Mid-Century Modern in San Diego

KPBS, San Diego's public broadcast station, has a show called San Diego Historic Places. And that show recently did an episode called Mid-Century Modern.

An architecture style that was born in the 1940s is alive and thriving in San Diego. We'll show you some great homes of the mid-century modern era.

It's worth the watch.

Shining Carpet Doormat

My Shining carpet doormat idea might actually become reality thanks to Mid2Mod. Vecco's Buzzed stencil looks a lot like the pattern in the Shining carpet. A little orange, brown and red colorant and you're there. Now I just have to decide how badly I want a Shining doormat. I kind of just want to buy my doormat and be done with it.

On the other hand, their Diamond Bling stencil looks a lot like a certain logo that I'm rather fond of.

Moby's LA Architecture Blog

If you know Moby, you know him for his musical career. I've seen him live a few times and went to both Area Festivals. So you could call me a fan. And now I'm a fan of his new project, a blog about LA architecture. It's definitely a mid-century blog worth checking out.

Mid-Century Modern Kitchen Lights

I've mentioned Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co. before, but this video gives some nice insight into the company. I'm still trying to figure out how to work some of their overhead light shades into our future kitchen remodel. They're just so pretty.

Patrick Rylands Bath Toys

If you're lucky enough to live across the pond and have a little one, you should check out these reissues of Patrick Rylands bath toys.

The fish and bird toys are from a group of toys by Patrick Rylands, which won the Duke of Edinburgh's Design Award in 1970. Rylands trained as a ceramicist at the Royal College of Art, and his love of sculptural forms combined with his interest in plastics technology led him to design smooth rounded plastic toys which were very easy for small children to handle.

The packaging is pretty nice too.

If you live in the States and still really want them, you can still order them, but shipping is twice as much as the toy. Hopefully there will be an American distributor soon.

Mid-Century Door Mat Inspiration

Our door mat is starting to show it's age and is probably going to need to be replaced soon. And instead of just picking something up at whatever big box store I end up in next, I gave it a little thought. And I realized what the perfect doormat is, this:

If you're a movie fan, it might look familiar:

It's the carpet from The Shining. I think it would be the perfect mid-century rug design for a door mat. The problem is, that first photo is a mouse pad and I can't find a door mat version. But, now I've got something to obsess over for a little bit. If it's out there, I'll find it.

Custom Mid-Century Modern Door Inspiration

Mid-century modern doors have been on my mind, for obvious reasons. While I wouldn't go through the trouble of making a custom mid-century modern door from scratch for my mid-century ranch, I know there are some people out there who would. It's one of the only ways to get a truly one-of-a-kind, mid-century modern front door.

But sometimes you, or your contractor, need a little inspiration to kick things off. And sometimes inspiration comes from weird, or in this case, industrial places.

CGAxis is an online 3D model store, so they make visual representations of items people who are making animated films or video games might need. Of course, they want those things to be interesting, gorgeous and innovative so that the final film or game looks really good. Which has lead them to design some truly inspired doors.

If you're thinking of making a custom mid-century modern door, I'd give their designs a look as see if there's something that peaks your interest.

Mid-Century Front Door (Almost Done)

We're one step closer to having our mid-century front door installed and finished, insomuch that our Crestview Westhaven door is installed. We decided to have the windows "point" to the left (a debate we've been having) because the door opening on the right is more natural and the windows look better when aligned with the handle.

The mid-century modern lock is installed and the Mad Men door knob is next (the current handle is temporary). Then it's just a paint job and we're done. I'll have glamor shots to share when everything is finished.

Arts Weekend Austin

If you need some art for your walls or some special things for your mid-century home, then it's a good weekend to be in Austin.

First off, there's the first ever West Austin Studio Tour. As someone who looks forward to the East Austin Studio Tour every year, I'm hoping the West counterpart is just as fantastic. From their site:

Just like its counterpart, the celebrated East Austin Studio Tour, WEST is a free, self-guided tour that champions the abundance of talent of Austin’s large and wildly diverse creative community. The public is invited to discover new artistic talent, see working studios, learn about artists' tools, techniques, and inspirations, and support the arts community by building their collections and supporting local businesses. WEST covers a wide geographical area; just as non-homogenous as Austin itself, the broad range of work reflects the eclectic abundance of artists working west of I35. Additionally, a number of pop-up spaces are presenting art shows and events.

You can check out all the studios on May 19th and 20th from 11am to 6pm. Be sure to check out the West Austin Studio Tour map here first.

And if that's not enough to wear out your feet, the Austin Renegade Craft Fair is also this weekend. The Renegade Craft Fair in Austin is always a great place to find some modern art or crafty knickknacks for your home. Check out the list of artists here and hit up the Palmer Events Center between 11am and 7pm on the 19th and 20th. You're sure to find something special.

Mid-Century Door Ad

I'm not sure what company this mid-century door advertisement is for, but it has some great inspiration for mid-century door designs and even a nice vintage screen door.

