MID CENTURY MODERN FLOOR LAMP WITH ACCOMPANYING TABLES

Rising a sleek 64” and topped with a 17” tall by 14” wide fabric shade, that’s in great condition, this tall warm walnut and brass finished floor lamp has a sophisticated appeal.  As you can see by the photos it is anchored with a built in white laminate tablIMG_2094 (2) - Copye top wrapped by walnut on the ends. This table is a useful 17.5” diameter and is 22” up from the three legged brass finished base.  The 4 stacking  white laminate side tables are included with this lamp making it a very rare and useful combination.  Where else can you purchase such a modern matching grouping? This just isn’t done anymore.  The designer and manufacturer were thinking outside of the box…ahead of the curve. This grouping is just as fresh and original today as it was 60 years ago probably more so.

GERALD THURSTON DESK LAMP FOR LIGHTOLIER

Looking like it arrived via a time machine from the late 1950’s this awesome desk lamp has been and still is shining brightly with nearly 60 years of cool.  With a newly painted shallow profile 15.5” across shade and a simple, sexy, thin brass 16” stem attached to a 9” horse shoe shaped black metal base it purrs perfection with its simplicity. Gerald Thurston, a respected and talented designer doing business with Lightolier; a quality conscious lighting company, equals quality in tandem. Cool never goes out of style when done by the likes of Gerald Thurston for Lightolier.

ADRIAN PEARSALL, CRAFT ASSOCIATES PLATFORM SOFA

Newly refinished and professionally re-upholstered and always sought after, this 9.5 long day bed / platform sofa is quite an eye full. A new 4″ thick seat cushion insures a firm, comfortable seating arrangement for up to 4 people. The frame is solid walnut and wraps around laminate covered built in table tops. The sleek wood legs are finished with a walnut stain and the ends are finished with brass caps. Use your imagination, this classic piece designed by one the period’s best modernist will enhance any location that it is installed in.

The dimensions are as follows: 104″ long, 31″ deep, 30″ tall; 72″ seating area.

The tables measure 26” by 19”craft associates

Adrian Pearsall was trained as an architect but is best known for his furniture design. He founded Craft Associates in 1952 and achieved immediate success by providing affordable, stylish, quality furniture that incorporated the use of strong lines and unique color combinations. Pearsall is best known for his dramatic high-backed chairs, signature gondola sofas and sofas with attached end tables, of which have become highly valued among collectors.

Vorando Turnabout Table Fan

Today we take for granted the reliable comfort of air conditioning, the mechanics of it often invisible to us.  Adjust a knob or push a button and forget about it for months.  Air conditioning has been around since the early 1930’s but back then it was generally used in movie theaters and department stores not the home. That took a few decades more to become installed everywhere.  In the mean time most of us used table, floor and window fans.   As the times changed so did the styling of these metal rotating creatures. From the early part of the 20^th century they were stodgy Victorian looking iron, copper and wire units. By the middle of the 20^th century they became stream lined stylized steel beauties that reflected the confidence and ingenuity of the times.  One company in particular was the O.A. Sutton Corporation in Wichita Kansas.  They created the Vorando line of window, floor and table fans.  Through my years of collecting I have owned every model they produced from 1950 to 1960.  They are highly prized and are becoming scarce.   The model that really got my attention is the 1955-58c. Vornado Turnabout Table Fan.</p>
The space age “Jetson” style of the Vornado Turnabout Table Fan is exciting just to look at. The black steel base that supports the fan itself creates an open feel while the inlay of the fiberglass table top features a nice one piece tiled surface that makes for easy clean up with a damp cloth. This atomic age fan moves air like its rocket powered and all the while looking cool while doing so. The Vornado ducted design allows all of the air from the blade vortex to funnel out the front. When used in the upright position, the vortex is directed by a cone to push out around the edge of table.

Today the Vornado Turnabout table fan is still a functional piece of furniture as well as an art form from the mid 1950’s.

Some of the Features of the 1955-58c. Vornado Turnabout Table Fan includes:

There is a very interesting web-site the goes into greater detail about the engineering of the Vorando fan system it can be found at http:// www.vornadotrust.com/

New items

Hi Everyone!
We are very happy to say that even though we have been slow at posting here updates about our company here are a few of our newest items available for sale!
Thank you for checking them out at our website www.gre-stuff.com.

A Part of it All

Kofod Larsen was a Danish furniture designer and architect. His mid-century modern furniture designs were popular in his day. His pieces have become timeless and are still relevant and very fashionable today.

I can talk and write about mid century and Danish modern all day.  However, it’s still the hunt, the reclamation, and the return to life of these unique pieces that excite and generate the energy to talk and write about this subject matter. 

Recently, we removed the dull patina of time from a set of Danish Kofod Larsen chairs. As the grime was being lifted from the chairs, the original colors, light and life were returned. Restored to an all original finish these treasures brighten any space they are placed in. 

On a trip through Western Connecticut we rescued a large Danish secretary / desk from an old barn. The piece looked just as tired and weathered as the old building that it came out of. Some of the glue joints in the drawers were coming undone.  Veneer was peeling and an assortment of water rings and stains scarred the tired elegant piece. I swear I heard it sigh as I bent to lift it. The diamond in the rough sat quietly in the back of the van as we returned to Massachusetts.  And for a year it sat quietly in storage waiting its turn for reclamation. A year almost to the day that we rescued the piece we wheeled the patient to the work area where we assessed the damage done by time and weather. We jumped in and first stripped off the dried, flaking, chipped and split veneer. Then we took the drawers apart cleaned the old glue off the joints and off of the former veneered areas. The brass details were just that…details and they too were removed and cleaned. Next with love and care and assorted tools of the trade we removed the stains and water rings from the damaged finish.  Joints were refitted and glued new veneer attached. 

The piece sat for a day trussed up with clamps. And after the removal of the clamps, a rich oil base stain was lovingly applied by hand. Day after day the piece was slowly brought back to life. And day after day the work brought us joy. I believe that the joy was transferred back to the Danish piece as beauty and elegance renewed. Elegance rewarded.

Now this gem proudly stands against a wall and quietly and happily hums all day long.

Pedestrian versus Unique

As defined by the Encarta English Dictionary the definition of unique is “different from others in a way that makes somebody or something special and worthy of note” While the definition of pedestrian, also by the Encarta English Dictionary, means “dull, ordinary, unimaginative or uninspired”

Original owners of American Modern and Danish Modern furniture from that narrow slice of time from the 1950’s through the early 1970’s, have been passing away while their pieces live on.  And here lies the rub. We are becoming over-saturated with the stuff. A mid century modern search on just two of the largest ecommerce sites EBay and Etsy will net you the following, with a search on EBay you will find over 75,000 assorted Mid Century Modern tables, chairs, sofas, dinnerware and lamps. A similar search on Etsy will net you 71,000 mid century modern pieces. Over-saturation like this causes a dulling of the period and of the common product.

 What was once unique and cool is getting close to becoming pedestrian.  The darker side of this dilemma will be a drop in value for what is now becoming the new mundane or…pedestrian pieces.  On the other hand, the bright side of this issue is that truly unique furniture design from the likes of Adrian Pearsall, Charles Ames his wife Ray, Harry Bertoia.  Arne Jacobsen, George Nelson, Paul McCobb, Eero Saarinen, Ib Kofod Larsen and Harvey Probber, just to name a few, will always remain unique, desirable and valuable. I for one will wait for the over-saturation to subside and pick up a few gems from the fray along the way.