Thread of modernist appreciation

[shovetheholly]

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm wondering if there any are fellow Mumsnetters who like mid-century modern/modernist furniture?

I am not any kind of expert, but I find myself increasingly drawn to this style. My most coveted item at the moment is the Finn Juhl no 45. There is no way I'll ever be able to afford an original - but does anyone have the repros? Are they any good?

Wow, that wood on your sideboard! It is like a tiger's fur!

Dave - also a place in west wickham called central antiques, its in the old fire station, always worth a look in & reasonably priced.

Can I ask your advice on a matter of flooring, oh ye wise modernists?

I am having wet underfloor heating (I think) in an extension, so tiles on top. The room will be very light (lots of glass) but north-facing. I have been salivating at pictures after picture of modernist interiors, and noticed the prevalence of grey flooring, esp in anything by Mies van der Rohe. Do you think this would look OK on the north-facing side of the house, in a domestic room at a smaller scale, or will it be a bit cold?

Well shove - I'm not a modernist , as you know .. :) . I have just looked at some of his work, and there is a beautiful picture of the Barcelona Pavilion this one (I hope this shows the chair next to tall windows looking out at marble walls ) which I think would look stunning . It's so light and airy , that even north facing would bounce the light around. But thats just my opinion !

I forgot to say - I have absolutely no idea what wet underfloor heating is, but are you talking about it feeling cold in a non heat sense ? If so, I think with the furniture that you love, and the bookshelves you are planning on, I suspect not :)

Right..stealth boast time

I have been working on restoring this 1960's Uniflex dressing table that I found, unloved and battered in a local charity shop.

I'm really pleased with how it has come up, and happy that it has been given a bit of love after being neglected for what looks like years.

First pic is when I got it home. It was covered in layers upon layers of sticky brown varnish, and some numpty had at some point sanded the top of it against the grain and gouged huge black marks into it.

What do you think?

Book - I think you are right. Books are quite bright and variegated in colour and this may well be enough to warm up any space. Plus, the shelves will be a honey colour. Thank you for the advice! And yes, I did mean "cold" in a non-heating sense (I have anxieties about the temperature as well, but those have been allayed by kind people on another thread).

dave - as I said before, I think that looks AMAZING. You are so talented! And it's such a cute dressing table -so much worth the effort!

Ooh yay! I was an art deco fan and still am but now my house is getting more and more MCM.

Thanks shove x

shove - I think I may have given you reassurance - honey coloured bookshelves and lots of books feel like 'home' to me ! And on another thought, put in the things you want - and just tweak it along until it feels right- there are lots of small touches that stop a room feeling sterile -( if that is the right word. ) Being full of light and windows, maybe the odd plant may creep in to live there too ?

How did you guess book? I am hoping to have an almond tree! They can't live outside, but can be indoors. And if you pollinate them with a paintbrush, apparently the green almonds are lovely!

I love the sound of your home, full of books and lovely furniture and paintings!

Talking of trees and pictures, it's not mid century modern, but I just framed up this poster for the 26th Secession exhibition in 1906. The graphic design on the whole series of posters is amazing!

ooh - an almond tree and that is an iconic poster there.

( we have guitars / artisan pots and hand carved wood stuff too - its decidedly non minimalist here , luckily we have a bit of room and most of it is on the walls )

I'm looking for nice mid century knickknacks - perhaps something to collect? Does anyone ace any current obsessions?

There are almost too many knick-knacks on ebay, aren't there? It's difficult to know where to start. I quite like some of the Danish things, but they are often high postage.

book - oooh, guitars, didn't know you guys were musical as well! We are definitely not minimalist in our modernism either. Sometimes I do gaze longingly at those Marie Kondo pictures of her totally bare and beautiful house. Then I remember that she doesn't have any books, and indeed cuts out only the sections of books she likes to keep. Sacrilege! She loses.

Dave
I gave a dressing table but it has cup and water spill marks on it - can you tell me how to safely restore it please ? I read up thread that someone had restored something against the grain - I can guess what that means - but wd really appreciate advice so that I don't make a mess of it!
Also for the person who was asking about fabric - Google Hemingway fabric - mid century inspired stuff ... also John Lewis can do some seed head type stuff .

Also Google Micheal miller atomic fabric !

Look up also marsh and co
Original 1950 s Sanderson fabric - mobiles fabric and other original mid century fabric !!!!
This is for the person who was asking about mid century fabric - its fab .

ginorwine it was me that said the dressing table I have recently refurb'd had at some point been sanded against the grain.

Is your dressing table varnished? Is it solid wood or veneer?

I would recommend sanding out the water marks with some medium grade sandpaper. As you are going along keep wiping over with acetone (same stuff as nail polish remover) so you can see what you are doing/how far you need to sand.

Once the marks have been sanded out, I would normally apply a few coats of Danish or Teak oil letting each coat dry for a few hours before applying the next. I wipe it on with a lint free cloth. This gives a nice finish, but again it depends if you are intending to sand back the whole piece, or just the bit with the marks.

Thanks Dave - it's wood and I think that it's been varnished - but not sure . The reason I think it is varnished is that the colour differs in places . I'm unsure if it's mid century or 70 s - thinking about it now ! Will look inside for anything to identify .
It's fab all this mid century enthusiasm ! Have loved it for years and often go to vintage fairs but have missed out often as stuff is bought when it's still in the van !
I look on e bay a lot and note that whilst some sellers put mid century I'm sure some of it might be 70 s too ! Do you have yr own business ? ( I'm sure yr stuff wd be mid century !) 😄

I wd need to sand the whole peice ( just te read yr post ) as marks and different colours in it .

Morning gin

I would recommend stripping all the old varnish back in that case. I have been using a product called Strypit:

www.amazon.co.uk/Rustins-Strypit-Paint-Varnish-Stripper/dp/B001GU6I0Y

Or you can use Nitromors but I personally find the Strypit does the job quicker.

Once you have removed all the old varnish, give it a good sand, make sure you go along the grain .

Then you can oil it up . I definitely think it's worth spending the time on it if it's a piece you love.

My little Uniflex dressing table is almost finished (just waiting for some new drawer pulls to arrive), and then it's going up for sale. I could have cut a few corners with it, but personally I get a lot of satisfaction from bringing these lovely old pieces back to their former glory.

Good luck with it!

I use one of these too btw

www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-professional-Comb-ShAVehook-824/dp/B0001IW6EY/ref=pd_lpo_60_tr_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PB1M6ES6W27P8SKSZWS4

shove - It made me shudder to hear about Marie Kondo. I don't really trust people who don't have at least some books...
the guitars are DH's - his whole family are incredibly musical. I love music, listen to it a lot but just sing or hum along...

Thanks Dave
I wd love to see yr stuff !!!!

Well here is the little dressing table as I found it in my local charity shop, and after the refurb. Just waiting for new drawer knobs to arrive now as annoyingly one is missing.

Then onto my next project, a G Plan Brandon dressing table with the original lights still attached and working! It's going to look amazing