TENSION POLE LAMPS

MID CENTURY TENSION POLE LAMPS

 Braxton has been asking me all week to do a post on tension/pole lamps, and every time he's mentioned it I've had the same thought...I'm not sure I even like tension lamps, I mean they're kind of tacky, right?
I take back (almost) every bad thought I had about tension/pole lamps.  Sure enough you have to be pretty committed to the MCM look for include one of these, but nothing lends a mid century vibe like vintage lighting, and no vintage lighting screams louder than the tension lamp.  Take a look.

 To me, the best thing about this kind of lighting, is that it's so dang flexible.  Most of these lamps have three sources of light which are completely adjustable...up, down, sideways, whatever you need, making them useful as task lighting as well as dramatic  lighting up a wall or directed on the floor or ceiling.

Classic mid century colors.

Danish modern style.

I love the graceful "c" shapes here.  A very pretty lamp indeed.

I think these are paper shades, but wouldn't these be even better if the dots were cut-outs?

I suspect this one's homemade, which makes it even cooler.  Love the idea of the accordion shade!

One of the most unique ones I've seen.  Love this lamp!

Imagine this setting without the lamp.  The perfect touch.

I'm not gonna lie, I saw plenty of photos of tacky lamps, but for the most part I'm definitely on board the tension/pole lamp express!  What's your opinion?  Tension/pole lamps....do or don't?

Another pretty pic. taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Have a beautiful day.
yancey

COFFEE TABLES AND END TABLES

ACCENT PIECES:  COFFEE TABLES AND END TABLES

Clearly, we all know what coffee and end tables are.  Today I thought I'd show you a few lovelies in their natural habitat....the living room.

Such a classic...still being produced today.

I wouldn't want this coffee table around small children...but it's cool, right?

This one reminds me of a boat, or an ironing board.

Coffee table?  What coffee table.  I can't take my eyes off that fantastic light fixture.

Love this tiny table!  Do you guys see what I see?  Are those photos of space ships?  I love these people!

Classic end table.  B. and I see this in lot's of vintage shops.

Short post today because I've got so many design ideas popping in my brain I need to get them on paper before they float away!

Have a beautiful day.

yancey

Just cuz........

A pretty picture from our last trip to the parkway.

MID CENTURY MODERN MAGAZINE RACKS

GROOVY MAGAZINE RACKS 

 One of the things I love most about our MCM makeover is that there is so much less crap to clean around.  No more stacks of books and magazines, no more precious knick-knacks, no more piles of whatever laying about.  One of the first things I did when we redecorated was get rid of twenty years worth of dust catching shit  priceless treasures.  Never again!
Oh but wait...these magazines racks sure are cute.  Surely I could find a empty corner for one of these ....after all I still read magazines, right?  Right?

I would put only the most beautiful magazines in this.  Love.

Found on Etsy for $60.00.  

Super cute.  Would be perfect for my old issues of Domino (which I kind of forgot about during the big throw away).  Oops!

 I think I'm really done for now...the pink rack above and the green below can both be found on 1st dibs as we speak.  Adorable!

This one must have been super popular in the mid century, I keep running into it....found this one on Ebay for $85.00.

Heywood Wakefield magazine rack/end tables.

If Don Draper had a magazine rack, and I'm sure he did, it would have been something like this.  Found this "teak Norwegian " rack on furnishmevinage.

Wow.  Found on valiantvintage.  "One of a kind, the underneath reads...another creation from Weird Willy's Wonderful World of Wild and Wacky Wood Works".  Yeah, I think I could find a place for this!

Curious....where do you store your magazines?  A rack, bookcase, piled on a table?  Magazines really are a problem at my house...would love a tidy solution.  


Have a beautiful day.
yancey

ACCENT PIECES - THE ROOM DIVIDER

The Mid Century Modern Room Divider Rules!

Of all the accent pieces we'll be talking about this week, the room divider is the most essential for a truly MCM look.

Because we live in a small house, Braxton and I can't seem to figure out how to incorporate this iconic piece into our own decor.  We don't have a room large enough to be "divided", so....do we dare put a room divider against a wall or in front of a window?  I've seen it done, in photographs, but I'm still not so sure.  Perhaps a room divider just isn't in the cards for us....but that hasn't kept me from swooning over these.....enjoy!

I love that these pieces are bunchable, meaning the sides are flat allowing the pieces to be placed next to each other without any gap.

A pretty and delicate laser cut metal screen.

Classic MCM.  We've run into several of these and they rarely appear well made.  This one looks fun.

This piece is gorgeous!  Love the danish modern influence.

When styling a classic MCM piece, it's important to keep things sparse.  This is not the place for your Hummel collection or a thousand best sellers.  A piece of art glass + a small stack of books + and a piece of pottery or two = perfect!

Love the DM legs on this one...simple and elegant.

This one is clearly substantial enough to be placed against a wall, it fact, it's probably best.

 The next three can be found on 1st dibs, for those of you with deep (really deep) pockets!

Does anyone remember when I posted about our "Biggs" sofa?  No?  It's here...http://braxtonandyancey.blogspot.com/2011/04/elephant-in-room-and-other-bits-and.html
Over the weekend B. and I were at an estate sale in our neighborhood and we ran into someone who recognized me as the "biggs lady" and said that he had purchased the sofa from the antiques dealer we had sold it to, and that it lived in his living room and he loved it!
So nice to know that Braxtons grandmothers sofa is being loved and well cared for.


Please join us this week for accent pieces muse...we'll talk about magazine racks, coffee tables and end tables, lamps and clocks!
Have a beautiful day.
yancey