The Den of the Mid Century Moderneers.

I know where one of these is that I could get pretty easily, but where the heck would I put it? And, being worm drive if I'm not mistaken, how good is it anyway? (as a turntable, not MCM decor)
I cant answer your question but that one on Ebay had 57 bids and sold for $3k, not to mention not easy or cheap to ship... if that tells you anything.
 
A buddy of mine who lives in Chicago had a co-worker whose Alex husband designs and handcrafts MCM furniture and decor, dba Brokenpress Design. He is not inexpensive by any means but, when we relocate and can settle into a proper home, I'd consider having him design and build something for us. My buddy had a media credenza built, complete with cable management. Some of Alex's work:


No affiliation other than hoping to be a future customer.

EDIT: Just poked around and found a blog post about my buddy's credenza:

 
I've just found this thread, "Hifi Haven meets Norman Rockwell"

I thought we just had an example of "old furniture" which for decades I've refused to get rid of.

I've learned today it's an example of "Mid Century Modern" furniture. In perfect condition. It's about nine feet by seven.
It's a Danish made wall unit that I do know has been in and out of fashion for decades, since we bought it in 1972 from the long closed "Kitchen Queen" in Manchester. It's extremely heavy it's in four pieces, with with real teak veneer and almost fills one wall in my "den,".....altright our front room.... Just enough space for my wall mounted Goodmans speaker on either side. As I rembered what it cost, it was the equivalent of £4,000 back then, which seems a ridiculous amount of money.



It houses my "Mid Century Modern" Leak tuner/amp, Philips turntable and Sharp cassette recorder/player. I bought around the same time.



I've a couple of "Mid Century Modern" Rock-Ola jukebox wallboxes on the adjoining wall on which I can select mp3s to play on ipods through the hi-fi system,



So I guess they're all "in" again.
 
Last edited:
I thought we just had an example of "old furniture" which for decades I've refused to get rid of.

I've learned today it's an example of "Mid Century Modern" furniture. In perfect condition. It's about nine feet by seven.
It's a Danish made wall unit that I do know has been in and out of fashion for decades, since we bought it in 1972 from the long closed "Kitchen Queen" in Manchester. It's extremely heavy it's in four pieces, with with real teak veneer and almost fills one wall in my "den,".....altright our front room.... Just enough space for my wall mounted Goodmans speaker on either side. As I rembered what it cost, it was the equivalent of £4,000 back then, which seems a ridiculous amount of money.



It houses my "Mid Century Modern" Leak tuner/amp, Philips turntable and Sharp cassette recorder/player. I bought around the same time.



I've a couple of "Mid Century Modern" Rock-Ola jukebox wallboxes on which I can select mp3s to play on ipods through the hi-fi system,



So I guess they're all "in" again.
That's cool! We were looking at wall units just last week, though I've never seen one like that.

I've yet to move my stereo in- my stereo is a little Harman Kardon bluetooth speaker right now.
 
That's cool! We were looking at wall units just last week, though I've never seen one like that.

I've yet to move my stereo in- my stereo is a little Harman Kardon bluetooth speaker right now.

Thanks for that.

There's a lot of available storage. The double door cupboard above what was designed as a cupboard for a TV set houses some CDs.
I fettled some click together CD racks, for them, there's "one and and half" units in each rack.
My library of sheet music and fake books are stored below. I've a Yamaha Tyros 5 "leccy piano" (they call them, "work stations") against the opposite wall.

The other double cupoard has the same shelf and just one divider below, I added more to separate my music books in this one.



The illuminated cocktail cabinet, with the drop down door that acts as a drinks table, my wife uses to store lots of boxes of her decoupage card making kit.
The wide drawers stick out six inches further than the rest of the unit so can hold a lot of stuff.
I can easily slide everything above the drawer unit forward by that amount, if I choose, if I need to get at all the wiring for the lights and all my audio kit behind it.

The only downside is that at times it can "eat" 240v 15w lamps, one would go out every month or so, but those I'm using now seem to be lasting longer. Mind you if I'm home, they can be on more than twelve hours in the day.
 
Thanks for that.

There's a lot of available storage. The double door cupboard above what was designed as a cupboard for a TV set houses some CDs.
I fettled some click together CD racks, for them, there's "one and and half" units in each rack.
My library of sheet music and fake books are stored below. I've a Yamaha Tyros 5 "leccy piano" (they call them, "work stations") against the opposite wall.

