Archive | furniture RSS feed for this section

vintage hamilton cosco high chairs

21 Jun

cosco high chair, mikeyboy2020, ebay

I’ve been putting together images of mid-century and vintage-inspired high chairs for a future post. And in my searches, I came across this Cosco “Comfort Line” high chair being sold by “Mikeyboy2020″ of Cincinnati on Ebay this week.  But there are only four days left for this auction, and was hoping someone might find it as interesting as I have.  In fact, this is the only vintage Cosco of its kind that I’ve found so far.  Apart from a chip on the footrest and the (Very Important) need to attach a new seatbelt strap, the chair is in pretty fantastic shape.  I figure that with shipping, you’ll pay a little less than $200 for it.

It’s much easier (and cheaper) to find the folding metal chairs similar to the one below (which is in great shape and also available on Ebay), although you might find the chrome needing a touch of polish and the seat requiring a brave scrubbing.

cosco folding chair, thevillagepeddler, ebay

It’s definitely very different from the powder-coated-and-animal-print-vinyl versions we’re used to today.  There’s something super cool about the late 60s/early 70s version of Cosco’s eponymous line.   My interest was piqued after learning that Fionn’s favorite chair is actually of the same generation of awesome designs to come out of the Hamilton Manufacturing Corporation of Columbus, Indiana.

cosco booster chair

Or if you’re looking for a booster seat, it’s pretty easy to find Fionn’s chair (as discovered by Grandma on Ebay and mentioned above).  I actually had no idea that it WAS a booster seat, and an adjustable one at that.  Compare these simple, beautiful designs to today’s existing contraptions, and it’s like comparing an Eames lounger to a Bob’s Furniture recliner.

And, lastly, the Cosco chair I hesitate to feature, because I kind of want it for my own.

cosco rocker, eames forever, ebay

Same as the booster, but a rocking chair, here on Ebay.  HOW COOL IS THIS.   So if you visit the link, and find it sold,  here’s the tip I’ll share with you:  Antiques > Periods & Styles > Mid-Century Modernism.  Always worth a browse.

mattel modern mid-century doll furniture

9 Jun

Mattel Modern boxes, courtesy Rosies Too and You

I have a son.  And unlike the famous Jenna (J.Crew) whose son famously had his photo snapped while receiving a bright pink pedicure, Fionn is just as well-defined by his dislike of pink and the prospect of having his toes touched at all.  This is a short (and probably non-PC) way of saying that there’s probably very little chance of him – anytime soon – enjoying this amazing dollhouse furniture I just discovered by the Mattel company, manufactured in 1958 and sometimes available on Etsy and Ebay.

Vintage breakfront, courtesy The Toy Box

This amazing toy furniture was developed in 1958, a year before the launch of Barbie. But I’m sure Barbie would have loved it.  You can see from the top image that this was a limited collection (and a premium one at that, being called “Mattel Modern” from the get-go).  The Scandinavian influence is apparent, and it pleases me to no end to learn that a mainstream toy company would have created what us KidRobot fans nowadays call ‘limited edition exclusives’ which may not have appealed to all doll-house-furnishing consumers at the time.

Mid-century dresser, courtesy The Toy Box

Chairs and table, courtesy The Toy Box

As with most niche mid-century modern furniture fashions, Mattel Modern has inspired a Flickr collection.  You must visit these images, if just to see the intense care paid to maintain and reupholster(!) some of these pieces.

Sofa box, courtesy Rosies Too and You

Even the packaging is fantastic.
As of today, I found pieces (as represented by the photos above) at the Rosie Too and You shop on Ebay and the Toy Box (in Texas) on Etsy.  Pieces range from $15 to over $100, but compared to those silly Vitra collector’s chairs, it’s quite a deal.  Keep an eye on them – at time of posting many of the pieces were already sold, but they seem to be popping up quite often.

Any additonal detail to add on the origin of these designs?  Anyone out there who’s furnished a mid-century dollhouse?  Please write!

ole wanscher and danish modern rocking chairs

22 Feb

Lovely reader “Nashville Momma” has just reached out to me, asking about the Danish Modern rocking chair (above) featured on myModern Vintage Eclectic inspiration board a few months back.

