Pan American Health Organization Building

While on a recent road trip that meandered through our nation's great capital, we walked past this fantastic building while trying to get back to the car before our meter expired. It is the Pan American Health Organization building, the regional office for the World Health Organization in Washington D.C., tucked away on 23rd St.  N.W., a few steps away from the State Department, and a  block or so off the National Mall.



After returning home, I've learned that Uruguayan architect Roman Fresnedo Siri, known for his design of civic buildings throughout South America, won an international competition in 1961 to design the building. It was officially opened in 1965.

The exterior features 29 round bronze seals set in black stone, which represent the founding nations of the Pan American Health Organization. Each medallion is 2.5 feet in diameter and were designed by American sculptor Michael Lantz.



My favorite part of the structure though is the geometric screen that encases the entire building in true midcentury style.

All Things Midcentury

So, it's hard to believe this was my fourth year to attend the 20th Century Cincinnati modern show at the Sharonville Convention Center. Each year I've learned a few new things about attending this event, like get there early or you'll have to wait in a monstrous line, do at least two full tours around the floor or you might just miss something, and take advantage of the wisdom of the dealers to learn more about midcentury wares.

This year's Feb. 25-26 event was as good as ever, probably due to the expansion of the convention center space, which allowed for more elbow room and less lines at the door. The modern design of the new wing pays homage to the spirit of Cincinnati's deep-rooted modernism and seemed to elevate the event to a new level.

A collection of some fantastic midcentury classics

Beyond the mere $7 entrance fee, which is good for both days, I have never spent money at the show, but it doesn't mean I leave disappointed. Walking around for an hour or two is like walking through the pages of some of my favorite magazines. I consider it an education in all things midcentury from Bakelite jewelry to vintage Fiestaware, and from George Nelson clocks to the Eames molded plywood chairs. The highlight for me though was seeing an Eames rocker (not for sale) that supposedly belonged to one of my favorite artists, the late Charley Harper (see photo below), a native of Cincinnati.

Yellow Eames Fiberglass Chair

What else did I learn at this year's event? That I'm going to have to save up some big bucks if I ever want to purchase my beloved Eames lounge chair, but  I can get a knock-off for around $450.

As one dealer pointed out, collecting midcentury is an investment--you could put the money in a savings account with little interest gained, or buy a beautiful piece of well-made, iconic furniture you will not only be able to enjoy, but that will also appreciate in value year after year.

Here a few snapshots of some of my favorites from this year's show.

I was told this Eames rocker belonged to artist Charley Harper. It was sitting in the booth of the Charley Harper Estate.

Not everything at the show is classified as midcentury, like this cool industrial metal table above.

The show always has interesting artwork to choose from like this colorful print above.

Winter Window Shopping

Feather Your Nest on Leestown Road.

So, after a nine-month absence, including moving away and then back to the Bluegrass, I’m finally getting back to this blog….

A few weekends ago, a friend and I decided to do a Saturday morning tour of our favorite Lexington antique and second-hand furniture/thrift stores. We started our morning on Leestown Road at Feather Your Nest, then stopped over across the street at Pop’s Resale, and the Meadowthorpe Antique Mall. We then headed over to Winchester Road and stopped in at the Blue Grass Antique Market before our final destinations of Scout Antiques and Room Service on Liberty Road.

If you’re scouting for some mid-century finds like I always am, here’s a quick inventory of what we found on the circuit this February.

Very cool swivel chair for $65 at Feather Your Nest. Missing a cushion.

Mid-century lamp shade at Feather Your Nest.

Veneer side table

This 1950s aluminum kitchen table was one of the best deals of the day. Only $45 at Medowthorpe Antique Mall. It appeared to be in great condition, but did not come with any matching chairs. I wanted to scoop it up, but I have nowhere to put it!

Table's surface detail. Wouldn't you love to have this as a backdrop to your bowl of Fruit Loops every morning?

This appears to be an Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair with Wood Base, but when I picked it up, the seat fell off and I couldn't find any maker's marks or price tag. A brand new chair like this sells for nearly $800 from the Herman Miller Store. This chair was at the Blue Grass Antique Market on Winchester Road.

This Mid-century buffet at Blue Grass Antique Market looks as if it could belong to the Heywood-Wakefield family.

Vintage plastic light fixture would look great above an Eero Saarinen Tulip Table. (Blue Grass Antique Market)

Very cool chair at Scout Antiques would be great indoors or outdoors. Also note the concrete pods behind the chair in this picture.

