Mad for Midcentury

Mid-Century Furniture Rentals

2012-02-24T14:42:00.001-06:00

YEAH! rentals have a great business idea, and a cute ad.

YEAH! rentals is a boutique event rental company based in LA that specializes in mid-century modern, industrial, southwestern and native american pieces for events of all kinds.

Starting a business like that is good justification to buy everything that I want at an estate sale. Hmmmm.

Eichler Tear Downs

2012-02-23T23:18:00.001-06:00

Mid-century homes and Eichler houses make a guest appearance in this NPR report on housing in California. I don't like the statement that homes built after the war need to be torn down, they don't. I live in one, and with some upkeep and a little luck it will still be standing long after I'm not. But if they are going to be replaced, I'm glad to hear it's with something that's in the same vein, stripped-down modern, and energy efficient. And I'm glad to hear the Eichler homes are still considered sacred by some.

Mid-Century Paint Matching

2012-02-22T10:14:00.002-06:00

If your spouse/significant other isn't a graphic designer, you might not know the name Pantone. And even if they are, you might be surprised to find out that Pantone has a line of paints.

For those who don't know Pantone, they are, in their own words, "the world-renowned authority on color and provider of color systems and leading technology for the selection and accurate communication of color across a variety of industries. The Pantone name is known worldwide as the standard language for color communication from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer."

In understandable terms, they're a color matching system, a dictionary for colors. When people say "purple" they can mean all sorts of shades, but if someone says Pantone purple, they mean this:

And if they say Pantone 253 they mean this:

It's a very slight shade shift, but when you're telling a printer across town or a manufacturer in Japan what color something should be, there's no question if you're using Pantone.

So why is this important to mid-century paint colors? For a few reasons:

1) If you have a Pantone book, you can pretty easily match any unknown paint color in your home. Which is great news for those of us with a Pantone book and a house that has walls that were last painted in the 1950s.

2) Say you want to paint your wall the exact shade of aqua sky as your Eames molded plastic chair.

Well, because Pantone does plastic colors too, aqua sky is also known as Pantone 14-4811

Purchase that shade of Pantone paint and you'll have a perfect match.

You can match all your mid-century paint colors here, on the Pantone paint color selector.

Mid-Century Modern Lighting Replacement

2012-02-21T12:07:00.000-06:00

I haven't given up on finding a pair of reasonably priced Moe Light Honeycomb tangerine-gold pendants, but if I ever do, I think the Rejuvenation Corona pendant light would make a perfect modern light substitute. And while I'd personally go with orange, there are plenty of great modern color options available.

The Corona is based off of a truly mid-century pendant light, the EJS Lighting Fiesta (boy, that name sounds familiar).

From the Rejuvenation Corona page:

Ever heard of EJS Lighting Corporation? Neither had we.

Then we acquired a 1959 catalog from this Los Angeles manufacturer and realized that not only did they offer an astounding array of awesome mid-century modern lighting, but we had quite a few of their original fixtures hanging around in our product archives. The EJS line included hip hourglass chandeliers, classic pull-downs, elegant Swedish-glass shades, and the iconic "Glow-Bal" sphere pendants - but it was the Fiesta series that really caught our eye with its distinctive cylinder-in-a-cylinder design, mix-and-match color palette, and creative configuration options.

Modern Bathroom Sconces

2012-02-20T13:01:00.000-06:00

The next item on our to-do list that I'm planning on tackling is replacing our master bathroom mirror-side lights, so I went on the hunt for modern bathroom sconces. I thought I found the perfect chrome wall sconce right away, at Home Depot.

I bought two of them and started installing them. That's when I remembered it's always good to measure before you buy things. The hole in the wall for the electric box/wiring is 5" wide, and this particular modern bathroom wall sconce is 4.25" wide. In theory, I could patch part of the hole to make it smaller, but that would mean a lot more work and repainting the whole bathroom because we don't have the master bathroom paint color (the old owners painted it).

So the hunt began, and I thought I'd share what I found.