Mid-Century Garage Doors

Our mid-century ranch home originally had a garage attached, but it got turned into the front porch and driveway long before we bought the place. But for those of you with garages who want to keep it in the original mid-century style, The Garage Journal has a post for you. Filled with images of amazing mid-century garage doors, the garages there should provide ample inspiration.

Our mid-century home's original garage door looks a lot like barn doors to me.

Broyhill Brasilia Lingerie Chest

An interesting piece of Broyhill Brasilia is for sale on Austin's craigslist, a piece that's being billed as a Broyhill Brasilia tallboy. But it's actually a Broyhill Brasilia lingerie chest.

After the latest Broyhill Brasilia misidentification on craigslist, I was skeptical that this was even a legitimate Brasilia piece so I checked the Brasilia Connection's copy of the original Brasilia sales brochure (pdf). Sure enough, there it was.

I've never seen the Brasilia lingerie chest for sale before in Austin. They're also selling a matching Brasilia headboard and dresser with mirror, if you're looking for a whole bedroom set.

Mid-Century Magazines

I do most of my mid-century reading online, as I think most people probably do. But sometimes it's nice to take things offline or actually hold gorgeous mid-century photos in your hand. Here are some mid-century magazines or magazines that usually have mid-century and mid-century modern features.

Atomic Ranch

Modernism

Midcentury Magazine

Dwell

By no means do I think this is an exhaustive list, so I'd love to know what mid-century mags you're flipping through.

Moe Light Striped Pendant Light

I'm still on the hunt for a pair of reasonably priced Moe Light Honeycomb pendant lights, so I an ebay/etsy/everywhere search every now and again. During today's search I happened upon these mid-century Moe Light pendant lights, which I've never seen before.

The white inner pendant and ceiling attachment looks to be the same one as the Moe Light honeycomb light, or at least very similar.

And the sticker on the inside of the ceiling mount clears up any questions of it being a Moe Light.

I'm still stuck on finding tangerine-gold Moe Light Honeycomb pendant lights for my place, but these vintage Moe Lights would be a perfect addition to any kitchen or other mid-century room.

Mid-Century Campers and Trailers

Mid-Century Travel Trailers — the next big thing?

This slightly leading question/post from Mid-Century Style Magazine got me thinking. I have recently said out loud, "Let's get an Airstream, park it in the driveway and rent it to Austin tourists or use is as couch swapping bait" and "I think my next car is going to be a 60s Westy."

So to answer the question, yes. I think mid-century trailers, mid-century campers and probably mid-century cars are going to make a come back. But, as someone who writes a mid-century blog, I'm probably a little biased.

Niemeyer Brasilia Poster

I mentioned Amy Sullivan's work in my Cathrineholm poster post, but her ABCs of MCM (mid-century modern) poster series also has something for the Brasilia fan. Her N is for Niemeyer poster would hang perfectly next to any piece of Brasilia furniture.

If you don't know the Niemeyer / Broyhill Brasilia furniture connection, you should read this. If you want this Cliff's Notes version, it's this: Brasilia (the capital of Brazil) and many of its buildings were designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Brasilia (the furniture line) was inspired by the city.

Broyhill Brasilia For Sale in Austin

Subtitled: Not really.

Subtitled: I'm not saying I haven't made this mistake.

Subtitled: Why you need to research before buying on craigslist.

Someone is selling a dresser on craigslist that's billed as a Broyhill Brasilia dresser. But I'd put money down that's it's a Kent Coffey Perspecta dresser, the handles are the giveaway.

I'm not going to pretend I haven't made the exact same mistake myself, but it's another example of why you need to do your own research before buying on craigslist (or anywhere for that matter). Still, it's a gorgeous dresser if you're looking.

Mid-Century Austin Estate Sale: Twin Oaks Dr.

When there's an estate sale in a mid-century neighborhood in Austin, like this one in Allandale, I take special notice. And when they're selling their mid-century door knobs, I know there's a pretty good chance that there are treasures to be found, like these:

You can check out other items for sale here.

Here are the details:
Twin Oaks Drive
Between Burnet Rd. and Shoal Creek Blvd.
Austin, TX 78757
May 5: 9 a.m.

Mid-Century Cathrineholm Art

Cathrineholm Lotus cookware in your kitchen is a great mid-century design detail. You can highlight and accentuate that cookware, either in our out of the kitchen, with some Cathrineholm cookware artwork.

By Jan Skácelík

By yumalum

By Liz Lyons

By Amy Sullivan

By Charlette Miller

By Pool Pony

By Inaluxe

LBJ Mid-Century Auction

LBJ's presidential library is in Austin. If you ever visit, it's worth the tour. But if you want to get a little closer to LBJ, there's an auction of LBJ items on May 12th. It looks like a good place for any presidential or mid-century buff. It takes place in Dallas, but you can bid online or over the phone too. The auction benefits the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, another place worth the visit if you're ever in Austin.

I particularly like the Steuben crystal owl above and this ring: