I was digging through some old photos recently and came upon a picture of my first house in Edmonton. Alberta. I was about 21 when I fell in love with retro 1950s design and of course, being a designer I had to go whole hog and furnish and renovate my 1950′s bungalow down to every tiny retro detail.
Since then my tastes have become somewhat more refined, but that pink couch is still with me albeit reupholstered in a beautiful gun metal gray felt, and I’ve packed that turquoise slipper chair I bought for $15 at a farm sale in rural Alberta to Vancouver, Amsterdam, and back to Vancouver again.
Which leads me to wonder… how did your love affair with mid-century modern start?
Category: Design, Mid-Century Modern
By Melanie Carlson
Cool crib. my obsession with mid centory modern started when I bought a california contemporary syle home in Ringwood, NJ. I walk into this home and thought holy crap this is just like the Brady’s home! I loved it and had to have it and then had to decrate it. Went to DWR and that wow-that really within reach!-not. I discovered more affordable reproducions and then started a business selling the very best of them at afforable price-njmodern.com. Anyway, thats how it all started for me and Im still contantly scouring the web for mod century stuff.
Nice! Do you sell vintage and originals at njmodern as well or strictly reproductions?
I can relate to your style refinement over the years. Once hit with the mid-century bug, it’s hard to stop yourself from buying it all up at estate sales, thrift stores etc! My obsession started when I lived in Italy and fell in love with furniture design in general. Of course, the prices on italian designer furniture really didn’t fit my budget, but once I found an era with the same well-designed, well-built, organic and modern lines… I was hooked. It started with a chair I fell in love with at an antique store. I had to have it, and after learning that it fell into the Danish Modern category, I started looking for more. At the time, I lived in a loft apartment with a mix of IKEA, hand-me-downs, and the lovingly sought-after mid-century pieces. Now, I own a 1950′s cape cod, which I try to keep from feeling too much like a complete throw-back to the time my parents grew up, although sometimes I just have to have the flokati rug, or the atomic-era starburst clock, or…
I moved into a vintage 1949 bungalow near Toronto, Ontario, and that’s how it all started, five years ago now. I’m the kind of person who really cares that interior decor should take into account its architectural context. My home is still a work in progress, but I have some wonderful 50s and 60s design elements in the main rooms of the house, including a George Nelson ball clock, a cool linoleum kitchen table with aluminum edging, tube-steel kitchen chairs, and a gorgeous Danish-style coffee table… I also have paint-by-numbers in the house! Every mid-century modern home requires a paint-by-numbers.
I grew up watching (reruns) of I love Lucy and I think it seeped into my subconscious. My house looks like a desi-lu set (which is actually down the street!) But growing up in Hollywood I have been immersed in all of the history here. I am inspired daily by the amazing architecture, etc. I will be getting my first digital camera (I know welcome to the 21st century) and I will be documenting Los Angeles’ Mid-Century treasures…I’ll post the pics on my blog http://www.susanjoydesigns.blogspot.com. I’m new to blogging, is it a faux pas to plug a blog on anothers’ blog?