Front Door Obsession Part 1

Does your front door really matter? Well, yes, of course. It sets one's expectation of what you will find on the other side of that door. Front doors tend to be utilitarian in nature. Here in Dallas, the majority of front doors are natural stained hardwood, some sort of rectangle or square design, a deadbolt and maybe a window. Boooorrring.  

I prefer a painted front door above all else. My go-to shade is Benjamin Moore's Heritage Red. Feng Shui rules the day on my entryway, but lately I've been mulling a change. 

I can't stop thinking about the front door of 10 Downing Street. I want it. I want the door knocker. I want the centered doorknob. I want the high gloss shine. I want it black. 

And I want someone to clean it everyday so it looks just like this photo.

Check out the shine on this beauty. I'm loving this. 

But what about the design? My front door has a mash up of rectangles that doesn't really fit the traditional exterior of the house. When the house underwent renovation in 2011, I asked for a new front door in the regency style like the ones below. I'm still waiting...

I found one I really like, but it's on another house in my neighborhood. But since I don't actually know the residents of that house, I feel a little weird about taking it off its hinges in the middle of the night. This is Texas after all. They shoot first and ask questions later. 

Congratulations to Me!

I am proud to announce that as of today, January 25, 2017, I have opened a design business named Jackson Street Collaborative Design. This has been my dream for many many years and I am thrilled to have finally made it official! 

Jackson Street Collaborative Design will offer design advice and services for home and event design. 

There will be more details to follow in the coming weeks. Watch this space for the link to the new website! 

Let's Catch up, Shall We?

Where to begin? The last time I blogged in this space was in 2013. I think. After finally convincing my dear sweet husband that one of us needed to be home after school with the kids, we flipped a coin and I lost. 

Just kidding. I really did want to be the one at home. 

But that was three years ago and now my brain is collapsing into itself under the weight of boredom and atrophy. So I'm returning to this space to save myself from the soul-crushing monotony of carpool, homework, laundry and grocery shopping. 

So stay tuned. 

Eames Lounge Chair

One of my favorite chairs, the Eames Lounge and Ottoman, is an icon of mid century modern furnishings design. Lately, I've been paying more attention to this particular chair. To be honest, it's bordering on obsession. I had a chance to purchase a pair last week for a friend, but he changed his mind and the chairs went to another buyer. I was bummed. No sale and no chance to have the chairs in my house for a couple of days. So I'm pining for the chairs like a rejected lover. Guess I better start saving for one of my own. In the meantime, I'm collecting some of my favorite images of the chair.

Check out this video of an Eames Chair Assembly by Charles and Ray Eames. It's grainy but it's whimsical and has a great tune.

A lovely shot of a (now) vintage piece.

Clearly a new version. I prefer aged leather pictured above.

Eames' considered design evidenced even in the undercarriage.

It's sublime.

Eames Spec Sheet

Eames Lounge deconstructed

Change of Address

It is my pleasure to announce that Modern Hindsight has moved to:

www.modernhindsight.com

The new website offers all of the content of this blog, all new entries and an expanded platform to showcase the inventory.

If you have not been automatically redirected to the new website, please click on the link above and join me there.

I'm so excited about this next step in the evolution of Modern Hindsight.

See you there!

-Andie

Ode to Jonathan Adler (Part Deux)

OK, remember that Drexel Heritage ottoman (modern furnishings) that I bought 2 months ago (See previous entry "Ode to Jonathan Adler Part One"), well I finally finished it! What do you think? I love it!!

Spotted On The Mad Men Set!!

How excited was I when I spied my claw lamp in Don and Megan Draper's living room? More excited than any reasonable person should be about modern furniture. Ha! Check it out:

The party scene from the season premier.

I'm inspired to find a new shade for this lamp now.

Another field trip to Again and Again

I visited Again and Again again on Saturday. Check out these modern furnishing goodies I found:

Is it me, or do these lamp bases look like bell peppers?

I like the Adleresque pottery and the wood accents.

It may be a California thing, but I LOVE this. I like stuff that looks like it washed up on the beach.

These look contemporary to me. In any case, These are smokin' hot in black velvet.

A gorgeous dresser. Mint condition.

Bruer-like design and proportions. Pair it with a glass top table so you can see its tubular beauty anytime.

A brass onion? I love it. I must be hungry....

Field Trip to Moderne

I hadn't been in to Antiques Moderne in a few months, so last Saturday I stopped by to see what MCM gems owner John Bacile has to offer. If you haven't been in lately, go check it out, but be ready to dig. The place is busting at the seams. Here's a few that caught my eye....




