sports thing is beyond me, but I'll take any excuse I can get to grill up a few burgers and brats.  I probably spent more time out tending the BBQ than actually watching the game.

The Homies 2013

It's that time of year again!  Mid-Century Midwest is in the running for the 2013 Apartment Therapy Homies Award.  Hit the link below and show your support (and remember, you can vote more than once and show a few of your favorite blogs some love).  We sure would appreciate it.  Thanks everyone!

LINK