What a crock

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

House Tour (redux)

We've gone through a number of adjustments at the homestead, so I thought it'd be a good time to update the house tour.  The place is really starting to come together and look like an actual grown-up residence.   Considering that I bought my first home and began collecting less than a year and a half ago, I'd say we're making good progress.  Don't worry though.  There's still plenty of work to be done and Mid-Mod finds to share! 

So, without further adieu, here's the grand tour.

Mid-Century Midwest House Tour (1/30/13)

Living Room

Jacks

The willingness of buyers to continue to throw down 1, 2, or even 3+ hundred dollars for a set of Jack bookends is simply beyond my comprehension.  They're an undeniably cool piece of retro decor, but are they really worth that serious amount of scratch?

Perhaps the widespread misattribution to George Nelson throws people, but even a cursory Google search now turns up a number of pages debunking this link atop the list of results.  As discussed in an earlier post, the actual maker was Bill Curry and his company, Design Line, Incorporated.  

Sitting Pretty

With the business and my father's poor health, I haven't had much time for my Mid-Mod hobby lately, but every once in a while, something will come up that I just have to drag myself out and get.

For example, this Eames-style lounge:

Get 'em while they're hot

There's a replica Nelson clock sale over at the Foundry?!

As always, I'm in!

At this rate, I'll soon have the whole collection.

If you'd like to pick up your own Nelson clock replica on the cheap, hit this LINK and sign up.  These things don't last long!

What do you think, should I pick up the ball clock in yellow, orange, or walnut?

Source: The Foundry

Mod UK Part 2

For all of those who say that St. louis has great thrift traps, take a gander at London.  They do thrifting on a whole different level!

That Scandinavian teak and other assorted Mid-Century goodness had my tongue wagging.

Sealed Vintage Goods: To Open or Not to Open?

How was your holiday season, everyone?  Things just flew by, didn't they?

I arrived home last evening (or 2:15 AM in the morning in UK time) and still can't believe that my vacation has already run out.  Nor can my body believe that I'm staying up until what feels like 6 AM and rising at 11:30 in the morning.  Oh, jet-lag...

I did have a little surprise waiting for me though.  My mother was clearing out the kitchen and found this vintage 1970's GE M24WH hand mixer.  Since I'd just bought her a new model for Christmas, she thought I might like to take it in.

Yo Adrian!

We did it!  We landed our first Adrian Pearsall!

I was shocked when, later in the evening as I loaded my find into the van, the seller remarked that I was the only one who had inquired about the chair.  That almost never happens anymore, especially with an item as desirable (and eye-catching) as an Adrian Pearsall "wing" chair.  Yes, the Mid-mod fever has made its way to St. Louis and pieces like this are getting harder to come by.  It's a good thing I got in there while the gettin' was still good.

The organic, euro-inspired style of Pearsall's design certainly is striking when compared to the overstuffed, muted furniture common today.  This chair is a BOLD statement piece.

 The color of the upholstery perfectly matches the turquoise of the couch, wouldn't you agree?  So much for toning things down.

Perfect fagas straps, upholstery, and foam?  This guy must not have seen too many behinds.  I've never seen original straps this nicely preserved.

The tag looks practically brand new as well.  These are almost always missing, torn, faded, or discolored.  It's like this piece came out of some crazy 1960's time machine.

This pick was really exciting for me.  I've had my eye on Pearsall's stuff for quite a while now, but never thought that I'd bring home one of my own.  Now all I need is a gondola sofa and coffee table to complete the set.  Let's get on it!

Malm

Welcome to my basement.

As you might have gathered from the piles of crap strewn haphazardly about, this isn't exactly my favorite space.  In a word, it's creepy.  The room is barely lit, casting strange shadows and leaving corners darkened.  Then there's the creaking ductwork, dangling wires, and groaning pipes.  Spend a few minutes down there alone at night and your imagination really starts going into overdrive.

The cobwebs are a nice touch too, don't you think?

Also, I'm fairly certain that at some point a deformed, masked maniac is going to burst from this coal room door and axe/chainsaw murder the hell out of me while I'm folding my undies.  That's why I carry a mini souvenir baseball bat in my laundry basket (Yes, I actually do this.), though I have serious doubts as to whether that will be enough firepower to put down any murderous, coal room dwelling monsters should they decide to make their move on me.

Imaginary axe murdering lunatics aside, there is some pretty cool stuff down here...

 ... like this Malm or Preway-style fireplace that I picked up a while back.

I'm not too familiar with these things.  How does one determine its maker?  There's no flu lever or label on the collar, which I've seen on many Preways, and the base as well as the screen handles look different than the Malm version.  Looks like we have ourselves another mystery piece, folks.

What I do know is that it came in great condition with an electric heater and set of fake logs for an unbelievably price.

One we get things wired up, I'll have to pluck up the courage to move it back up to its new home in the sunroom.  Until then, I'm just getting my laundry done and getting out of here.

A house divided

Wall units, bookcases, room dividers - I can't get enough of them (and my attic storage space can attest to this).

I'm unsure of the maker, but these pieces show up on the St. Louis Craigslist with some frequency.  I've always just missed out on that room divider action, but now I've got one of my very own.

It's a bookshelf.  It's storage.  It's a desk.  It's just so darn functional and a real looker to boot!

This piece did need some TLC, but nothing a dab of Howard's couldn't take care of.  Now it's got that perfect vintage patina.

The previous owner obviously didn't notice that the unit is finished on both sides (which is why I believe it is a room divider rather than a bookcase), and added this jankey shelf extension.  The screw holes remain, but when against a wall, nobody will be the wiser.

There it is, all moved in and gussied up.  We've got a serious shortage of nic-nacs around here, so I'm on the hunt for a nice set of Bill Curry jax bookends, brass ram heads, West German pottery, and the like.  Anybody got the hookups?

Blogiversary

Who's a big boy?  Mid-Century Midwest!

Yep, we're (belatedly) celebrating our one year blogiversary.

A lot has changed in the months since I entered the real, post-graduation world and purchased my first home.  There's been ups, downs, laughter, sorrow, excitement, worry.  We've run the whole emotional gamut.  

While there's still much to do, I think that it's time to sit back and enjoy everything that our hard work has accomplished.  So here's a few comparison shots.  The first set (top, if you couldn't tell) was taken a couple months after our move-in, so you can see a bit of Mid-Mod starting to creep in.  The next was shot a few weeks ago.  Just look how much has changed!

I also want to thank everyone for their readership and friendship.  We've met quite a few interesting, creative, and helpful people over this last year and it's been an amazing experience.

Thanks for everything!