House Beautiful: my own home - II

My last move with in the previous city was into this one bedroom house. I made some amazing friends for life while living in this complex. And also spent the initial days of my pregnancy here before we moved back to India. This home was where most of my furniture came in. I religiously scouted thrift stores and craigslist to find vintage mid century pieces of my choice, So here we go.

Welcome home...

The front door and entryway. 
We had a shoes and jackets closet on the left and a Jack and jill bathroom on the right.

Living and dining room all in one :)

we bought a mid century piece initially and then brought home a Drexel's Declaration dining set designed by Kipp Stewart and Stuart Macdougall. Thats the dining area with the accent wall and a peek into our tiny kitchen.

A peek into the kitchen...The cabinets were very neat and very clean line..the way I like :)

a few more pictures of my kitchen on my food blog's kitchen tour post >> Kitchen Tour 

And back to the living area- a glance at how our furniture collection evolved. I picked up some lovely lamps and accessories from the 50-60s and tried to remain true to the vintage vibe with an addition of our Crosley radio :). Though we let go a lot over time, my husband and I have fond memories of all the lovely pieces we had. 

view of our dining area from the living area.

Mantle decked up with my set of Maparachi dolls and a frame of the embroidered elephant and a few other curios :)

The mantle decked up for Diwali, our festival of lights

clicked from while on the rocking chair. Oh yes I have a thing for rocking chairs :). Read more about the rockers I owned over time > Here and Here 

A few tablescapes :) with our priced possessions

My love for plants and greens indoors :)

The bedroom

 I miss this apartment and the group of friends we had memorable times with :).

Vintage Love : Teak Love, Modular Wall Unit

Item: modular wall unit 

Material: Teak

Designed by : Finn Juhl 

Manufactured by:  Bovirke of Denmark 

Year: 1953

Image: Sothebys

Vintage Love: Multi tasking cabinet!! All Teak and lovely

I came across this beautiful cabinet a few months ago and forgot to share it. Custom made and all teak wonderfully maintained. It has been with a single owner for over 50 years.

Designer: Custom made for the owner (in India)
Time/era: 1960s
Material: Wood and glass
Use: media cabinet, book shelf and curio cabinet

Clean line modernism influenced designers and consumers all over the world. India is where many such pieces were custom made for home owners. And i am glad we can still afford such custom made luxury (if we find the right artisan)

I was in awe when I saw the piece in person. A lovely piece of art!!!

Pics: by owner

Vintage love: An MCM Corner shelf

I am all in for utilizing corners and making the most of the available space. Found this very sleek and well made corner shelving. True Mid century modern, wooden and classy, completely my kind of piece :)

Era: Mid century modern
date: 1950-60
Material: wood


Unable to credit the picture to any site or person as it was dug out from my saved archives. Any help in tracing original source and the maker of the piece would be appreciated. 

My Prized Possessions: Ganesha at Home :)

I often get emails and messages for a tour of my house. Loads of motivation from blogger friends and I decided to show case my abode and the curios I have collected over the years. Nothing better than starting the feature with my Ganesha. *

My Love for brass has been there forever now. Vacations with parents in Tamil Nad n kerala (Southern States in India) meant trips to temples and a compulsory detour to old markets laden with beautiful handmade brass and bronze artifacts. I am quite blessed to have found pieces I love. My collection has grown over the years.  Do enjoy the vignettes :)

My love for music prompted me to pick this up. It has been there with me for over a decade. I fondly call the set

Kaccheri pillayar or The Ganeshas in Concert :)

The relaxing ganesha enjoying a quite evening

another vignette of the same idol

And ending this post with my ultra modern singing ganapathy (a.k.a. ganesha) the lord is holds a sitar (musical instrument) and seems to enjoy the outdoors a lot :)

A  few friends tease me about this idol and call it Organic pillayaar Ganesha). The reason behind this is Lord Ganesha is known for his love for food. Its very rare to find an idol with out a belly :). This idol was a gift from a dear friend and is lean and unconventional.

Also read about my handmade Ganeshas for the Ganesh Chathurthi festival. Loved doing the post. Thanks for stopping by :).




PS:  Coming up with a wonderful home tour. So stay tuned

*In Hinduism, Lord Ganesha is considered the remover of obstacles :)

Vintage love ~ chairs !!

Found these beauties for sale on the local garage sale site. Contacted the seller for more information and was told they were custom made around 40 years ago. Ah! and they are in perfect condition. While I type this post, they are on their way to a loving home. 

