Georges Briard

Bit of a Georges Briard obsession at the moment. Jascha Brojdo, his real name, designed housewares, notably glassware in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Because it was mass produced finding it isn't difficult, pieces come up all the time on ebay, or at local flea markets often for only a few dollars. I love this mid-century glass dish


Who could resist the gold pattern - so retro.

Then there's the ceramic kitchenware, which I think I like even more


Georges Briard Seashell Cheese Plate and Knife. Seashells, appropriate for The Cool House, no? Good thing as they are both mine courtesy of ebay.

Chess

Very belatedly The Guy received his birthday present. I've been wanting to put a chess set on the game table ever since I got it but our old ones were tiny and pretty beaten up. This vintage ceramic chess set came up on ebay just before The Guy's big day. Of course ceramic isn't as durable as wood or metal so we're hoping the cats don't jump up and start playing with the pieces-at least not before he's managed to have a game!

Door Lust

If I were building a house I would design it around this pair of burlwood entry doors. Simply stunning, uniquely modern.
Available from Rago Modern Auctions on ebay

A Welcome Intervention

Just as I was thinking I needed an intervention to control my ebay addiction I find out we have to boycott ebay for a week starting Monday February 18. It's just the break I need to kick the habit. Unfortunately it still means there are six more bidding days to go and at this rate I'm going to be in serious trouble by then.

Orange Slice Chair update

Update to the post on the Pierre Paulin Orange Slice chair. The auction was Sunday and the chair and ottoman fetched $3000. It went to a floor bidder so I guess no one bid on it as a gift for me. Sob.

I'm A Star

At last official recognition of my Star Status.
I'm touched and humbled by this honour. I'd like to thank first the eBay sellers who put up for auction the mid-century furniture and art I cannot live without. And eBay itself for making it so easy for me to bid. But most of all I'd like to thank my husband, Steven for supporting me in my quest to shop so much on eBay that I received this award. The months of penury will now all be worthwhile, darling.
Thank you, thank you all.

Chair Lust

I love Pierre Paulin's designs. There was a pink Pierre Paulin Ribbon chair in the great room when we viewed this house and I fell in love. Even though they cost over $5000 and the pink color is no longer available I lusted after that chair. I still hope one day when we are rich I'll be able to own one, maybe in a cranberry colour.
Yesterday I found this chair and ottoman on the live auction part of eBay. It's an Orange Slice chair by Paulin and I am lusting so badly after it. Wouldn't it go beautifully in the master bedroom? It's starting at $1000, cheaper than the $5000 for the Ribbon chair but still way out of my prce range. Unless someone wants to bid on it for me (don't forget the 22.5% buyer's premium and shipping charges if you do) it's destined to go to another admirer.
If you are into mid-century chairs LA Modern Auctions has another 140 beautiful original designs for sale. They're all in the $500-$3000 starting price range. But hey, looking is free!

O eBay, how I do love you

I have a confession. I hate antiques. Or rather I hate "antiquing". All the rummaging through musty, dusty old furniture in the hope of uncovering a treasure gives me the heeby-jeebies. That's why I love eBay. I can spend hours looking for the right piece of furniture that I want need to decorate my house. Because it's all pre-sorted. Just for me.
Which leads me to a little problem. It's so easy to persuade myself that I need a particular item, and just as easy to bid on it, that before I know it I have severely depleted the master bath budget that I promised I would stick to so we can shower in there this year.


Despite the projected weaker eBay profits for 2008 I don't see any downturn in spending in this house.

Mid-century teak and ceramic lamp

Super quick shipping from the seller, my ebay lamps arrived today. I was so excited.


I love the teak top that reminds me of deer antlers without being an overdone design trend. The ceramic base drapes gracefully down to the base. And those little brass ball feet? Too cute. I think it looks fabulous. I just need to go get a hanger and shade.


Unfortunately, despite being wrapped in bubble plastic and being nestled in a ton of polystyrene chips, its partner didn't make the journey unscathed. Poor cracked baby. Apart from filing a claim with FedEx I'm not sure there's anything I can do to fix this. Ceramic isn't self-repairing, is it?

Winners and losers

I won the lamps but I lost out on a couple of other things I thought might work on the credenza. I was outbid at the last second for a tall metal Paul Evans style mid-century abstract sculpture and a modernist wood sculpture didn't meet its reserve. Bah humbug.

The credenza is home

We had a busy Saturday chez Cool House. Even though Steven had only got back from Europe at 11:30 PM Friday we were up early to fetch the hire van and drive to NJ to pickup the credenza that I won on ebay. We knew we had to be back by lunchtime to let the guys in for the photo shoot so we were really rushing. Which probably accounts for the reason I slid down the back stairs. From top to bottom. On my butt. Bouncing on each step. I have one cheek that is twice the size of the other and completely dark blue and purple. It hurt like hell but it wasn't a life-threatening injury and we had to move so I walked it off. From that morning's experience there are a couple of things I think could do with improvement: the padding on the seats of panel vans and the pavement of the Cross Bronx Expressway.

We had a little trouble finding the pick-up location but the sellers were kind enough to meet us in the carpark of a Burger King with the credenza. I call that truly excellent service, even if it did feel a little like we were doing some shady deal! We drove back very gingerly as the credenza has three original sliding glass doors and got it home intact.


Here it is in its new home in the kitchen and it's even better than I imagined. The long low profile emphasizes the angle of the wall.



My only dilemma is what to put in/on it. Although it seems to be accumulating a fair amount of stuff on top already.


I thought this lamp might work so I bid on that on ebay too.

Feeding my addiction

My ebay addiction, that is. I bid, I won. Score.


The credenza is teak, 6' 6" long and was made in Denmark sometime in the 60s or 70s. I think it will be perfect against the long wall in the kitchen. We just have to get it from its present home to ours. Yippee.

My sofa on ebay: update

The live auction ended yesterday on the modular Harvey Probber sofa, the one that is just like mine, only orange not pink and vinyl not fabric. It sold for a whopping $7,500. That's more than twice the auction estimate. A few years ago you couldn't give 60s and 70s furniture away, now it's becoming prohibitive to collect. Oh well. I'm neither planning to get rid of my pink beauty nor buy another one.

They're selling my sofa on ebay

Well, not my sofa but it's the same make (Harvey Probber) and size as my sofa but it's in orange vinyl. Not as pretty as my pink beauty but still a great mid-century modular sofa. And it does have the advantage that you can just wipe off the animal fur and cat sick!

Reviewing the weekend

This turned out to be an unforgettable weekend. Not only were we able to tick off all the chores on the list but as it totally poured down all afternoon we took a well-earned nap. Steven reminded me that, in addition to all the other chores he completed this weekend, he also removed the wasps nest from the hemlock nearest the kitchen (he sprayed it with the stuff we use on the carpenter bees and it crashed down, mercifully not unleashing a swarm of angry wasps) and climbed up on the roof to clear the gutters.
One of the neat things about the design of the roofs on this house is that it's relatively easy to climb on them and then you can sit on the edge and clear the gutters with the aid of a stick and a black plastic sack. It was just as well he cleared them because the one under the balsa tree was so blocked with leaves and tiny seeds that the rain would simply have bounced off the gutter and cascaded down the side of the house.
I completed a very successful weekend by placing the winning bid on ebay



for this mid-century wall sculpture, that I will hang on the chimney breast in the great room in place of the mask.



If you think the photo is a lot sharper than my usual efforts, that's because film maker Jake Gorst was here on Friday to look at his grandfather, Andrew Geller's work and he took a few photos, too. Like I said, it was a really memorable weekend.