The Essex Bathroom Light

The Maxim Lighting Silo Wall Lamp

The George Kovacs Cubism Collection Wall Sconce

The Kenroy Home Mezzanine Sconce

The Sea Gull Lighting Bliss Light

The Alico Industries Moderno Bathroom Light

The Hinkley Ashley Sconce in Chrome

The Ellery Single Bath Light

The Kichler Lighting Cylinders Bathroom Light

The Murray Feiss Riva Bathroom Light

The Lite Source Wall Lamp

But in the end, the winner was: The Hinkley Midtown Wall Sconce

They're on their way now and I'll be sure to share before and after photos once they're installed.

Mid-Century Austin Estate Sale: 11601 January Dr.

2012-02-17T10:09:00.000-06:00

It looks like there's some well-loved Broyhill Brasilia furniture for sale at an Austin estate sale this weekend.

They even have a Broyhill Brasilia Manga dresser.

And it looks like there are some other mid-century goodies to be had.

Here are the details:
11601 January Dr.
Austin, TX 78753
Feb. 17: 10am-2pm
Feb. 18: 9am-3pm
Feb. 19: 2pm-5pm

More Mid-Century Stock Art

2012-02-16T10:36:00.000-06:00

I mentioned using CSA Images stock art as mid-century art the other day, but I forgot that they already have a partnership with French Paper, so you can buy decor-a-boards and posters (like the one above, which used to hang in our bathroom). French Paper also has free CSA images, if you print them on French Paper, which might be cheaper than buying your own stock art.

I have to say, the decor-a-boards look pretty sweet for only being $14.

Vintage Ads for Mid-Century Stains

2012-02-15T11:09:00.005-06:00

I mentioned Cabot stains back when I wrote about mid-century paint colors for Eichler homes. And I recently ran across these vintage ads for Cabot, featuring Joseph Eichler and Eichelr homes.

The ad reads:

[Cabot's Stains]
"...go on better, look better, and last longer than any other stains"
...says Joseph L. Eichler
Leading Western Builder

This ad reads:

Stain... or paint?
Often a new home is simply painted with no consideration given to staining. Experienced builders find it pays to know the advantages and limitations of each... the effect, performance, and cost on wood surfaces inside and outside the home. Cabot's Stains, for example, answered all requirements for the home shown at the right. Here's why more and more builders are specifying...
Cabot's Stains

Economical — 1/2 the cost of paints.

Require no priming coat; are easier to apply and maintain.

Need no thinning; surfaces need no scraping or sanding.

Trouble-free — no cracking, blistering, or peeling.

Penetrate deeply, dyeing and preserving the wood fibers.

Enhance the beauty of the wood grain; leave no brush marks.

Offer unique color effects in a wide color range.

Grow old gracefully, may be stained or painted over later.

For best results, the best in Stains...
Cabot's Oil-based or Creosote Stains.

And this ad reads:

Cabot's Ranch House Hues®
Endorsements from leading builders such as Mr. Eichler are your assurance that with any Cabot product you get the finest quality, greatest economy and longest life.

Cabot's Ranch House Hues

cost only 1/2 as much as paint

won't crack, peel or blister

are easy to apply and maintain

give years of protection

can be used on all types of wood — siding, shingles and trim

need no thinning — no priming

need no sanding — no scraping

Choose from 18 modern colors — many exclusive with Cabot including Alcazar Brown, Mariposa Redwood, Mimosa Yellow, Spruce Blue.

A quality product from Cabot Laboratories
...manufacturing chemists since 1877

Mid-Century Stock Art

2012-02-14T10:35:00.000-06:00

With a day job as an advertising copywriter and a wife who runs a graphic design studio in Austin, CSA Images being available on iStockphoto is big news.

Quick definitions for those of you who might not be advertising nerds: CSA Images is, according to their about us page:

Considered one of the world's leading modern design resources for the creation and preservation of print and pop culture. CSA Images capture the authenticity and detail of hand-drawn illustration, and digitally preserve the legacy and artifacts of ink printed on paper. CSA Images contain tens of thousands of illustrations and design elements, including icons, ornaments, patterns, borders and illustrated words.

And iStockphoto is one of the least expensive, royalty-free stock image sites.

So why should the mid-century design world care? Two reasons: 1) Hopefully vintage and modern design store advertising will get a lot more interesting and 2) While not being the cheapest pieces of mid-century-style art, CSA Images are pieces of art. And with over 5,000 CSA Images available for use, you might be able to find something for that blank spot in your hallway.

FYI: iStock licenses allow for "Prints, posters, stationery items and other reproductions for personal or business use (but NOT for resale or license)."

