MCM Facebook This Week – July 7th, 2015

This is not the first time Kevin B. Wagner has been featured in the MCM Digest. Many are familiar with Kevin’s home and it is not surprising that such a nice house is occupied by a nice person! The story goes that recently a young, Austrian couple showed up at Kevin’s door – she an architecture student and he an electrician. The young architecture student was writing about Kevin’s friend architect Bob Beharka (designer of his home) and Frank Lloyd Wright. At her professor’s suggestion, and unbeknownst to Kevin, they showed up and asked if it were possible to tour some of Beharka and Wright’s work. For the next three hours Kevin took them to several Wright and Beharka-designed homes (even getting a tour of one) and later shared his photos. Kevin was so generous with his time, resources, and information to who were essentially strangers that happened upon his doorstep that how could I not laud him for his kindness. That was incredibly nice of you Kevin!

It’s about re-purposing this week! Plastolux Modern found this very nice tile-topped table, and lacking the space for it, did the clever (and as mentioned elsewhere this week) designer thing by mounting the top to a wall to create a wonderful mosaic art piece. Imagine the space shown in this photo without the table top wall art. Yes, in the background you still see the very nice things of a well-curated collection, but the addition of the table top on the wall creates a very effective and attractive accent that really works beautifully here. Even the circular rug under the table in the background is given renewed purpose and intent with the addition of the table top. Perhaps one of the best ‘lessons’ posted this week (any week for that matter). Thanks for sharing Plastolux!

One of the key challenges of interior design is defining a space. This can be done any number of ways – with objects like room dividers and shelves, or less physically with rugs and furniture placement. William T. Keating did something that surprisingly few people consider. Often when we are dealing with wall art we rarely see past it having to fit on a wall; we are often stuck within the parameters of its intended purpose. All good designers think past intention and that’s what William has done here. He has taken wall art out of its conventional two dimensional confines and made into a divider of three dimensional space. The effect is a very nice way of keeping the eye in the room which helps us notice some lovely items like the Mason jar re-purposed as a stand and the Majestic lamp. Nice job William!

David Skelley has posted photos of his lovely home and collection before and they are always well-received. With a collection of any kind you have two choices when it comes to decorating – either use as much as possible in a room, wherein the individual pieces often get lost in the mix. Or you choose a few select, definitively personal items with which to make a statement. From a design standpoint it is always best to go with the latter as filling the room can create a rather chaotic environment. However, what David had managed to do here is to use quite a lot of his personal collection in one room without each piece being lost. It’s quite a trick. In fact, there is an incredible balance of color and space in this room despite its relatively small scale. The effect is a wonderfully inviting space. The cat, however, as is the wont of most cats, seems relatively unimpressed.

April Engstrom posted this photo of an Acrosonic piano at her grandmothers. A piano, whether upright or grand, has not been toyed with much by designers, in fact, it would seem that piano design has been stuck in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although, in fairness, basic mechanics and acoustics are overriding factors in piano design. So it was a delight to see this modern upright model. Made from what looks to be teak with cane accents and a line that is pure Danish Modern influence (those are some lovely legs!) one cannot help but wonder why there aren’t more examples of Mid-Century Modern pianos. Thank you for sharing April and I do hope this wonderful piano stays in the family!

Shaun Feliciano posted this photo of an old Grand Dame of American culture, the drive-in theater – the Ford Wyoming Drive-In Theater to be exact. As is so often the case when someone posts an old piece of architectural Americana like this, I assume the building is either abandoned or at least in disuse. So it was a pleasant surprise to read that it is still very much in operation and with the added tag line of ‘date night’, well, what’s not to like about this post. While some people choose to gloss over American car culture as nostalgia, there is no denying it is an important and vibrant part of the country’s history. And in the case of Shaun and his date, it’s happily a part of their present. Oh yeah, hope you both had a fun date!

So many amazing homes get posted to the group every day and this one is no exception. Matt Goad posted this photo of his home and some of his wonderful collection. The home, designed by Oklahoma Architect John Bozalis in 1954, showcases classic Mid Century Modern pieces like the Eames lounge, Nelson slat bench, and a lovely (and perfectly scaled) ceramic collection. However it may be the vintage Honda motorcycle that steals the show in this room. Needless to say not a lot of designers are faced with the challenge of incorporating a classic motorbike into a design but I find it works quite well here. Great place Matt! Photo: Cary Holton

Trinh Nguyen posted this photo of a trio of George Nelson bubble lamps and lovely ceramic clock with the caption, “Walking down the stairs puts a smile on my face”. And that in a nutshell is the single best reason to collect anything. There are those who collect in the hopes that the items they acquire will increase in value to be sold later at a profit. Certainly no harm in that. There are those who collect simply to have ‘one of every color’, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But to collect, use, and live with something that makes you smile everyday, well that might be the best reason of all. Thanks for the reminder Trinh!

Ordinarily I like to keep these about an item or space that belongs to the person posting but in this will be an exception. New York City handyman (not a phrase I type often) John Michael Zuerlein posted a few photos about his client’s wonderful copper ‘Artichoke’ lamp. While I’ve posted several photos of this lamp none of them come close to the ‘experience’ (for lack of a better word) of this lamp than John’s photos. In his post we get the proper scale of Poul Henningsen’s ‘Artichoke’ lamp, the intricacy of its construction, and even the surprising weight of it – it’s quite heavy. It was a great post that was not necessarily about the info but about the lamp itself. And it may be his one day and he did remind his client that if they failed to find a place for he’d be happy to take it off their hands. I do hope you get the Artichoke John! Thanks for sharing.

They say that folks will choose pets that look like themselves. I certainly know a few people that look like their dogs (or perhaps it’s the other way around). But it may also be true about the MCM we collect, even if subconsciously, and maybe that’s the case with Cassie Edmonds. Here we see Cassie’s striking Oriental Shorthair cat Ethel posing alongside an Adrian Pearsall lounge. The resemblance cannot go unnoticed. One thing is certain, however, both Ethel and the chair are distinctly MCM. At any rate, both Ethel and Cassie know a good chair! Thanks for sharing Cassie!