Decorating with Chandeliers

"The term "chandelier" is from the 12th Century Old French world Chandelier, which evolved from an earlier, 10th century term chandelabre. That's not the end of the story though, because chandelabre came from the latin word candela, meaning candle.

They have a very old and grand history and have been used to grace the fine houses and mansions of the landed gentry and aristocrats of Europe for centuries.

Chandeliers add a fabulous touch of romantic distinction to any living room, bedroom or dining-room. I've even seen them used to great effect even in bathrooms. They work particularly well with French Provincial or Shabby Chic design elements.

Top of the Range: Molteni Stoves

It was the master chefs of the 1920's who helped direct the development of Molteni stoves, a brand name synonymous with high quality, prestigious and expensiveprofessional stoves and rangehoods. Founder, Joseph Molteni crafted his ranges on the advice and specifications of master chefs and for decades, Molteni stoves and cooktops have been uitilised in some of the best kitchens of the industry.

Recently however, Molteni has moved into domestic home kitchens, offering the household some of the most beautiful and efficient stoves available. They are made to last and apart from the A grade performance, come in a variety of striking colours and gleaming finishes. From the glistening gold knobs to the smoothly opening drawers and fine accents, Molteni reeks of craftsmenship and attention to detail.

Molteni Classic range

Strictly For the Luxury Kitchen

Molteni stoves are big, therefore they not for every kitchen and they are, as you would expect, hand-wringingly expensive - the home range having been designed primarily for the luxury kitchen. However, if you are fortunate enough to have both the room and the funds, they would be a fantastic acquisition.

Molteni craftsmen boast an emphasis on attention to detail, durability and state of the art technology. The solid steel stoves are virtually hand made, having been manufactured one at a time, according to customer specifications.

Chesterfield Couches

History of the Chesterfield Sofa

Apparently many Canadians refer to any sofa as a Chesterfield but this is news to me as I've always associated the name with a particular type of classic, large, leather couch, with a padded, buttoned upholstery - very solid and disguished looking and very British. According to the Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, the term Chesterfield is generally used to describe a sofa created in honour of Philip Stanhope, the fourth Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773).

True Chesterfields (as opposed to any old couch) are indeed very distinctive, with a low rolled back and thick, supportive, yet extremely comfortable padding. Chesterfields look even better with the patina of age and as they are made from good quality leather, they're hardy and virtually never wear out, unless you treat them abusively. Perhaps they might survive even then.

Scottie Dog

Sweet Scottie vintage fruit box label

Scottish Terriers: The Decorative Dog
Scottie dogs, with their distinctive, stylised looks and appealingly earnest facial expressions, have long been a popular 20th century motif for fashion, ornaments and various what nots and bric a brac. They ooze character and have a kind of retro, old-fashioned charm - possibly because their image can be found on so many old  tea towels, cake tins, calendars and brooches etc. Like the poodle, they possess a serious style cachet and were particularly sought after, as decorative accents, from the 1920s through to the 1950s. They even had the distinction of being a Monopoly playing piece.

That 50s Look

Retro Style, paperback by Marion Haslam

The 1950s ushered in the first post-war Great Age of Consumerism. Mass production and modernism meant functional, streamlined products in new materials and innovative designs and there was a kind of optimism about science, technology and the leaping developments of the 20th Century. Everything was boom, boom, boom.

1950s Tulip Chair by Eero Saarinen.

These days there's a lot of interest and nostalgia around the mid-twentieth century period and why not? Some remarkably spiffy designs emerged from that particular era. A 50s inspired chair or table, or even an appliance,  blended into a modern home can capture an aspect of a very special period of design, which, if it's your cup of tea, can be aesthetically uplifting.

Retro Style
Former Habitat buyer Marion Haslam has put together a book that looks at the design elements of the 1950s - anything from toasters to furniture - from a contemporary perspective. Haslam includes some workable projects in Retro Style , some of which seem to have had mixed reviews from customers. Most agree however, that the author provides an interesting text and some inspirational ideas for the 50s enthusiast. The book is now a few years old and out of stock at some online bookstores  but I guess when you're talking about the 50s, it's not like it'll be 'dated'.
The 1950s House
TV Lamps
Black Lady Lamps
Vintage TV Table

Retro Clocks

Retro star clock from Chaney

Tic Toc

Light-up GMC truck clock by Collectable Sign and Clock

As seconds turn into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into years, years into decades...well, you get the picture.

Time has a way of slipping away from us - styles change, even in timepieces, as metal replaced wood and stone, bakelite replaced metal, plastic replaced bakelite - mechanical replaced the sundial, digital replaced analogue and so on.

