Does anybody else match their interior decor/furniture to their gear? Pics.

Here's a lousy pic of the cabinet in my living room. 9lb., 14 year old cat provided for scale.

And yes, the mid-50s Vornado is cool as hell. Needs a new switch, though - it won't turn off. I also have a big Westinghouse Mobilaire in the garage - another cool bit of atomic-era modernism. And very functional.
 

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Time Machine!

JohnVF said:
My love affair with mid-century really took off into overdrive when I used to vacation in Palm Springs, California, about 5 or 6 years ago. It's very much a whole city of what I would think of when I think of American Modernism. I'd stay at a motel called Ballentines that's like a time machine (and one night drank way into the night with old friends of Sinatra), which was really cool for a 30 year old. They liked that my girl and I dressed like we were from the '60s.
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Sounds great! Any pictures?
 
Blonde and Tan Vandys

watt said:
Hi John. That new MAC 1900 looks right at home among the rest of your stuff. I'm a little late contributing to the thread, but with this topic I couldn't resist. Here's a (blurry) pic of my attempt to match furniture with gear. The Systemdek and MAC 4100 are on a cabinet behind where I took the photo. (It's an oddly-shaped room, and this is the only configuration that would accommodate everything.) Eames fiberglass rocker and wire table between the Vandersteens (courtesy JohnVF :thmbsp:). Coffee table a more recent design, clearly indebted to the Noguchi coffee table.
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I really like the tan Vandys, they fit right in. You've got me wanting to resock mine when I get the room more together.
 
AR Balanced faceplate design

eThink said:
The AR Receiver is from the early 1970s and iit s close to 40 years old in design. The AR Receiver reflects a "minimalist" design aesthetic; to my eyes, it is still attractive today. :thmbsp:

It was designed in the US; it has been reported that some of the design team also worked on the KLH 27 receiver from the same period.

Here are some AK links to more information on this receiver http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=97759 and http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=218504
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Very understated. I like the way the dial and racker switches balance. I'd like the tuning dial bigger, though, especially as my eyes get older!
Thanks for the links.
 
Thanks, cool furnishings in there! Looking at the hotel listings, there appear to be a cluster of mid century time capsules around there. Same goes for Jersey shore and parts of Florida. Some day I'll spend some vacation time in some of them, if I ever take my vacations!
 
Is Modern Scandinavian?

I don't mean to dis Danish craft and design, there are great examples of their work in furniture and audio.
But on the other hand I don't want anyone to think that all the modern designers and their work was derivative of Scandinavian design.
Modern probably, IIRC, started at the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain, think Charles Rennie MacIntosh, or The Vienna Seccesion: Josef Hoffmann, or the Weiner Werkstatte after that, then the Bauhaus. Tht's all really cool stuff that I've mostly seen in Museums or the Modernism show at the Armory in the fall, in NYC.
In the US, FL Wright, Russel Wright, Rhode and Nelson, Eames, Noguchi and Breuer at Herman Miller, all the Raymor designers, and the Heywood Wakefield designs, Raymond Loewy, and how many did I leave out?

The Americans got very little respect, relatively.
Jack Lord said:
How did I miss this thread? Some of my favorite things- KLH and Mid Century Modern furnishings.

Nice stuff John. Me like. My house is mostly MidMod as well with several Danish Modern pieces. Goes well with the KLH and even the Pioneer.

I must disagree with the fella who said Danish Modern is just a marketing term. The Danes as well the other Scandinavians were historically great ship builders- think of Viking vessels. This eventually transferred to furniture. After WWII, the Danes, having been occupied, adopted a forward looking outlook in their furniture design. And with thousands of GIs stationed in Europe, they brought tons back to the States. All told, Scandinavian Design would probably be better.

Anyway, love the Eames chair. Must have.
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I've always felt that the mid-century modern design grew out of the work of the "mission" design of the early 20th century. A lot of Stickley's work has a proto-modernist feel to it.

