The Graf Residence in Dallas

I picked up a fascinating book at an estate sale in Fort Worth recently -- The Super-Americans by John Bainbridge. Bainbridge was a writer for The New Yorker who moved to Texas for nine months in the early 1960s and produced a sociological portrait of Texas at mid-century that outraged many Texans at the time but still makes for interesting reading.

As I thumbed through the book in search of good Fort Worth stories, I found an interesting passage about Mrs. Josephine Herbert Graf, the heiress to a Fort Worth oil fortune that built the house pictured above in the Preston Hollow section of Dallas. The house, which was designed by Edward D. Stone, who also designed Fort Worth's current city hall building and the U.S. Embassy in New Dehli, has been meticulously renovated by current owners John and Jennifer Eagle and Dallas architect Russell Buchanan and earned an award in 2008 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Mrs. Graf's back story is interesting reading. She married the son of a New York millionaire, John W. Herbert III, who came to Texas to get into the oil industry in the 1920s and succeeded quite nicely. The couple eventually settled in Fort Worth after a stint traveling in Europe, but with the outbreak of World War II, John Herbert enlisted in the Army Air Force at the age of 42. With her husband away, Josephine set about learning how to run the business in his absence. Unfortunately, she found out on Christmas Eve 1942 that her husband was lost on a combat mission over New Guinea. With that, Mrs. Herbert became principal owner of the Herbert Oil Company.

After the war, Josephine married again, a European by the name of Bruno Graf, and eventually moved from Fort Worth to Switzerland for several years before moving back to Texas and settling in Dallas and beginning construction on this house as a way to avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of her $450,000 Fort Worth residence.

Stone's design was modern yet ornate and five to six dozen artisans working on the job steadily because everything is custom-made, including 54-inch squares of white marble veined with gold, seventy walnut doors and custom furnishings from T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings among other touches. The coolest feature: a white marble island above a swimming pool where the dining area is located. Said Mrs. Graf in Bainbridge's book: "When you go into the pool, you push a button and the water level goes down six inches -- that's so it doesn't splash." Yeah, just like at my house.

Over the top? Yes. Accessible modern design? Not hardly. Cool as all get-out. You bet. I'm just glad that as we seem MCM landmarks going the way of the wrecking ball in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, some people have the commitment and the money to preserve some of the landmarks. I hope more people follow their lead.

We're Still Here!

Rumors of our demise are premature. We have been off the radar a while, but we have lots of stuff we still want to share. Please be patient! More Dallas - Fort Worth Mid-Century goodness is on the way!

Wayne Grubb and the Midcentury Pink Kitchen Near Fort Worth

For months now, I've been meaning to write about a Craigslist experience I had in June, one that cost me nothing but was extremely cool. It started with this ad:

"We recently remodeled our parents home in Hurst. We have a very unique Westinghouse Refrigerator/Freezer, circa 1957 that we would like to GIVE AWAY, rather than see it hauled to the dump. It is a side by side, built in the wall unit. I have been told that there were only 15 of these ever made and that one is in the Smithsonian. I have only seen one like it and it was in Frank Sinatra's home in Beverly Hills. ... It has the original mid 1950's pink enamel paint and is in really good condition. We have the matching pink built in oven, which still works, also."

OK, what MCM freak WOULDN'T sit up and take notice? With nowhere to store it and a vintage turquoise double-oven already hooked up and working in my kitchen -- and it's not what I would sell at RetroMania -- of course I answered the ad to claim it! (I was under the influence of some powerful appliance porn, people!) Just look at these pictures and tell me you wouldn't have done the same. You'd have to be made of stone.


A woman named Revis Grubb Plemmons answered my e-mail and told me that the appliances are from the house of her late father, Wayne Grubb, a designer/builder/philosopher/inventor who worked as a general contractor on large custom homes in North Texas until his death, in 1997. He designed and built the home, which is on Brown Trail in Hurst, in 1957. Apparently, it was so unusual that it became known as "the Brown Trail House." Now, the fourth generation of the family lives there.


I'll delve into some detail about what made the house so awesome and what made Wayne even awesomer, in a separate post, with pics and news clippings, courtesy of Revis. The good news: The family did major remodeling to the house but adhered to MCM style, I'm told. To which I offer a huge PHEW! and a heartfelt "BLESS YOU, FAMILY."

Back to the appliances: I thought better of accepting Revis' generous offer after she told me that someone from Dallas who had answered the ad after I did was crestfallen to learn that he had been scooped, because he was actually redoing his kitchen retro-style, with pink enamel appliances. What kind of monster would stand in the way of a mission so pure? Incidentally, that's the fridge interior (above).

More to come on this talented local visionary, the late Wayne Grubb, as well as some of his projects.

Hank Tosh, MCM Furniture Savior

Because we're coco-poofs crazy about MCM furniture, we've had Hank Tosh on our radar for some time. Hank owns and operates Toshmahal on Hampton Road in Dallas, where he restores and refinishes furniture and also does custom framing. This man truly appreciates midcentury and deco furniture and is an artist at what he does. Hank says he's been restoring and refinishing furniture for about as long as he has owned furniture, about 18 years. He's serious about his craft, but he's also one of the nicest guys on the planet (just don't tell him you own a sander!). Hank was kind enough to answer our gajillion questions, some sillier than others (Does he watch Mad Men? Um, no.)

