my mid century modern madness

so in my post about my personal passions and interests i spoke of my newfound love for all things mid century modern. what, you may ask, is mid century modern?

well, seeing as how i don't know the exact definition of such a term, let me define it in pictures. and maybe a few words too.

mid century modern furniture typically is known for its clean lines, use of teak or walnut woods, rainbow of colors and textures and use of cutting-edge materials (like plastic or lucite that had never been used before in furniture production). it was generally produced in the 1950's to early 1960's.

my love for this era of furniture began with the inheritance of my grandmother's dining table. while it is more early american in style, it is paired beautifully with teak furniture. when we remodeled our kitchen last summer we decided we could use an additional piece of furniture in the dining area to increase our storage. so the hunt began.

i love a good hunt, don't you? and what did people do before craigslist? i mean, seriously, did garage sales and ads in the paper suffice? i love craigslist and found exactly what i was looking for. check out this beauty!

please notice those fabulous atomic stars on the doors of the buffet. to die for! this is a vintage drexel buffet and hutch from the suncoast line and is stamped 1959. i have not seen another one like it online and i totally love it! and we bought it for a steal.....$200!
it not only looks good but is a hard working storage machine! i've got my vintage tupperware, vintage pyrex, Orla Kiely bowls, placemats, trivets, dish towels and even crayons and coloring books stored neatly away in this thing.
so this piece of furniture really got the ball rolling in a sense. john began to embrace this style as well and we've slowly added a few treasures to our collection.
like this coffee table i found also on craigslist for $20. it's not in perfect condition and i have plans to refinish it to match our other furniture but we think it has great lines.

next we found this sweet little nightstand/end table at a garage sale for $5. again, not in perfect condition but for $5 i can overlook that! this is made by american of martinsville and is probably a little more 60's-ish but we fell in love with the front that folds out to hold your drinks.



this chair also probably hails from the 60's but it's got a great low profile. i covered it in this fab fabric but left the original blueish-green tweed intact underneath. i actually stole this one from my parent's house who in turn had bought it at a church garage sale.


drumroll please for our latest treasure.....scored at a local antique mall for $20. a westclox alarm clock complete with atomic sunburst night light. push that little button at the top and the left side of the clock glows.

so that concludes my mid century modern menagerie. at least for now. i'm off to go hunt for more treasures!