Pic: with seller's permission

Type of furniture: Retro, clean line

material: leather and rosewood

Brand: custom made

Era: 1970s

Disclaimer: all information as provided by the seller and posted with seller permission

Amazing Antiques ~ Teak / rosewood Laundry bins

I grew up seeing this piece of furniture, called mail daan or laundry basket. They were used in homes in the Tamil Nad, Andhra and other parts of the country.  These smart looking, well designed bins were made of teak or rosewood, and used to store/pile clothes until laundry was done.

The design is quite similar to that of a post box with the exception that the top is a lid with a latch. Soiled clothes were dumped from above and collected from a slot/door below. 

source : local seller

Type of furniture: Laundry Bin
Country of origin: India 
Year/era: most over 100- 60 years old
Wood: rosewood or teak 
Design era: Art deco/mid century style clean lines / colonial with cane or carvings
Dimensions: 3' x 1' x 1' (generally)


Hand washing and line drying clothes are daily rituals in Indian homes. Such bins fill in a single day given that most were joint families with at least two or sometimes three generations living together. 

There is another story of why these bins/basket were very popular - there were times when many families relied on a dhobi (washerman). And the bin came in handy to manage soiled clothes until the washerman came in to collect clothes on the laundry day.  There could be slight variations to the design but the overall look and feel remains same. However, lack of space makes it difficult to have such pieces at home :) nowadays. 

PS: I keep finding them on reselling and craigslist kind of sites. And get so tempted in getting one home

  

Vintage Love : Gunlocke Arm chairs

I had these awesome walnut wood armchairs at one point. Loved them for their sleek look and comfort but had to let them go. Extremely well made and not your average side / arm chairs

About: 

Vintage Gunlocke chairs from the 60's. A very stylish Mad Men/ retro addition to your decor. The set was in perfect condition. Walnut solid wood and original blue fabric were in excellent condition with no rips or tears or stains. 

The company:

The Gunlocke Company Inc, Wayland NY, made memorable pieces. 

Ideal for home office or a corporate set up, They were the most comfortabel chairs I have come across in the non reclining catergory

Images: Mine 

Art deco meets mid century :)

Found an amazing sofa set on a local reselling site. had to share it.

one design era met another?
The sculpted and rounded arm rests with a curvy design  are from the very elegant 1920's, 30's and early 40's  Art Deco style/era. And the pencil thin, tapering legs and sleek wood look with removable cushions are a mid century modern influence on the piece. So the set is inspired by design eras spans 1930's to the mid 60's :)

What ever the style, it looks well made.

Could not get any information on the set. However. it does look locally made by a skillful carpenter. Most Indian homes had very retro looking pieces made in the late 60's until the late 80's.They were reproductions of some well known designs and pieces. Most carpenters I speak to, talk about being inspired by film art settings, and film star homes :).

That reminds me, I have a few posts lined up under my Movies, Masti and Magic segment!,  Hoping to post them soon

Pic source: seller on a local preloved /reselling site

Vintage Love ~ Teak Dining chairs ~ how awesome!

I had written about a set of teak chairs found on the local C'List. I had identified them quite some time ago but could never get to publishing the post. And, then a very dear friend bought a similar pair and I remembered the post on TDE.

Designer: Farso Stolefabrik

Time period: Early to mid 70's

Material: teak and danish wool

source: chicagovintage blog

Preethi, of Indya Kaleidoscope had bought a pair of these beauties from a seller and worked her magic on them :)

After the DIY

source:indya kaleidoscope

Glad she bought these vintage beauties...aren't they just yummy! 

Vintage Love ~ Arne Norell Safari sofa ~ Pricey but awesome

Spotted this on the local C'list and couldn't resist sharing 

would compliment our safari chairs :)...if not for the price!Ah! Here is our pair ...

Wishing you all a very happy start to the weekend...wishes for peace and health :)

Vintage Love ~ Wood, brass and leather table

C-listings are getting hotter in Atl...found this cool piece...Design is very similar to Eileen Gray side table, but could be some other designer..pl let me know if u have any info :)

The seller mentioned that table is adjustable and the surface reversible - wood and leather

Awesome isnt it!!..The round piece can be reversed...one side has a croc leather layer and the other has this beautiful walnut wood. When such pieces come by, I miss having a house and a garage :)

Looks similar to EG's table...

Vintage Love ~ Mersman Tables ~ awesome!

Spotted these on the local C-list. Drooling over the wonderfully sculpted legs and the cool walnut wood grain :)

If only I could bring them home!! sigh