Ultra Swank - Retro Adventures

furniture

Confessions of a Wannabe Scandinavian
Written by Patricia Greenwood in Interior

Confessions of a Wannabe Scandinavian

Okay, I’ll admit it. While many in America have a pre-occupation for everything Irish, I have a pre-occupation for everything Scandinavian. Perhaps it began as an undergrad student during British Lit I when I was introduced to the Viking tale “Beowulf,” story of a fearless Geat leader from Geatland, now part of modern day Sweden. Perhaps it was years of tormenting high school students with...

1965 Thunderbird Couch by Flexsteel
Written by Patricia Greenwood in Design

1965 Thunderbird Couch by Flexsteel

As a seller of vintage goods, I am fortunate to come upon some wonderful relics of our Mid-Century Modern era, a short lived but incredibly artistic and innovative time period. Many of the companies that produced these goods are no longer in existence, but there is one furniture company that has stood the test of time. That company is Flexsteel out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Flexsteel,...

1950s Vintage Accessories for your Home

In the 1950s many countries were recovering from WWII. Across Britain, towns and cities were being rebuilt and redeveloped, more women were working in office and industries than ever before, and a sense of post-war optimism was beginning to flourish. What did this mean for interior décor? Homes had to be practical, with kitchen and cleaning to help the modern man and woman get housework...

Vintage or Reproduction – Do you need to make a choice?

When it comes to the choice of reproduction or vintage I find that a mixture of reproduction furniture and clothing is often better way to go. Many years ago I was convinced that the only way of life was with vintage clothing and furniture, and lets face it, it’s truly marvellous because you are taking a piece of history and recycling and re using it...

Elegant Mid-Century Office Design

Look at these lovely vintage photos scanned from adverts in Fortune Magazine from 1963 and 1964. I love the way how clean and elegant everything is organized, the calming color schemes and use of typical mid-century rectangular angles. The furniture is designed by Thonet Industries and Steelcase who has been active in designing office perihelia since 1912. For more Steelcase office photos and mid-century goodness,...

Mies van Der Rohe likes Barcelona

Famous architect Mies van Der Rohe was not only a architect – but also a designer. He designed among others the Barcelona and Brno series furniture. Today we are looking at some of his designs from the wonderful Barcelona series. Designed in 1929 for the German pavilion at the Barcelona exposition in Barcelona, Spain. I was fortunate to visit it when I was in Barcelona...

Mies van der Rohe – The Seagram Building

I have a passion for amazing architecture and iconic buildings (don’t we all?). First up for a short analysis and field-trip is the Seagram building by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, usually just referred to as Mies van der Rohe. Born in Germany in 1886, immigrated to America in the 1930s where he started his career in Chicago as head of the architecture school the...

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