Tag: atomic

Mid century companion set

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stainless steel & teak mid century companion set

We bought this fabulous 1950s/60s coal bucket & matching fireside companion set last week. Although there’s a good selection of great looking sets being manufactured today, we don’t come across many stylish examples from this period.

tools from a stainless steel & teak mid century companion set coal bucket from a stainless steel & teak mid century companion set

The only other ones that spring to mind are a couple of atomic sets that we sold many years ago. They’re usually very traditional looking affairs, often made of heavy brass, copper or wrought iron – this one is altogether more mid century modern in design.

stainless steel & teak mid century companion set

It’s made of stainless steel with teak detailing. It was filthy when we bought it, but metal polish, wood oil and elbow grease has improved it no end. It’s heading off to our antiques centre space later on this week.

Charity Vintage: Atomic magazine rack

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vintage atomic magazine rack being sold by & in support of Isabel Hospice
(ends 13 Feb, 2014 20:37:07 GMT)

The ‘atomic’ influenced items we sell in our shop are always popular – especially the coat hooks and magazine racks. They look good and are useful and functional. This atomic magazine rack being sold by & in support of Isabel Hospice* is fairly unusual in its shape – a little more fancy than the norm. Its perfect for storing & displaying this month’s interiors mags… or even vintage 1950s copies of Vogue!

*Isabel Hospice is a charity needing to raise nearly 4 million per annum to provide their free services to the people of eastern Hertfordshire. Their ethos is that they treat the whole person, not simply the illness. They offer a complete hospice service through their team of community nurse specialists, a 16 bed in-patient hospice, a day hospice, out-reach day hospices, hospice at home and a family support and bereavement service.

Monthly Mood Board: Mid Century Modern

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Mid century modern mood board | H is for Home

Welcome to Monthly Mood Board, a new blog series where we pick out items from our shop and other retailers based on an interior décor theme.

We’re starting with mid century modern – one of our favourite looks. The 1950s saw major advances in the fields of atomic energy, organic chemistry and space exploration. These developments influenced many aspects of of modern life and influenced designers of the time. New shapes & patterns emerged – and bold colours appeared. Materials such as teak, bent plywood, moulded plastic, stainless steel and enamel were favoured by furniture and product designers. It was an exciting & dynamic era.

    1. Original Festival of Britain guide
    2. Lucienne Day ‘Calyx’ pattern
    3. Miller’s Mid-Century Modern: Living with Mid-Century Modern Design
    4. Atomic coat rack
    5. Kidney table
    6. Pottery bowl
    7. Starburst clock
    8. Cathrineholm ‘Lotus’ kettle

Forthcoming Attractions: Early January 2012

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collection of midcentury modern and vintage items including West German pottery, orange cased glass vase, orange desk lamp, teak lamp base with fibreglass shade and teak drinks trolley

We bought these items this week – most of them from one local contact actually. It’s quite a mid century modern collection!

collection of midcentury modern and vintage items including West German pottery vase, Dumler and Breiden bowl, orange cased glass vase, orange desk lamp, teak lamp base with fibreglass shade, Scandinavian teak mirror, atomic coat rack, stacking Tupperware containers, stainless steel vases and snack tray and teak drinks trolley

Two lovely bits of German pottery for starters – they’re both by Dumler & Breiden. We love the colour contrast and striking repeat pattern of the bowl. The vase has a very distinctive form similar to another piece we’ve got. The combination of thick, textured glaze to the sides and smooth vibrant orange glaze highlighting the holes & vase rim is very effective. We’re trying to be quite strict with ourselves these days, but that’s probably a keeper!

vintage Fat Lava West German vase with double holes produced by Dumler & Breiden

And yet more flashes of orange with the desk lamp & cased glass vase. The lamp, dating from the 60s/70s, is adjustable and has a label for  ‘1001 Lamps Ltd’ of London. The vase is unmarked, but dates from the same period.

vintage teak lamp base with fibreglass shade

There’s another nice table lamp in view, this one being teak with a fibreglass shade. The base looks very Danish.

collection of midcentury modern and vintage items including Scandinavian teak mirror, atomic coat rack, stacking Tupperware containers, stainless steel vases and snack tray and teak drinks trolley

And, staying with the Scandinavian theme, we have some interesting stainless steel pieces. The snack tray is Danish and quite an unusual shape; the pair of matching vases were made in Sweden. There’s some lovely Tupperware spice pots too – both colourful & practical.

…and then there’s the classic 1950s atomic zig-zag coat rack. We’ve had lots of these and grab them whenever we see them – they’re always really popular with our customers.

vintage 1950s teak drinks trolley

And last but not least, the teak drinks trolley that the items are sitting on.

vintage 1950s teak drinks trolley

This is a lovely piece of furniture dating from the 1960s. It has the ‘Remploy’ label to the base.

detail of the bottom of a vintage 1950s teak drinks trolley

It’s got a great look, it’s useful and is in excellent condition. Did we say we were trying to be strict with ourselves?!