Update

Hello all.  You probably noticed that updates to this place dwindled and then stopped rather suddenly a while back.  Sorry for leaving you hanging, but my father suffered a rather severe stroke and my workplace has been dealing with, essentially, one continuous series of disasters for the last couple years.  It has been a trying time, but I hope that we will pull through. 

Thank you for the kind comments and support.  I hope that you all can forgive my lack of responsiveness to comments and posts.  I wish that I had more time to direct toward my hobbies and this blog, but I've got quite a full plate.

Though I don't have nearly as much free time as I once did, I'm still making progress on the home.  I'll try to get an updated house tour posted once I paint in the Spring, but here's a quick shot of what I've done in the office.

Fiber Art

Fiber art: some hate it, some can't get enough

If you fall in with the latter crowd, but can't find any fiber goodness in your area, you might want to check out your local Target.

Yep, Target, the prolific purveyor of cheap "dsigner-inspired" home goods, has taken another formerly-niche decor item and brought it to the masses.  I saw this display while out shopping for moving pads and thought that it was just too good not to share.

Vacation Part 2

I'm back with more thrift photos from my UK Christmas vacation.  There's quite a few blurry shots in this set, as I accidentally left my camera in HDR more while indoors, but I thought that I'd include them in anyway.  Look at all that lovely Scandinavian teak!

Vacation Time

It's the beginning of January, and you know what that means, right?

I'm back from my annual UK visit.  This is always a somewhat bittersweet time, as I'm glad to be home where I can see my friends, get back into my routine, and sleep in my own bed, but leaving my girlfriend behind gets me kind of down.  It's especially hard now that all of the buildup and excitement of the holidays is over and I'm back to dealing with the craziness at work and my dad's poor health, but that's enough about that.

I always make sure to hit up a few thrifts and antique spots while I'm over, just to give myself a good tease.  I can't really get much back in my suitcase, but it's always enjoyable to just have a look around and see something different.

Here's a few of the treasures that I found at the Herts and Essex Antique Center.

Recovery

As you've likely heard, our fair city of St. Louis experienced a couple rough nights this week.  My heart goes out to everyone caught in the middle, including our friends over at Rocket Century who were right in the thick of it on South Grand.  Thankfully, they escaped unscathed, but many others were not so fortunate.

I hope that our community can make a speedy recovery and that those responsible for the unnecessary violence and destruction are swiftly brought to justice.

Getting back on topic, I thought that I'd follow up on my last post and link you all to the new MCM-inspired collection released by Ikea.  While many MCM enthusiasts may not hold them in particularly high regard, I actually really like a few of the pieces.  Check it all out here.  Apologies for the lack of English translation.

Chicago Trip

While most of my Chicago vacation was taken up with Halloween parties and Mexican food, I did make a few shopping trips.  You didn't think I'd come all that way and miss favorite Swedish homegoods store, did you?

It seems like every time that I pay Ikea a visit, they've got a few more MCM-inspired pieces on display.  Some might scoff at such things, but I'm actually a big fan.  These pieces look great and would suit anyone who is in the market for new rather than used.  Can't wait for the new location to open in St. Louis.

Aren't these armchairs cool? The one on the left is a reproduction of an actual model that they introduced back in the 1960's.

This surprisingly solid credenza is stained to look like teak and has all the wiring cutouts,  drawers, and shelves that you'd need for a modern media center.  My 1960's credenza required some jerry-rigging and cutting in order to fit everything inside, so that might be a big plus for some.

Retail Therapy

As usual, my days have been pretty packed lately, but I found myself with a few minutes to kill during my dad's physical therapy session and decided to head on down to the Humane Society and the Green Shag Market.

You might recognize the booths pictured below as those of fellow bloggers Mr. Modtomic and Hannah (of Secondhand).

Mr. Mod's is well-stocked and arranged as usual.  I'm especially enamored with the Selig chair and the Brazilian fiber art wall hanging.

 

You could walk in here and come out with a whole living room set up ready to go.

Hannah's got tons of cool stuff available, including this giant Witco Polynesian dancer. 

I don't usually leave the antique malls with anything in-hand, but Hannah had a sale going on and I couldn't resist bringing a little something home.  Stay tuned to see what I snagged.

Break Out the Aloe

It's been a while, hasn't it?  As Mr. Modtomic mentioned, St. Louis has seen a severe Mid-Century Modern drought which has become more and more pronounced over the last several months.  I'm not sure whether this can be attributed to the huge influx of new dealers, the heat, the absurd prices, changing trends, or something else, but I'm trolling Craigslist fairly consistently and there just doesn't appear to be much at all out there.  The number of "sweet MCM deals" has fallen precipitously, from several a day to several a month.

While I'm saddened by the dearth of MCM goodness, I've had much more free time to dedicate elsewhere.  The girlfriend and I even managed to take a vacation to Tampa Bay!  While we've not yet recovered from our overindulgence in sun and fried seafood, we had a wonderful time and I hope to visit again soon.  The sunsets alone were worth the trip.

Light of My Life

Hey! I'm back with more Mid-Century Modern finds.

This time we've got a really stunning walnut and brass lamp from Modeline, a company well-known for their large, sculptural, Danish-style lighting.  It's one of my favorite recent finds and one that I'd had my eye on for years.

At Least I Don't Have a Garage

At this point, things are looking a little more Grey Gardens than Farnsworth House.  So it is time to do so some clearing out.

Yeah...

Blasphemy

So, I was doing my regular Craigslist crawl a while back and feeling in a total c-list rut.  Things were slow, real slow.  The St. Louis MCM furniture market just isn't what it used to be.  Then I decided to change it up and visit a few of the less-frequented sections and try to ferret out any hidden gems.

I get to the "free" page and, as usual, it's all junk: broken treadmills, used mattresses, tube televisions...

wait, wait....

HOLD.
THE.
EFFING.
PHONE.

The Nook

With the upstairs almost complete and a whole house repaint indefinitely postponed, my attention has turned to one particular trouble spot in the living room.

 

Trip Loot: Part 1

I've dragged this out far enough.  It's time to get to the rest of the MCM souvenirs brought home from my biannual UK excursion.

This trip turned out to be all about the ceramics, with a healthy addition to my collection of West German pottery and a few other pieces that I'll share later on.

Longing

The last of the winter vacation photos are here.  Just look at all that gorgeous modernist stuff.  Oh, and there's another super cheap teak Danish credenza (tear).  Looking through these makes me want to jump back on that plane and find a way to haul it all over here (including the cider).  Until next year...

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.

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.