Matching Mid-Century Paint Colors

2012-02-13T10:01:00.000-06:00

Sherwin Williams has had some great online paint tools, but the best may have just been launched, Chip It. Essentially you can turn any image into a paint palette. The end result looks something like this:

So if you have a favorite piece of mid-century art or a picture of a modern kitchen that you bookmarked or a mid-century dress you pinned on Pinterest that you love the color of, you can turn them all into paint colors for your mid-century home.

Mid-Century Austin Estate Sale: 7606 Mullen Dr.

2012-02-10T12:48:00.001-06:00

I haven't been to an estate sale in a while; they're harder to shop when you have a toddler in tow. But I'm definitely going to try and make it out to this one.

It seems like it has the right mix of pretty mid-century furniture and random other stuff that there might be a deal or a secret treasure to be found.

Plus, it's in the Crestview neighborhood, the main mid-century neighborhood in Austin, so I have high hopes.

Here are the details:
7606 Mullen Dr.
Austin, TX 78757
February 11: 9am-3pm
February 12: 2pm-5pm

Mid-Century Disneyland

2012-02-09T11:54:00.000-06:00

Disney History Institute (DHI) recently release some never-before-seen footage of Disneyland in 1957, two years after it opened. The House of the Future makes an appearance, but I think the true stars are the clothing and the mid-century paint colors. DHI makes a special note about the colors:

The color values here are so much brighter than those presently used in the park, leaning in places toward a florescent vibrancy. (And yes, it does look like the film has a slight color shift in the reds, but overall, I think the colors are pretty spot on.) During the early days of Disneyland Walt was often focused on color, particularly in Fantasyland and on Main Street. As with his animated films, he saw color as a key element toward affecting a guest's emotional experience. Over the years, I've interviewed many of the original art directors for Disneyland, who have told different versions of this story: that Walt used to walk through the park, making notes to repaint various buildings with a slightly different hue; that Walt sent his animators and background painters (such as Ken Anderson) into the park specifically to review the park's use of color. Here, Fantasyland holds the dreamy qualities of a children's storybook and Main Street is washed in tones that, for me, suggest nostalgia. During Walt's lifetime, Disneyland had many imitators, but none of the other parks understood how Walt controlled environment to create mood.

Mid-Century Spaceship House on a Volcano

2012-02-08T09:43:00.000-06:00

Looking for an evil lair and want to live in the middle-of-nowhere California? Then this is the house for you. Set on top of an inactive volcano and looking very much like a spaceship, The Volcano House is currently on the market.

The home was completed in 1968 and designed by architect Harold Bissner, Jr. to resemble the information center of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

Concrete and truss beams form its dome and give the interior 360 degrees of windows and a circular entertainment area.

1968 might not fall into everyone's definition of mid-century. But this home was too cool/wacky not to share.

YOLO Mid-Century Modern Color Palette

2012-02-07T10:41:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I posted about how Rejuvenation selected the modern paint colors for their lighting line. Well, paint company YOLO Colorhouse has gone on to create a mid-century modern color palette based on Rejuvenation's Mid-Century Modern lighting collection.

From their guest post:

Inspired by Rejuvenation’s period lighting lines, we decided to pull together architectural color palettes designed to flow through the home and influence, along with the fixtures, the style and feel of the space. When looking through our collection of 92 interior hues, it was great fun to have Rejuvenation fixtures as the inspiration behind our own period palettes.

When describing the Mid-Century Modern color palette, YOLO Colorhouse says, "Sleek, clean and a hint of playfulness: These are the characteristics of our Mid-Century Modern palette." Capturing the "elegant, yet slightly whimsical feeling of the 1950s."

I think the green, blue and red (Thrive, Dream and Petal) would make a wonderful accent color for any mid-century room. Or maybe even a good color for if you're looking to make the door on a mid-century ranch pop.

Modern Paint Colors from 1956

2012-02-06T12:28:00.000-06:00

I've mentioned Rejuvenation's reproduction mid-century door knobs and their reproduction mid-century bathroom hardware in the past. And their site is quickly becoming one of my favorite's to daydream at, especially the Mid-Century Modern collection.

Rejuvenation's industrial designer recently wrote about how he selected the modern paint colors for their lighting line: using the 1956 Ford Thunderbird paint palette as a basis.