Unfortunately, being a vintage piece of furniture, the rocker has already been sold from Modernicus, a furniture shop in Alexandria, Virginia.  It seems like their inventory is constantly being refreshed, and they have lots of other gorgeous pieces, so you may want to bookmark their site, just in case.

But the good news is that there’s lots of Wanscher pieces out there, some reupholstered, some a little different in style, but all beautiful and very collectible.

So who’s this guy?

Here’s the short version, for your next cocktail party (yes, that was a little joke I made to myself).

Ole Wanscher.  Danish.  Mid-century.  All about well-designed and mass-produced pieces (the original ‘design for all’ philosophy – one of my favorite things about this period).  A contemporary of Finn Juhl, another famous MCM Danish guy.  Both were known for developing the ‘unsupported arm’ style of chair frames – see how the wood extends beyond the cushion?  (It’s one of the fun details that makes this design quirky and joyful).  He designed these rockers for a company called France & Son.  Not the most adventurous of the designers of this period, so not as famous as some of the rest.  Shame.

(Read more at the Danish Furniture Decor website).

Gorgeous yellow upholstery, once sold at Modern Montage (Alexandria, VA).

This is the shorter version, which is much easier to find.  The above is sold out, but here are a few others, which are still available…

Love this.  Leather from Tom Gibbs Studio on 1st Dibs.  $1500.

A tall one! But the listing’s old.  Don’t know if it’s still available – at $695, it’s got to have been snatched up by now.  Regardless, it’s worth checking out Ottawa Finds, described as “Canada’s best source for Danish Modern Furniture and accents.”

This one’s from Ebay, being sold by Atomic Lipstick for $900.

So what have I learned?  This guy Wanscher deserves our respect.  And if you want a gorgeous piece of design in your nursery or living room, do a web search every few days and you may find one.

The short ones are more available (and widely copied) than the tall ones (above via Scandinavian Mod – sold, of course).   But if you can find the frame and hate the fabric, BUY IT and get it reupholstered!

Or you can expand your horizons and open your search to other Danish designers.  I think I also love this Georg Jensen.  (If you live in SF, this one is a (relative) steal for $950, available NOW on Craigslist.)

beware! snakes!

9 Feb

If I had a whole lot of money to spare, I’d start every shopping trip at 1st Dibs.  That’s where I found this carnival side show box, being sold by the American Primitive Gallery in Manhattan.  (You may need to register in order to log in, but it’s worth it, I promise).   The glass at top (to protect the poor snakes from little kids’ fingers, I’m assuming) has been replaced by plexiglass, but the rest of the table is completely intact.   A great side table or even a mini-bookshelf, I’d love this piece in a big boy’s room.  Only trouble…  it costs $550.

So how about something a bit … newer … for a little less cash?

One of my favorite online toy shops is called Oompa.com.  It features lots of European-based toys and furniture, stuff you can’t find on Amazon or, goodness knows, Toys R Us.   This table/play piece is designed by Bolette and Louise Blaedel of Denmark (their company is called bObles).   Made of 10 layers of foam, I could see this lasting quite a while.  Of course, at $279, it should last forever.

Here’s my last amazing snake-related discovery of the day, courtesy The Freckled Elephant on Etsy.

These are the most clever teethers I’ve seen in a while.  Handmade and featuring a variety of different fabric patterns, these plush snakes wrap around your baby’s arm (or crib post, or the dog’s leg, as would be the case in my home).  Perfect for the time in between teeth appearing and real motor skills kicking in.  For $13 each, you can get a handful of them.  Or select just one, put it in a clear acrylic box from the Container Store, add some easter grass,  and you’ve got a really cool terrarium-themed shower gift.

keith haring chairs

15 Dec

Haring chair, courtesy New York Magazine

Although I’ve always loved the idea of Keith Haring, I’ve never been a true fan of his work.  But I think the passage of time has caused me to reconsider my feelings.  Don’t know whether it’s nostalgia for those junior high school trips to Pop Shop in the Village (Returning to school with a Radiant Baby notebook was the end-all-be-all for the Scunci set in Long Island), or a recognition of Haring’s pioneering approach towards graffiti-as-commercialism (e.g. people going nutty over Banksy today).  Regardless, I was moved enough to publish my first post in ages after seeing this chair on the New York Magazine website.

