Project: McGuire bench

I've been wanting a bench to put in our entryway, but I'm not ready to spring for a Nelson bench, which is what I'd eventually like to have. I mentioned that to my former SIL the other day when he came to pick up the boys, and he said he had just the bargain for me.

He picked up a McGuire bench at an estate sale, thinking he'd do something with it. Like so many of us, though, he never found the time, so he said he'd sell it to me for $50...and even give me the fabric to reupholster it. Who can resist a deal like that?

Granted, it's in pretty rough condition, but a piece of high density foam and a piece of MDF to replace the sagging seat will get the piece back in sound structural condition. The rest is purely cosmetic.

Estate sale photo of McGuire bench

Although I usually don't paint furniture, I think this time I will, since it will be in an area with several different wood colors, and I don't want to add another. I'm considering a dark charcoal chalk paint, waxed to a soft sheen, with light gray upholstery. A couple of colorful pillows ought to add just the right amount of pizzazz.

Incidentally, the McGuire Furniture Company was founded in 1948 by John and Elinor McGuire and produced high quality rattan and wood furniture for both indoors and outdoors. The company is still in business today.

John and Elinor McGuire

Fun with rocks

You're probably thinking I need to make more friends if my main source of fun is rocks, but my social life isn't quite as bad as it sounds.

I ran across some crafty ideas on Pinterest, and my grandsons wanted to try them. River rocks, both painted and unpainted, make simple and interesting accessories in a modern home. To paint them, all you need is a small brush for the large surfaces, some inexpensive acrylic paint, a paint pen for the fine detail work, some large river rocks, and your imagination. (Luckily, all we had to do was grab some rocks from the front of our house and rummage through my craft supplies.)

You don't have to come up with an elaborate design. Just pick up a brush or a pen and doodle. They don't have to be perfect. That's what makes them fun!

The boys chose these designs for their mom's bedroom.

Here's a close-up of the ones shown in the atrium post

Counter stool hack

What happens when you take a garden variety Craigslist counter stool, disassemble it, and give it a sleek new identity? Take a look.

Before...the ho-hum espresso counter stool

Take away everything but the three-button seat, add some hairpin legs, and here's what you get...a streamlined little bench with far more personality.

Modern look for a previously unremarkable stool

MCM stencils

Feeling creative and want a little MCM whimsy in your home? I have just the thing for you.

A company called istencils has a collection of reasonably priced mid-century modern designs that will lend themselves to any number of fun projects. For $8.99, you can apply your favorite 20th century image to pillows, trays, vases, glasses...anything that will stand still long enough for you to paint it.

Here are just a few of the ideas they've come up with for using their products. The possibilities extend as far as your imagination.

Decanters stencil on a tray

Bullet Planters stencil on a cork board

Mobiles stencil on a vase

MCM  Rectangles stencil on a platter

Trio Fish stencil on a wooden box

Egg Chair stencil on a vase

Vitra Bird  stencil on a placemat

Boomerang stencil on a utensil holder

Witco World stencil on storage boxes

Brasilia 4 stencil on cork board

For the boys: New chairs and an updated table

Grandson #1 will be six years old in October, and Grandson #2 will be five in December. They had outgrown an IKEA table and chair set they'd had since toddlerhood, so it was time for some changes. Luckily the table legs were adjustable, but not so the chairs. Time for a DIY project and a new seating solution!

I chose classic white S-chairs, originally designed by Verner Panton in 1967, in a kid-sized knockoff version. Although I had always considered the original adult-size chairs very pleasing to the eye, I didn't expect them to be comfortable until I sat in one. Once I was sold on the comfort factor, they seemed perfect for the boys' art room. (In case you're wondering, the space was supposed to be a sunroom for adults, but the kiddos confiscated it.)

Before...too small, too babyish

After...just right

The table had red and blue plastic caps on the legs, and it was cute enough with the original chairs, but it was time for something a little jazzier, a little more grown up...and a lot more suited to existing decor.

vmarbella.net

So out came my magical white, black, turquoise and orange duct tape and and a roll of patterned washi tape (Japanese-style masking tape, in case you are among the uninitiated), and after about an hour of cutting and wrapping, the old table was transformed.

Sunroom takeover

Leg makeover

Tile transformation

I don't usually write about my DIY projects. I've spent most of my life painting, drawing and making things...but this isn't a DIY blog, and I usually leave posts of that nature to others. However, I occasionally toss together something simple with a tie-in to modernism that I think might be of interest to a few readers.

Back in 2011, I read a fascinating post on the Planner, Perimeter, Predictor, Paul McCobb blog about the Distinguished Designer series of tiles by Pomona Tile Manufacturing Company, which included tiles by designers George Nelson, Paul McCobb, Saul Bass, Paul Laszlo, Millard Sheets, Dorothy Liebes and Dong Kingman. These tiles were sold from 1957 through 1963.