I think that's a pretty strong collection of mid-century paint colors for any mid-century modern painting you might be doing.

Moe Light Catalog Honeycomb and Fiesta

2012-02-03T11:42:00.000-06:00

To go along with yesterday's Moe Honeycomb light glamor shots, here are some shots from the Moe Light Fiesta and Moe Light Honeycomb catalogs.

Moe Light Honeycomb Lighting

2012-02-02T10:39:00.000-06:00

A reader/fellow Moe Light enthusiast was kind enough to send in some glamar shots of a few Moe Light Honeycomb lights.

Moe Light Honeycomb Pendant Light

Moe Light Honeycomb Pull Down Pendant Light

Moe Light Honeycomb Wall Sconce

Moe Light Honeycomb Ceiling Light

I am in love with this line of lights. I'd love to see a modern lighting company make modern-day reproductions.

Map Poster for a Travel Theme Nursery

2012-02-01T20:05:00.002-06:00

If your looking for a little inspiration or some art to hang in your travel-theme nursery, look no further than Brainstorm. They have some amazing American map designs. They also have some really neat science posters and star charts for any little smarty-pant's room.

Mid-Century Broyhill Dining Set (maybe)

2012-01-31T13:28:00.001-06:00

A reader wrote in with the following question:

I recently bought a mid-century-ish dining room set in need of refinishing. I can't identify the wood species on my own so I thought I would try to identify the maker first. After many hours of Google searching I came across Broyhill Sculptra and your awesome website. I thought it was a match until I noticed some subtle differences. My table edges are more squared as are the table legs and chair legs. Also the back of my chairs continue over the seat rim. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I really want to know the wood species to get the refinishing correct but finding out the maker has now become and obsession!

Thanks
Jenn L.

Jenn sent along some pictures too.

When I saw the pictures I thought, "Yep, that's a Broyhill Sculptra dining room set alright." But then I noticed the differences Jenn pointed out, the front legs of the chairs are square, as are the table legs. All the Broyhill Sculptra dining chairs I've seen have round legs on the front and Sculptra dining tables have round legs. Plus, the leg position on the table is wrong for Sculptra.

So I jumped to the next logical line: Broyhill Brasilia. But, again, in the Brasilia collection, the dining chairs without arms have round legs up front. And the table legs aren't right for Brasilia either.

Strike three came when I jumped to the Broyhill Emphasis collection (which has a lot in common with the Sculptra line). Again, round chair legs in front on Emphasis chairs and the wrong table.

So I'm out, but I know I have plenty of readers who are better at identifying mid-century furniture than I am. If any of you have an idea, please leave a comment.

I'm also not ruling out a mid-line design change on chair and table legs for any of these collections, I just can't find proof of it.

But back to Jenn's question: That chair back leads me to believe that this set was probably made by Broyhill, I just can't find the right collection. In that case, the wood is most likely walnut. Sculptra, Emphasis and Brasilia are all walnut collections. But, to be safe, bring one of the chairs to your local hardware store or lumber yard and they might be able to identify the exact wood type.

Frank Lloyd Wright Restoration: The Westcott House

2012-01-27T13:20:00.000-06:00

I recently ran across this documentation of the restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright's Westcott house. It doesn't include any Frank Lloyd Wright paint colors or Frank Lloyd Wright color palettes, but it does have some interesting photos of original tiles, sinks, fixtures and the like. Plus, it's just nice to see outstanding building like this brought back to life.

Frank Lloyd Wright Paint: Taliesin Palette

2012-01-26T22:38:00.000-06:00

In 1955 Frank Lloyd Wright developed a line of home products specifically for people who didn't live in one of his homes. It included furniture, fabrics, rugs, wallpaper and a selection of 36 paint colors from the Martin-Senour paint company.

And these are the Frank Lloyd Wright selected paint colors:

Searching at Martin-Senour's site, it doesn't look like the carry these colors anymore. But they might make for some good inspiration.

More Frank Lloyd Wright Paint Colors

2012-01-25T11:55:00.000-06:00

I've mentioned the Guggenheim-inspired Frank Lloyd Wright paint colors, but there's another, possibly even more-famous, Frank Lloyd Wright building that you might want to use if you're looking for true Frank Lloyd Wright paint colors: Fallingwater.

