circular reasoning

I've been working on a pretty little sitting area in our bedroom. It's almost finished, but I feel it's begging for a small table to put beside the antique settee. I could post a picture for you, if'n I hadn't dropped my beloved new camera last week. (But let's not talk about that. It's recovering nicely in the Canon Hospital right now.) 

So anyway, imagine this beautiful gold leafy-like finished settee with some colorful pillows (sewn by moi) in lots of orange, blue and lilac patterns and hues. Somehow, I'm picturing a clean-lined modern table to offset the all the blingy fru-fru. Hmmm....how about the iconic Saarinen tulip table? Maybe this time with the walnut top on the classic white base? Yeah, I'm feelin' it. 

Come to think of it, I've had this feeling before. And, in fact, it's more than a feeling. I fear this affection for all things round has become an obsession. Oh no. And so it began....

Years ago, I spotted this mirror and I knew I had to have it. However, having just taken early retirement from my career, the wanting part was about all I could muster up. Long story short, I DIY'd myself into the darn thing, and so began my obsession with the circular shapeliness.

Exhibit A: Sunburst Mirror

Walking through the house, I see this disturbing (disturbingly BEAUTIFUL, methinks) pattern emerging. Circles. Circles everywhere. Some fourish years ago, I sold the hand-carved rectangular dining room table and replaced it with Mr. Saarinen's Tulip table. Some people thought I was crazy but I've never looked back. I was mezmerized by Tulip's sensually simple lines, captivated by it's beautiful sculptural curves. As the story goes, Saarinen's Tulip collection was an attempt at reducing the structural elements of a table to the most basic shape, and was inspired by a drop of high-viscosity liquid. Saarinen explained, “The underside of typical chairs and tables makes a confusing, unrestful world. I wanted to clear up the slum of legs.” Yes, yes, . There can be no "slum of legs" in my house!! And besides, the table was ROUND.

Exhibit B

Truth of the matter is that nearly every table in the house is round. Yikes. 

Round, round, round and a round Royal

Again, no sharp edges.

Th

ere's no escaping, even for the husband. Sigh......

So, what does all of this mean? Is there some cosmic method to my madness? Is it something to do with the circle of life? Does every end represent a new beginning? Or am I destined to live out my days in some sort of existential cylindricalism? 


Yeah, so back to that table in the bedroom. I'm leaning toward this little number. I think it's pretty cute. Any thoughts???? :-)

modern love

Mad About Modern reception at Design Within Reach. That's me, wishing I could drag this Womb chair right out the door and straight to my house.

 Amy and I, cozying up on another fabulous DWR find.

Two years ago, Historic Charlotte, Inc. hosted the first "Mad About Modern" mid-century modern home tour. I have a growing appreciation for the mission of this organization, after watching landmark after landmark bulldozed, only to be replaced by big, ugly boxy buildings, both on the commercial and residential sides. (Remember the '90s, when we were all fat and happy?) In a traditionally traditional city like Charlotte, it gives me great pleasure to see a growing group of modernists emerging, championing the cause for preservation of this under-appreciated and often overlooked subset of architecture.

Back to the tour: The hubs and I made the rounds and at the end of the day found ourselves in love with a swanky 1958 ranch (still occupied by the original owner), that happened to be on the market at the time. Several weeks and several looks later, we made an offer. Long story short, we didn't get the house but that tour planted the seed for this here little "crossing providence" adventure. (If you're interested, check out the photos of this house: www.moderncharlotte.com/447-merwick-circle. Can you picture Don Draper sipping a martini in that living room? Or ME? Oh well, 'twasn't to be.)

So, when MAM rolled around again this year, I was thrilled to learn that my friends and neighbors, Amy and Keith, were putting their awesome home on the tour. I love these people and they seem to like me too, despite my serious case of house envy. They've been in their 1958 ranch-with-a-basement-den for about 5 years and, honestly, my heart just sings when I am there. The mid-century modern design is heavily influenced by arts and crafts style which means lots of wood and brick. I'm typically not drawn to this look, per say, but the richness of the warm wood tones just envelope you when you walk in the door. 

These people are just normal folks on a budget. Like most of the rest of us, Amy is bugged by what's not yet finished in her house. She's enlisted the help of a designer friend for an area or two of the house, but the vast majority is what she and her man have done themselves. As the daughter of an artist and an art/antiques collector, let's just say she has access to some wonderfully interesting stuff and she's not afraid to show it off! And then there's the incredibly talented daughter, currently a college art student. Her work is proudly displayed all throughout the house. I'll be honest, it's a hodge-podge of styles but nothing about it seems thrown-together or mis-matched. It's more like, "Of COURSE, A.B's bright, colorful, crazy painting should go right next to that grouping of old Eastern European religious icons. Duh." 

(Fun fact: Amy actually introduced me to the book, Style Statement, that was the subject of my 1/23/11 post. Go back and check it out if you missed it. You might get a big dose of personal inspiration.)

There were other great homes on the tour with their own interesting stories. It was fun to get glimpses inside some that I've only been able to admire from afar and to dream of the day when my own new modern masterpiece might get it's own place on the tour. Well done, Historic Charlotte. Keep fighting the good fight!