Barcelona, Barcelona

The other day my SIL came home with a black Barcelona chair and ottoman. While it isn't a Knoll chair, it is a very old Italian chair, probably from the 1960s, as evidenced by the flathead screws and the old label.

Italian leather Barcelona style chair and ottoman

The next day he picked up a gorgeous Knoll version in white. This one has the Knoll signature stainless steel frame.

Knoll Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe

Google Doodles...gotta love 'em

It's a little past midnight as I write this post, and the March 27 Google Doodle honoring of the 126th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe has gone on to the Big Google Doodle Archive in the Sky. It was the subject of a number of blog entries yesterday, but I believe that it...along with other Google Doodles of interest to mid-century mavens...deserves one more look.

Mies van der Rohe Doodle
google.com

Usually Google Doodles involving mid-century design/culture take me by surprise. Even though I do many biographical posts, remembering birthdays is not my strong suit. To be honest, I do well to remember the birthdays of my immediate family. So, no, I'm not waiting with bated breath to see what Google is going to come up with in honor of the next designer's birthday. 

Instead, what alerts me is unusual activity on my blog. Yesterday when I woke up and did the obligatory check of email and the blog, I found that I had received almost 2,000 hits since going to bed a few hours earlier. The final tally for the day was over 6,000 hits. 

I'm a little slow on the uptake, so I was puzzled until I started reading posts from my favorite fellow bloggers. After seeing several nods to the Google Doodle, the reason for the spike in hits was clear. This has happened a couple of times before...first when the Alexander Calder Doodle appeared, causing an incredible 17,000+ spike of my blog hits, and again the day the Marimekko Doodles ran, with a much smaller but still noticeable spike.

Calder 113th Birthday Doodle
google.com

Marimekko First Day of Spring Doodle
google.com

Marimekko First Day of Fall Doodle
google.com

Don't get me wrong. I'm not all about the numbers. The Google Doodles have an intrinsic coolness that can't be denied.  Take, for instance, the interactive Doodles. You can watch a clip of I Love Lucy on the Doodle commemorating Lucille Ball's 100th birthday. Or you can record a tune on the Les Paul Doodle celebrating the guitar virtuoso's 96th birthday. Or you can even play PAC-MAN on the Doodle honoring the game's 30th anniversary.

But let's be honest. In the blogosphere, as well as in other social media, we love anything that drives traffic to our sites...and Google Doodles definitely do that. That makes them extra cool in my book.

Defining "mid-century"

Jonathan Goldstein of Planner, Perimeter, Predictor, Paul McCobb (an expert on the design of McCobb, by the way) left a comment on the post about plinths and asked, to some extent playing the devil's advocate but nonetheless legitimately, "What is the definition of 'mid-century'?" I typed a quick (and somewhat half-baked) response, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the topic didn't need to be buried in the Comments section of an old post. I want to know what mid-century means to the rest of you. Here is the bulk of my response to Jonathan, along with some later thoughts/clarifications.

Great question, Jonathan. If you and I could answer that one today, we'd be famous, since so many before us have tried and failed to agree.

When I first became interested years ago, I thought mid-century meant 1950s and googie...hard to believe I was ever that green...but I daresay many of those "50 people on the street" (referencing the original post about plinths) might have just as narrow a view of the style as I did.

Today I tend to think of mid-century more in terms of a rejection of the superfluous ornamentation of "period" furniture in favor of clean lines, functionality and affordability...and a belief that less could definitely be more*. But then that would leave out Paul Evans, whom I consider a mid-century designer because of his work with Phillip Lloyd Powell, which is why I often include photos of his [highly ornamented] work done in the 70s. If I had to be pinned down on a time frame, I'd say 1930s through the mid-60s, but, on the front end, that leaves out [iconic] pieces like the Wassily and Basculant chairs [which were designed in the 1920s]. But, but, but. See I can't even agree with myself on a definition, and I'm starting to sound a lot like [Supreme Court] Justice Potter "I Know It When I See It" Stewart [in his famous opinion about pornography]. It's true though...mid-century to me is more about a feeling/mindset than a set of parameters, as obvious and lame a cop-out as that is. :)

I've effectively managed to erase the phrase "mid-century" from my vocabulary and substitute "modernist" or "vintage modern." That derives from the fact that I simply don't have the heart to leave out some of the work of designers like Alvar Aalto, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Russel Wright. I guess that's not unheard of, since Cara Greenberg, who is given credit for coining the phrase "mid-century modern" in her book Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s, included photos of designs from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.

My ending date for "mid-century" comes from memories of when styles in both clothing and furniture shifted to the "mod" designs of the late-60s/early 70s, roughly from the time I graduated high school in 1966 till I finished college in 1970, a time that marked a huge social shift as well...and my own purchase in the early 70s of some of the Mediterranean-style furniture Jonathan mentioned. There are many pieces of furniture from the early 1960s (some Risom, Platner and Wegner pieces, for example) that I simply can't imagine putting into any category other than mid-century.