Yet many people still prefer the friendly face of an analogue clock...for one thing the moving hands crawling across divided spaces gives us a tangible view of the passage of time. For another, there is more opportunity for stylistic elements.

Eames era 50s starburst clock from Knoll Nelson

Starburst clocks, suggestive of sun dials were very popular in the Art Deco period and again in the 1950s and came in space age metals or bright colours to compliment the modern ranch house kitchens of the era. Also very popular were plain, round clocks faces in light green or black frames.

Classic kitchen wall clock from Infinity Instruments

 

Gas Pump wall clock by Atlantic

Novelty Clocks

The only reason for time is so everything doesn't happen at once~ Albert Einstein

Retro charm can be captured in  novelty clocks  - find an iconic  piece of popular culture in  a clock designed as mid century gas pump or a 1930s  style black Kit-Kat  clock. 

 Or check out the  The Atomic Wall Clock 

Kit-Kat wall clock by the California Clock Company

Red Rivet alarm clock by 3B Scientific

 Robot Clocks

Everything happens to everybody sooner or later if there is time enough.  ~ George Bernard Shaw

Nothing says mid-twentieth century more than a retro robot. The first toy robot, Liliput was created  in the 1930s/40s by a Japanese toy company called KT but it wasn't until the  1950s that robot toys were reproduced in the thousands, becoming, in the process, an emblem of the atomic age.

These very cool robot clocks combine function and nostalgia into one desirable object for retro fans.

Tokyo Bay robot alarm clock

 

Atomic Wall Clock

This quirky wall clock in typical 50s-flavoured  design, from Lee Hiller Designs, is pretty darn cool, though it might take a while  get used to reading the time with such a busy background to distract.

Finished in a high gloss,  'ceramic-like' (whatever that is) finish, the wall clock, which features retro TVs and atomic age skeches, measures 10" by 10" and is selling at Amazon for US$34.99.

Barcelona Chair

Barcelona chair from Matt Blatt

Matt Blatt's advertised replica of  Mies Van Der Rohe Barcelona chair in 'cowhide' is different and if nothing else looks comfortable, as it should be for $2395. So who is Mies Ven der Rohe? Well Van Der Hohe, who was born in Germany in 1886, was a significant figure in avant garde modern classic design, both  in furniture and architecture. Van Der Rohe was renown for his innovative use of glass and steel. Having a particular interest in spaces,  he was also the man behind the development of the convention hall in 1953. Van Der Rohe's original Barcelona chair featured at the 1929 International Exhibition in Barcelona and is now considered a 'modern classic'.

According to the Matt Blatt website, the replica  chair is upholstered in pony hide and "each panel of leather is carefully selected, hand cut, hand piped, hand tufted and individually sewn by master leather craftsmen" yet it also says in the general comments that "the inherent nature of cowhides mean that colour, patterning and texture may vary. Inconsistencies should be both expected and appreciated". Pony or cow..? Confused.

From Hides and Co there's a Van Der Hohe inspired three seater tan and white lounge, based on the "Van Der rohe day bed', priced at $1730...and covered in 'finest Argentine cowhide".

Barcelona 'day bed' lounge bench from hides and Co.

Below is yet another Van Der Rohe replica, this time the Barcelona Bench, in cowhide from getprice at $1195.  Popular guy that Van Der Rohe.

Barcelona bench replica from getprice

Isn't it Iconic?

The Skipping Girl cushion, from the Make Me Iconic website.

Don't Ya Think?
The Melbourne couple behind Make Me Iconic are on to something. They've cleverly taken some of Melbourne's most sentimentally loved, iconic symbols and wrapped them up in an irresistible blend of cool design and utilitarian function. Take for example, the Skipping Girl cushion above, which features an  image of one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city, complete with a silhouette of the Melbourne skyline and transposed it onto a cushion. Whaat? How come no-one thought of this before? Now we can all possess a little piece of Melbourne history and throw her on the couch.

A Melbourne tram in toy form. From Make Me Iconic

Equally lovable is the wooden  toy Melbourne green and yellow tram with 12 little wooden passengers and two tram conductors.

The old W class "green rattlers" as they are sometimes affectionately called, are indeed an icon that every Melbournian is familiar with and I'm guessing, one that many urbanites would probably love to buy for their preschoolers, if only for sentimental reasons.

According to the spiel on their website, the idea for turning Melbourne iconic into sellable items came as the result of a return to Melbourne after ten years living in Europe and the realisation that apart from koala teaspoons and fridge magnets of St Pauls Cathedral, there weren't really very many appealing Melbourne-centric souvenirs that focused on the soul of the city ...so, they set about finding and hiring some young local designers to create them;  "we knew we weren’t the only ones that love this city and guessed that we weren’t the only ones that wanted to take a part of it home". ~ From the Make Me Iconic website.

