Showing posts with label glass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label glass. Show all posts

Sunday, 4 November 2012

Industrially furnished

The influence of the industrial on interior design is as popular as ever. We particularly like the 'mechanical' approach to design that this aesthetic brings - the function of the object defines its form. 

In September, we visited Design Junction at The Old Sorting Office on New Oxford St. There were some fantastic exhibits from leading furniture and interior designers, but it was the mail chutes and machinery of the building itself that we found incredibly inspiring.



Soon after, one of our industrial cabinets was featured in October's issue of 'Elle Decoration', as part of an article on the use of colour and pattern. 



We found these lovely steel paint cabinets in Lincolnshire. They had come from an old 1960's autos garage. The scratched, rusty cabinet exteriors hid a vibrant, original egg-yolk yellow painted interiors. The cabinets are very robust, with adjustable shelves and each come with a lock and key.



Like wood, metal can take on a beautiful patina over time. These stacking shelves have just the right combination of original pale blue paintwork and corrosion. Consisting of sections, the are easy to stack, and each one comes with adjustable internal section plates - ideal for book shelving or shoe racks.




This green, painted steel shelf unit has two panels of original 1930's black glass. It would make an ideal bedside/sofa-side table or bathroom storage unit.






Sunday, 8 April 2012

An industrial aesthetic

The clean lines of 20th century industrial furniture works well with contemporary interiors. Most of this sort of furniture that we come across dates from the inter- and post-war periods.

We were therefore excited to find these two early examples of draughtsman's chairs from a West Country printworks, which date from around 1910.



They swivel and have a rise-and-fall mechanisms, as well has having an adjustable back rest. The beautifully mellowed oak and ash frames with steel fittings give them a true 'vintage' look.

Made from heavy, pressed steel, these World War II ammunition boxes have well outlived their original contents.



We have applied a clear wax to them to accentuate their lovely patination and original stencilled specifications. Some are dated to 1943.
 

This old oak gymnasium stool makes a unique piece of furniture. Dating from the 1930's, it shows some signs of wear and tear, including a few scorch marks - perhaps some cold young scholar has sat on it too near to the stove...


We always look out for vintage shop fittings from all eras on our travels. They make very stylish display cabinets for the home or for small shops and retail outlets.

This one probably dates from the 1960's, and is a really simply designed, practical counter display unit. It is open-backed, with three glass shelves and an oak base.



The 1930's really was the age for elegant travel. This lovely aluminium suitcase with perfectly stitched leather handle looks like it ought to be gathered up with Agatha Christie's luggage for the Orient Express....




Industrial style pieces always look even better when contrasted with something a little more decorative. When we source our stock, we also make a point to look out for decorative and unusual items to dress them with.

This vintage glass shop display head will look great in one of the cabinets we have for sale.


We do of course often end up back with our pet subject - natural history. This cast resin table lamp dates from the late 60's/early 70's, and encases a perfect rockpool of shells, crabs, starfish, and seaweed. Magical!



Saturday, 3 March 2012

An eclectic offering

A selection of our latest stock for your perusal...

We found this Scandinavian office chair on one of our trips to Sweden last year.


Dating from the 1950's, it is made of worked steel and moulded maple-veneered ply. A very stylish and practical piece of furniture, it swivels with an approximate 6 inch rise-and-fall, whilst the back-rest also swivels but with the added bonus of the angle of tilt being adjustable.


The metalwork has been lightly burnished, and then sealed with a clear wax.


A set of vintage, lightweight tubular steel sack wheels, dating from the early 20th century.


When we first saw these, covered in rust, we saw their potential in those brilliant red wheels with solid white tyres. After burnishing the metalwork, we sealed the metal frame with a clear wax.


We are always on the look-out for unusual items of stock, and this vintage poultry incubator certainly fits the bill.


Dating from the early part of the 20th century, possibly 1920's, 'The Hebditch' must have been the bees-knees of farmyard technology in its day. Entirely constructed out of pine, with brass hinges and fasteners, it was built to last.


We have slightly modified it to make it more practical for the home. It has been thoroughly cleaned, the original racks replaced with solid shelves, and an internal paint, now make it an attractive table/storage unit.



We've been working with our local blacksmith Wilfy Sleep to produce some new furniture inspired by some of our finds. This steel shelf-unit has been made-to-measure to utilize two original 1930's panels of black glass.


We then gave it a couple of coats of contrasting green paint to compliment the glass.


This coat rack uses some vintage schoolroom hooks, which we've mounted onto a fragment of a reclaimed packing case from the 1940's.


Some objects deserve to be described as works of art, no matter how common, practical, or mundane they may at first appear. This certainly applies to this beautiful set of Slazenger bowling balls from the 1920's/30's.


The 8 boxed balls are made of Lignum Vitae, one of the densest, hardest, woods in the world, and are separately numbered with dots of bone or ivory set into the wood surface.


The box that houses them bears the retailing mark of A.W. Gamage Ltd, a Victorian department store that once dominated Holborn, in London, until 1972.


A Deco-looking lamp made from a converted farmhouse Tilley Lamp. Dating from the 1930's, it still retains most of its original chrome plating, but some of the underlying brass has rubbed through after many years of use. It has been rewired and given a new shade.


Saturday, 12 June 2010

The glamour, the glamour...

WOW - this is probably one of THE most glamorous, unique bits of ceiling decoration we've ever seen! Newly restored, this fantastic continental chandelier just oozes Art Deco sophistication and style.


Constructed from interconnecting hollow steel, cast aluminium, and panels of glass rods, this stunning chandelier certainly has a hint of the 'industrial' to it.

Although it actually dates from the '70s, we think the heady combination of shiny Art Deco with sleek industrial styling would see it happily at home on the set of Fritz Lang's classic 1927 German expressionist film, 'METROPOLIS'.


A brief note on practicalities: it measures 30" (76.2cm) high by 25" (63.5cm) diameter. But frankly, who would care about practicalities if you had this baby hanging from your dining room ceiling?

Photos of chandelier: Dominique Goodwin

Sunday, 11 April 2010

Glaswegian goodies...

We recently made the long trip north to Glasgow. Not wishing to risk the hospitality of a well-known budget airline, and their propensity to financially punish those carrying out-of-the-ordinary amounts/weights/dimensions of baggage, we instead took the 'couple of gins in the pub followed by Sleeper train' option. Civilization punters, civilization...

Somewhat predictably, two absurdly proportioned packages accompanied us home in the Guard's Van - an Art Nouveau, wrought-iron, adjustable standard lamp base and a Victorian child's cradle - with a further number of more 'breakable' packages sharing our luxurious berth.

The gem of the Glasgow haul is this pine/birch cradle. Typical of the early Scottish vernacular cradles, with influences from the Low Countries and Germany, it is beautifully crafted with neatly panelled sides and hood.


Dating from around 1860, this example is more unusual in having a separate base and an iron swing mechanism, rather than the fixed carved rockers as seen on earlier examples. It would not perhaps come recommended by today's medical minds as a suitable receptacle for one's newborn offspring, but my, it's a damn lovely piece of furniture...


We also found these elegant lightshades - we've added lovely chrome galleries and an elegant silver-covered flex.


The Art Nouveau lamp base is currently undergoing some restoration and rewiring, so we'll be posting that in all it's rejuvenated splendour soon.

Coming Soon... The SatNav backlash - maps rule...