On that note, my aunt has two original Stickleys - a Morris chair and a love seat. I lust after them...
 
Designdweeb said:
I don't mean to dis Danish craft and design, there are great examples of their work in furniture and audio.
But on the other hand I don't want anyone to think that all the modern designers and their work was derivative of Scandinavian design.
Modern probably, IIRC, started at the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain, think Charles Rennie MacIntosh, or The Vienna Seccesion: Josef Hoffmann, or the Weiner Werkstatte after that, then the Bauhaus. Tht's all really cool stuff that I've mostly seen in Museums or the Modernism show at the Armory in the fall, in NYC.
In the US, FL Wright, Russel Wright, Rhode and Nelson, Eames, Noguchi and Breuer at Herman Miller, all the Raymor designers, and the Heywood Wakefield designs, Raymond Loewy, and how many did I leave out?

The Americans got very little respect, relatively.
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I think that "Danish Modern" has just become a term to describe a certain aesthetic, not really in relation to country of origin anymore. I would describe my place as 'danish modern' even though most of it seems to have been made and designed in the US. I associate it with more of a warmer, wood-oriented look as opposed to some of the more pop/atomic age looking stuff, that borders on kitsch to me. I don't really know the more exact terms, and just sort of buy stuff that I like the look of. I have one friend who is the opposite...a true collector who only looks for pieces from one or two designers. Who I think were scandinavian but I'm not sure. But even he has an Eames RAR Rocker in his place. Which I'm very tempted to buy because it has a tweed fabric upholstery over the fiberglass and would look great in front of my fishers.
 
Fixed the Vornado - the spring in the two-speed switch broke at the end. Bent a new tang onto it, and -presto- it works!
 
I have what I think is a Vornado, it's in storage. It has a purple cowl around the blades....looks like a stumpy jet engine. It works pretty well but my modern fans are much quieter.
 
Oh those lanes!

Ethink:
If you like the those Lanes, and I do too, look at the Hans Wegner designs they 'adapted' them from.

And Sam: I think the Stickly and the Mission style, and the California work by Greene and Greene, all those designs are great, and probably came from those common roots, and the ideas that were floating around in the air at that time, too.
That Vornado is a wild sort of streamlining, pretty cool, if you'll pardon the pun.
eThink said:
The Lane "Counterplay" line from the mid- to late 1970s was oiled walnut with oak trim. It is all solid wood and wood veneer. This remains my favorite Lane furniture after 30 years.

I bought this furniture for my bedroom as a "closeout" in 1979 in Stamford, CT. My KLH 200 table radio, walnut wood cabinet and speaker, coordinates nicely with the Lane furniture .

I also have Lane coffee tables and end tables in oiled walnut (a nice match for Large Advents, then my ads L810s and now ads L400s) in my living room.

I see that I also share an appreciation for Luxman 27x TTs with SheltieDave!
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JohnVF said:
I have what I think is a Vornado, it's in storage. It has a purple cowl around the blades....looks like a stumpy jet engine. It works pretty well but my modern fans are much quieter.
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This one only has a slight hum, not counting the wind noise. Moving a lot of air with a tiny motor isn't quiet. I need to do a bit of disassembly to replace the rubber grommets that hold the rear cowl in place, the past 55 years hasn't been kind to the rubber. Most of my cooling is done by A/C and ceiling fans, but the big Mobilaire does a great job keeping the garage reasonable and a few small vintage pieces like the Vornado are good for spot cooling inside.
 
I sometimes like the sound of a fan, kind of a white-noise that lulls me to sleep. Modern fans seem to have picked up something from the submarine world, with their quiet propellers. It's not the motor that's noisy, but the aerodynamics (or lack of) of the blades themselves. But my modern 'holmes' copy of a vintage fan is equally loud, so they can still make a loud fan if they try!
 
