Danish Modern – Mid-Century Muse - Home Fashion that Rocks!

I have some business I need to take care of today.  This is a post that Braxton wrote back in March and I thought you may enjoy it again.

Danish Modern - Mid-century Muse

Danish Modern – Design a la Mod

Yancey and I LOVE Danish Modern. We’ve had such a great time thrifting for Danish styled Mid-Century furniture and lamps and accessories for our beloved Acorn Hill.

Slowly, piece by piece, we are transforming our cottage into a Mid-Century Modern Mojo Machine. In about 6 months Yancey has splashed bright saturated colors on several tired old pieces, we cleaned off surfaces and styled table tops, and we’ve folded these great Danish Modern, and Mid-Century Modern pieces into our life, while adding our own twist! It has been so much fun, and the house makes us happy. No more tired-old…now youthful, optimistic, energetic, clean, and FUN!

Danish Modern aka Scandinavian Modern had its roots in the 1930’s with Danish and Swedish designers producing outstanding work. Furniture Facts says to look for plain, unadorned surfaces, graceful curves and smooth, tapered legs…(for a) sculptured feeling…their most distinctive characteristic. “ The style peaked in the 50’s, and was produced in Europe and in the US.

We love the simple, clean lines, the beautiful woods, often teak or walnut, sexy legs, with some pieces rocking an asymmetrical design we find very fresh and very un-furniture store. Hope you enjoy the slide show!

Shine on! Braxton

Great Vanity

Rich wood, great texture, love the glass cabinet

Classic!

Unusual piece. Love pieces that scream Mid-Century like this. Really sets the story of a room.

Very tall legs. Sometimes proportions can be a little unusual by contemporary standards, which I love.

Ready for George Jetson to lift off!

Asymmetrical design. Very modern, clean, plain fronts.

Very Incredibles. Love it!

Awsome piece. Tapered legs, asymmetrical, fantastic floating glass cabinet

Again, rich wood and great texture. No obvious drawer pulls or handles

Great chair

Love these consoles 

Sweet end tables. Does Danish Modern ROCK or what?

Have a beautiful day, I'll be back tomorrow so tune in!
YANCEY

Alexander Calder– 1898-1976 - Father of the Mobile

A Fascination with Mobiles

Am I the only one who loves mobiles? They are so cool. And my main man Alexander Calder invented them in the 30’s.

A third generation sculptor from Philly, Calder moved to Paris in the 20’s to set up shop on Rue something (sorry, family joke), actually 22 Rue Daguerre in the Montparnasse Quarter.

His career included the creation of massive sculptures, paintings, lithographs, toys, jewelry and tapestry, but he is most famous for his mobiles. In the 1920’s, leveraging his background in mathematics and engineering, Calder started experimenting with lighter objects including bent wire that were put in motion with currents of air. The mobile was born.

Earlier in the states, as a boy, he seemed drawn to kinetic sculpture, and created several objects that seemed a vector for the career he would create later in life.

I am interested in his work, and in kinetic sculpture in general, from a ModHome perspective, because we would love to bring art into the collection we are designing, and the forms Calder created are so Modern, organic, playful, sometimes colorful – basically, they represent so much of what I would like to create in ModHome. As art lovers, we aspire raise the bar on home fashion to “the art you live in.”

The pictures that follow are mainly his mobiles, but include some examples of his other work.

Hope you enjoy.

Shine on! Braxton


Calder and his creation



Calder Mobile

Calder large scale kinetic sculpture




Playful

 

Calder circus. He traveled with this concept, with kinetc performances that would fit in a suitcase - eventually 5 suitcases

Calder glass sculpture

Wire sculpture by Calder. I love the shadowplay here. Playful, even comical construction

Classic Calder Mobile - very Mod!

Calder painting

Great bright colors!

Another shot of the Calder Circus - performed on both sides of the Atlantic

Love the swag of this mobile, counterweight creates almost a lazy exclamation mark

Love Calder's wire form sculpture. We saw some of his faces in Paris in the Pompidou

Calder mobile with 2 gongs - note how the wires with ball tips swing into the gongs

Balancing floor sculpture 

Love this. Hen house poster in daughter's dorm. When you lift tail, cow drops a pie. Very appropriate art in the WC :)

Calder stabile - aka a stable mobile. During WWII when metal was scarce, he sculpted wood

Got to see the exhibit at the Smithsonian March 11 through August 14, 2011. Road trip!

My Main Mobile Man showng us "The Smolder"- a babe melting look he perfected in Paris - Well done my Friend!

Mod Décor – Mid-Century Modern Home Décor with a Youthful Twist

Is There a Method to our Modness?

I searched Mod Décor recently to find out what the Googlesphere considered Mod. Yancey and I are into the Mod Vibe because it’s Mid-Century, which we love, but also because Mod is a youthful story.

I’ve posted on Mod’s before, they were originally art students in London in the 60’s who rocked the establishment with their love of scooters, cool clothing, American Soul and Jazz music, the Who and the Yardbirds. It was the birth of first youth culture.

Our ModHome collection rocks this vibe, and we are hoping to develop it for licensing or develop the collection ourselves – a least the smaller jewelry pieces like lamps, pillows, storyboards, end and cocktail tables, etc. Exciting stuff! So not furniture store furniture.

What is Mod furniture? In my mind it’s definitely got a Mid-Century Modern soul – clean lines, tapered legs, an economy of materials, bright colors, organic inspired modern graphic patterns, shiny surfaces, comfortable tailored, even boxy upholstery. Perhaps some playfulness, a reference to the atomic age or Jetsonsonian space age design?

What follows is a snapshot of some of what I’ve found recently that is called up by “Mod Décor”. What do you think of the Modness? What is your idea of Mod?
I hope you enjoy!

Shine on! Braxton

Modness in use of bold color, Roundel pillow, Mid-Century furniture, Pop-culture art

Mid-Century but too establishment for Mod? Not enough color, art?

 It's got Mid-Century furniture happening and the pattern is good. Let's play the Mod game...is this Mod?

Or This?

Howbout this? Great color/pattern story, youthful. I know Sarah has to be crunching on these Pugs...

This so Rocks! LOVE IT

Very 007. Rocket attempting re-entry...

Love the B/W and red story, very strong pattern story but Mod?

Jetsonian but Mod?

Too PB? It's got the Mid-Century furniture going for it, and the color, white seems to set up the color nicely, and its clean, youthful...

Monochrome, modern, clean

I think this does the trick



Nice clean, white, futuristic



A little more Retro/Vintage than Mod? Take out the table/chairs and it's 40's 

Another kitchen. Nice pattern/color story, clean...

Nice art and some Mid-Century going on here, nice color mix, but Mod? The wing back chairs give this more of an establishment eclectic vibe.

Modern, clean, futuristic/Jetsonian...

I like the Mid-Century diner vibe here, fun idea, nice boxy uph, good saturated, bold color

Modern, but no classic Mid-Century Modern pieces. Like it though

Fun Modern pieces and great color riot

Again, like this, but Mod? Has some color and organic shape going for it.