Saturday, August 21, 2010

Mid-Century Googling

Imagine me googling Mid-Century Modern (MCM) and coming up with all this at once and being visually and stylistically overwhelmed with choices. This post represents a smattering of choices.

As a style, MCM can be stream-lined, efficient, innovative, funky, cold, wood-heavy, playful, colorful, comfy, angular, and almost always brings the indoors out and the outdoors in.



MCM has an architectural take on furnishing that is fun and usually very comfortable. Lighting and chairs become architecture.



A style within MCM is called "googie" .... think "Jetsons"... too much googie and a place can begin to feel cold or busy or less functional, but just enough and it adds some whimsy and fun shapes.


I'm learning a lot about the form and lines that are so much a part of MCM. Friends have bought us books, and we've found a few ourselves, and it's just fun to explore and figure out what suits our home best (see home photos a couple posts back).

I'm learning about designers like Eames and Heywood Wakefield that shaped and influenced the style, but B and I are both clear on one thing... the house will not define us... we will define the house. It is not about replicating the 50's. It's about blending the style of the house with our own likes. But MCM is such a broad style that this will be easy to do.




I heart the above lamps. :)




Innovation in chair design seems central to MCM. This is called a "Barcelona Chair" ... it's from a $tore called "Design Within Reach." This store is not really about affordable design. I love love love the butterscotch color on this chair. It would fit our palette perfectly.

A good friend has taught us a lot about what a MCM home is all about. Furniture is often low to the ground, like the above couch. It really flatters the lines of a room.


When in Palm Springs a few weeks ago (where MCM not only thrives, but flourishes... to say it's ubiquitous is an understatement), and we found the Shag store. Shag (artist JoSH AGle) captures the hipstery beatnik Euro vibe in his paintings... it's all about fun and spotlighting the MCM style. We can finally buy a Shag print and actually have it look appropriate to our home.


Pay close attention to the furniture in Shag's art.. the epitome of MCM.


This is a "marshmallow couch." We were all about getting one for our home... it would fit perfectly, and is a lot of fun. Then I sat on one SO UNCOMFORTABLE. Not for us.





Shame about this couch. It's just fun.



MCM is chockablock with credenzas. A lot of fun designs. There are warehousey furniture stores here in LA with rooms full of credenzas like the one above... so much variety to choose from.


However... when a room has paneling and all wood furniture, I begin to feel claustrophobic and my childhood starts to stalk me. So I don't think we'll have a lot of (ie...) Heywood Wakefield. Just pieces here and there. Too much wood and it starts to feel oppressively nostalgic and a bit dreary.

We will keep a fun variety. More eclectic... not too cold, not too googie....



So many chairs to choose from...



And if I find a purple couch for my office.... I'll be a happy camper. Or maybe some nice white leather chairs to accent the aqua walls :)



This coffee table with under-magazine rack is kinda fun. I wonder if our kitties would like sleeping on it?


I took this in Palm Springs at a fun shop. The patterns can be a lot of fun to play with, on fabric and wall hangings etc.


So, we'll be doing some bargain shopping, and more visits to Palm Springs. And I'll be posting photos of the fun things we find, whether we buy them or not.

Maybe I'll make a game of it... and post a bunch of pix, and you guys will have to guess which item we bought? :) I'm looking forward to finding one piece at a time.

An adventure begins. :)



~Shephard :)
posted by Shephard @
1:30 PM |

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