McIntosh sideboard

Over the past few months we have acquired a few new (actually old) furniture pieces to reside in our mid-century home. You know how it is when you move house...you have to tweak your furniture to suit the space...Ha! That's the excuse I'm running with!

McIntosh sideboard

We added a beautiful teak McIntosh sideboard to our collection of mid-century furniture. It is Scottish-made and clearly well-travelled as it eventually found its way to Australia, firstly via country Pittsworth and finally to Brisbane with us. We're using it to store our photographs, DVDs and CDs and our TV currently resides on top of it. Our poor old telly was previously on a very low coffee table...

McIntosh sideboard in our living room

I've been trying to find out a bit about the manufacturer which was AH McIntosh & Co Ltd. The business began making furniture in Kirkcaldy, Scotland in 1869 and it was renowned for making quality furniture.

It went through a time of change during the post-WW2 period catering to the demand for modern yet stylish utility pieces.  AH McIntosh began reproducing and reinterpreting Scandinavian designs in teak and their furniture was hugely popular with the aspirational middle class in Britain.

McIntosh Furniture label

Today, AH McIntosh is still in operation as ESAMcIntosh, providing furniture and equipment for the education sector. From what I have read, vintage AH McIntosh furniture is becoming increasingly collectible because it is extremely well made and has the mid-century look that is so hot right now.

McIntosh sideboard

The spare Danish dining chair

It didn't take long for me to find that DQF (Danish Quality Furniture) dining chair  I was so desperately after... An Instagram acquaintance kindly put me on to someone who had a spare blackbean DQF dining chair for sale. Again, the power of social media is strong!

The very sad looking DQF chair after I bought it a few weeks ago

The chair was in a pretty average state and needed re-upholstering...It was a bit beyond us really so we outsourced it to Collette at Rewind Mid-century who looked after it for us.

The only problem we encountered was sourcing the black vinyl to match the existing 1960s black vinyl on the other chairs. Not all vinyl is equal. Sadly, shiny smooth vinyl is not made anymore. Most upholstery vinyl has a grain or texture through it.

I went to a few car upholstery places to see if I could find something to match but had no luck at all.

Luckily, my architect friend Robyn Booth was able to source a commercial vinyl (used in hospitals etc) for us that had the smooth texture to match the other chairs. It is not as shiny compared to the other chairs but it really is as perfect as we could get to the original. You wouldn't really notice the difference unless you were looking for fault.

The chair at the front is the newly reupholstered chair

The chair on the right is the new chair

I picked up the chair a few days ago from Rewind Mid-Century who repaired the chair base and had it reupholstered in the smooth black vinyl. We are really happy with it!

It's great to finally have the sixth chair for the dining room setting. Who's coming over for dinner?

A new mid-century dining suite

We had no particular desire to change our dining table when we moved to our mid-mod house...but when one of your mates rings up out of the blue and says they have a 1960s DQF dining table and chairs for sale, you can hardly say no? Surely?

DQF dining suite

Well, we could have, but we didn't! The dining suite is a perfect match for the house...it is  also the very reason why we ended up moving to this house if truth be told. We went to the first open house inspection because I spotted a DQF dining suite in the real estate ad (you can read about it here). We would not have even bothered going to see the house if it weren't for the furniture. What a classic!

photo of when the previous owners owned the house

So it kind of seems fitting that we ended up buying a DQF dining suite. Ha! It's like it was always meant to be with the house.

For those not in the know DQF stands for Danish Quality Furniture which first began making Danish style furniture in Brisbane during the late 1950s. It was a family business set up by Danish emigres. They were renowned for producing the finest quality modern style furniture made in Queensland.

DQF dining suite

Our new old dining suite is very cool. I believe it is made out of black bean timber and the chairs are upholstered in black vinyl. The table is actually round but we have extended it to form an oval to accommodate our family during meal times.

The entire suite is quite petite. It is not made for big people. I guess it was produced in a time when people were traditionally shorter in stature and of a leaner postwar austerity measures build. Ha! You're constantly reminded of any excess weight you're carrying when sitting on the chairs, despite them being solid!

We are missing one rogue chair though. We only have five...Wish me luck finding it!

Classic bentwood chair

There is a saying which gets bandied about in design circles: “when in doubt choosing a chair, choose a bentwood.” And I wholeheartedly agree; you can’t go wrong with an elegant bentwood chair. They are a timeless classic which can suit the most modern of decors or the more traditional style of decorating.

Saarinen tulip table with bentwood chairs. Image from here

Although I have a mid-mod aesthetic, a bentwood chair would sit comfortably in a mid-century home alongside modernist furniture or even a Queenslander with predominantly mid-century furniture –  19^th century design can look so good with mid-20^th century design.

