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 

Melting Clocks

Goodwill Novato today and found copy of a melting clock originally designed by George Nelson based on the well known painting by Salvador Dali "The Persistence of Memory". There is a little write-up on the various styles produced over on the InfoBarrel website, along with some pictures and how to find re-productions. At a whopping $2.49 I was ready to take the chance it still worked and took it home.

A new battery and it has kept great time ever since. I put it on the wood pillar between the kitchen and the dining room of the house, adding some iron dancers I found at the local hospice thrift ($15.00) and have been smiling every time I glance at it since.

 

Melted Clock by Verichron - George Nelson design

Something Old / Something New

Dinnerware picked up at goodwill over the years resulted in an eclectic mix of colors and patterns coming together is a colorful splash when laid out over Tuscan table cloths from Williams Sonoma. This worked well and was worry free with the kids in their younger years, however ...

Moving into our new home, the kids and I thought with them getting older, an 'Adult' house - a place to relax, unwind, get our homework (and work) done in a non-stressful environment was where we wanted to live.

We dispensed with all things 'Kid-Like' such as playrooms (we wanted a war room for our gaming and software development activities), sippy cups and plastic dishes (GONE! we want something 'intentional') and yes, we know how to use the dishwasher and clean up after ourselves. So, as we look at dinnerware options for our new home we knew we wanted something MCM and yet FUN!

A few years ago, I had visited an estate sale in Marin and was looking for some oversize bowls to eat pasta out of (we had chipped/broken most of our existing large bowls) and picked up 3 Russel Wright American Modern dual lugged serving bowls thinking they were the same size as the now chipped or broken Italian knock-offs we had been using during the kids younger years. It was (of course!) Sunday, the prices were discounted and there was a table covered in Chartreuse and Black Chutney Brown dishes with weird shaped handles and shapes. I thought it would be FUN to have these around though they fit in with absolutely nothing we owned or I could even imagine ever owning since we were living in the country house and going for the Rustic, Shabby Chic look throughout.

I picked up the serving bowls and then selected about 20 pieces of mixed American Modern and Iroquois serving dishes, cereal bowls and a pitcher for the total price of $22.

I had no idea what I was buying but liked the colors and the shapes and thought we could use these for casual meals outside on the deck as we often dined Alfresco during the California summer months.

Now enlightened to the history of the uniquely shaped dinnerware, the kids and I decided we wanted to use American Modern dishes in our new house even if it meant washing them by hand because they aligned well with our value of 'FUN!'

Collectors Weekly starts out describing Wright's work by saying he produced the dinnerware with Steubenville Pottery Company of Ohio, was introduced in 1939 and had sold some 250 million pieces by the end of the 1950s. The original colors were Seafoam Blue, Coral, Chartreuse, Grey, White, and Bean Brown. A second set of colors included Cedar Green, Cantaloupe, Glacier Blue, and Black Chutney. Today the line is produced by Bauer Pottery of Los Angeles, for whom Wright designed after World War II.

We had a small mix of Black Chutney and Chartreuse bowls and serving dishes and started watching Ebay and Etsy for necessary additions so we could set a dinner table. During this time I also saw his Morgantown glasses that were color coordinated with his dinnerware ... if possible, I would try to get 8 of these as well though at the asking price of $23 a glass at replacements.com I had to find some via another avenue.

Today, I found a Seafoam dinner plate, salad plate and a cereal bowl for $12 on Etsy. The seller was fairly local so shipping was $5 and 1 day later I received our first lovely blueish/green place setting for our new home. At about $5 a piece (delivered) I thought I had gotten a pretty good deal on dinnerware that typical goes for $7-12 for the small pieces and $10-18 for the dinner plate (PLUS Shipping) on EBay or Etsy. I have not seen many Russel Wright pieces on Craigslist and when I do they are usually at the premium Etsy / 1stDibs pricing levels. 

Interpur Flatware and Russel Wright American Modern Seafoam Place setting 

I'm liking what is happening and will continue my search for American Modern dinnerware, thinking a mix of the Chartreuse and Seafoam would look great with our table cloth!

 

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