Vilac Haring chairs, courtesy Vilac.com

Made for children by French company Vilac

Here’s a little more about the company:

“Deep in the Jura region of France, surrounded by mountains, lakes and forests, Vilac has been producing high-quality wooden toys and gifts for the past 80 years. Vilac was founded by Narcisse Villet in 1911 as a wood turning workshop, which later came to specialize exclusively in the finely lacquered wooden toys for which Vilac is so well known. Appropriately, Vilac is in fact an amalgamation of the name of the founder, “Villet,” and the word “lacquer.” In 1985, Vilac was purchased by Hervé Hagland, who continues the Old World wood working traditions to this day.”

If you’re not in the market for a new piece of furniture, I’m happy to report that Vilac also sells these Keith Haring puzzles.  Here’s a link to the Nova 68 website, which sells the set of four puzzles for $50.  Fionn received them as an (early) Christmas gift last week, and I believe they were purchased at one of the NYC museum gift shops!  So check online for better prices, if you’re interested, perhaps you’ll get a holiday bargain.

fisher and ryker’s room

6 Sep

… And we’re back.

Of course, I’ve decided to start writing again, after a protracted absence, at the start of the Labor Day weekend, a time known as an escape from thinking, work, and, most of all, computers.   So we’ll see how inspired I become to write again before late next week.  Let’s just say it’s a slow process, getting back into the blogging gig.

sugar rush

These past few weeks have been jam-packed…my niece received her Hebrew name, my grandma and aunts visited from Florida, my search for full-time work resumed in earnest, my husband received some fabulous work assignments, and my house was host to friends from abroad and around the block.  But most momentously, my son Fionn turned 1.  Happy birthday my sweet boy.

Here’s a post I’ve had on the back burner, and I’m so pleased to finally share it with you(thanks Braden and Justine, for your patience).    A few weeks back, I sent a request out to my local neighborhood parents’ newsgroup, requesting photos of beautifully-designed kids rooms.   In return, I received a set of beautifully-shot images of the sweetest space, which is shared by two boys named Fisher (2+ years old) and Ryder (4 months).   And through my correspondence, I met the photographer – an incredible woman named Justine Cooper, who specializes in portraits of babies and children.  Long story short, as a result of that post, Fionn has had his first official studio session (a birthday present for my husband) and I’ve got some fabulous inspiration to share with you.

All thanks in advance to Fisher and Ryker’s mom Braden for answering all my questions in great detail about the room – there’s so much great stuff in here it’s hard to decide what to focus on!

Fish-eye view of the room

So let’s start with the basics… You’ll probably recognize the crib as a Stokke, the bed is an IKEA Lycksele sofabed (which folds up into a chair/cot), large rug is from Not Neutral, and the storage unit/bins are Expedit, also from IKEA (See Esther’s roundup of Expedits in nurseries here).  But what makes this room special are the personal, handmade touches Braden added to make the room fun, quirky, colorful, and uniquely Fisher & Ryker’s.

What I especially love is the fact that the room is fully decorated (and full of primary colors) but it doesn’t feel cluttered or haphazard.   Look at the ceiling… one one side is a globe lantern brought back from a trip to London, on the other side is a blue fish windsock send from friends in Japan to celebrate “Japanese Children’s Day” (Kodomo no hi), a festival held on the 5th day of the 5th month every year to ” respect children’s personalities and to celebrate their happiness.” 

There are three other creative touches in this room I’d like to point out – maybe they’ll inspire you for your own kids’ rooms.

Wall Candy Arts decals, customized

1. Turning dots into fish. 

Rather than just taking decal dots directly from the package and sticking them on the wall, Braden cut some of her WallCandyArts decals into fish shapes (and their requisite bubbles). 

'handmade' footprints and tourist hats

2. Turning kitsch into decor

Braden writes, “My sister-in-law bought these animal hats at a cheesy tourist place in Cancun, Mexico… Fisher LOVES them.  I thought that since they were so colorful I might as well make them ‘functional art.’”  (Isn’t it crazy how your kids always gravitate towards the things you’d be least likely to actually want around the house?)  It’s a wonderful way to get stuff like this out of the closet or off the floor, making it top-of-mind and more likely to be played with. 