I immediately hurried to eBay to see if I could find any for myself and was able to score these two Starspray tiles by Paul McCobb, which then sat in a drawer in my kitchen for two years, waiting for me to do something with them.

Pomona Starspray tiles by Paul McCobb

When my new apartment was finished, I had two small sections of 1" mosaic tile left over from my bathroom, and I hated to throw them away, so I stuck them in a closet, where they've sat for the past two months.

Leftover mosaic tile from my apartment construction

The other day, I decided it was time to put these odds and ends of tile to good use, so I turned them into trivets and refrigerator magnets. Sure, I know...not very exciting. But very much like paper towels, they're something most of us use, even though we generally hide them when we're taking photos of our homes.

I had some self-adhesive round felt pads already. All I needed to buy were some 1/2" neodymium rare earth magnets and some E6000 industrial strength adhesive.

Waxman heavy duty felt pads
amazon.com

Rare earth super magnets
amazon.com

E6000 adhesive
amazon.com

After a few dabs of glue and a few hours' drying time*, I had a great pair of mid-century trivets and a set of simple kitchen magnets that look right at home in a modern kitchen.

DIY trivets
I may eventually have wood frames made for them, but they work nicely for now.

DIY slate kitchen magnets
(The large handmade ceramic magnet depicts the Acme Oyster House in New Orleans.
It is part of a set of three, also including Cafe du Monde and a shotgun house,
that I bought from an artist at the French Market many years ago.)

It was such a simple project that it needs no instructions, but I will warn you that there's a reason the rare earth magnets are called "super magnets." I bought the ones that are 1/2" in diameter and 1/16" thick, and even the ones that small are hard to get apart. The best method is to slide them apart, not pull. And keep a fair amount of distance between them on your table, because they will attract each other and jump all over your work surface if you let them. Their extra-strong magnetism is the reason you will want to use industrial strength adhesive too. Otherwise, when you try to pull them off your refrigerator, the decorative tile will pop right off, leaving a bare magnet on the door.

This was one of those "five minutes, tops" projects that I like so much, because I'm a sucker for instant gratification. Maybe it will give you some ideas for projects using leftover tile from your last remodel.

*After drying for less than 2 hours, the tile stayed on the magnet when I pulled it off metal. However, the product instructions recommend 24-72 hours' drying time for maximum adhesion.

DIY digression

As most of you know, I very rarely write about DIY projects on this blog. It's not that I'm uncrafty. In fact, I'm reasonably handy with tools and art supplies, and a few people have suggested that I start another blog about my DIY projects. As busy as I stay writing about all things mid-century for this blog, that's not likely to happen, so I usually just pin photos of my projects on Pinterest.

However, not long ago I featured air plants in another post about plants that look good in mid-century homes. These plants range in size from 1/2" in diameter to the fairly rare 10-12" size. While planters and pots from the 1950s and 1960s for the larger plants are relatively easy to find, locating miniature pots and planters from that era can be next to impossible. That's when it helps to have an Etsy account...or to be crafty.

A month or so ago, I discovered a polymer clay that can be fired in the kitchen oven, and I'm hooked. If you drop by my house, I'm more likely to be baking clay than a cake. The kind I've used for my projects so far is Premo! Sculpey®. It is available in an extensive palette of saturated colors, a number of which are perfect for a mid-century home, such as Rhino Gray, Spanish Olive, Blush, Wasabi, Black, Orange, Turquoise, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, as well as several metallic and pearl colors. I chose white for its stark simplicity, which I think always looks good with modern design.

It's easy to work with, it doesn't dry out when stored, and it bakes firm but retains enough flexibility so that it's not fragile. It's also inexpensive and readily available at local hobby stores or online.

Premo! Sculpey®
sculptclayandtools.com

Color chart
bijoux-sucres.com

Metallic colors
hancockfabrics.com

Pearl colors
amazon.com

You don't need special tools to work with this clay. A regular kitchen rolling pin, an X-Acto™ knife or improvised cutters work well. I used the metal cap of a Lampe Berger and a much smaller plastic cap from an eyeliner as cutters for a plant hanger project. Many pieces, such as the mini pots, can be shaped by hand without using tools at all.   Here are a few of my recent projects.

DIY miniature pots for 2" plants

Close-up of  my DIY miniature wall pocket

Close-up of my DIY wall hanger

Populuxe Books

For you do-it-yourselfers out there, I ran across the Populuxe Books Example Library and list of books for purchase.  Brian and Vanessa find books from the 1950s, 60s and 70s...some obscure/out of print and some well-known... and make them available on their web site and on eBay. They describe themselves as the home for vintage design and décor information.

If you want to renovate or build a mid-century home, they have authentic plans from the era.  Their books also give you detailed plans for building MCM furniture, information about period decorating and directions for mid-century gardening and landscaping.

Here are a few pages on DIY furniture building from their Example Library:

Free form coffee table
populuxe.com

Egg crate coffee table
populuxe.com

Slat top coffee table
populuxe.com

Fiberglass chair
populuxe.com