The other double cupoard has the same shelf and just one divider below, I added more to separate my music books in this one.



The illuminated cocktail cabinet, with the drop down door that acts as a drinks table, my wife uses to store lots of boxes of her decoupage card making kit.
The wide drawers stick out six inches further than the rest of the unit so can hold a lot of stuff.
I can easily slide everything above the drawer unit forward by that amount, if I choose, if I need to get at all the wiring for the lights and all my audio kit behind it.

The only downside is that at times it can "eat" 240v 15w lamps, one would go out every month or so, but those I'm using now seem to be lasting longer. Mind you if I'm home, they can be on more than twelve hours in the day.
They're very useful especially if you're like my wife and I- we don't like clutter but have a lot of clutter. We're still determining what can and can't fit here, so not sure if a wall unit is in our future.
 
They're very useful especially if you're like my wife and I- we don't like clutter but have a lot of clutter. We're still determining what can and can't fit here, so not sure if a wall unit is in our future.

I'm a very organised person and don't like clutter.
I'm that organised, even my two vinyl jukeboxes have the records arranged in alphabetical order of the artist's Christian name or name of the group and if more than one for each, then in alphabetical order of the title.

My wife is not so. Our lounge is twice the size of this room. Sometimes, as before Christmas, it looks more like a sweat shop with all the card making kit and half completed cards everywhere, she makes to send to friends and relations. I don't mind, she has MS and the hobby keeps her going.
 
Last edited:
Missing the top 'floating' shelves, and with holes in the back (prior owner, but serendipitous as I would have needed to do the same). My MCM / Danish Modern precious:

View attachment 13141

View attachment 13142

Approximate 2-year follow-up. I've added a (fake) Eames lounger (foreground) and replaced the Heresies with Altec 753c speakers (matching Teak veneer pending):

20210712_181221193_iOS.jpg

(the Heath monoblocks are retired for the duration of the summer hot weather - the Stereo 35 runs a bit cooler)
 
My Plycraft Mr Chair (Craigslist $200 find score!), boomerang bookshelves, Sputnik ceiling light, and Stanley hutch…


View attachment 37985
Crazy how many types of “Mr Chairs” there are. They’re all great.

Ours is finding a place in our new home. Everything is just kind of thrown together right now.
6A267A56-EB5C-4E95-8100-2CC3BA4DEBDD.jpeg
And I finally found my favorite dining table used a few weeks ago. Noguchi Cyclone Table. My wife and I are currently fighting over chairs for it. I want two more Eames side cheers in different colors, she wants Saarinen tulip chair$.
166105A8-4B37-4ABC-84E8-D4C2DE14B56F.jpeg
 
Crazy how many types of “Mr Chairs” there are. They’re all great.

Ours is finding a place in our new home. Everything is just kind of thrown together right now.
View attachment 37987
And I finally found my favorite dining table used a few weeks ago. Noguchi Cyclone Table. My wife and I are currently fighting over chairs for it. I want two more Eames side cheers in different colors, she wants Saarinen tulip chair$.
View attachment 37988

right?! I do love those winged armrest on your version though. Great stuff all around. And you can’t go wrong with either choice on your next chairs. The tulip vs the eames
 
right?! I do love those winged armrest on your version though. Great stuff all around. And you can’t go wrong with either choice on your next chairs. The tulip vs the eames
My wife fell on her ass once when the shock mounts of the orange Eames chair gave way, and ever since she's had it in for those things. She says she wants something more comfortable but there are seat pads for the Eames that make them essentially the same seating surface as the Saarinen chairs. She's just pissed they kick her onto the floor. It's not the chair's fault, I'm the one that glued the base on :). It had a rusty H-base.
 
My wife fell on her ass once when the shock mounts of the orange Eames chair gave way, and ever since she's had it in for those things. She says she wants something more comfortable but there are seat pads for the Eames that make them essentially the same seating surface as the Saarinen chairs. She's just pissed they kick her onto the floor. It's not the chair's fault, I'm the one that glued the base on :). It had a rusty H-base.

You can't beat having a comfortable chair.

We bought a couple of Norwegian Ekornes "stressless" recliners, a few years ago, so no way "Mid Century Modern."
Oh! Hang on! They started making that range in 1971, so maybe they do qualify?
 
This whole thread is full of gorgeous pictures.

I had a nice collection just about two decades ago but a few unexpected detours in life and there are only remnants left, and none of the really good stuff.
 
Back
Top