mod danes

Before moving in we got rid of all but a bit of our furniture. So furnishing is mostly a clean slate. Since we're working this Dutch, boat, mod, hand crafted, life of science and learning, wabi sabi sort of aesthetic we needed to think about how that would translate into furniture. At Christmas we got a book of Danish chairs. There's a particular mid century teak style that was sort  ubiquitous in the 70's that we thought fit exceedingly well. Thus we began, like we do everything, reading more about it and tracking auctions on eBay.

After meeting with the tax man the other day and finally calculating the benefits of buying a house we decided now might be the time to actually see what we could find. So, we headed back to eBay. First we had a couple of items sniped from in the last seconds of the auction. Just as well, we finally found and won a couple pieces that are pretty swell.

It's funny, on eBay the best way to find 20th century Danish furniture is to search for Eames, even if it's not Eames you are looking for it usually is tagged "Eames era". I've been looking at auctions for the better part of a year now. I've seen a lot of stuff come and go and have a pretty good sense for what to look for in details and how that translates into price. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised that the chair we locked on didn't go nearly as high as I expected, but who am I to complain.

The first purchase was this Geroge Nelson expanding slat bench 18" by 4"7" closed 8' fully expanded. This will be a coffee table/bench on the second floor. I think the moving parts in a clever design were at the root of the appeal.

The true find was this second piece a Poul Jensen "Z" chair.The amount of wood shaping in this piece is awe inspiring. I wish I had the patience to craft something like this myself. Every piece tapers neatly into the next,there are no hard edges or 90 degree joints to be found, yet it's nothing but angular in design. I think it's the one chair (and we have looked at hundreds) that when we both saw it we immediately thought, "that's the chair."

In other news I am pleased to announce that ALL drywall work is done on the 3rd floor. The remaining amount that covers the soffits on the second floor can be cut on the first and installed. So... all of the drywall that had been leaning against walls all over the second and third floors is used up or gone. It's really starting to look like a house up there.

Comments

[Anne]

They're both totally beautiful!

[Wildside Musing]

So funny! I was just daydreaming about Danish Modern before I clicked the link to your blog... Hmmm... Is this a sign? Should I take my daydreams more serious?!!

[Jason Taylor]

Glad to see another z chair fan....here's mine, tastefully refinished (did not come with the cushions, I had to have them made.)

http://www.jasonrichardtaylor.com/Details.aspx?AlbumID=24&Page=0