MCM Facebook This Week – September 11, 2015

What a fabulous design mélange found in the home of Chris Witzke shown in this photo of a relaxed and welcoming front room. It is not an easy trick to put pieces together and make them work. In fact it takes skill, both natural and studied, to pull a room together and making it both attractive and functional. However, there is the approach of just putting a few things together that speak to the heart of the owner. Chris is not only a fan of music but also a musician and it is not just the guitar and record collection that lets us in on this fact; it is also the harmony of this beautifully orchestrated room. Anyway, at the risk of over stretching the metaphor I’ll end this by saying brilliant home, Chris, and thank you for sharing! Click here for the original post.

Herney Gallego posted this photo of his lovely home and it’s another great example of making an eclectic mix work well. We do not live our lives in a bubble. We travel, explore, pop into strange, unknown shops and – if we’re a little more adventurous – wander down back alleys on ‘big item’ trash night looking for discarded treasure. My point is we brings things back to our homes that do not always fit inside lines of ‘pure’ design and more often than not our homes reflect that. Herney’s home shows a wonderful mix of styles that is still rooted in the Modernist aesthetic. The simple, clean pieces are accented nicely by the sculptural works and create a space that ‘tells a story’. Certainly (and this is a personal point) the star of the room is the Bond villain-esque ‘Edla’ chair, designed by Joe Colombo in 1963 with its perfectly worn leather. I have this chair and it’s great to see it working so well here. Thanks for sharing Herney! Click here for the original post.

This photo speaks not only to the timelessness of great modern design but also to its versatility. Tyler Merkel posted this Eames LCW chair he found for, as he put it, ‘a steal’. If one were to remove the chair from this photo we might be left to think that this is a ‘traditional’ home with class Eastern rug and potted plants. But the addition of the chair and it’s immediately a modern space. And that is the gift of Modernist design. It is easy to fill a space with period pieces and make it all work, often the result can be quite lovely. However, plop an overstuffed Victorian chair into a minimalist environment, for instance, and it almost never work. Modernism is different, however. Take a classic chair like Tyler’s here and put it into a room of traditional antiques and it will hold its own quite wonderfully. Unlike most periods of design and architecture Modernism is, to me, the most timeless and that is the one character that endures. Thank you for exemplifying this with your great chair Tyler! Click here for original post.

Everything about this chair posted by Tim Hills just seems wrong – and absolutely fabulous at the same time. Designed by Jerry Johnson in the 1960’s this peculiar sling chair, with its oddly splayed stance and seemingly undersized seat, might appear to be an example of a designer not knowing when to put the pencil down – in fact it is the ‘Homer’ of chairs. Again, did I mentioned how wonderful it is? This is one of those designs that fit into the ‘so ugly it’s beautiful’ category. Designers like Percival Lafer, Sergio Rodrigues, and Joe Colombo to name a few all have designs that just scream past the point of ‘aesthetics’ and land firmly in their own world of peerless originality. It’s a great chair and seems to be in a lovely room as well. Also, Tim got it for ten bucks! Thanks for sharing Tim! Click here for the original post.

Yes, this is how you do it. Everything about this chair posted by Stephanie Kelly is pure theatre. This Adrian Pearsall design, like many Pearsall designs, is style exaggeration. The chair, with it cartoonish (in a good way) elongated back and playful arms and stance, would have fallen victim to the ‘Neutralizers’ of the world had it not be for Stephanie. I’ve often posted in these Digest roundups pieces of furniture where the owner’s chose bold but appropriate fabrics to redo them in. Chairs like this were meant to be fun, forward thinking, and a reflection of the optimistic times in which they were made, and the upholstery choice should be a statement that also reflects this, and grey does not cut it. That is not to say that grey does not work in all cases. It can look marvelous on a Florence Knoll chair or George Nelson sofa but in this case, no. Great chair Stephanie and thanks for sharing! Click here for the original post.

