Living Room Clock

I had my dining room and Kitchen clocks and thought that I needed to keep my eyes open for something for the living room.  So many beautiful and interesting clocks were marketed during the mid-century. I spent about 3 weeks browsing the web and Ebay checking out the European and American clocks, as well as, looking at many of the recent Chinese knock-offs; reading the reviews and trying to decide between Electric, Battery, or Wind-up and Vintage, Licensed Reproduction or just plain copies.

Looking at Mid Century Clocks for the Living Room 

I loved many of the vintage starburst clocks (Lux, Elgin, Verichron, Welby, Seth Thomas and of course Howard Miller) but really didn't like the idea of an electrical wire hanging down the wall from my clock to a plug (or worse an extension cord!). I found that clockworks sold modern battery driven works to replace the electric motors on many of the vintage clocks and had fairly strongly decided on getting a big, old vintage Lux and putting a modern battery driven clockwork in it when I walked into the Consignment Store in Corte Madera and saw laying flat on a table what looked like a Howard Miller (Herman's son) / George Nelson Designed starburst.

I had looked at many, many of the various Nelson designed clocks and loved the playful colors and designs but the modern knockoffs were quality challenged (!!!) and the vintage one's I had seen on auction sites, Ebay and 1stDibs were going for over $1,000.

Howard Miller Model # 4755 Ball Clock Retail 1964: $30.00

Electric Nelson Ball Clock in Black and Gold Retail 2015: $1,200

Here was a modern re-production made under license by Vitra that wasn't $640. The design was one that I had seen but really hadn't considered for our living room as, like most people, was enamored by the colored ball model that really stood out but because of my budget constraints I had to take a closer look at this clock.

In his book "George Nelson: The Design of Modern Design" Stanley Abercrombie describes an evening at Nelson's where, as remembered by Nelson, he was joined by Buckminster Fuller and Isamu Noguchi and through an evening of drinking and playing with ideas for clocks on a roll of butcher paper, each trying to 'best' the other, when the men woke up the next day and looked at what they had drawn the now Iconic ball clock was in the mix. Nelson and Bucky both comment they think Isamu drew it first as "...[he] has a genius for doing two stupid things and making it extraordinary...out of the combination." A great story of the creative process and how synergy creates a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts.

Looking through Nelson's catalog I found the model in the consignment store was Howard Miller Model # 2239 Spool/Spindle Clock Diameter: 22.5" with a Retail value 1957: UNKNOWN.

I made an offer on the clock and two days later the store owner called me back and said the clock was mine. It will look great on the living room wall. 

Vitra Nelson Spindle Clock 

Let's do this ...

The last 2 weeks were spent moving our 17 rooms of country house furniture and living tools into the Mid-Century Modern house on the hill.  I had taken over 10 truck loads (in 'Ole Blue' the 66 longbed pickup - still working hard!) of various 'stuffs' to Goodwill and was planning on using the existing bedroom furniture in the new house so this left the living room, music room, library, den, office and dining room to be consolidated into three rooms of the new house all the while maintaining the commitment to the minimalist vision.

It took 2 trips in the 26' foot truck over 5 days to get everything OUT of the old house (and an additional 10 trips in 'Ole Blue' ), turning the keys over 1 day late but still 7 days before the owners daughter was to move in - whewwww.

We staged everything in the double carports and dining room of the new house planning to be very selective about what went into the house, selling or donating the remainder. The Grand Piano (Steinway 1923 Model A) had been moved over the first day and was sitting in the living room against a backdrop of white vertical blinds and the view to the heritage oaks and Sonoma hills outside.

I could have stopped right there and just lived with the piano as the only item in that room it was such a beautiful sight to walk in the front door and see the piano (lid lifted) creating a black curved form against the white shades, yielding to the trees and hillsides beyond.

The ONE antique we will not relinquish in our pursuit of the MCM aesthetic ...

