The Mid-Century/Danish thread

[Greg Nal]

My mom passed away in December, and I thought I'd share some of the MCM Danish pieces I grew up with. These are now mostly in my home, the desk will need major restoration. It was where my dad, a dentist, did his lab work each evening. He'd use a alcohol torch, heat a metal instrument, dip it in wax, and create a wax pattern for the crowns that he would invest and cast at the office the next day. This lost-wax process is exactly how jewelry is/was made. He'd only use yellow "type 3" gold. He spilled alcohol, wax, and other chemicals on the surface of the desk, his 13" TV to his left with whatever sports was on as he worked.

Dad's been gone 13 years, but retired from dentistry in the late 90's due to Parkinsons. I remember playing with mercury in his office as a kid, rolling it across the counter back and forth with my hands. This was when silver filling material was mixed by hand with a mortar & pestle, and the excess mercury squeezed out of the mix using cheesecloth and bare hands. He practiced 30+ years before gloves were required in the 80's. Hard to imagine that these days.

Anyway, all the furniture was acquired when he was stationed at an Army base in Worms, Germany in the 50's during the Korean War. We had the Wegner Papa Bear Chair refurbished by a great store that has since closed, Denmark 50, on Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles.

 

[elcoholic]

My mom passed away in December, and I thought I'd share some of the MCM Danish pieces I grew up with. These are now mostly in my home, the desk will need major restoration. It was where my dad, a dentist, did his lab work each evening. He's use a alcohol torch, heat a metal instrument, dip it in wax, and create a wax pattern for the crowns that he would invest and cast at the office the next day. This lost-wax process is exactly how jewelry is/was made. He'd only use yellow "type 3" gold. He spilled alcohol, wax, and other chemicals on the surface of the desk, his 13" TV to his left with whatever sports on as he worked.

Dad's been gone 13 years, but retired from dentistry in the late 90's due to Parkinsons. I remember playing with mercury in his office as a kid, rolling it across the counter back and forth with my hands. This was when silver filling material was mixed by hand with a mortar & pestle, and the excess mercury squeezed out of the mix using cheesecloth and bare hands. He practiced 30+ years before gloves were required in the 80's. Hard to imagine that these days.

Anyway, all the furniture was acquired when he was stationed at an Army base in Worms, Germany in the 50's during the Korean War. We had the Wegner Papa Bear Chair refurbished by a great store that has since closed, Denmark 50, on Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles.

Great share, thanks

 

[Greg Nal]

These were not part of my parent's furnishings but a pair we purchased last year-grey Wegner Getama GE 260 lounge chairs for our family room. In here, we have a Sonos system for the TV and a Leben CS300X amp to stream through Rogers LS 3/5a's hidden behind the speaker grill cloth with the Sonos Sub. P.S.: I made the chessboard in high school woodshop. Mahogany and Birch chessboard parsons table. Its warped through the years but still looks okay. Got a B-...lol.

I've shared some of these previously, a couple of other pics to show the living room from a couple different perspectives-note the vintage restored Sansui 2000X, Dual 721 and JBL Minigon speakers hiding in the modern shelves flanking the fireplace and floating walnut mantle. The two-seat couch was built by a Bay Area craftsman I found on Etsy in a mid-century style, opposite the Airline Lounge reclining chairs we got from Design Within Reach. The three tables are matching American of Martinsville from the mid 60's with black formica inserts.

Finally, our entryway with the lovely "Chiquita Fandango"-a creation of a local artist below the mobile (one of 3 in our home), and a couple of Miro pictures over a modern entry bench in a mid-century style.

We've been collecting for years and it has finally all come together nicely.

 

[byoungman1]

These were not part of my parent's furnishings but a pair we purchased last year-grey Wegner Getama GE 260 lounge chairs for our family room. In here, we have a Sonos system for the TV and a Leben CS300X amp to stream through Rogers LS 3/5a's hidden behind the speaker grill cloth with the Sonos Sub.

