MCM Facebook This Week – July 30th, 2015

Carol London posted photos of her incredible, enviable home recently and it is a showstopper. If a designer presented you with an idea board and on it were yellow, black, and white with large print wallpaper and fabrics you might, quite understandably, have some trepidation. But these bold choices work incredibly well here and the reason they work is scale and balance with yellow being used only as an accent. It’s great seeing people use bold fabrics and prints and Carol has created a home that is an eclectic and effective mix of Modern styles. And more than being beautiful what’s been accomplished is a home that looks inviting, comfortable, and very livable. Thank you for sharing your photos Carol! Click here for original Facebook post.

Christopher Wang posted this lovely LCM chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1946, which has been in continuous production since. The striking Santos rosewood figuring on this chair makes it standout and it pretty much exemplifies timeless design. That’s all very well and good but it’s the composition of this photo is that caught my eye. The painting, chair, and the angle makes this image quite appealing and demonstrates quite nicely that you can mix contemporary with classic. When you enter a collector’s home you immediately get an impression of that individual, and here it’s a snapshot that’s giving us an impression of Christopher – that he is a man of good taste. Thanks for sharing Christopher! Click here for original Facebook post

Dennis L. Everson has posted several photos of his lovely home, and impressive Paul McCobb collection, to the group these past few years. Recently he posted this vanity mirror designed by McCobb for Bryce Originals in 1953. McCobb’s designs are often quite minimal and these wrought iron pieces almost look like line drawings there are so spare. But outlined in thin metal and perfectly placed birch accents it is an exercise in volume without mass and making a design work so well with so few elements is what I find tremendously appealing about it. Thanks for all the eye candy you’ve posted to the group Dennis! Check out this short video of Dennis’ home here. Click here for original Facebook post.

This is just so right. Katuya posted this photo of his lovely home in Atsugi, Japan which he called, “Nordic World in Japan” and it sure is. The placement and display of the items are as beautiful as the items themselves. The Alvar Aalto shelf, desk, and stacking stools, the Hans Wegner ‘CH07’ shell chair, and the beautifully weathered stool by Ilmari Tapiovaara work so beautifully in this space that shows, in my opinion, just enough. First the eye is drawn to the bright red shell chair then is allowed to travel and find pops of color here and there and what might look to be a stark white room becomes a wonderfully orchestrated arrangement in modern design with a Nordic flavor. Fabulous and thanks for sharing Katuya! Click here for original Facebook post.

You know that feeling when you put a pair of pants or coat that you haven’t worn in a while and find a 20 in the pocket, it’s not a bad way to start the day. Well image that times 500. Greg Jones posted this sideboard and it lands firmly on the list of items that have been posted to the MCM group that I am truly envious of. This is not something that comes up very often in the wild – a Finn Juhl-designed sideboard manufactured by Niels Vodder in the 1950’s and it is without a doubt one of the nicest of Juhl’s designs. Two large tambour, adjustable drawers, and those delicate floating legs make this a stellar find Greg. Thanks for sharing! Click here for original Facebook post.

Greg Thorne posted this wonderful photo of his first generation Womb chair and ottoman designed by Eero Saarinen in 1946. I see this photo and wonder if those great designers ever thought that they were creating some of the most enduring designs ever. I run into folks all the time who are not fans of Modern and when I ask them what they like the responses seems to boil down to not so much what they like as what’s familiar to them. I call it parental taste culture – they surround themselves with furniture they would have seen growing up, or at least that which is familiar to them. This is not a judgement but merely stated to illustrate another aspect of Modern design I like – it’s original and generally copies no other style. In the few centuries leading up to this chair most design was ‘neo’ (Neo-Gothic for instance) and ‘revivalist’ (all Victorian stuff) and took its visual cues from what had happened before. When Saarinen designed this chair it was entirely new and original and, 70 years on, it still is. Thanks for the photo Greg and for the edification! Click here for original Facebook post.

A space only needs a few elements to work and the right choices to make it Modern. And that is what Tanya Kolb has done here with her lovely post showing the dining area of her home. And it’s the elements of this room that work – the re-purposed bookcase in the background, the Eames shell chairs, and, quite wonderfully, the unmatched trio of lights hanging above it all. It doesn’t take much to make it work and when I look at this I see an intimate dining area that’s not about the grand banquet but an honest room where good food and good wine are enjoyed. This is a table for friends. That and the cute pooches and we have a winning space. Click here for original Facebook post.

These have always been among my favorites. Michael Merisola posted photos of these ‘Bouloum’ chaises designed by Olivier Mourgue in 1968. They are clearly not to everyone’s taste (nothing is) coming from a school of design that took hold in France in the 1960’s when everything became biomorphic. But I have a soft spot for them. When I was at university these – quite well worn by then – were used as reading chairs in one of the corners of the library and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen asleep in one! The ‘Bouloum’ chaises are fun and comfortable (although some folks find them a bit creepy) and strong enough to endure decades around university students. Most people probably know the designer’s more famous ‘Djinn’ as it was the red furniture in the space hotel in 2001, A Space Odyssey. Thanks for the post, and for reminding me of my university days Michael! Click here for original Facebook post.

This post is actually over a year old but it did only just catch my eye this week. Every collector suffers from one condition – and that is the desire to display everything. We invest a great deal of time and money hunting and acquiring so why wouldn’t we want the rewards of our efforts out for all to see. But every collector eventually concedes it is not possible. But we focus perhaps too much on what to display and not enough on how to display it. Mariana Garcia Katz knows how to display and done so in amanner that allows the viewer savor each piece. We look at this and are not overwhelmed by volume and – even though there is quite a lot of these shelves – the eye can travel from object to object and appreciate each item. However, and this is one of two things I like best about this, it can also be view as a whole, a fabulous 3D painting whose palette is select vintage objects. The other thing I like best about it these shelves were made by her father. Thanks for sharing Mariana! Click here for original Facebook post.

If there is an item that people seem to be almost universally crazy about it would have to be these German-made, multi-tiered plant stands. Made in Germany in the 1950’s and 1960’s they and exported world-wide and were enormously popular, particularly in the United States. Samantha Blair shared this photo of her plant stand and I’m always pleased when people use items for things other than there intended purpose. These are perfect for displaying those small objects you have in the collection. In fact, often when there are used just for plants the thing gets lost behind the greenery so this is a better way to use one. Also it makes for a great MCM cat port. Thanks for sharing Samantha! See some of the variety of German plant stands here. Click here for original Facebook post.