As we walked through the house we decided we HAD to sell or donate everything and start from scratch if we wanted to change our lifestyle. The furniture and design artifacts that we had acquired were never placed in our new house - we just took them out of the packing boxes to photograph for Craigslist, EBay, etc. or took them over to Goodwill. Kitchen goods stayed for the most part as we would NOT embrace the 'Easy Living' aspect of convenience via processed food but Pictures, Art, Glassware, Furniture, Lighting that all spoke to the perfection of the 18th Century drawing rooms and parlours had to go.

Flatware - Interpur INTP2 (AKA INR2)

I looked at a bunch of different flatware for our new house and since our old stuff was classic patterns I gave the whole lot to Goodwill and went about procurring something to go with our new table cloths and ideas in my head for a future table set with Russel Wright Dinnerware.

I decided on the Interpur INTP2/INR2 Stainless Steel with the composite handles though it was a difficult choice between Stanley Roberts Astro and the Interpur. I thought about cleaning, handle chipping vrs. the cool sleek design of the Astro but in the end it all came down to a set of the Interpur I found at an auction in Sacramento one Sunday morning, available for simply raising my hand at the budget conscience price of $19.50 for 152 pieces.

Stanley Roberts ASTRO

I had been looking at Ebay for a few weeks and most large sets (I needed at least 7 place sittings) of mid century steel was going for $175 or more. This set was beautiful and even had a couple of serving pieces in it, soooo -- these are going home with me!

Interpur place setting

I love the way the flowers on the handles form little hearts! 

Links:

Apartment Therapy Identifying Astro 

Ancient Point discourse on Stanley Roberts Astro

Stanley Roberts History

Interpur at Apartment Therapy

Interpur at Replacements.com

NO CLUTTER (but a little Atomic Table, Please)

My friend says to always remember and never forget the guiding principle of 'Minimalism' as I move into the new house. I think this means no 'Stuffs' as she likes to call the nik-naks, pictures and assorted things placed strategically around our last house; done to cover the ancient green wall to wall carpet and redwood paneling in every room of the house as much as to further a design idea. I have to agree that this house will follow the modern ideals as close as I can do it. To this end, I am either donating or storing EVERYTHING from the past, and only moving furniture and living accouterments into the space as desired.

I have 2 black leather club chairs  that will temporarily fill the need (and act as placeholders) for some kind of matching modern sitting objects in the future. And am thinking to place my iconic Gold and Black lamp and a little 2-shelf glass and metal table I found today between them.

After walking through the Salvation Army and finding nothing of interest I was on my way out the door when I spied a small bundle of metal and 2 glass disks taped up in a corner. I went over to take a look and as I picked up the bundle the store manager walked by and said 'Tell them $5 at the register'. Without checking for completeness or condition I walked over to the register, paid and took my booty home to see what I had bought.

It took a few minutes to sort out the pieces and the puzzle of re-assembly but it turns out the two round glass disks are shelves with gold rimmed atomic looking metal runs around each, sitting on 3 black metal legs. I cleaned the parts, found I was missing only a single brass cap head nut (which I picked up at the local hardware store for $.79), and after polishing the table and glass looks to be something out of a Mid-Century Regency type setup, but will work for us until something better comes along.

It is definitely old-school construction with metal glass holders and brass capped nuts holding the black lacquer painted legs to the gold rings. I think it will look good with the black chairs and gold/black lamp in the sitting area of the dining room.

Atomic Side Table 

The local Goodwill and Salvation Army Stores

Since I am getting ready to move, I have been making a couple of trips a week to Goodwill to get rid of 'Stuff' we have collected over the past 4 years and will never use again. I am also dumping old chairs. side tables, rugs and 'clutter' I picked up that worked great in our 'County Rustic, Americana' design motif but will never fly in our new MCM home. At the Goodwill, after dropping off my load of donations I have taken to walking through the store identifying anything that looks Mid-Century Modern. It has been an education unto itself and today I found a lamp that has a very mid-century feel to it. No markings that I can find but quality walnut and brass indicates it was built with purpose and so I took it home !! Before I left I grabbed a large tan colored drum shade and together spent $7.49
out the door

Walnut and Brass Floor Lamp

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Turns out these mid century modern floor lamps have built in tables and designers made them of all kinds of different materials. This one has a base of solid wood covered with a curved brass plate and a thin veneer topped side table. Great for small spaces and accents, these floor lamps have a cool look and dual function and after a little 'Mothers Chrome Polish' and Restore-a-Finish it is ready to go next to the entry landing in our new home.

