Category: Interior Design

Hollywood Regency Sectional Sofa – Flexsteel – circa 1960’s

We’re fortunate to have a plethora of exceptional mid-century modern seating in stock at The Purple Moon these days. Just take a gander at some of these beauties!

The Flexsteel three piece sectional sofa above dates from the 1960’s and is as elegant as they come. This sofa was professionally reupholstered in the early 1970’s and is, in a word, gorgeous.

Next we have this custom designed and handcrafted one-of-a-kind sofa which is quite possibly the nicest we have ever seen. Designed and constructed by Mansfield OH artist Margaret Twitchell Swank. who studied under Viktor Schreckengost at the Cleveland School of Art, this sofa was made in 1960 and measures right at 100 inches in length.

Custom Designed / Handcrafted Sofa – Margaret Twitchell Swank – circa 1959

This classic swivel chair by Plycraft and designed by George Mulhauser is a true gem and rarely seen with an actual woven fabric upholstery (most were vinyl) and dates from 1961. The sculptural lines of this bent plywood chair makes it truly iconic.

Plycraft Swivel Chair – George Mulhauser – 1961

Danish Modern Round Chair – Denmark – circa 1950’s

The Danish Modern Round chair, possibly by Selig and certainly in the style of Hans Wegner, is marked “Made in Denmark” and is a the perfect accent chair.

Also from Denmark is this wonderful Teak loveseat with its reversible cushions. Sleek and timeless this piece is at home in a living room today as it was 50 years ago.

Teak Danish Modern Loveseat – Denmark – circa 1950’s

Finally, the Hollywood sofa / daybed below is just the thing for that room which might also double as a spare bedroom – just pull off the backrest and, viola, you have a nice single bed for a house guest. It’s also stylish enough to be used in a more formal way. In fact, the Modern Lady and I have one just like this, in creamy white, in our living room.

Hollywood Sofa / Daybed – USA – circa 1950’s

All of this pieces, and more, are currently on display in The Purple Moon’s main showroom. Stop by and take a load off by giving them a try.

Dinette Set – Daystrom Corporation – 1954

First of all, I want this kitchen.

The Daystrom Corporation produced some of the coolest dinette sets to come out of the 1950’s. The one shown is from an advertisement for the company from 1954 when this dinette set could be yours for $155. To put this in perspective, adjusted to 2008 dollars this set cost $1242.30 according to the online consumer price index calculator of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. And this isn’t even one of their higher end models.

Daystrom produced their furnishings on both coasts with a factory in Olean, NY and a Pacific Division in Pasadena, CA. We’ve had a number of these dinette sets over the years, from a number of makers, and have found Daystrom’s design and quality to be superior. Pieces are generally marked with labels under the table and on the seat bottom of the chairs. Daystrom produced furniture into the early 1970’s.

Did I mention that I want this kitchen?

Heywood-Wakefield Advertisement – The American Home Magazine – August 1953

As I had written earlier this week, the pile of The American Home magazines I recently ran across has been a treasure trove of fabulous information, images and style. It is always so nice to see how the vintage items I cherish now were originally presented, utilized, marketed and displayed.

The Heywood-Wakefield ad shown here includes pieces which are part of our collection. The china cabinet, buffet and dining chairs (with the drop leaf whalebone table not shown) all sit in my dining room. This exceptionally styled and crafted furniture is as stylish today as it was 55 years ago.