I think his results look better than mine.

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Do you own an Eichler mid-century modern home, and need to fix something in an authentic way? Would you like to own an Eichler mid-century modern home? In either case, give The Eichler Network a try. Lots of good stuff here.

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The things you find when you're looking for something else!

Here is a great resource: A list of stores specializing in mid-century modern furniture and artifacts all over the country. The listings for the stores in San Francisco with which I am familiar seem dead on. This list is large enough, and geographically spread out enough, that most people will find themselves within a couple-hour drive of at least one of these places.

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UC Irvine Extension Offers New Course in Modern Art, Architecture, Focusing on Los Angeles Influence

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The University of California, Irvine Extension is offering a unique class for modern art and architecture enthusiasts to learn more about the influences of the current critical era of American art as exhibited in the greater Los Angeles area. The class, titled “What is Modern: Art & Design of the 20th Century,” will be held both at the UCI Learning Center in Orange, Calif. and in the field; allowing students to study, witness and explore many examples of modern art and architecture, including the renowned Hollyhock House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The class will be held November 10 and 11.

...Students will be able to discern the similarities and differences between major modern movements in architecture and decorative arts, and will learn how late 19th century movements such as Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts were the precursors to the development of 20th century modern movements such as Art Deco, Bauhaus, International Style and mid-century Modern.

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For you folks in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area:

Shopping Retro

An occasional series on shopping by category. This week: Local stores offer classics for the home.

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Inexpensive Architecture - Portfolio.com

Take the slick, mid-century modern homes designed by the Chicago firm Keck & Keck. They regularly sell for well over $1 million—if the house is in good condition and located in a prestigious North Shore suburb. But in the south-side suburb of Chicago Heights, you can find a four-bedroom Keck & Keck with all the trimmings—14-foot wood beam ceilings, slate floors, glass walls—for just $218,000.

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For you lucky folks living in NYC, White Furniture (several locations) offers the best selection and price on mid-century modern reproductions and replicas I've seen anywhere. And according to a couple of commenters at
Apartment Therapy, the quality is pretty good, too. Of course, they don't sell a repro of the piece I really want: a Saarinen womb chair. In fact, I've only found one place that does: Paradigm Gallery.

They are also on MySpace.com, where the good news is:

In 2008, Paradigm Gallery will open galleries in Atlanta and Los Angeles with future galleries slated for Austin, New York, San Francisco, Tampa, Washington D.C., and other cities scheduled for 2009 openings.

Yes, I promise we'll have that extended discussion (argument, shriekfest) on the issue of vintage versus re-issues versus licensed versus reproduction versus knockoff mid century modern furniture. But not just yet. Later.

Posted by Bill Quick at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What with prices for even a single (did they make any other kind, back in the day?) Nelson Thin-Edge bed going for upwards of $5000, and being very difficult to find in the first place, having one of these babies is pretty much out of reach for most people. Still, I really liked that look of the bed floating above the floor on spindly white pipe legs, with a minimal headboard and footboard.

So I built my own.

No, it doesn't look exactly like the Nelson example, but it gives the same general feeling of minimal "floatiness," and it's quite solid. Best of all, it cost about $150 bucks.

I bought everything in one trip to Lowes (an SUV or pickup helps).

The support frame is made of 3/4 black iron pipe - available in the plumbing department. For a queen-size mattress I made a square using 4-ft lengths of pipe. Use the appropriate pipe connectors to put everything together. The pipe is quite greasy, so you might want to wear gloves while handling. I used two 4" lengths with a crossbar connector for each leg - bringing the height of each leg from the top of the frame to about 14". Once you've got it all put together, wash everything with a good grease-cutter, and then paint it. I used a can of white acrylic appliance spray paint.

For the platform I bought a pair of hollow-core undrilled doors, 32"X80", and screwed them together using three metal strap connectors on each side. Then screw the frame to the bottom of the platform using U-straps on all four sides. Flip it over upright and attach a 3" or 4" wide length of finished oak board cut to 64" length (stock at Lowes) using angle-braces. I used four of them. The headboard is a piece of plywood cut to shape, covered with batting and suede fabric, and attached to the wall behind the bed. This one stands on two wooden support legs screwed to the back. If I figure out a simple, cheap way to attach a headboard bent at an angle backwards, I'll let you know, and update this post, with another picture, too.

Here's what the underside with the frame looks like:

Okay, it's not really Nelson, but it doesn't look bad, and it ought to hold you until you've got that spare ten grand to buy a couple of the genuine article to push together beneath your queen mattress.

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