3. Turning traditional ‘family art’ into wall-worthy pieces. 

Each family member created his/her own footprint painting in the brightest, most colorful color combination possible!

Fisher and friend (and Ikea rats)

What I thought was most interesting about this space is the fact that although it looks large, there’s not alot of actual deep wall space to place traditional furniture against.  This means Braden needs to maximize all her storage cubbies and closets, and it means that as the kids grow, their stuff is going to multiply and grow in towards the center of the space.   And once they get big enough for real beds and desks, Braden’s going to have to be creative about her space planning.  I have all the faith that she’ll do a great job with it…

Thanks again, Braden, for letting me feature your sons’ room, and for all your help.

Any questions about Fisher and Ryker’s room or any of the pieces in it? Please leave a note in the Comments section.   Do you have a room you’d like featured here? Let me know.

fisher and ryker's room

6 Sep

… And we’re back.

Of course, I’ve decided to start writing again, after a protracted absence, at the start of the Labor Day weekend, a time known as an escape from thinking, work, and, most of all, computers.   So we’ll see how inspired I become to write again before late next week.  Let’s just say it’s a slow process, getting back into the blogging gig.

sugar rush

These past few weeks have been jam-packed…my niece received her Hebrew name, my grandma and aunts visited from Florida, my search for full-time work resumed in earnest, my husband received some fabulous work assignments, and my house was host to friends from abroad and around the block.  But most momentously, my son Fionn turned 1.  Happy birthday my sweet boy.

Here’s a post I’ve had on the back burner, and I’m so pleased to finally share it with you(thanks Braden and Justine, for your patience).    A few weeks back, I sent a request out to my local neighborhood parents’ newsgroup, requesting photos of beautifully-designed kids rooms.   In return, I received a set of beautifully-shot images of the sweetest space, which is shared by two boys named Fisher (2+ years old) and Ryder (4 months).   And through my correspondence, I met the photographer – an incredible woman named Justine Cooper, who specializes in portraits of babies and children.  Long story short, as a result of that post, Fionn has had his first official studio session (a birthday present for my husband) and I’ve got some fabulous inspiration to share with you.

All thanks in advance to Fisher and Ryker’s mom Braden for answering all my questions in great detail about the room – there’s so much great stuff in here it’s hard to decide what to focus on!

Fish-eye view of the room

So let’s start with the basics… You’ll probably recognize the crib as a Stokke, the bed is an IKEA Lycksele sofabed (which folds up into a chair/cot), large rug is from Not Neutral, and the storage unit/bins are Expedit, also from IKEA (See Esther’s roundup of Expedits in nurseries here).  But what makes this room special are the personal, handmade touches Braden added to make the room fun, quirky, colorful, and uniquely Fisher & Ryker’s.

What I especially love is the fact that the room is fully decorated (and full of primary colors) but it doesn’t feel cluttered or haphazard.   Look at the ceiling… one one side is a globe lantern brought back from a trip to London, on the other side is a blue fish windsock send from friends in Japan to celebrate “Japanese Children’s Day” (Kodomo no hi), a festival held on the 5th day of the 5th month every year to ” respect children’s personalities and to celebrate their happiness.” 

There are three other creative touches in this room I’d like to point out – maybe they’ll inspire you for your own kids’ rooms.

Wall Candy Arts decals, customized

1. Turning dots into fish. 

Rather than just taking decal dots directly from the package and sticking them on the wall, Braden cut some of her WallCandyArts decals into fish shapes (and their requisite bubbles). 

'handmade' footprints and tourist hats

2. Turning kitsch into decor

Braden writes, “My sister-in-law bought these animal hats at a cheesy tourist place in Cancun, Mexico… Fisher LOVES them.  I thought that since they were so colorful I might as well make them ‘functional art.’”  (Isn’t it crazy how your kids always gravitate towards the things you’d be least likely to actually want around the house?)  It’s a wonderful way to get stuff like this out of the closet or off the floor, making it top-of-mind and more likely to be played with. 