French Doors

Let There be Light
Adding French or casement doors to your home is like adding extra windows -light comes flooding in and suddenly the home is extended to the outside world. Apart from this practical purpose, the doors themselves add an old world ambiance to a home. Traditionally they come in many elegant, ornate styles, with various numbers of panes, timber details, wrought iron work and elegant fixtures. Imagine the balcony in the picture at right with a solid door...just wouldn't look any good would it? Since I've never heard the term French door, without an "s" on the end I'm assuming their has to be two.

French doors began in the 17th century as casement windows that were extended to floor level on the upper storeys of houses. Once they'd be invented, no doubt the home dwellers would have put two and two together and realised how convenient it would be to have a window-like door you could slip in and out of. Balconies were added to upper floors and French doors placed at ground level. These days, if space and the position of the sun allows it, some houses incorporate whole walls constructed of French doors.

Image by finsbry at Flickr

Eternally in Vogue

Interior French doors. Image from Wiles Windows

While French doors work wonderfully well opening out onto a garden or terrace they're also a great idea for dividing rooms where you may wish to seal off the sound or keep in the heat but not lose the light. They can also make smaller rooms appear larger and less claustrophobic, though obviously not ideal for rooms where privacy is an issue.

Owing to the universal  popularity of French doors, there's a vast variety of styles to choose from, including  the conventional multi-paned, hinged door to contemporary bi-folding or sliding walls of doors in timber, steel and aluminium, with or without panes and embellishments.

Vintage Laminates

Boomerang pattern

Yellow 'cracked ice'

Quality reproduction laminates in classic vintage patterns can be hard to find but I stumbled upon some some beauties at Bars and Booths and yes, they do ship to Australia, though I'm not sure what the minimum order is. Styles include the very 50s boomerang patterns, cracked ice and edible looking pastels.

Delicious retro pink.

There's a good selection of colours, all echoing those funky kitchens and cafes of the past - in standard, commercial grade quality. Laminate sample packages are available for $15, which will be credited to the first order.

The familiar orangey-pink of vintage laminates

Interesting Fact

Lamination was actually invented by a dentist in 1938. Dr. Morris M. Blum uitilised a plastic resin that was normally used for capping and bonding teeth to laminate  a photograph of his wife! (wiki)

TV Lamps

1950s swan TV lamp. Image from the Johnson Historical Society.

By the 1950s, the new invention of television had transformed the suburban home - the radio was ousted as the centre of home entertainment and the 'box' became the focal point of the living-room, particularly in the evenings. It was an age of energetic consumerism and new products, in modern and streamlined designs, were coming onto the market with increasing frequency. One such product was the 'TV lamp', purpose designed to provide a soft glow in the corner of the room, that would be conducive to television viewing. Whether or not there was really a need for such a thing was largely irrelevant - if there wasn't, the market would create one.

Unusual clock//TV lamp combination. Image from the Canadian Clock Museum.

In cinemas, patrons had become used to watching films in the dark and in the very early days of television, so too did viewers at home; plus darkness intensified the luminous screen and made for a better viewing experience. However, some people became concerned about this and there was talk that watching TV in a dark room could damage eyesight. Thus, the invention of the TV lamp - a shaded, ambient light that sat on top of the TV, creating just the right atmosphere and soothing all worries about watching the flickering box in darkness. It was a fad that lasted for  only a decade or so but during that time produced a plethora of different light designs.

The TV lamps were very often ceramic and lit from behind. Some of the more popular, imaginative themes included animals -(dogs, siamese cats, horses, panthers, ducks), decorative figurines, greek mythology, mermaids, boats, cars or flowers, leaves and trees - there were literally hundreds of different designs as almost everyone who owned a television during the height of the fad, bought a lamp to go on the top. So varied were the designs that it would probably be near impossible to collect one of each. Some of the TV lamps even doubled as pot plant holders or vases. Indeed, many claim the pottery industry was rescued by the TV lamp craze.

1950s designer lights, including TV Lamps. Image by Black-Afro at Flickr

While in the main, the classic 50's TV lamp was ceramic, there were metal ones used as well. The '50s was the atomic age and  many of the general, utilitarian lamp designs reflected  space-age technology and sci-fi themes - they tended to be metal and shiny in flying saucer shapes or conical, like rocket heads. Colours ranged from silver and gold through to rich metallic hues in reds, blues and greens.

1950s Black Lady Lamps