Industrial tulip table at Scout Antiques.

This chair at Scout Antiques has a Harry Bertoia flair to it.

This bright pair of waiting chairs were waiting for someone to take them home at Room Service.

This completes the tour of Lexington's antique/furniture stores for February. If you are looking for something really fantastic, you should head up to Cincinnati next weekend, Feb. 25-26, for the 20th Century Modern Show. Lexington's Scout Antiques will be there among 50 or so other dealers from all over. I'll definitely be there!

Let the bargain hunt begin!

Bluegrass discount stores offer budget friendly modern design

If you are like me and love modern or contemporary design, but don’t have the budget for a $4,000 Eames Lounge Chair, you may be surprised to hear you can find some amazing and affordable furniture and home décor items with a modern flair at our local discount stores in Lexington—that’s right, discount stores. I’m talking about Big Lots and Burlington Coat Factory and even Kroger Marketplace! 

Don’t get me wrong. Lexington has a great variety of antique and vintage stores like Scout or Street Scene, both known for having a continual selection of mid-century modern furniture items, and I definitely agree supporting our local businesses is important. But I’m here to tell you that you can satisfy your modern hankering without breaking the bank. I just bought a sofa and loveseat for a tenth of the price of an Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman.

On the quest to “stage” my formal--aka unused--living room for a potential home sale, I’ve  scored some really great pieces in Lexington stores over the last few months, all which culminated with a  sofa and loveseat this week from none other than BIG LOTS. It’s the sofa set of my dreams! 

Take a look.


Big Lots: Loveseat came with pillows for $199, plus 10 percent off.



Decorative pillow for $12.99 at Burlington Coat Factory.



IKEA finds - Lamp base: $14.99. Shade: $6.99.


Usually people buy a sofa then buy the accessories, but in my situation, I bought the curtains, throw pillows and lamps before I found the perfect couch—it was just meant to be!
The brown curtains with overlapping green and blue circles came from Burlington Coat Factory for $19.99 a panel—not too shabby!

Now, to the throw pillows. For months I admired these pillows with blue, green, and grey circles, at Target, but I never had a true “need” for them.  However, when  I found the curtains at Burlington Coat Factory, I discovered the same exact pillows from Target there—for more than 50 percent less! Target’s price: $27.99, BCF price: $12.99. They coordinated so well with the curtains I had just had to get them.

So, a few weekends later my husband and I were in Cincinnati for the 20th Century Cincinnati Show and  we stopped by IKEA Westchester for some lighting needs. We found these lamps that would match the new silver curtain rods (Did I mention I also found curtain rods at BCF?) and picked circular shades that would mimic the circles in the curtains and pillows. Lamp base $14.99. Plastic white shade: $6.99. We got two to flank the couch of my dreams that I had not even found yet.

So…drum roll….here’s the complete look for my newly staged living room!



My husband made this coffee table from scrap trim.



Sofa, pillow, curtain, lamp = $284!



I love this curve! It reminds me of an Arne Jacobsen egg chair.



Take it from me, there is a lot to be found at your local retail discount stores. (We scored some majorly discounted furniture items a few years ago at Sears--$50 parson dinning table, $20 molded plywood dinning chairs, $70 full-length dresser, $15 end tables with aluminum legs. )

Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking for new furniture on a very limited budget:
1. People don’t think about buying furniture, especially modern designs, at Sears or Big Lots so there is often a surplus of discounted furniture items just waiting for someone to come along and discover them. You can be that person, but it takes some time and many repeat visits before you may actually find something amazing that you just have to have.

2. Another thing to remember is once you find an item that excites you (and is also well-made), to scoop it up as soon as possible. If you love it, chances are someone else will love it too. And if it’s cheap, they’ll love it even more. When I arrived at Big Lots Sunday morning, after discovering the sofa and loveseat the night before, another person was there loading the same set into his truck. Having gone through this same scenario too many times before, I was mortified thinking it I was too late. Lucky for me, there was still another sofa available in the backroom and the loveseat left was the floor display, on which I got a 10 percent discount….which leads me to my next tip.

3. Buy display items if they are available and look good. Sometimes you have no choice in the matter. But either way, you should always get a discount of at least 10 percent. Look for small marks or other  small imperfections that you can live with—that little scuff mark on the bottom of a chair leg can save you money! If the store doesn’t offer, then ask for the discount!