3. Turning traditional ‘family art’ into wall-worthy pieces. 

Each family member created his/her own footprint painting in the brightest, most colorful color combination possible!

Fisher and friend (and Ikea rats)

What I thought was most interesting about this space is the fact that although it looks large, there’s not alot of actual deep wall space to place traditional furniture against.  This means Braden needs to maximize all her storage cubbies and closets, and it means that as the kids grow, their stuff is going to multiply and grow in towards the center of the space.   And once they get big enough for real beds and desks, Braden’s going to have to be creative about her space planning.  I have all the faith that she’ll do a great job with it…

Thanks again, Braden, for letting me feature your sons’ room, and for all your help.

Any questions about Fisher and Ryker’s room or any of the pieces in it? Please leave a note in the Comments section.   Do you have a room you’d like featured here? Let me know.

bright side tables, colorful bedrooms

15 Aug

Krista Ewart design, House Beautiful

Like many people, I use magazines two ways;  flipping through them here and there, and diving into them, after waiting patiently for the long train journey or stretched-out second nap.  A feature in the recent (July/August) issue of House Beautiful caught my eye both times.   The issue, subtitled “Is Small the New  Big?” showcases a 1200 square foot California bungalow designed by Krista Ewart.  Overall, it’s a bit too Lilly Pulitzer/Palm Springs for me (granted, it’s a beach house), but taken piece by piece, there’s some AMAZING design in this house. (You can see all the photos here).

room by Krista Ewart, House Beautiful magazine

The room at top has a gorgeous ‘whale print’ wallpaper from Walnut Wallpaper, which I’d love to use in a child’s room somewhere.  The second image, directly above, is the inspiration for this post.  When I read that the side table (called the ‘Bubble Up’) is available for sale at PB Teen for $199, I put down the magazine and hopped online.

Bubble Up bedside table, PB Teen

Unfortunately, the turquoise is no longer available, but as shown in situ, the hot pink side table adds a needed pop of color to a room furnished in turquoise and white.   As Erin (from House of Turquoise) knows, pink and red are fantastic complements to the sea blue color.

courtesy Procrastination Mama

One of her featured rooms, decorated beautifully by Tracey of the Procrastination Mama blog, is also one of the nicest shared rooms I’ve ever seen.  With two kids (a toddler girl and an infant boy), she uses turquoise paint as the backdrop for one wall, then accessorizes with bright yellows, pinks and greens.  Each kid’s space gets a few personal touches to add character and interest.  And check out the little hot pink chair next to the girl’s bed!

Adding a high-gloss or brightly-colored side table to your child’s room is a great way to ‘decorate’ without redecorating… think of side tables as the throw pillows of the bedroom.  So, in addition to the PB table above, here are some great options – the glossier and brighter the better.

Offi Tiki stool, Target

1. Tiki stool by Offi at Target $69.99. Offi is more well-known for animal lamps like the yellow dachshund featured in Fionn’s room, but also offers great kid-sized plastic chairs and tables too.

Slick Cube table, St Louis Style

2. Slick Cube table available at St. Louis LoftStyle for $125.  It comes in black and white as well, but the colors are my favorite.

Jolly table by Kartell, Unica Home

3. Jolly side table by Kartell at Unica Home for $166 each.  As mentioned in my previous post on acrylic furniture, we have a pair of these in our bedroom in the clear (untinted) color, but as you can see above, they come in tons of shades and are just really adorable.

Curvee table, Serena & Lily

4. GORGEOUS and on sale at Serena & Lily, the Curvee shelf table in melon has been reduced from$369 to $258.30.  This piece is definitely a keeper- I could see it transitioning from a toddler room to a young adult’s room with no problem.

See any more brightly-colored side tables? Snap some photos for me, and I’ll post them here.

acrylic, lucite, perspex and plexiglas

11 Aug

cactus chair, Deger Cengiz, Voos furniture

A recent comment by a reader named Kristin has literally kept me up at night.  She writes, “Any ideas on how to incorporate baby-safe play areas with daily household areas?”

