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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Drop-dead dropfront

In with the new-vintage, and out with the old-vintage. That's been my minimalist mantra ever since I moved into this house and started buying mid-century pieces. I try to maintain "zero clutter growth" when I buy new things by storing or selling the old items instead of simply moving them over to make way for new pieces...well, most of the time.

When my SIL bought the great teak tea cart I posted about yesterday, he picked up this teak dropfront desk for me too. I already had a dropfront desk that had belonged to my mother when she was a girl in the 1930s, and while it had sentimental value, it was somewhat of a misfit in my house. It was time for mom's desk to have a new place to reside. My daughter insisted that it stay in the family, so she's taking it home with her, which is the perfect solution.

Now the new is in and the old is gone...but it's still close enough that I can visit it whenever I miss it.

This desk was manufactured in England by Remploy Ltd., short for "re-employ." The company was founded in 1945 to employ people with disabilities, primarily injured miners and people wounded during the Second World War. While Remploy specializes in school furniture today, in the late 40s and the 50s they produced a line for the home which included living room and bedroom furniture, taking part in the U. K.'s design revolution that was replacing the ornate and traditional pre-war home furnishings with a sleek, contemporary style.

Remploy teak dropfront writing desk (with a Jenn Ski print above it)
Interior of Remploy teak writing desk with multiple pigeon holes
and black vinyl writing pad attached with brass corner pieces
Close-up of interior pigeon holes with part of my vintage pewter collection
and one of my favorite small pieces of studio pottery on top of desk

12 comments:

  1. Mmmm Mmmm mmm you have the best wood furniture. Love that warm rich honey color, very much like the tea cart you pictured.

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  2. That is a gorgeous desk. It's minimal design makes a statement and of course it looks great with the Jenn Ski above and your pewter inside. I'm happy your Mom's desk is going to your daughter's home.

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  3. I love it! Great styling too. Your pieces seem to have been made for it.

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  4. @1950sarh: My SIL picked them up at the same time. I didn't turn the tea cart upside down to check for a label, darn it, so I don't know if the same company made it. Maybe I can talk Joe into getting on the floor and check. I'm sure not going to. Getting back up is too much work. :/

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  5. @Krazy4Mod: Thanks...and I agree that it's great my daughter is taking it. I would have felt guilty moving it out to the workshop, and I know I couldn't have sold it.

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  6. @Tanya: The vertical cubbies are taller than in the old desk, so I may have to look for a few larger vases, but I like the way the flat items look, for sure.

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  7. YOU ARE KILLING ME HERE!! I wish you would come and style my house!!

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  8. @Barbara: I honestly like decorating more than I do collecting. (It's a close call, but I have to be honest. Decorating wins by a nose.) My SIL and I are about to open a store, and I can't wait to start arranging the furniture and accessories. That will be my job, along with keeping the books and maintaining the website. He's doing all the heavy lifting and providing the start-up capital. :)

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  9. Gorgeous! Look at all those storage cubbies! Happy to hear your Mom's desk stayed it the family - I love that.

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  10. @Rhan Vintage: My daughter tells me all the time that I'm terribly unsentimental, but that's really not true. Some of my earliest childhood memories involve this desk, and I couldn't bear to see it leave the family.

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  11. Love, love, love it! Those cubbies are my favorite part.

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  12. @monogirl: How can anyone resist cubbies??? That's my favorite part too.

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