Five on Friday - Flamingoes

What is more mid-century kitsch than flamingos - their vivid pinkness and amazing long legs and neck make them ideal for decorating with. And wearing!

1. Vintage 1950s flamingo figurine from 3 Florida Girls, $30.

A Deck Makeover - Mid-Century Style

For some reason I seem to give the back deck a bit of a make over at this time each year.  Maybe because it's near Father's Day, and the start of Spring, and that's when we start sitting outside again.  Last year the deck makeover was like this.

Deck makeover Sept 2012

At Home with Comfort in 1950

Continuing on from yesterdays post, here is a beautifully decorated little home, of only two bedrooms, that any mid-century aficionado would love today.  I want those side tables and curtains!

My New Dining Room!

Have I mentioned I am redecorating?!

With my son moving out we have rearranged rooms, so the four kids are now all downstairs - with their own living room, sofa and TV -  and upstairs is like grown up heaven.  One bedroom has now become the dining room, as a table for six always felt a little crowded in the kitchen area.

Dining area in the kitchen before

Now my plan is to put in a breakfast bar at the edge of the kitchen benches, with some barstools, and have the kitchen dining area with just two comfy chairs - an area we can sit and chat while we get dinner ready or sit and have a drink.  I'll probably get around to changing the colours, but at the moment it's like this.

All I have done is freshen up the panel with some pale grey paint, and recovered and painted some old chairs I had on the veranda.

My colour scheme has gone from dark beige (Dulux 'Zulu Plains'), brown and red, to white (Dulux 'natural white'), blue, grey and a touch of red.

So this was before - a bedroom - it's quite a dark room:

And this is now.  We are using the room as a study too, so the bookshelf contains reference books and the novels I don't mind lending out (my favourites live in the bedroom).

It's Not quite finished yet, still some more art to go up, and maybe a rug under the table. Maybe sheer curtains instead of the Venetians, although they are very mid-century.  And I am looking for a mid-century console buffet to replace the chest of drawers I'm using now.  But you get the idea.

Cost - around $300:
paint (Dulux 'Nntural white') - $71 for 4 litres
chairs (Eames reproduction in blue) - $253 for six
table - vintage c. 1960 from thrift shop $20

The blue carafe with round lid was a gift from my mother in law - she bought it in about 1955.  The blue and gold set I got at the thrift shop last week, (originally priced at $8 but it was half price!), and the cat also thrifted, $2.

My husband dearly wants to remove the laminate top from the dining table, and sand it back, but I quite like it.  I found this ad in a 1961 copy of Australian Home Beautiful, which makes me love it even more!

Next the living room!

Deb xxx

3 Mid-Century Style Dining Chairs

So I have ordered my new dining chairs. It was a hard decision, and here are the three designs I came down to - all are mid-century designs available as replicas.

1. DCM (dining chair metal) and DCW (dining chair wood)

Designed in 1946 by Charles and Ray Eames, the DCW  and DCM Dining Chairs are perhaps  the most famous chairs of the century.  Both feature moulded plywood with natural face veneers, hardwood inner pies and a five ply seat and back.  The DCM has polished chrome plated legs and  frame with self leveling glides and the DCW has timber legs. 

75 cm high, 52 cm wide seat, 44 cm seat height

Eames molded dining Chair-DCM

 Eames DCW Plywood Chair

Licensed chairs by Herman Miller available in light Ash, Walnut, Natural Cherry and Ebony. Replicas in oak,ash or walnut at around $290.

These are vintage items. Expect to pay around $150 to $200 per chair.

2. CH24 Hans Wegner 'Wishbone' Chair
Inspired by traditional Ming chairs, Hans Wegner designed his  Wishbone Chair or Y Chair in 1950 and it is a classic piece of Danish mid-century furniture design.  Made of timber with natural cord caning.

75 cm high, 52 cm wide seat, 45 cm seat height. 

CH24 Hans Wegner 'Wishbone' Chair

Replicas available in natural ash timber, beech, ash with walnut stain or ash with black stain with either black or natural cord sea at around $289.

3. Moulded Plastic Dining Side chair Wood base (DSCW) and DSCR (Dining Side Chair Rod)

Also designed by Ray and Charles Eames, in 1950, the Dining Side chair Wood base (DSW) is the wooden-legged version of the celebrated DSR dining chair and has maple wooden dowell legs. Both have a  rigid moulded polypropylene or fibreglass seat.  The DSR  has stainless steel Eiffel legs and base. As indicated by the name, this dining chair's legs' shape are inspired by the Eiffel tower and the geometric patterns that the crossing beams create.

80 cm high, 47 cm wide seat, 45 cm seat height. 

Eames Dining Chair replica

Herman Miller licensed Eames DSCW

Licensed Herman Miller chairs are about $275, and replicas usually start at $56.  Both are available in a wide range of funky colours, like blue. If found mine here for even less.

Oh, and they just arrived!  Three big boxes and I just had to screw the bases to the seats. Easy!

Deb xx

Blue inspiration in Mid-century living rooms

Blue - pale blue, sky blue and that almost aqua blue - is my favourite colour at the moment - perhaps because of my daily beach walk.  I am thinking about painting a wall blue or recovering my mid-century chairs in blue fabric.  I got two of these for $8 each at the thrift shop last week!