Originally made in the 1850s by a German-Austrian cabinet maker, Michael Thonet (pronounced ton-et), the bentwood chairs were seen as highly innovative for the times. Solid rods of beech were treated with steam to allow for the rods to be bent into shape and were then left to cure. The chairs were lightweight, yet durable and were seen as a chic alternative to the heavy carved furniture that was prevalent in that period. 

white (albeit very dirty) bentwood chair needing repair

Last week coming home from a night out with a friend, we drove past a hard rubbish collection pile on the footpath.

Poking out from the detritus were two curvy bentwood chairs. My friend and I looked at each other and with a knowing nod we immediately did a u-turn to salvage those chairs.

Fortunately, it was late and it was dark. We got those two chairs stashed into the boot of the car and drove home pronto, exhilarated by our find. My friend took one chair, while I took the other.

Some dodgy bracing on one leg...

Like we needed another chair around here...

The plan is to dismantle it to make it a little less rickety, put a new plywood seat on it and then repaint it. Cross fingers it will be salvageable. It will be a nice handy chair to have around the place... You can't have too many chairs, right?

this chair originally had a rattan seat and was replaced at some point with plywood 

Featherston holiday and Australian Modern Design

The last few days have been kind of fun. Yesterday I was given a Featherston chair...!! But only as a temporary loan. Ha! I didn't knock it back though.

My mates Chris and Susan who are publishers of the new book Australian Modern Design have an excess of chairs and not enough space to store them...typical dilemma for chair collectors. There were a few Featherstons, a Saarinen and some other great pieces that were just sitting in storage. Chris thought one of the Featherstons should have a holiday at the Sow's Ear...until it is wanted again. Classic!

How often can you get the 'designer look' without actually paying the 'designer bucks'?

The Featherston is now residing in our Queenslander bedroom until it is recalled for active duty at the modernist front.

How cool is that? And what's even cooler is that I got my hands on a copy of Australian Modern Design which will be out soon at selected locations nationally.

Stay tuned to hear more about this fabulous new limited edition book about mid-20th century Australian architecture and design...

Rose Seidler House

My whirlwind tour of Sydney was a blast! Or should I say, blast from the past given the amount of mid-century house tours we squeezed into the weekend.

I've sneakily composed this photograph to edit out the scaffolding that was on the front of the building. The  home is continually maintained.

One of the many, many highlights of my trip was visiting the Rose Seidler House for the first time. It is well-worth the trip to Wahroonga to see one of Australia's best preserved forms of mid-century architecture.

State of the art kitchen for 1950 which cost more to fit out than the rest of the house. 

Designed by Vienna-born architect Harry Seidler for his mother Rose, the Bauhaus-inspired house was ahead of its time in post-war Australia; built between 1948-50 in a time of austerity and building restrictions. It was considered such an oddity that uninvited visitors lined the driveway to marvel at this futuristic house.

Hardoy chairs against the modernist mural backdrop 

The modernist home is now a museum managed by the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales and is open to the public (admission is a small fee) on Sunday between 11am to 4pm.

I'd be reinventing the wheel by writing about this home in too much detail, so instead I'll just refer you to the far more comprehensive guide book to the home here if you want to know more.

Saarinen and  Eames furniture were brought out from New York where Harry Seidler had been working 

Rose Seidler house is a timeless piece of architecture. For the uninitiated, the house exterior could be mistaken for a contemporary home rather than a house of the 1940s. With the interior, the use of large glass windows, the open-plan living and the selection of materials and furnishings...squint (and ignore the kitchen) and you could be in 2013.

Our new Featherston chair

Well, the vintage Featherston chair has finally made it home to the Sow's Ear. Cue the cheers and hoorays!

The amount of faffing about that one chair creates is huge. I've had to do a lot of reorganising to accommodate the new resident...perhaps more so than when our children were born...ha!
 (I kid, I kid...!)

This is the first set up we had planned until we changed our mind and rearranged some more!

It is an absolutely lovely addition to our home. Although the chair has been with the slowest upholsterer known to man, it's come up beautifully with the new wool fabric. I like that it has not been over-stuffed - it's just the right padding. Not too thin, not too fat. It was definitely worth the wait.

We used Bute tweed fabric in green and I have to say it's a winner. Bute is a fabric manufacturer based on the Isle of Bute, off the west coast of  Scotland. The fabric very much suits the 1953 Featherston Space chair and I'm pleased with the overall result.

We moved the tulip lamp and placed an Art Deco side table next to the Featherston 

A view of the new set-up in the lounge room

And that's not the only new addition to the Sow's Ear. I'll write a blog post about another new addition soon- it's another Australian design piece that I was keen to possess after editing an article about it...

Featherston chair has landed

'It won't happen overnight but it will happen' is the breathy catch-cry around here at the Sow's Ear. 