Luckily, someone went to the extreme measure of looking at the paint colors of Fallingwater under a microscope and X-ray.

Frank S. Welsh was asked to microanalyze and evaluate 20 carefully selected samples from the interior and exterior in 1989 and 1990 to determine the original paint colors and their composition. Using microscopical and X-ray diffraction analyses, [Welsh] confirmed that Wright used only 2 colors throughout the house. A moderate reddish brown, also known as Cherokee Red, was painted on all metal surfaces, and a light yellowish brown cementitious paint known as Cemelith was applied on all of the masonry walls both inside and outside.

Cherokee Red is Frank Lloyd Wright's signature paint color. He used it in many of the houses he built. However, the ocher cement paint wasn't Wright's first choice. From the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:

On the exterior, Wright recommended gold leaf for the concrete, likely drawing on his Japanese experience and knowledge of gilded temples. The Kaufmanns [the original owners of Fallingwater] thought gold leaf a bit too extravagant and inappropriate for a mountain house. Wright then suggested a white-mica finish from Super Concrete Emulsions, Ltd., a Los Angeles company. Again, the Kaufmanns rejected this idea, stating that the finish should blend with the stonework. Ultimately, they agreed upon a waterproof cement paint called Cemelith in a light ocher, a color which Wright described as taking inspiration from “the sere leaves of the rhododendron.”

And if you're looking to add Cherokee Red or the Fallingwater light ocher to your mid-century exterior, Pittsburgh Paints has put together a collection of paint colors inspired by Fallingwater, including Cherokee Red and a light orcher they call Covered Wagon.

Modern Growth Chart

2012-01-24T13:09:00.000-06:00

With an ever-growing little one running around the house, we decided it was time to get a growth chart. We wanted it to be a modern growth chart that would fit with the look of our mid-century home, and with the look of our travel-themed nursery. The closest thing to a true travel-themed growth chart that we could find was the Big City growth chart:

But it seemed more suited for a transportation-themed nursery. So we thought about going for a mid-century growth chart, and found two wonderful Alexander Girard growth charts. Alexander Girard was the head of the fabric and textile devision of Herman Miller, so anything with his fabric designs on them would fit perfectly into a mid-century home. I love the Love Heart growth chart:

And the Sun Moon growth chart is great too:

But they're on pre-order only right now, and their expected ship date isn't till July 2012. And our little one will have done lots of growing by then.

So we turned to etsy. Two etsy stores deserve a callout for having multiple modern growth charts that could work in any mid-century modern nursery: Giraffes N Stuff and Milk Moon Kids.

We almost went with the EleFUNt modern growth chart:

Or the Vintage Bicycle modern growth chart:

But we ended up going with the Galactically Grown personalized modern growth chart:

I think any of those last three, while not being specifically travel theme, fit incredibly well in a travel-themed nursery.

Done: New Light in the Study

2012-01-23T16:35:00.005-06:00

The old light in the study wasn't the worst thing in the world. But it wasn't pretty, or bright enough.

And there's something in me that hates the look of rippled glass. It's why I changed the living room doorway light.

So this weekend I swapped it out for this Design House ceiling light.

It was the best flush-mount, mid-century modern ceiling light that I could find that took standard bulbs (I hate halogen). And it's pretty and, with two bulbs, it's definitely bright enough.

Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter

2012-01-20T11:35:00.000-06:00

If you haven't seen Charles & Ray Eames: The Architect and the Painter, a documentary by PBS, you can watch the full thing online now. Having watched it, I can say it's a very interesting look into the lives and minds of Ray and Charles Eames.

From the synopsis:

From 1941 to 1978, this husband-and-wife team brought unique talents to their partnership. He was an architect by training, she was a painter and sculptor. Together they are considered America’s most important and influential designers, whose work helped, literally, shape the second half of the 20th century and remains culturally vital and commercially popular today. They are, perhaps, best remembered for their mid-century modern furniture, built from novel materials like molded plywood, fiberglass-reinforced plastic, bent metal wire and aluminum – offering consumers beautiful, functional, yet inexpensive products. Revered for their designs and fascinating as individuals, Charles and Ray have risen to iconic status in American culture. But their influence on significant events and movements in American life – from the development of modernism, to the rise of the computer age – has been less widely understood.