So now I'd like to hear how you define mid-century. It doesn't have to be long or involved (and my response proves it doesn't have to be brilliant or definitive either). Jonathan and I don't have definitions that are perfectly aligned, and you're free to disagree with both of us. We're not thin-skinned. :) Just shoot from the hip and tell me what it means to you. While you're thinking, I'll show you some of the photos I'd show a to a mid-century novice if I could do a "pictorial definition."

The Lake Shore Drive Apartments by Mies van der Rohe, 1948-1951
photographed by Michael Wolf, from The Transparent City
amazon.com

Le Corbusier's Basculant chair, 1928
1stdibs.com

Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe, 1929
1stdibs.com

Paimio chair by Alvar Aalto, 1930
design-museum.de

Eames LMC, 1946
loeffler.de.com

Hans Wegmer's Papa Bear chair, 1951
1stdibs.com

Jens Risom sofa, 1950s
liveauctioneers.com

Paul McCobb Planner Group desk, 1950s
treadwaygallery.com

Calyx by Lucienne Day, 1951
theguardian.com

Warren Platner lounge chair, 1966
knoll.com

George Nelson slat bench, 1946
uniquesandantiques.com

Arne Jacobsen Ant chair, 1952
treadwaygallery.com

Lamps by Gerald Thurston for Lightolier, 1950s
1stdibs.com

Finn Juhl Poet sofa, 1941
finnjuhl.com

Womb chair by Eero Saarinen, 1946
design-museum.de

Eames lounge chair and ottoman, 1956
hermanmiller.com

Coffee table by Isamu Noguchi, 1945
1stdibs.com

George Nelson spindle clock, 1957
georgenelson.org

Poul Henningsen PH5 light, 1958
1stdibs.com

Edward Wormley for Dunbar
1stdibs.com

Harry Bertoia Diamond chairs, 1952
1stdibs.com

Russel Wright Iroquois Casual carafe, 1946
antiquehelper.com

*"Less is more," while often attributed to Mies van der Rohe or Walter Gropius, is from the poem "Andrea del Sarto" by Robert Browning. The English teacher in me just had to clear that up. :)

Daybeds

The SIL has an opportunity to pick up a beautiful daybed for the store, and he asked for my opinion. I'm probably biased, because as a child growing up in a solidly middle-class family where you just had plain ol' beds that you had to make up before the school bus came, the idea of a daybed conjured up images of rich, glamorous women lolling about and eating bonbons. So, of course, I cast my vote for him to get it.

Naturally, my fascination with daybeds doesn't mean that one would sell in the store...unless others of you out there share my feelings about them. If you found an absolutely gorgeous daybed, would you have room for it in your house? Would you make room? I would, but don't let me influence you in any way.

While you're making up your mind, take a look at these gorgeous things.

Barcelona by Mies van der Rohe...probably the best-known MCM daybed
allmodern.com

Bruno Mathsson daybed
1stdibs.com

Edward Wormley daybed
1stdibs.com

Eileen Gray daybed
designicons.co.uk

Hans Wegner daybed
treadwaygallery.com

Jens Risom daybed
polyvore.com

Peter Hvidt daybed
1stdibs.com

Thonet daybed
1stdibs.com

Update 6/1/11: 

architonic.com

I included this image in my original post and incorrectly identified it as a Paul McCobb piece. Thanks to Jonathan Goldstein, whom I consider the ultimate authority on Paul McCobb design, I now know that the daybed was designed by Clifford Pascoe for Modernmasters. To learn more about this common misconception, take a look at a very well researched post on Jonathan's blog Planner, Perimeter, Predictor, Paul McCobb.

Farnsworth House

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) was one of the most important 20th century architects and designers, and Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, was one of his most significant works. Built as a country home for Dr. Edith Farnsworth, the house is important because it epitomizes the modernist concept of simplicity in form and function.

Historian Maritz Vandenburg wrote in his monograph on the Farnsworth House:

Every physical element has been distilled to its irreducible essence. The interior is unprecedentedly transparent to the surrounding site, and also unprecedentedly uncluttered in itself. All of the paraphernalia of traditional living--rooms, walls, doors, interior trim, loose furniture, pictures on walls, even personal possessions--have been virtually abolished in a puritanical vision of simplified, transcendental existence. Mies had finally achieved a goal towards which he had been feeling his way for three decades.


For more beautiful pictures of the home, information about touring or renting it, a more detailed history or a chance to donate money for its preservation, see the Farnsworth House website.

Text and images from farnsworthhouse.org

I happened upon the collection of Lego architectural sets, which includes a model of the Farnsworth House. Here's a fascinating video that shows the set being put together.

youtube.com

Uploaded by Toyshansolo on Apr 30, 2011

Lego Set 21009 - Farnsworth House built by Adam Reed Tucker

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