It's taken over two years but the original 1953 Space Featherston chair which I talked about HERE is finally on its way to us. It's currently residing at our friend's house (keeping company with its brothers and sisters) - we'll get it on Saturday.

Featherston chair 1953 

It looks fantastic in the photograph and we're pretty excited to find a home for it. I had initially intended it to be a bedroom chair and we chose the dark green wool tweed for that purpose...but that was two years ago and we've had a few changes since that time.

Now I'm going to rethink that and do a rearrange of our furniture. Bring on Saturday!

Mid-century coffee table

Over the past few weeks I've kept my eyes peeled for a slightly larger coffee table for the living room. I've looked everywhere for a nice mid-century style one...

I was completely thrilled when I stumbled upon a round mid-century table in my travels. It's in good condition but it will still need to be sanded back and have some chips filled, as well as a good drink of Danish oil.

It pretty much ticks all the boxes except that it is much taller than I had first thought. And I'm still not used to having a round coffee table either. But for $20, I really shouldn't complain!

Jason doesn't know that I bought the table as I'm going to do an experiment to see if he actually notices it... I predict he won't notice the table for at least the first hour when he gets home later today.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hans Wegner daybed

Overjoyed is the only word I can use to describe today's delivery. We finally bought a new sofa for the lounge-room and it is just fabulous. I kind of feel like we don't deserve to have such a lovely piece!

It is a 1957 Hans Wegner oak daybed from the lovely people at Dansk Vintage and it is the one which I wrote about in this post.

It was in unrestored condition when I first saw it, but James from Dansk Vintage restored the piece beautifully and helped me pick a new fabric, as the original fabric sadly needed replacing.

Vella Brothers Upholstery in Salisbury did a lovely job with the upholstery too. It is called Warwick Beachcomber, which is a hard wearing textile suitable for our all-boy (except for me) household!

Our new daybed is perfect for our lounge room - comfortable and a nice size without being overly heavy or bulky.

Here are some shots of the newly restored Danish piece in the Sow's Ear:

Hans Wegner daybed

Some rearranging of furniture is occurring...I've moved our DQF viking chairs from the sun room to lounge room 

In this shot you can see the simple modernist angles of the daybed 

The day bed can be used for overnight guests. The back rest opens up to reveal a mattress. You are also able to store pillows and bedding in the space when the backrest is down.

Many thanks to Dansk Vintage and Vella Upholstery for a job well done. Also, many thanks to Mr D and his buddy Jimmy who very kindly became furniture removalists on their smoko this morning. Thanks a million.

Sofa shopping at Dansk Vintage

This afternoon I ventured into Dansk Vintage's store room to view their fabulous range of Danish mid-century modern furniture. Jason and I saw a vintage sofa on their website that we both liked, which is a rare occurrence given our vastly different aesthetic sensibilities...my mission was to investigate further.

Wow, wow, wow! I felt like a kid in a sweet shop, surrounded by so much vintage Danish goodness!

So, the sofa in question is actually a Hans Wegner designed daybed made by Getama. It is in an unrestored state but it is still such a lovely piece of furniture. It also converts into a decent sized bed as the back rest lifts up to provide more mattress area.

The owners of Dansk Vintage are very nice people with such a wealth of knowledge of Danish design. And as you know, we like nice and knowledgeable!

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Second thoughts about our sofa

A few weeks ago, I mentioned here that we were planning on re-upholstering our lounge room setting...

We chose a great fabric but after some reflection, we've changed our mind and would like to buy an entirely new (or old) suite. Re-upholstering is a costly exercise - a perfect solution if you want to keep something forever...and we thought our current sofa is not our 'forever' sofa.

It might be time to upgrade to something a little more substantial...if we can find the right setting Jason and I can agree on.

That's the tricky part.

Jason and I love the slimline range that is sold by Angelucci's in Melbourne and think it would look great in the Sow's Ear.

A modular three-seater sofa from The Modern Furniture store has also grabbed my eye.

And I also like the look of this sofa from Great Dane...until I saw the price! It's probably too much out of our price bracket although I love its shape.

Lots of food for thought as we contemplate our next sofa. Although it will be sad to see the old one go....

Chalk paint makeover of a milking stool

The good people from Annie Sloan sent me paint and wax* to sample as part of their launch of chalk paint into the Australian market. I had heard about the new paint...however I had only ever seen it used in that distressed antique-style finish...

And as regular readers would know, that's not the sort of finish I normally favour. I wanted to use the paint in a clean, mod-style and had the perfect piece of furniture to rejuvenate.

In 1993, as a young unemployed graduate, I committed crimes against furniture when I decoupaged a perfectly innocent milking stool. Yes, the horror!

DIY decoupaged stool.
Believe it or not, I was so proud of my efforts...clearly as I 've kept it intact since 1993!

