Remodel Done Right

Here's a great article on a couple in Atlanta who remodeled a mid-century house by Cecil Alexander in the Buckhead neighborhood. Alexander is actually still alive and helped them with the restoration when he found out they weren't going to turn the house into a McMansion.

The 89-year-old Alexander studied architecture at Harvard in the 1940s under Bauhaus luminaries like Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius. As a partner in the Atlanta firm Finch, Alexander, Barnes, Rothschild and Paschal (nicknamed Fabrap), he designed glass and concrete corporate buildings in Georgia, including headquarters for Coca-Cola and the regional power and phone companies.

Mr. Alexander also worked on half a dozen houses, but did not usually enjoy the process. “My clients, who were otherwise absolutely sane, would get nuts when having a house built for them,” he said. He seems to have let loose as a designer and approached an avant-garde style only once, with his own residence

10315 Gooding, Dallas - $359,900

A bit of a re-muddle, but still kind of cool.

Vintage Vespa Ads on Flickr

What says the swinging Mid-Century days quite like kickin' it La Dolca Vita style. And nothing is quite as Italian cool as a Vespa scooter with a slice of cheesecake on the side. I found this Flickr photo set and I just had to share it. Enjoy!

Scat Jazz Lounge Update

Looks like the projected summer opening of the Scat Jazz Lounge in downtown Fort Worth has been moved back again. Ricki Derek announced on his Web site yesterday that the club development has hit a few delays but is back on track for an October opening. Stay tuned for more.

Basic Hip!

Comedian Del Close had a career so amazing it just sounds made up. He knew L. Ron Hubbard (who once told him that he was thinking of turning his Dianetics Institute into a religion for tax reasons). He was a regular on My Mother the Car and Get Smart. He used to do light shows for the Grateful Dead. He directed the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago where he discovered John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Harold Ramis, Betty Thomas, George Wendt, Tim Kazurinsky and John Candy.

But before that, there has Basic Hip, a beatnik satire album he made with John Brent. It’s kind of hard to find, but you can listen to it online.

Thanks to Learning2Share for the tip!

Anyone Want To Buy A Funky Table?

I'm trying to sell this table on Craigslist. This 1960s Mid-Century Modern trestle coffee table was purchased from a high-end estate in West Fort Worth. The table is in the manner of Charles Hollis Johnson and the lucite has been completely restored by a Dallas furniture restorer using a chemical process. It is absolutely pristine and you will not see another table like this. Dimensions: Glass top is 4 1/2 ft long x 2 feet wide x 1/2 inch thick. The lucite base is 3 feet, 7 inches long x 2 feet wide, 16 inches high. Price is $750, but mention you saw it on this blog, and I'll give you a 10 percent discount.

Appliance Porn for Friday

This is killing me! This 1961 Frigidaire would be perfect in my kitchen, but one G is too steep for me!

Extreme Cool Alert!

A very cool Mid-Century Drexel green leather sectional is available on Craigslist -- right now! I think I saw this at an estate sale recently and I loved it. One G is a little steep though.

I'm a Schlitznik!

How about a schlitztogether? Man, I love that thing! I found a cool new blog, Finkbuilt, that isn't MCM per se, but still has a lot of MCM elements, such as how to build a Modern Coffee Table. Now, as much as I'd love to try this, I know it would look like something Homer Simpson built. I'll just buy my MCM furniture at estate sales and keep all my appendages unsevered.

Album Cover Du Jour

Back in the 50s, analysis (or terapy as Tony Soprano would call it) was on everyone's minds. And of course, once we Americans identify a cultural trend, we must immediately begin to ridicule it. And what better way to poke fun at it than a collection of humorous songs? Unfortunately, the cover is the best thing about album.

Dallas Craigslist Furniture Update

I haven't done one of these in a while and there's tons of cool stuff available:

Heywood Wakefield rattan set (pictured above), $225: Very cool! This four-piece set has a sofa, loveseat, and a chair set. Original cushions do need to be reupholstered but rattan is strong and sturdy and in good shape. Popular low style seating..very comfortable. Bottom seat supports are in place and still strong and sturdy.

MCM Bedroom set, $800: Set seems overpriced, but has a dresser with double mirror, nightstand and full-size bed (headboard/footboard/metal rails/wooden slats). Appears good condition.

MCM Dresser and Chest of Drawers: This is an antique mall thing: a dresser for $195 and a chest of drawers for $150. Kind of Danish Moderny.

Fun 50s Lamp: Great base and shade. A steal for $35.

Lamp with light in base, $80: I own a lamp very similar to this and I love it!

Danish Modern Lane Table, $50: I love this thing. I had Lane tables from this series in my house growing up. I may just buy this myself.

Back to The Future

If you happen to be in Tulsa on Friday, and you aren't doing anything, you might want to drop by the courthouse and watch them dig up a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere Sports Coupe. What'll they find? Well, for starters, I hope they find a car. That may be a little iffy since the Belvedere is considered one of the most rust-prone cars of all time. Stay tuned here for more updates or visit BuriedCar.com

UPDATE, 6.14.07: Early reports don't look promising!

930 Kessler Pkwy, $699,900

I love Oak Cliff! This place is totally Hefner.

A Couple of MCM Redos

I'm kind of on the fence about these, but I'm leaning toward kind of liking them. I prefer a little more toward the purist aesthetic, but I know some people need the stainless.

This one is 4202 Royal and I kind of dig it. One of the things I wonder: whither the backsplash? Half a mil and I want a flippin backsplash.


This one is is 3780 Vinecrest, a little more granite and stainless than I prefer, but they kept the bones intact. A nice house.

Appliance Porn for Friday

I don't get down to DeSoto much, but maybe I ought try to go to theB& B Estate Sales at 211 N Lyndalyn Ave to see this kick-ass O'Keefe and Merritt gas stove. Righteous!

UPDATE, 6.15.07: I wonder if this is the same stove?

Stuff I Found At An Estate Sale

I like old cookbooks. People used to eat gross stuff. I want to know how they cook it.

Recipes courtesy of Parade Magazine and the Star-Telegram. Lots of peas. And odd things like aspic and salmon mousse. WTF?


Isn't GE wonderful?


This is my new dream kitchen.


Let's Cook Meat! I bought a crown roast at Roy Pope Grocery once. All the old money Fort Worth muckity-mucks shop there.


Mmmmm. Donuts.

Housewife Tarot

A marvelous little MCM timewaster is available at Housewife Tarot.