4. And lastly, when you find an unbelievable deal, pass it on. The most fun part about bargain hunting is telling others about your amazing finds in hopes they can get the same joy...even if it does create a little more competition in the bargain bin.

Happy hunting!

copyright: Amy Whitfield Richardson

Magic City Mod

On a quick trip home to Birmingham, Ala. last weekend to see my family, I put on my midcentury goggles and was delighted to see buildings and houses that I've passed by all my life in a new light. Although found in pockets, there is really a lot of great modern architecture, commercial and residental, in the Magic City. I wish I had more time to rediscover more of what the city offers in post-war design, but for now here's a few examples that I found on my way to and from visiting the family.

I can't tell you how many times I've passed this round office building on Hwy. 78, aka Crestwood Blvd. There's space available for lease on the second level!

Nice rectangular block screen.

Glad to see this building is still well-maintained.



How cool are these built-in concrete planters?

Well-manicured shrubs in front of this midcentury office building in the shadows of Brother Bryan Park in Birmingham's Southside. I never really noticed this subtle, pebble-coated building before.

Classic square block screen greets you out front.

I really love this simple block design, don't you?

The Eastwood/Crestwood neighborhood is a great place to find some classic 1950s-1960s ranch-style homes. But even more exciting, mixed in between these standard brick ranchers are a few midcentury modern jewels like these below.

Pictures don't do this house justice, but it's super cool and reminds me of a California Eichler home. It's one-of-a-kind in this neighborhood.

Well, the nice spring foilage obstructs the view, but this house is worthy of an Atomic Ranch cover, at least from the outside. You don't get to see the white globe pendant light hanging above the entry due to the tree.

This hillside neighborhood also boasts wonderful views of the city and airport and so there are many contemporary homes higher up the mountain taking advantage of these views, probably built in the 1970s. I was happy to see this cedar-sided lodge-like home getting a contemporay redo.

If you are interested in living in a great midcentury neighborhood with all-brick homes and the convenience of being a 5-minute drive from downtown, there are several homes for sale in this area--and with the housing market as depressed as it is, you could probably get a great deal.

This completes a very brief tour of what you might find if you just look around you on your way to work or home in Birmingham. Consider yourself lucky.  

Brief Encounter

Last month on our way to the 20^th Century Cincinnati Show, we passed this sweet Mid-century Modern high school in Sharonville, Ohio, just before arriving at the convention center.

Princeton High School near Cincinnati

I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures on our way back by. A quick Internet search reveals “Princeton High School was built on its current site in 1957-58 thanks to a generous donation from Marianna Matthews," according to the school’s website. Although the school has had four significant expansions over the years, it has maintained its classic, mid-century façade on its front side facing Chester Road.

I love the clean lines, interesting roof angles, aluminum siding, and mosaic tiles. I couldn't find any information on the colorful tile mural, if it's original to the building's design, or if it was added later.

I think the students at this school have something very special to walk into every day. I hope they appreciate it as much as I did during this brief encounter.



Mosaic Tile Mural

Nice turqoise-colored panel siding (this looks like my own high school back in Mississippi).

Front entrance flanked with unadorned columns

Close-up of tile on columns outside entrance.

Nice modern lettering on school sign. I'm thinking this is probably original to 1958.

20th Century Cincinnati Show

Saturday was gloomy and cold in the greater Cincinnati area, but not inside the Sharonville Convention Center. That’s where my husband and I and a large crowd of other “modern” collectors and fans lined up to see a colorful and dizzying array of midcentury furniture, art, toys, costume jewelry, electronics, house wares, and more, all under one roof!

As I said in my last post, this was our third time attending the 20^th Century Cincinnati modern show . It was definitely worth the drive up from Lexington and I now look forward to it every year. We spent about two hours browsing the 50 booths. The crowd was thick so we had to make a few trips around to see it all. Though we didn’t buy anything, we didn’t come out empty-handed. I got a first-hand look, an education, in some of the most impressive and quirky design of the last century. Here are some of my favorites from the day.
 

Dinner is served--atomic style!

Bullet Planter. ( I have a thing for orange.) This one is the only one I saw at the show. It had a price tag of $150 and was scooped up quickly.

Sleek Eames plywood chair. I've never seen one in black. Like it!

A version of the Saarinen tulip table.

An orange (leather?) Eames rocker--my husband's favorite pick.

Another Eames rocker upholstered in blue.

The classic Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman. One day I will have you!