Why such an interest in midcentury pieces?
I have been into midcentury-era things as long as I can remember and had collected and fixed up many things of my own (plus I had a little background in finishing and woodworking from working in other mediums) before I started doing it for a living. I do work on earlier pieces as well, just normally, since I do work for a lot of dealers around town, this ends up being the majority of what I work on.

We'd love to restore every MCM piece in RetroMania. How did you learn how to do it?
I started many years ago when I first moved to Dallas, doing gruntwork like sanding, and stripping -- a little staining -- at Lakewood Furniture under the tutelage of Billy Keith Leatherwood (RIP). he taught me quite a bit. The rest I have learned by reading everything I can get my hands on, lots of trial and error, experimentation, and my trusty friend and mentor, Rik Wood, who is a 3rd generation craftsman and worked in Dallas for many years with his father.

How come so many people buy great midcentury pieces and then "ebonize" them? What's up with that?
There are a lot of designers out there who seem to know more than their refinishers and like to do bad things to good furniture. It is unfortunate but true. Sometimes it is just because they want to match everything so badly, but other times it is because the piece may have been damaged and just looks better that way. I think ebonizing is still a good look, sometimes. Fortunately, I think a lot of designers are coming around to the idea that it is not necessarily a bad thing to have many different natural woods in the same house or the same room, so hopefully it will make for less of this. I really don't like to ruin good furniture. I am in the 'restoration' business and it hurts me a little to 'paint' something or to make something a white laquer that should be a light mahogany or a light walnut.

Can you give us a little insight into some of those old finishes that we see on midcentury furniture and nowhere else -- stuff like the dark-gray/light-black stain that shows the wood grain, and also the yellowish brown that resembles spicy mustard)?
Most of this is done with oak or ash because they have a very open and deep grain to them. They will rub a glaze or a mixture of color
into the grain and then use a stain or a toner over that and then clear it. (this is a very simplified description, but it is all based on
the fact that the deep grain holds the color of whatever you rub into it when you wipe it). The lighter finish you are referring to has many
names, but many people did it: One is called the 'limed oak' finish. The darker is just a variation of this. There are also finishes that
were done with mahogany (called a white mahogany, or a bleached mahogany) that are also quite a process. It also takes a lot of work
to restore these pieces. Somehow, in the late '60s I think, faux finishing got really big and people started hiding beautiful wood grains.
I say, if you want plastic or fiberglass, then buy it and don't ruin the look of a beautiful wood grain. I think today, more people are wanting to see the wood grain and the natural color of the wood.

Is Heywood Wakefield the "gateway drug" of midcentury furniture? (As in: You start there and the next thing you know, you're into the heavy stuff.)
Well, there is a lot of Wakefield out there. The great thing about the early Wakefield is that some of it is actually just on the verge of
deco and entering into the modern realm, which I love. Another thing is that (and there are also many misconceptions about this) it is
made of solid maple (not birch. Only the newer stuff is made of birch), so you can literally bring some of this stuff back from the grave.
It definitely leads to other stuff ... Conant Ball, Paul McCobb -- also all solid maple. I have done many Wakefield pieces and am actually one of
the only people around who knows these finishes. It took me a little while to perfect the recipes, but I have them, for both the Wheat and
the Champagne (there are, even from the factory, about 3 different variations on each finish).

As a refinisher, what pieces are your favorite projects?
All of the Danish walnut stuff. A beautiful Walter Kagan chair was definitely one of my favorites. And, of course, all of the Heywood Wakefield stuff, because I really love both deco and modern.

You've got such an interesting niche here in DFW: How did you become the go-to restorer/refinisher for area midcentury dealers like Sputnik Modern?
Most of these clients hear about me word-of-mouth. It is the best way to get business and the only way to survive as a small-business person. It boggles the mind, how some businesses can get away with some of the travesties I've witnessed. It just makes my head spin.

If you could recommend one product for keeping wood furniture looking nice, what would it be?
I always top everything off with a good coat of carnuba wax. I don't get the beeswax because it is usually cut with some chemical. I use one that has a good, thick feel to it. (Trewax) The one I use has enough carnuba in it that it acts as a great cleaning agent as well as adding a little extra protection to the finish against some of the moisture it might encounter.

Another Cliff May house in Dallas

The Andrea Lane area in Dallas (north of I-30, west of I-635) is lousy with Cliff May houses, it seems. The latest one to come to our attention is at 2651 Andrea Lane with a price of $146,000 for 1,291 square feet. There's been some updating, but from what we can tell, nothing that looks too egregious.

Cliff May Bargain in Dallas

This just in from reader comments:

"Just wanted to let you know in case you or any of your readers are interested. There is a Cliff May house in forclosure, 2647 Andrea Lane going for $28,900! I'm sure it needs tons of work, but it would be a good flip or redo for someone looking for Mid Century Modern. We live on the same street in a Cliff May that has been redone, and would love to see it sale to another mid century enthusiast. Not sure who is listing it,there is a sign in the yard. Thanks!"

If anyone out there has details, let us know at dfwmcm AT gmail DOT com.

6704 Woodstock Road, 76116 $254.9k

This is best straight-up Mid-Century Modern house in Fort Worth, Texas for the money. I wish I was in the market. Go ahead and feast on these pix. Lots of wood paneling and other original features. Hope this home finds the right buyer. I'd hate to see this house poorly "updated."