Turkey time...with tulips

Turkey and pumpkin pie may be in the air, but the store is full of tulips...Eero Saarinen tulips by Knoll, to be precise. These early examples of the iconic Saarinen designs are in unbelievably good condition for their age.

The table is a rare 54" version, so some lucky buyer could be eating a huge Thanksgiving dinner in style.

Early 54" tulip table by Eero Saarinen for Knoll

Early tulip chairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll

In the store: Surfaces and seating

Lately we've been buying quite a bit of new inventory, but most of it has been project pieces that are either being restored now or are in line to be refinished or reupholstered, so I haven't posted pictures in a while. We finally picked up a few things that didn't need restoration and went straight to the floor.

Just yesterday morning my SIL picked up this Knoll Cyclone table by Isamu Noguchi. It's a real beauty in excellent original condition which had been used in the break room at a local doctor's office for decades.

Knoll Cyclone table by Isamu Noguchi

Here's a great little Danish tea cart in teak that will soon have new casters. The top lifts off to be used as a tray. I had one similar to this before I got my larger glass-topped one, and I loved it. Whoever gets this one will have a little gem.

Teak tea cart with removable tray

These Danish cane-backed chairs are in great condition. I love the angled backs. If these were mine, I'd reupholster the seats in a heavy, nubby fabric and then put some sort of low, eye-catching table between them.

Danish cane-backed chairs

This is a very early Knoll Tulip table by Eero Saarinen. It has some edge wear, but at the moment we're not planning to have it refinished. This is the type piece some serious collectors prefer in original condition, so we'll probably leave the restoration decisions to the buyer.

Early Knoll Tulip table by Eero Saarinen

Paul McCobb lovers will recognize this Planner Group desk and chair immediately. The iconic pair will probably be sold quickly, as they are in high demand.

Planner Group desk and chair by Paul McCobb

The  pièce de résistance is this huge Royal System wall unit by Poul Cadovius. This baby is massive and takes up a huge section of wall in the store. It was bought in Denmark in the 1960s by a friend of my SIL's family.

Royal System wall unit by Poul Cadovius

In the store: A little old, a little new, a lot fabulous

For the past couple of months, we've been clearing out all our merchandise at the old location and stocking the new store. My SIL has made some stellar purchases, and Hank Tosh and Rene Martinez deserve a huge round of applause for the incredible restoration work they've done on a steady stream of pieces.

I could talk about all the new things for paragraphs on end, but I think I will let them speak for themselves.

Floor piece from the C. Jeré Birds in Flight series...over six feet tall

Need I say more?

Rare John Keal mahogany magazine table for Brown Saltman

Four beautifully reupholstered Saarinen Executive chairs and a black Tulip table

Grete Jalk sofa and coffee table with Raymor and Jens Quistgaard accessories
with a Gus* Modern Timber table and George Nelson cigar  lamp

Vintage cork and teak lamp on a Drexel Declaration table by Kipp Stewart
teamed with a Gus* Modern Atwood chair

Vintage black and white Fisher stereo with Gus* Modern I-Beam acrylic tables

Newly restored Danish credenza with sculpture by Oklahoma artist David Anderson

Gus* Modern Annex cabinet with vintage art glass bowl

Vintage X-base chrome coffee table with Gus* Modern sofa,
Dino Martens bird and vintage Austrian triangular bowl

Artichoke style lamp

Crystal Starlite lamp

Sheaf of Wheat side table with travertine marble top

 Vintage sofa with pristine original upholstery by the Valentine Seaver division of Kroehler
and a newly restored Drexel Precedent desk by Edward Wormley in the background

Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) was born in Finland and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1923. He was the son of internationally famous architect Eliel Saarinen. His mother was a textile designer and sculptor, and his sister was a designer and interior decorator.

Eliel Saarinen designed the Cranbrook campus outside Detroit, Michigan, but the entire family worked on the project. Cranbrook would remain a major influence on Eero's career, serving as a model of artistic collaboration and the concept of "total environment," which encompassed landscape, buildings, furnishings and decorative objects.

During the 1930s and 1940s Saarinen helped bring modern design to the mainstream of America. He collaborated with his father and with partners such as Charles Eames and Ralph Rapson, creating winning designs for furniture and architecture.

In 1937 he designed the Combined Living-Dining Room-Study project for Architectural Forum an during World War II, he worked on projects to develop housing prototypes for returning veterans and their families. Two of his best known residential designs are the Case Study House #9 with Charles Eames, better known as the Entenza House, and the Miller House, designed in 1957, which is a brilliant example of Saarinen's "total environment."

Saarinen's commercial works include the General Motors Technical Center, the United States Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, better known as the Gateway Arch, New York's Trans World Airlines Terminal and the Dulles International Airport Terminal outside Washington, D.C. Saarinen pioneered the use of self-rusting Cor-ten steel and designed the first mirror glass curtain wall, as well as the concept of the corporate campus.

Saarinen designed furniture throughout his entire career, exploring new materials, innovative construction techniques and sculptural forms. In 1940 he and Charles Eames won first prizes in the Museum of Modern Art's Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition, laying the foundation for his later designs for Knoll Associates. His Womb chair and Pedestal series of chairs and tables have become icons of mid-century design.

From eerosaarinen.net

Case Study House #9 - Entenza House
dailyicon.com

Miller House
archdaily.com

Tulip table from Pedestal series
classicdesigns.it

Tulip chairs from Pedestal series
knoll.com

Womb chair
brooklynmuseum.org

Grasshopper chair and ottoman
1stdibs.com

Dulles International
greatbuildings.com

Gateway Arch, St. Louis
artcyclopedia.com

The delightful agony of craigslist

My friends would tell you I’m about as mentally healthy a person as they know, but I have to confess a secret they haven't guessed.  There’s a tiny masochist in me that comes out and sits on my shoulder and makes me look at all the fantastic mid-century items on craigslist around the country…things that are too far away and too expensive to have shipped to Texas...things that other people can have, but I can't. 

Since misery loves company, I’m going to share these finds with you.  If you’re lucky, I might have uncovered something near you.  If not, you’ll suffer right along with me.  And just to be sure, I’m going to include some items from the Dallas-Fort Worth area that I can get to. 

Read 'em and weep. :)

Broyhill Brasilia bookcase
Seattle craigslist

Eero Saarinen marble tulip table
Nashville craigslist

Paul McCobb Planner Group chairs
Denver craigslist

Mies Brno chairs
Philadelphia craigslist

Edward Wormley Drexel Precedent chest
(This piece is being sold by a dealer
 I've bought from so often that I consider him a friend  now.)
Dallas craiglist

Warren Platner lounge set
(So near, and yet so far...
This set is just a few streets from me in my own neighborhood...
but the seller wants over $15,000 for the set.)
Fort Worth craigslist

 Adrian Pearsall chair
(Still out of reach, unless I put it on layaway...
The asking price is $2500 for this chair.)
Dallas craigslist