Designdweeb said:
I don't mean to dis Danish craft and design, there are great examples of their work in furniture and audio.
But on the other hand I don't want anyone to think that all the modern designers and their work was derivative of Scandinavian design.
Modern probably, IIRC, started at the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain, think Charles Rennie MacIntosh, or The Vienna Seccesion: Josef Hoffmann, or the Weiner Werkstatte after that, then the Bauhaus. Tht's all really cool stuff that I've mostly seen in Museums or the Modernism show at the Armory in the fall, in NYC.
In the US, FL Wright, Russel Wright, Rhode and Nelson, Eames, Noguchi and Breuer at Herman Miller, all the Raymor designers, and the Heywood Wakefield designs, Raymond Loewy, and how many did I leave out?

The Americans got very little respect, relatively.
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You are quite correct.

Danish Modern or rather Scandinavian Modern is but one area. A lot of modern things have Japanese influences (look at Clifford May's houses)- perhaps from FLW's time spent working in Japan. And then there are the ones you mentioned.
 
Jack Lord said:
You are quite correct.

Danish Modern or rather Scandinavian Modern is but one area. A lot of modern things have Japanese influences (look at Clifford May's houses)- perhaps from FLW's time spent working in Japan. And then there are the ones you mentioned.
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My low platform bed is of Italian design (it's the "sottiletto bed" by burtscher & bertolini.). I realize there are many different areas of influence, and modern can mean many many things. The interesting thing to me is how, with careful choosing, most forms of design can work together as they share many of the same common goals. My Italian platform bed sits in a room with a minimal industrial looking steel shelf for the stereo and a simple white lacquered steel cabinet from Ikea (..sometimes they really have some interesting things). An Eames fiberglass shell chair sits in the corner and a pop-mod lucite lamp sits next to that. Modern from all around the world, from the '50s to recent, all working pretty well because they share the same basic ideals (except maybe the lucite lamp..little bit of kitsch to spice things up).
 
When I ordered my audio rack from the carpenter, I asked him to make me covers for the Mcintosh C-28 and Marantz Esotec SC-6.

I have an Esotec SM-6 and two pairs of Esotec MA-5 coming, and I intend to give them the same treatment. A nice unified look.

I always thought that audiophiles have great aesthetic sense.



 
That's the first I've seen of somebody matching their equipment rack to the cabinets for their gear. That looks great, and those chairs look really comfy. Love the arm-rests. Nice work.
 
Home and gear pics, yep, stuck in the '60s

I sold my home here in Orange County a few years ago. I bought my soon to be retirement home in the Palm Springs area and am doing it up just how I want. From scratch...a clean slate. I’ve never been able to do that before. The audio gear and furniture I have always wanted. Gone are great aunt Ethel’s’ 3 piece sectional, the 1880s bed and dresser and a hand-me-down dinning room table, plus a bunch of other family odds and ends.

The room with the stereo gear now has a flat screen and a clock on the wall and new window treatments. That’s it. The gear and furnishings fit the 50s ranch style house. The place is almost bordering on being a ‘60s modern cliché, but its mine and I like it. Hey, it is all about me, right? I plan to be there for the next 20+ years (God willing).

Glenn
 

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ticntoc said:
I sold my home here in Orange County a few years ago. I bought my soon to be retirement home in the Palm Springs area and am doing it up just how I want. From scratch...a clean slate. I’ve never been able to do that before. The audio gear and furniture I have always wanted. Gone are great aunt Ethel’s’ 3 piece sectional, the 1880s bed and dresser and a hand-me-down dinning room table, plus a bunch of other family odds and ends.

The room with the stereo gear now has a flat screen and a clock on the wall and new window treatments. That’s it. The gear and furnishings fit the 50s ranch style house. The place is almost bordering on being a ‘60s modern cliché, but its mine and I like it. Hey, it is all about me, right? I plan to be there for the next 20+ years (God willing).

Glenn
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It looks great! Cliche? Hardly. While any quality style would look good there, the midmod stuff has the same clean lines as the house. They dovetail perfectly.
 
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