Friday, July 17, 2009
MY CLOCKS THUS FAR...
I've taken a liking to vintage clocks, so much so I've decided to collect them as availability and money allow. There are many striking clock designs from the 50's and 60's, and I'm interested in all of them!
This first clock in my "collection" is a "sunburst" clock made by Welby, which I believe might be German? The clock is beautiful, with brass and walnut rays. The clock does not currently work, though it is battery-operated and therefore should be an east fix. This clock was purchased on the Goodwill auction site, I think I paid around $30 for it.
This clock is my personal treasure! It is a vintage Linden clock with a walnut or teak face, a brass pendulum, and porcelain ring. It has, for lack of a better description, a "cuckoo clock movement" (and in my defense, Linden is famous for making Black Forest cuckoo clocks, from what I can tell). Which is to say it works by moving the weights up an down. The clock at this time does not stay running, and I'm sure it needs servicing. I will wait until after our move to have it adjusted, though, because I'm sure the move will knock it out of whack again. This clock I paid a bit more for, in the $60 range, but it is so gorgeous I couldn't pass it up! It also has chimes, which I'm anxious to hear!
This clock I happened to find at an indoor flea market-type place here in Colorado. It was leaning against a pile of old pictures sitting on the floor and quite dusty. It caught my eye as I browsed because of it unique shape and unmistakable retro look. It was made by Sunbeam, a general small appliance company. The unique thing about this clock is that you can display it either horizontally or vertically, and there are instructions on the back just how to do it. I chose to hang it vertically, because that was the space I had. I love the hour hand's "Jetson" look to it! This clock runs on a AA battery, though it eventually becomes 5 minutes behind. May just need an adjustment? This clock is approx. 24" long. I paid $10 for it.
CANONSBURG TEMPORAMA DINNERWARE & SERVING PIECES
"OWL"
NEEDLEPOINT MCM!!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
TODAYS FIND...A CHICKEN LAMP???
This lamp was found at Goodwill today, a place I hadn't intended to go, but I ended up there anyway. I wasn't quite sure of it at first, but as I studied more closely, I started to think this could be a MCM lamp. The hairpin legs give it away, along with the older wiring. I'm not sure about the chicken though, maybe a kitchen design? The body of the lamp is made in a cream crackle glaze with a somewhat abstract-looking rooster. No makers marks are found. Both the shade and lamp are in excellent condition, and I hope to find out more about it. I'm not sure if I will keep it or not, it doesn't really go with my decor. I paid $9.99 for it.
LANE COFFEE TABLE
A FUNKY VINYL OTTOMAN
THE CURRENT SOFA...aka MACARONI & CHEESE
This was the first MCM sofa I cam across on Craigslist that I could actually afford. Many have been listed (mostly in Denver), but they are VERY hard to get and can be quite expensive. The poster was asking $40, a steal for such a cool looking piece of furniture. I was THRILLED to learn I was one of the first responders to the ad, and quickly arranged to see it.
It is incredibly solid and heavy, no makers labels, unfortunately. An ornate geometric pattern is woven throughout, giving it an awesome look. The legs are square and tapered, with a design carved into them. I believe they are original but I'm not positive. No history available on the sofa, other than it belonged to a roommate that left it behind.
The color is more accurate in the middle picture. My oldest son calls it the "macaroni & cheese" sofa, lol. It is in excellent condition, with only a few loose strings here and there.


It is incredibly solid and heavy, no makers labels, unfortunately. An ornate geometric pattern is woven throughout, giving it an awesome look. The legs are square and tapered, with a design carved into them. I believe they are original but I'm not positive. No history available on the sofa, other than it belonged to a roommate that left it behind.
The color is more accurate in the middle picture. My oldest son calls it the "macaroni & cheese" sofa, lol. It is in excellent condition, with only a few loose strings here and there.
STURGIS CHAIR CO. EAMES STYLE CHAIRS
THE LAMP
This is the lovely lamp J. gave me...another treasure as I have actually been keeping an eye out for a lamp JUST like this! How did he know?
This is a vintage tension pole lamp, very retro in it's spaceage design. The lamp is brass in color, with three cone shades to house the bulbs. There are no markings on this lamp other than "underwriter's laboratories inc." which I believe was an inspection company as I've seen many older lamps with this sticker.
I cannot wait until we have ceilings low enough to use this lamp. Currently we have 22ft ceilings, that won't work. But when we get military housing in Hawaii, I know we'll have perfect ceilings for this lamp.
These are the BEFORE pictures. I will be cleaning and polishing this up so it shines like it did back in the 50's
A 50's Sofa and Lamp...my latest treasures!!!
Ok, so another one of my favorite hangouts (besides thrift shops) is Craigslist. I routinely check my local CL 10 times a day (okay, 20).
Just the other day, this sofa was posted in the Free section of CL. It has damage, and needs some restoration, but the moment I saw it I knew I needed to have it! I emailed the gentleman, and was graciously told it was already promised. My heart fell. I emailed him again and offered him money for it, but a true gentleman, he wouldn't go back on his word. I resigned to letting it go.
Then that night, I got another email. The lady was unable to make it, it could be mine! Hooray! I made arrangements to pick it up in the morning. The sofa was in Woodland Park, I was in Peyton. Somewhere inbetween I needed to rent a van to get it home safely.
I managed to do it, and get to Woodland Park as arranged. J. led me through a winding dirt path deep into the woods (ok, I'll admit, I got nervous for a second!) and then out to a beautiful clearing with horses and a pond. His house was past the first house on the road, and I couldn't help but look around at all the peaceful and beautiful landscaping.
We came up to garage, and there it was. Just as beautiful as I had hoped with it's turquoise and cream plush goodness. And in dire need of some lovin'. J. helped me load it into the van and then declined to take the money I offered. Bless him! What a generous soul! He told me to use the money for the rental van, which I did. We took a ride in his golf cart to an old barn to look at a chair (which unfortunately didn't go with my decor) and then we stopped at his stocked pond while he fed them. I almost didn't want to leave, it was so beautiful out there. Before I got ready to leave, J. gave me one more present...a 1950's pole lamp he had stored. More about that later!
THE SOFA
This piece of history is a three piece sectional which together form a rounded corner sofa. The fabric is hard to describe, it's a knobby woven material, possibly wool? The legs are square and tapered. There are no markings or labels on this sofa like I had hoped, so I have no clue who the maker might be.
The sofa unfortunately was attacked by a dog, hence the badly torn arm. It also has a broken piece of framing where the legs are on that same side, so that will have to be fixed before it can be used.
MY PLAN
I plan on having a professional upholsterer look at the damage and see what it might cost to fix. There is possibly enough of the torn fabric to repair, however some fabric may need to be taken from another place.
The cushions need to be replaced, as I think they are made of the original foam. I have removed the seat covers and will wash them gently in Woolite. The body of the sofa needs a good steam-cleaning as well. The legs of the sofa either need to be replaced or refinished, I haven't decided yet which to do.
I am convinced that this was was an absolute treasure of a find, and I cannot wait to show the after photos with it fully restored!
FIRST THE BAD...
LOOK AT THIS GORGEOUSNESS!
HOW THE END OF THE SOFA SHOULD LOOK
THIS PICTURE BEARS REPEATING, IT IS JUST THAT GORGEOUS
MOST OF THE LEGS LOOK LIKE THIS OR WORSE, REPLACE OR REFINISH?
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