I've shared some of these previously, a couple of other pics to show the living room from a couple different perspectives-note the vintage restored Sansui 2000X, Dual 721 and JBL Minigon speakers hiding in the modern shelves flanking the fireplace and floating walnut mantle. The two-seat couch was built by a Bay Area craftsman I found on Etsy in a mid-century style, opposite the Airline Lounge reclining chairs we got from Design Within Reach. The three tables are matching American of Martinsville from the mid 60's with black formica inserts.

Finally, our entryway with the lovely "Chiquita Fandango"-a creation of a local artist below the mobile (one of 3 in our home), and a couple of Miro pictures over a modern entry bench in a mid-century style.

We've been collecting for years and it has finally all come together nicely.

The antenna'ed snail is still my favorite piece!

 

[eiraved]

The antenna'ed snail is still my favorite piece!

Nice! The balloon dog is my favorite!

 

[Greg Nal]

The antenna'ed snail is still my favorite piece!

Me too! it is enameled brass, heavy and detailed. And...if you flip it over it is an ashtray. Clever design and good eye!

Nice! The balloon dog is my favorite!

When I was a kid, I had a great aunt who always made her Christmas gifts. Crocheted slippers, hand-made fruit rollups, knitted stocking caps--often offbeat and likely underappreciated by 10 year old me, but unique and personal. One year, she made twisted wire "sculptures" and so mine was a figure of a boy with his dog mounted to a board. The figures were painted black, presumably because my dog was black. The two figures of the man/dog adjacent to each other is my homage to her and the figure she made me as a child.

 

[cason]

You’ve got some great furniture there.

 

[Greg Nal]

Thanks! After the discussion above, I went looking in memorabilia boxes to see if the OG sculpture still existed... and voila! A new addition to the shelf! That is a portrait of me and my black poodle, Josh. The hammered aluminum plate in the middle was handmade by my wife's grandfather. His dad (her great-grandfather Gustavus) owned a silver mine in Nevada--the Duncan Mine--and grandfather Sidney made this plate as a child. He went on to become Dean of Engineering at USC (aka "Flunkin' Duncan"), and was instrumental in the development of the jet engine in the 1940's. The Duncan mine has been closed for a number of years, but her dad, brothers and nephews went to visit just a few years back. The had to trespass on private property to reach it, and there is little left to identify it. It can be found on old mining maps near Searchlight NV.

Note the character on the top shelf--his name is Facehead. I gave Facehead to my mom for Mother's Day when I was 16. She was....underwhelmed, and slid him on a shelf somewhat hidden by my dad's golf trophies (dad was a single digit golfer most of his life). When I was preparing to leave for college, I asked if she would be willing to part with Facehead and she tried to feign sadness/disappointment but the glee could not be hidden. He has been with us and is a cherished member of our family these 50 years later. Turns out I had some taste back in the day. My $36 1976 investment is now worth quite a bit more, but I would never part with him. He comes from artist David Gil for Bennington Potters in Bennington Vermont.

By the way, my wife is a minimalist--a place for everything and everything in its place. She had to approve the addition of the OG art. As you can tell by my stories, many of our pieces have deeply sentimental meaning, and juxtaposing them with period correct furniture is a joyful thing for us. Thankfully, that rule is waived for my home office/listening room/repair station, which is nearly always cluttered and askew.

 

[epifanatic]

Lisa has been wanting a round coffee table to replace our rectangular one and found this beautiful Lane “Acclaim” series table on FB marketplace ninety minutes after it was posted. She was the first to respond and the seller was true to his word and held it until I got there.

Above is the rectangular one it’s replacing.

 

[Bodyblue]

Lisa has been wanting a round coffee table to replace our rectangular one and found this beautiful Lane “Acclaim” series table on FB marketplace ninety minutes after it was posted. She was the first to respond and the seller was true to his word and held it until I got there.
View attachment 3824354View attachment 3824355View attachment 3824356
Above is the rectangular one it’s replacing.

The round table on the round rug looks a lot better.

 

[Bodyblue]

I found this lamp and told the seller I needed some blue artwork to accent it and she produced this painting as well.