Words of the moment to describe fabrics and wall coverings with a decidedly mid-century vibe. With pops of color and space-age cool, your pad can be uber-hip and shagadelic, baby! Here are a few of our favorites.
Amy Lau’s delicious new collection for S. Harris. Shown below: Supergrafil in Earthwork and Waterblocks in Aqua.
By Melanie Carlson
Herman Miller is introducing five new colors to its range of Eames Molded Plastic Chairs. Now you have 10 colors to pick from in both the side chair and armchair models. The new colours are Aqua sky, java, wafer, greystone, and sparrow. They’re also adding another two bases to the range – the stacking and the 4-legged frame.
“The introduction of these colors and bases is a response to the increasing popularity of these chairs. They serve a variety of residential and commercial applications, and the additional colors and bases will provide a broader range of options for our customers,” says product manager Gregg VanderKooi. “Since Herman Miller is the only licensed manufacturer of these chairs in North America, we believe it’s important to provide authentic choices to protect the integrity of these classic designs.”
The chair shells, once made of fiberglass-infused plastic, are produced in environmentally friendly polypropylene, a decision made by the company almost a decade ago to reinforce its commitment to sustainability. In addition, the chairs now are made in the United States to reduce their manufacturing carbon footprint.
Ray & Charles Eames designed their molded plastic armchair in 1948 for entry in the International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture organized by the New York Museum of Modern Art. Herman Miller introduced the armchair, along with a companion side chair in 1950, and they soon found broad acceptance in residential and institutional markets—becoming the first mass-produced plastic chairs. Herman Miller reintroduced the Eames molded plastic chairs in 2001 and then dramatically increased the offering in 2005 as part of its ‘Get Real’ campaign for authenticity.
By Melanie Carlson
Other than being extremely interesting for the design buff, researching furniture patents on the web can be a great way to help you establish the authenticity of a piece or even identify it if you have nothing but a patent mark to go by.
Furniture patents show everything from the overall design to the manufacturing process, to the joints and assembly. These details are very helpful in figuring out if you have the “Real Thing” or if you have a knock-off.
Patents can be searched by Inventor (designer) or Assignee (manufacturer) or directly by Patent number. It can be a little confusing to begin with, but with some digging you can find out a lot about your furniture.
I’ve downloaded a few patent drawings of iconic pieces and linked them here for easy reference, but there are many, many more to be found at freepatentsonline. If you find some good ones, let us know and we’ll add the link here.
Folke Ohlsson Armchair
Florence Knoll Desk
George Nelson Swag Leg Chair
George Nelson Shelving Unit
George Nelson Sofa
Eero Saarinen Tulip Table
Eero Saarinen Womb Chair
George Nelson Coconut Chair
Ray Komai Side Chair
Marcel Breuer Short Chair
REK Jakobsen Chair
Harry Bertoia Diamond Chair
Eames DKR Wire Chair
Eames Leg Splint
Eames Folding Sofa
Eames DCW Chair
Eames Stacking Chair
Frederick Mueller Chair
Lofgren Chair
By Melanie Carlson
Twentieth-Century Design (Oxford History of Art)
by Jonathan M. Woodham
The most famous designs of the twentieth century are not those in museums, but in the marketplace. The Coca-Cola bottle and McDonald’s logo are known the world over and may tell us more about our culture than a narrowly-defined canon of classics. One of the world’s foremost design historians, Jonathan Woodham takes a fresh look at the wider issues of design and industrial culture throughout Europe, Scandinavia, North America, and the Far East. He explores themes such as national identity, the “Americanization” of business methods, the rise of multi-nationals, Pop and Postmodernism, and contemporary ideas of nostalgia and heritage.
Our Price: $18.45 Buy it Now.
By Melanie Carlson
The Vintage Home: Clever Finds and Faded Treasures for Today’s Chic Living by Judith Wilson
The shabby-chic, Bohemian look known as vintage has both charm and plenty of practicality. It is the perfect alternative for modern white interiors, ideal for family living—as extra scuffs won’t ruin the look—and low maintenance as well as relatively inexpensive. For home designers looking to develop a new style from old looks, this essential resource provides information on how to shop and search creatively as well as how to identify and avoid fakes. Tips are also included on mixing various vintage objects creatively in order to create welcoming and eclectic interiors in any room.
Our Price: $13.46 Buy it Now.
By Melanie Carlson
I’m a sucker for this kind of chair. I have a similar DUX one in mustard that has a matching footstool and weighted neck cushion. The bright yellow makes it even more cool! You can see more details here.
By Melanie Carlson
There are so many great items we want to give away next month that we can’t decide, so we’re hoping you can help us!
By Melanie Carlson
This is such a great chair and we think it’s a sweet deal. Check out the way the seat cushion fits into the back of the chair. Perfect! For more details on this chair, check out the listing.
By Melanie Carlson
We just found a great new web site called Ponoko that allows you to design products which they then fabricate for you.
Ponoko is the first online shop for individualized goods – things designed and made on demand. Ponoko is the new sustainable way to design, make and deliver products – they cut the waste from oversupply by making products on-demand and they’re also working to cut carbon emissions by sourcing local materials and making products as close to the point of consumption as possible.
Check out this great site and let that budding product designer in you finally shine.
By Melanie Carlson
This beautiful Danish teak desk circa 1960s is fabulous! It’s sleek minimalist lines hide a beautiful detail on the back – a book shelf! At $599 it’s really a great find and a good deal!
By Melanie Carlson
Our list of current and upcoming design and modernism-related exhibitions, conferences, films and tours. To add an event, click here.
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Every now and then we come across some really great books on mid-century modern furniture, architecture and contemporary design. Here are some of our favourites. Full list here.
5 Must-Have Mid-Century Modern Books
I’m always being asked which books to buy on mid-century modernism, so I’ve compiled a list of my current top 5 books under $50. Lushpad has a larger list of books over at Amazon if you want to have a look for some more great mid-mod books.
If you’ve got any suggestions to add to the [...]
Library Editions by Robert Chaplin
Robert Chaplin, a Vancouver-based artist, gemstone carver, poet, and publisher, has recently opened up shop on Etsy so the world (not just Vancouver) can buy his delightful books for children and adults alike. The 32-page hardcover books contain everything from learning to count, to cooking the perfect pot of delicious chicken soup. The [...]
Mid-Century Modern Cool – Kevin Dart
“A Kiss from Tokyo” is a beautiful animation created for Kevin Dart’s newly released book about Yuki 7 entitled, “Seductive Espionage, the world of Yuki 7″ which chronicles the production of this imaginary 1960’s spy film franchise. The world they have created is beautiful and definitely inspired by two of my favourite shows growing up, “The Avengers” and “James Bond”. You can purchase the book via Fleet Street Scandal.
Mid-Century Modern: Interiors, Furniture, Design Details
Mid-Century Modern: Interiors, Furniture, Design Details (Conran Octopus Interiors) by Bradley Quinn
Mid-Century Modern explores the interior decor of this seminal decade, concentrating on all aspects of a home’s decoration-walls, flooring, surfaces, lighting, and, of course, furniture. Case studies examine beautiful present-day homes that exhibit mid-century style in an exemplary way, and suggest ideas for taking [...]
Twentieth-Century Design (Oxford History of Art)
Twentieth-Century Design (Oxford History of Art)
by Jonathan M. Woodham
The most famous designs of the twentieth century are not those in museums, but in the marketplace. The Coca-Cola bottle and McDonald’s logo are known the world over and may tell us more about our culture than a narrowly-defined canon of classics. One of the world’s [...]
