Music Corner

John Lennon would be 76 years old today. I have always wanted to make a 60s and Beatles inspired music corner and eventually got round to finishing it today. Although I think music corner generally refers to a place with music instruments, I envisaged a Beatles fan's own place in the house, where he keeps his vinyl collection and other Beatles merchandise. This is also the place where he retreats to unwind after a long day. 

Mid-century music boxes and sideboards have always fascianted me, so that was the starting point for this moodboard. As these are low cabinets, there is huge wallspace above them offering many possibilities to decorate. I chose a Beatles poster and a light coloured retro wallpaper. If the wallpaper had brighter colours, I would not use this poster, but the colour palette is very muted and balanced, so it looks good. Notice how the lampshade brings back the wallpaper motif, and also the square shape of the photos appears on the sideboard.

Yellow ochre is a great retro colour, that is why the modern armchair matches the environment. The yellow vase and retro bowl bring back the colour of the chair, and also provide and accent hue. The overall colour scheme would not look out of context in a Scandinavian setting, but the patterns bring it back to mid-century. Even the fan ceiling light is atomic age inspired, too. 

I included a briefcase-style record player, because vinyl is back, too!

Mid-Century Autumn

Mid-Century Modern has definitely an autumn feel. The kind of autumn that is dry, sunny, and abounds in warm colours. This is the mood I wanted to capture in this moodboard, and some mid-century pieces came handy: the wallpaper already sets the mood, and the leaves with sticky backings can be attached to wall to form various combinations. With lots of brown tones this interior is welcoming and calm. 

Mad Men Inspiration

It has been more than a year now that one of my favourite shows, Mad Men had its last episode aired. In my country the series did not meet with success, only the first two seasons were broadcasted, and only the first season was released on DVD. Hungary quite missed the hype and the revival of the Swinging Sixties. 

What a shame. I do not wonder, though, because my parents' generation has a bitter grudge against retro, I can always see it in my elder clients' reactions. For them the style is very much attributed to the forty years spent in the Soviet bloc, which meant  - among other things - poor design and limited access to quality goods. It was an era that people do not want back. For the younger generation retro means fun, and now it is easy to see the difference what retro really was behind the Iron Curtain. 

I like this era very much - for me it means my favourite music, huge American houses, movies set in the 60s New York, glitter, colours, style, James Bond, Arne Jacobsen and the Eamses. I could go on and on and on.

And now, after this longish introduction, let's get back to to the moodboard. Apart from Mad Men I drew inspiration from the late 60s and retro ads (like this, and this, and this). I used fonts typical of the era, and those used in Mad Men. The rug brings in the 70's white shaggy berber rugs (even though this one actually has a diamond pattern), yet the overall colour sheme is mature and sophisticated, more 60s than 70s. The cool blue hues are counterbalanced by the warm wood tones. 

The Bubble and Saucer Pendants were designed by George Nelson (in 1947), just as the Ball wall clock (in 1950) and the bench (in 1946). All of them are true Mid-Century classics. The sideboard is a two-toned piece, its colours  make it very 70s, yet it is modern due to the stainless steel parts. The wallpaper is authentic, original roll from the era. As it is very dynamic, I suggest using it on a not too big surface, between two wooden panels, like seen here on a Mad Men set, albeit between sandblasted glass panels. Used this way it will not dominate the entire room. 

The armchair is an Arne Jacobsen icon, the Egg chair in deep blue, while the sofa is a definitely retro-inspired, but new piece by BoConcept. The bowl is from the 50s, but I am not sure about the rest of the vases. It does not matter, grouped together they do have the right retro feel. 

Designer of the Month - Charles and Ray Eames

The first mood board in the new series - let me tell you about my favourite designer couple: Charles and Ray Eames. They worked together in a very exciting era what we call now Mid Century Modern. 

Charles, the St. Louis born architect met Ray, the abstract painter at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where they became collegaues. They married in 1941 (by then Charles had divorced his first wife, the mother of his daughter) and moved to California. They had a busy and exciting life, but produced no children. and managed to maintain the marriage that survived Charles' numerous affairs. 'Anything I can do, Ray can do better.' - he said, whose proposal had been a line written to her on a notepaper. Notably Ray died ten years to the day after Charles. 

Their life at Eames Office was dominated by design - let it be architecture, furniture, films, art, or even the way breakfast was served. They complemented and completed each other. The couple wanted to create "the best for the most for the least", and could boast with clients like IBM and Boeing. Their co-workers were also big names, like Harry Bertoia and John Neuhart. They even made Nikita Khrushchev cry in 1959, at the Moscow National Exhibition.
The moodboard above consists of their most famous creations. You can see the famous and extra comfortable Lounge Chair from 1956, originally designed for the Hermann Miller furniture company and named 670 and 671 together with the ottoman. Here you can see it in white leather with molded plywood, and in the left upper corner in red leather, with its back to us. The couple usually designed furniture that could be mass-produced and therefore were affordable, but this chair was and still is a luxurious piece. But quality comes at price.
The red molded plastic armchair is represented with a rocker base here, but is available with wooden and metal base. Originally it was intended to offer solution to the need of low-cost furniture in small spaces in the post-war era. 'We don't make art, we solve problems' - said Charles. The original material of the seat was polyester reinforced with fiberglass, and a year after the release it was introduced as an upholstered version, too.
You can see the Lounge Chair in black above (I love it in red, too!), and also the metal version in black. Its dining chair version can be seen in walnut. Ray loved experimenting with molded plywood designs, so no wonder he enthusiasm resulted in tables and folding screens (on the left) made using this technique.
Other famous designs are the Hang-It-All hooks (here in black), the molded plywood elephant, walnut stools, management chairs, desks and bookcases, sofas.
Their home and studio is one of the Case Study Houses, No. 8. Built in 1949 in LA, it was practically untouched after their deaths, and carries on their legacy.