I am in the midst of repainting and redecorating the house, especially the living room (as you may be able to tell by my obsessive blog posts).  My son and his girlfriend have just moved out, so with that sense of freedom comes the desire to redecorate.  Apparently I am a bit mad!  But after ten years with the same wall colour I am ready for a change.  Some before and afters soon.

In the meantime - inspiration!  Blue and white go great together of course, and I love a little red for extra colour.  This room has no natural timber except for the sofa base, so the gold-yellow fabric adds a warming timber -like touch.  And isn't that chair great?!

I love this blue sofa and matching rug.

Another blue sofa, and matching dining chairs.  Love the lights above the table too.

via

This blue wall with sunbursts makes the room so happy!

via

The blue painted brick walls and ceiling look great with the timber furniture.  The floor cushions are a great idea too.

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This modern room has a great mid-century feel to it, and I love the blue wallpaper.

via

I have also ordered some blue dining room chairs - Eames replicas.  They should be here soon!

Replica Eames chairs

Deb xx

Mid-Century Living rooms Hollywood Style

Today some mid-century living rooms of the rich and famous.

Greer Garson sits her living room at home in Los Angeles' exclusive
Bel Air neighborhood, picking out records to play in April 1943,
a month after her Best Actress Oscar victory for Mrs. Miniver.

Sophia Loren in her Italian villa, 1964 via

 John Wayne’s living room of his ranch house in the San Fernando Valley -
he loved Asian art.
via

Steve McQueen takes a call in the living room of his home in Hollywood, 1963
 via

Beneath an artificial dogwood tree, Joan Crawford and her fourth and final husband,
Pepsi-Cola CEO Alfred N. Steele, relax on the plastic-covered sofas of their
18-room New York City duplex penthouse in the 1950s.
  via

Kim Novak Playing Guitar Beside Pet Great Dane Warlock at Her Home in Big Sur
via

Fred Astaire built his Beverly Hills residence in 1959, and the living room
 featured comfortable modern upholstered furniture and contemporary art.
  via

Kirk Douglas stretches out on a skylit sofa in his Beverly Hills home in the early 1960s.
Above him hang two Pablo Picasso paintings that he and his wife Anne purchased in 1960.
via

10 Mid-Century Beach-Style Living Rooms

If you are redecorating and considering a bit of mid-century style for your home, like I am, here are ten of the best beach-style living rooms that I have found.

This living room in a 1954 ranch house has been furnished with blue Danish modern seating and a vintage sofa around a Harry Bertoia wooden-topped coffee table.  The white walls and sheer curtains give the room a light and airy, almost beachy feel. I love this room, and the Pony tail palm in the retro bullet pot is a special touch.

1. Mid-Century Living-room remodel

This room also has a deep blue sofa, but the red accent chair gives it a more nautical flair.

2. Mid-century nautical living room with flight recliner.

Off-white and aqua work well with timber - note the brass light which looks great with the timber table and stainless steel legged chair.

3. Mid-century living room with timber wall

And with dark grey. This grey partition fireplace wall gives the paler furniture a dramatic backdrop.

4. Living room with grey partition fireplace

5. MCM Modern inspired living room by Chris Barrett Design

But the grey, white and bright green combination works too.

6. a. Beach House Living room by Josh and Jen Amstone

6. b.Beach House Living room by Josh and Jen Amstone view 2

This sophisticated room is given a touch of fun with lime green accents.

7. Florence Knoll sofa and lime green accents

This aqua and yellow combination has a very 'Gidget' 1960's beach-house feel to it.

8. Aqua couch and yellow chairs

And here is a contemporary room with a mid-century modern feel, also with a splash of yellow  The stone fireplace is the feature, but the TV is also accommodated. The windows don't have any coverings, which accentuate the design's strong geometric lines rather than looking undone.

9. Mid-century inspired room by Laura Britt

This green and orange combination is a very traditional mid-century color scheme - bold and beautiful.

9. Orange couch and green chairs

And this original mid-century room shows that not all walls have to be white. Bright can work too.

10. mid-century green and blue

I think I like the white, grey aqua best. And I so wish I could have a stone fireplace!

Which one's your favourite?

Deb xx

Six Great Mid-Century Style Sofas

Trying to find a vintage sofa, like this one from Danish Modern LA is not always easy.

But there are a few modern sofas around with that special mid-century something. Like this leather Contempo sofa from Haverty's in the US. Available in terracotta, grey and pearl.

1. Contempo Sofa in Grey $1,099

I love this sofa from King furniture, AND it converts to a bed. It also comes in a wide range of colours, in fabric or leather.

2. King Uno Sofa in Pink $1,490

This mid-century style three-seater sofa from OZ Furniture has buttoned cushions and back, as well as piping all over. 

3. Jazz sofa from Oz furniture, $1,999

Oz furniture also has this sofa, with buttoned back cushions, piping detail and a bench seat, which comes in three size options as well as a chair.

4. Three seater Spectator sofa from Oz Designs, $1,599.

This replica Florence Knoll Wool three seat sofa comes in charcoal and wheat and is available at Simply replica and Replica Furniture, from $1000 to $1,595. A chaise lounge version is also available for around $2,000 here.

5. replica Florence Knoll sofa, $1,595

and for something a little different, this is the Cloud Couch from Modernica, inspired by the sofa designs of Vladimir Kagan and Isamu Noguchi. At around $3,500 it's not cheap, but is sensational and available in about 100 different fabrics and colours.

6. cloud couch from Modernica

Hmm, I'm not sure which one I like best, what about you?

Deb xx