My favorite chair of the day. Generous proportions and an ottoman to boot. The current fabric is not half bad, so if you have to spread out the investment, you can live with it now and re-cover it later.



My second favorite chair in the place. I like the layered look, the feminine curves and the deep seat. The current fabric was luxe in 1970. I'd update the fabric but keep it soft. The layers of the chair offer an opportunity to take the chair down various paths.
Mod: black shell, white interior
High/low: eggplant exterior, mauve interior
Chic: white on white



Third runner up. Nice proportions, clean lines, the cooler cousin of the wing chair. I'd recover this one in a masculine hounds tooth or glen plaid print with contrast piping and buttons. Like a fancy man.

Brass lamp with great patina.

Bright paint and slim silver handles would bring these side tables and a room to life. How about white lacquer?

Set of six slim, high back Danish Modern dining chairs. This is a great beginner project for modern furnishings. The wood is in great shape and the square seats pop right off for easy fabric update. Why not echo the geometric cut outs in the fabric as well? Paint and new seat covers would run you less than $50 each to renovate.

I do love an oversized teak lamp.

She's great. A nun with lip filler. And she looks like the great Jennifer Coolidge.

 

Well, Hello there! Put these in the entryway and break the ice immediately.

Mies Van der Rohe and the BRNO Chair

If you browse my inventory page, you will see I am offering four vintage Knoll International Brno chairs for sale. A modern classic, the Brno chair is elegant and utilitarian. I love this design. And to be honest, they look phenomenal with my red steel kitchen table. Hmm....do I really want to sell them?

 It's worth taking a look at its history and a few of images of the chair in its natural environment: a modern home or office place.

Knoll Productions Brno chairs have become a modern furniture classic. They have very clean lines, consisting of a steel frame in a single piece, bent into a C-shape from the middle of the back, round past the front edge of seat (to create arms), and back under the seat to create a cantilever, with taut seat and back upholstered in leather. There are two versions of these chairs, one in tubular steel and the other in flat steel. The metal was originally polished stainless steel; some modern examples are chrome plated.

Designed in 1930 for the Tugendhat House* in Brno, Czechoslovakia, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Brno chair mirrors the groundbreaking simplicity of its original environment. The design is a modernist cantilever design favored by the Bauhaus.

I think this may be the most versatile chair ever. I hope you are inspired to bring a timeless piece into your own home.

* The NewYork Times ran a great story on the property and its dire need of restoration. It's heart-breaking.

Ode to Jonathan Adler (part one)

I discovered this vintage Drexel Heritage ottoman at an estate sale recently. I've been researching Jonathan Adler a lot lately and have developed an obsession with Adler's Happy Chic aesthetic. If you aren't familiar with it, check it out now!

Adler's use of bold color, interesting textures and vintage furnishings has inspired me to look beyond purely modern forms into more traditional mid-century ones. I see clean lines with a bit of flair, but no fuss. I appreciate how the Adler treatment can take a traditional piece and make it modern with paint and unexpected fabric.

I'm inspired to try it myself. Stay tuned for the completed piece in the next week or so. If it rocks, I'll submit it to the Show Us Your JA Style on the Jonathan Adler website.

The Drexel ottoman in its current incarnation. It has the good bones I look for in a piece, but man, is it boring. Not for long. I have a plan to transform this old lady into a shagadelic swinger.



The traditional legs will be transformed with a few coats of high gloss paint of the hottest pink Benjamin Moore offers: Razzle Dazzle.



I have no idea if this was the original fabric, but it was a nice choice for the traditional Seventies Palm Beach decor the estate must have had at one time.

I'll replace it with a faux Mongolian Sheep fur fabric in white. My second choice was the same fabric, but in variegated brown tones. Think Chewbacca. Wookie fur. Trust me, it's very cool. I'm a big fan of the fabric, so it'll turn up on these pages eventually.

Overall a very cool piece that shows nice example of what can be done with mid century modern furnishings.

"Less is Better"

In September, my husband and I sneaked away to San Francisco a weekend away from the reality of everyday life. He had never been to the SFMOMA, so we spent the morning and afternoon there and discovered The Design Ethos of Deiter Rams. Deiter Rams has spend the better part of his life developing a products for Braun that embody a "less is more" ethos. Catnip to design addicts like me and the spouse.

The exhibit itself is comprehensive. All manner of everyday electronic and electric devices are represented. Although, I had mixed feelings about recognizing some objects from personal experience (am I really that old?), it was cool to see the evolution of both design and technology as devices shrink, design simplifies and technology expands exponentially.

The walls of the exhibit are marked with quotes from Rams. I shot a few that resonated with me. See if they inspire you.

 

Modern furnishings don't have to be complex to be interesting.