This is a HUGE question, and one I haven’t seen being talked about or dealt with in the traditional home decor magazines (although there’s a gorgeous kids room featured in July/August’s House Beautiful, I’m sure many interior designers would rather forget that human beings actually start at age 0…) Of course, you can always count on a heated debate about baby/child “proofing” on Ohdeedoh.com — on one side, “if your child behaves him/herself, you don’t need any,” on the other, “yes, padded corner cushions are ugly, but they’re necessary, and soon they’ll be unnecessary again.”  My take on the whole challenge is a combination of the two philosophies.  You want your home to be -and stay- as visually pleasing and comfortable as possible, AND it needs to be safe for all the people who live there.

Which sometimes means swapping out the (super-indulgent and big-treat-to-ourselves) Czech-crafted mid-century wood and glass cocktail table which sits center-stage in our living room in favor of something a little more … destruction-proof.

adair table, overstock.com

Enter the fabulous material known as acrylic AKA lucite, perspex (for those in the Colonies) and my personal favorite, ‘plexiglas’ (a term coined in the ’30′s, but to me will always scream ’70s.)  They’re all name-brand alibis for a material properly known as polymethyl methacrylate.  Heavy on the meth there… good to know it’s  referred to as PMMA in the science world.

Starck's lou lou chair

I’ve been thinking about how wonderful acrylic furniture is, especially in small apartments like our own.   Apart from the inevitable scratches (our Kartell bedside tables are special victims), I can’t really see any disadvantages of acrylic furniture in a household with children, except maybe being knocked over and played with (e.g. kid-sized Ghost chairs for $133 at Room & Board).  The coffee tables we’re looking at, including the Adair (above, available at Overstock.com for $223.50) are especially sturdy.  Another favorite of mine is the CB2 Peekaboo table, available at CB2.com for $250, which is made by simply melting two curves into a thick sheet of acrylic.

Dorothy Thorpe at Natural Pond Vintage

As you may have been thinking, acrylic is a bit of a ‘retro’ material… meaning you’ll see some of this stuff on Mad Men, perhaps Life on Mars, and maybe even Hot Tub Time Machine. (Basically, there’s acrylic for every decade).

A perfect 60′s example are these “Lucite Pretzel” candle holders, designed by Dorothy Thorpe and available for $179 at Natural Pond Vintage on Etsy.  As noted in the listing, “her Allegro glassware has been seen on numerous episodes of the AMC show Mad Men.”

cake stand at fabulousmess

This cake stand/display shelf is reminiscent of the above candelabras.  Make a toy collection look especially fancy, or add a fern for that 70s touch.  You can find it at the (super-fun) Fabulousmess shop on Etsy for $50.

unicorn at twin hearts vintage

And lastly, because it made me laugh, and then made me slightly nostalgic for the die-cut nameplate (in mirrored acrylic) I’d glued to my bedroom door as a kid.  Are little girls still into unicorns these days?  I don’t even know.  But if your girl is, you can’t beat this “vintage ’80s mirrored lucite unicorn,” sold by Twin Hearts Vintage, on Etsy, for $14 bucks.

Not exactly ‘childproofing’, but if you’re redecorating, some vintage-y acrylic furnishings could be a great way to go.   Kristin, I’ll be thinking about your question and get back to you with more suggestions in the future.  Readers, any tips for making stylish spaces more kid-friendly? Send them my way.

By the way, the Cactus chair at top is available for around $3000 via Voos Furniture, if you’re up for the challenge.

urban outfitters 50′s duvet cover

26 Jul

How’s this for a gorgeous mid-century inspired bedding set?

50's birdcage duvet cover, UO.com

Urban Outfitters surprises me again. I absolutely LOVE the illustration on this duvet cover; the fabric is also available on shams and a shower curtain (which could probably be repurposed as curtains).   It’s only available online, but for $58 (twin) or $68 (full) it’s relatively low risk.

close up

The color palette is pretty fab – you can decorate with the orange-red (shown above) or that beautiful teal blue (at top).  I think it’d look great with a dark wood or maple bed frame.

full size bed by Grand Rapids, Ebay

Check out this modern sleigh bed now for sale on Ebay. It’s $575 plus the cost of freight shipping from Florida.  The birdcage bedding and this bed would make a gorgeous pair.

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 25 other followers