buy & sel l
and offer them for sale, but they often have high expectations of what their “family heirlooms” should be worth. For all who are on the hunt for great mid- century finds here are a few things to look out for: Furniture should be simple with no embellishments, scroll work or carvings. Tables, dressers and hutches are often boxy and incorporate metal hairpin or tapered wooden dowel legs. Look for pieces made out of teak wood or finished with a light natural appearance. Upholstered couches and armchairs usually have straight lines, great textures, and come in organic colors such as brick red, mustard, olive green, turquoise, or burnt orange. Etsy and eBay are two of the best online resources to gain both a well-rounded eye for “mid-century” and to find those hard- to-come-by gems. If you are in the market for larger items like furniture, you will likely need to stay local to avoid immense ship- ping fees. Estate sales can be hit and miss, but when you stumble upon a mid-century treasure, often the price is hard to beat. For a dependable outlet in the Kansas City area, The River Market Antique Store is the place to go. They have a very consistent, ever changing supply of mid-century modern furniture and décor, and their prices are gen- erally quite good. You should also check out the stores in the West Bottoms and Westport. A great connection and inspiration point for mid-century modern lovers is kcmodern. blogspot.com. Happy mid-century hunting. ^ Michael and James Fry are brothers and the owners of Brown Button Estate Sales. Find them at brownbutton.com and Facebook.com/ brownbutton.
He said ... He said
What items would you rather own vintage than brand new?
Just about everything in my home comes secondhand: from Craigslist, an estate sale, a thrift store, or even the trash. I prefer a style that is unique and doesn’t look like the latest department store trend. One of my favorite used buys is a JVC L-E3 turntable and stereo system, complete with receiver and dual cassette. It is decked out in early 1980s chrome and has awesome red and blue glowing lights. I recently scored a set of late 1950s/early 1960s Fisher speak- ers in wood boxes with vintage rattan cloth to go with the stereo. Speakers included, I am all in for a few hundred dollars. Over the weekend I picked up a U2|War 45. Old school … yes please. I do, however, draw the line somewhere. All of my underwear and TP are purchased new.
Old clocks are certainly near and dear to my heart—I own several 1950s Seth Thomas flip clocks and enjoy the rhythmic sound of the numbers flipping over as opposed to the red digital glow of a newer time keeper. I’m quite fond of vintage kitchen appliances as well. My refrigerator is an old 1960s Frigidaire single door refrigerator. It works just as well as a newer version, makes the kitchen look amazing, and it only cost $50 off Craigslist. I think the most obvi- ous answer to this question for me is probably furniture. Almost every piece in my house was made at least 30 years ago. In the living room is a 1970s Karas- tan 100 percent wool pile rug, upstairs is a mid-century teak coffee table, and sitting at the breakfast bar is a 1920s vintage industrial Toledo drafting stool.
The Grasshopper Chair by Ero Saarinen.
Arne Jacobsen’s egg chair.
Planner Group furniture by Paul McCobb.
VintageKC / Summer 2012 7
Made with FlippingBook HTML5