Many designers created this style of lamp including Gordon & Jane Martz and I think with this design the intent was to provide light and a chic place to set a cocktail, a small picture, or more likely a place to set your ashtray. Gordon and Jane Martz were another married team of designers from the mid-century. Modernism from the Heartland explains when they graduated from university in 1951, they began their married life by moving to Jane's home, Veedersburg, Indiana and took over Marshall Studios, a lamp company founded in 1922 by Jane's grandmother.

Brass Plated Bottom

Estate Sale in San Rafael (or Welcome to Living by Design)

I saw an ad on Craigslist for an estate sale that would include Mid-Century Modern furniture and lighting so I stopped by on Saturday for a look around. I fully expected the prices to be way out of my league and so, I was not surprised when I saw the set of Marcel Breuer chairs and little danish table marked at $500. Not knowing what I was looking at I took a few pictures and moved along taking in the Saarinen tulip table and chairs ($800) and various other iconic pieces of design that would lead me to much research over dinner that night. Though I didn't buy anything, I thought my time had been well spent as I actually saw and touched the works of art these designers had created and started to get a feel for the simplistic, no frills items they produced.

The sale was also open on Sunday and with prices discounted 50% to move the merchandise out the door I decided to return and see what I could pick up ... 

I had seen a lamp the previous day that embodied the 1950's modernism for me and when I walked in I went straight over to the corner it had been sitting in and YES it was still there. The tagged marked $150 was hanging from one of the lamp shades and though I was not able to find any references to the maker or the designer I knew I wanted this piece for our new house ... sort of an anchor for whatever was yet to come, something to build the decor of a room around. I took another look at the now $250 Breuer dining set and thought ... nope ,,, too soon, but I did grab a small sunburst kitchen clock and a couple of wavy looking aluminium candle holders and walked up to the counter knowing I could get a better price than the $104.50 asking price. I had been going to Estate Sales in the area for a few years, furnishing our old Farmhouse with a mix of European and Arts & Crafts style furniture and accouterments, and knew that Sunday at these types of sales was always negotiation day.  

I had 6 items in my arms (including the three shaded lamp!) and when it was my turn at the counter I asked about the Sunday discount and and quickly followed with an offer of $70 for the lot in my hands. The lady at the desk, looked at each item, nodded and wrote up the ticket SOLD! 

I had to re-wire and polish the lamp, polish both sets of candle holders, clean the clock from years of kitchen dust and oils, wash the Briard plate but had found a few little items that with a little research turned into a nice exposure to the MCM designers.

The lamp is still unknown but the clock turned out to be a well known and readily available (Ebay, Etsy, etc.) Spartus Starburst, the little Georges Briard Plate also lead me to MCM glasses and Ice Buckets, the candle holders were danish and suddenly all the influences on the American designers from the Europeans became apparent, the little Japanese candle holders showed me how Asia contributed to the 'Look' and finally, the Simtex Table Cloth designed by Russel Wright and coordinated with his Steubenville American Modern dinnerware lead me to his work and that of his wife, Mary, who so eloquently defined 'Easy Living' which in turn introduced me to the husband/wife team of Charles and Ray Eames.

The defining item

I still do not know anything about this lamp - if anyone knows manufacturer or date of production please let me know!  