A classic designed from a visionary of Danish modern is what Jay Ewing picked up for himself with this ‘Cone’ chair designed by Verner Panton and first produced by Plus-Linje, of Denmark in 1958. Jay also got himself one of Carlo Nason’s glass floor lamps produced by Mazzega in the 1960’s. This post stirred some debate in the MCM Facebook group (I know, shocking) as to whether or not the cone chair was authentic or a reproduction. I’m leaning authentic personally. The chair does have the later issue black caps on its feet (earlier ones have a white / translucent disks) but the front long stitch makes me think genuine. At any rate the debate over real versus repro will always be an issue in the world of collecting. Personally, I prefer real as it’s not only the ‘look’ I like but also about a piece’s history as well. A wooden chair arm rubbed shiny and smooth by countless hands over the decades speaks to me. However, ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ may resonate with others. Anyway, great chair and lamp Jay and thank you for sharing. Click here for the original post.

Now this is a period style room with most of the elements being Modernist pieces. In fact, one could transpose this image in a design magazine from 1965 and it would look not look at all out of place. I often see collector’s homes where all the pieces match nicely and everything is displayed in a ‘just enough’, precise fashion. These room are quite lovely in fact but they often miss a bit of character. Meghan got it right here however. In a predominantly neutral room, with very high ceilings, vibrant color is not only used as counter point but a wonderful anchor for the space. The red club chairs underscore nicely the large windows and with the cushions and green console(?) the room is framed wonderfully. Nicely done Meghan and thank you for sharing! Click here for original post.

I love the eclecticism of Julee Taylor’s home. Now I know there are a lot of you that may lean a bit on the purist side of things and might find this a bit ‘mixed’ for your taste, and that is fine. But, that being said, there’s the other side of the same coin as in this fantastic space. There is so much to consider is this room and in trying to come up with descriptor for it one word pops into my head – opposites. Consider the ‘opposing’ style of the two sofa facing each other. Consider also the armchairs of opposing styles and the ornate dining table and table and lamp coupled with the simpler, modern chairs and accessories. These elements work in opposition but at the same time used judiciously to also create balance. A clever trick here that should be pointed out is the placement of the deer head. Ordinarily that would be a less than ideal location for it but it brings the eye from it to the rather opulent chandelier, again, creating balance. Wonderful space Julee and thank you for sharing! Click here for the original post.

Okay, taking a step back because this is almost overwhelming. Jim Heffener is a man who like glass – a lot. Shown here is just some of his astonishing collection of colorful glassware. Some MCM glass pieces can be rather expensive but much of it is relatively affordable making it easy to collect without breaking the bank. However, that being said, there is a fortune in glassware in Jim’s home and it shows a man definitely dedicated to his hobby. I have to say though, this much of anything can look a bit too much in any home but it is very well displayed and, in this case, creates a vibrant art wall. I also like that even the lamp to the right of the photo is made from glass. Thank you for sharing Jim! Click here for the original post.

I’ve often said it’s easy to get a boat load of ‘likes’ in the MCM Facebook group – just post a piece of Broyhill’s Brasilia line. Introduced in 1962, and inspired by the architectural features found in some of the Oscar Niemeyer-designed buildings of Brazil’s new capital city Brasilia, these pieces were an immediate success and found in many American homes through the 1960’s. While not exactly rare the Brasilia pieces are very sought after by collectors today not only for their unique looks but also because these pieces are exceptionally well made. So it’s not surprising when someone posts a Brasilia piece that it’s quite popular with the group. However, when someone posts a Brasilia sideboard and hutch with a large ‘Free’ tag on it – as Amy Hartman did – well it almost breaks the internet. Hands down one the most ‘liked’ posts (if not the most ‘liked’) ever in the group which means there are nearly 2700 members very envious (perhaps jealous) of Amy for her very lucky find! Thanks for sharing! Click here for the original post.