But it was the 90s and I had a perm...Decoupaging seemed like a good DIY hobby while trekking between dead-end job interviews and the dole office...

This poor old milking stool is so handy - it's used as a ladder, spare chair, side table and play surface. I set about rectifying the sins of the past and sanded the stool back to its vintage goodness. It deserved another chance at life.

Think belt sander with a very coarse grit to remove the Victorian-era inspired decoupage and then hand-sanding the hard to reach areas around the legs.

The milking stool sanded right back 

I painted the milking stool in graphite chalk paint. I didn't want to paint it entirely in one colour and decided to try my hand at that paint-dipped look which is so fashionable.

J Crew ad with fluoro (neon) paint dipped stools 

All you need is good painter's tape and a ruler to get everything level and at the right height. I didn't primer the stool and just painted straight onto the wood. This particular stool needed three coats of chalk paint.

Going for that paint-dipped look with chalk paint

The Annie Sloan chalk paint dries to a matte finish, which you can then lightly sand with fine sandpaper.  After it is dusted clean, apply a couple of coats of clear wax to make the finish more durable - it has a lovely satin sheen. I applied the wax onto the unpainted legs too.

Chalk paint dipped stool.
It almost has that minimalist designer look 

black dipped stool

It turned out much better than I had expected...but I think anything was going to be an improvement. Ha!

I just hope I won't be recoiling in horror in 20 years time, wondering what possessed me to paint dip the milking stool...Anyway, I like it now, so that just will have to do.

*disclaimer I was given a tin of graphite paint and wax to sample by Annie Sloan

Rewind Mid-century

Well, we had a very quiet weekend where we barely  lifted a finger around the Sow's Ear. So, no bathroom tile painting as we had planned, which is completely fine. Jason's been extra tired...and the weather has been awfully wet and showery that we've just mooched around this old piggy...It's good to have a break.

This post is about a cool  mid-century furniture place in Brisbane. Last week in my travels I finally stopped in to see Collette from Rewind Mid-century in Yeronga. Collete is a purveyor of restored 50s, 60s, 70s furniture and has a fabulous shed/shop which would make most mid-century aficionados weep with joy.

I've known Collette for a number of years and we bought our Parker dining suite from her back in the day when she was based on the Gold Coast. She's also re-webbed our lounge chairs and they are still going strong many years later.

Anyway, Rewind is a must see if you like your furniture cool and mod. Collette told me that a lot of her stock never makes it to the floor as she has customers on waiting lists for things like sideboards, four seater sofas and bedside tables. How interesting is that.

Check out the fabulous wares she has in her store at the moment. The 'tealy' blue Parker is just glorious.

teal Parker

FLER Tessa and timber and metal shelves

Lots of mid-century goodness to be seen 

While at Rewind, I chose a Zepel fabric as a contender to cover our old vinyl lounge chairs. The vinyl has held up well but a number of seat cushions have begun to split unceremoniously. It's time for a revamp.

Zepel fabric samples. I'm looking at the green citrus colour which is actually darker than what it looks in this image.

The new fabric will match the existing colour and has a similar faux weave to the original vinyl covers. It'll be a hard-wearing fabric which will be ideal  for our house full of kids. I love having a nice decorator project to look forward to.

P.S If you are on Facebook you can check out Rewind's page here.  And if you are in Brisbane, the shop is located at 96 School Road, Yeronga (opp the school) if you wanted to have a squizz.

If you squint really hard

Image from here

then you could mistake our new addition to the Sow's Ear as a Featherston Relaxation chair...

Webbed mid-century Australian chair

I did say squint hard!

They are still a great mid-century Australian chair though. We bought them from my new mate Jo from Murwillimbah (remember Jo from here ?) who contacted us to see if we would be interested in buying these chairs. Obviously, the chairs ticked all the boxes for us.

The original webbing is unusual as it has cord interwoven between the thick leather strapping. The lines of the chair are reminiscent of Jens Risom, Douglas Snelling and Grant Featherston. We think the chairs may be from the late 40s or even 50s but we're not sure.

Jo said there was an interesting story behind the chairs...she wasn't too sure whether it was entirely true or not. Who knows? But we love a good story, no matter whether it is fact or fiction.

Anyway, she bought the chairs from an old man who used to provide the leather for Grant Featherston's chairs. He told her that Featherston sketched the design for these chairs, which were then made accordingly. Funny story, isn't it? It makes the provenance of the chairs a little more intriguing...even if it proves to be bogus.

Regardless of the provenance, the chairs are very cool example of a well-made chair that has survived at least 50 years of use. Jo has another chair in black leather which she is keeping for herself.

The new chairs are on the enclosed front verandah for now. We have so many chairs we can play with !

Webbed chairs aren't to everyone's taste, but we are really pleased with them.