Spartus Sunburst Kitchen Clock 

Wavy Stainless Steel Candle Holders

Georges Briard Dish

Simtex Russel Wright Table Cloth

Russel Wright designed tablecloth, made by SIMTEX in the 1950's

The tablecloth was a gorgeous piece of cotton woven unlike anything I see in the shops today. The colors match the American Modern tableware I have seen and the plaid is bold and symmetrical.

Lightolier Plastic Lamp P1 - 79424

An Estate sale in Novato gave me my first hint at the local Mid-Century Modern scene. I stopped by on the way to a soccer game just to look at the contents of the living room of this Eichler designed home that was being vacated.

The room had been cleaned out by the 'Professionals' the previous day, the sales lady said most everything MCM had been taken within the first hour but there was a little lamp on a table in the corner that caught my eye. I plugged it it and it worked so I bought it for $15 and walked out with my first truly mid century artifact.

Lightolier Lamp

Researching what I had picked up I found a company with a rich history and a profound contributor to the changing designs of the 20th century. Lightolier introduced the first track lighting system in the 1960's designed by Anthony C. Donato. The little lamp I had grabbed was attributed to Gerald Thurston, was all plastic with heavy metal base. It measures about 22" high. Shade is 14" across by 7" high. 

#MCM, #Mid-Century, #Lightolier, #Thurston, #Plasticlamp

First Impression

Last week we received a letter from the property owner of our home 'Casa' that his daughter was getting divorced and that she and her 3 kids would be moving into the grand old house we had made our home for the last 4 years. Not much I could say so when I spoke to the property manager I asked her to keep an eye out for a house in town that myself, the 3 kids and our grand piano would fit into.

Casa had been built in 1923 and most recently was the home of the current owner's mother. The house had many rooms (17?) with the kitchen being the smallest and the hardwood floors all covered in a dark green carpet from a remodel done sometime in the 1970's. The whole house, with the exception of the small kitchen had dark redwood paneling on the walls which made decorating a challenge but mostly just required covering the walls with art work and large furniture pieces, moving in a bunch of classic Italianate furniture and keeping fresh flowers from the garden on all the tables to combat the old house smells.

She truly was a grand old house and our family used the back deck for dinners, the garages for the vintage cars, the many rooms for the various things young adults like to do - sewing, xbox, reading, homework, watching movies and of course EATING!

We started going to open houses and saw a lot of VERY SMALL houses in our price range and at one of the houses, the largest we had seen, our real estate lady was showing a country house that reminded us a little of our Casa and we asked her why she hadn't thought of us for this property? She responded without missing a beat "Oh, Robert, your house is up the hill. I will call you next week to come see it.".

Walking up to the front door of the on the hill, the kids and I were looking at each in anticipation and as the door swung open all pushed in to see what our real estate agent had found for us. Stepping through the doorway we found ourselves standing in a hallway two steps above a sunken living room with high light wood beamed ceilings, a fireplace on an internal wall and 2 exterior walls with ceiling to floor windows looking out over the heritage oak forest behind the house. The room was a large rectangle and still had paper runners on the pearl white carpet to protect it from cleaners, movers, and others walking through the house.

This felt SOOOOOO different than our last house and in a way, there was an immediate attraction to something built in the last half of the last century - for the last 10 years we have lived in houses originally built in the early 1900's and architecture and room layouts were definitely dated. Not in this house!!!! Big rooms, light wood ceilings and floors and the windows, OMG, no more small wood framed vertical sliders for us. Here where there wasn't ceiling to floor glass we found modern double pained horizontal sliders that would stay open when we opened them.

The house had been designed and built in 1962 and still had many of the period pieces reminiscent of the 'days of camelot'. I could almost hear Frank swooning as we took in the views of the valley and regaled at the openness of the kitchen, living room and family room. Cool, very very cool.

Living Room with corner windows and vertical blinds

Living Room < -- > Dining Room shared wall fireplace

2 walls o'windows in dining room

I immediately put my classic italiante furniture on craigslist and set out to learn what I could about the MCM aesthetic.