CHARLES PHOENIX IN PERSON TONIGHT!
My adorable and brilliant friend Charles Phoenix is presenting one of his educational and really fun shows on mid-century Americana on YouTube tonight and you should NOT miss it!
Mid Century Modern
RONALD REAGAN’S STOVE CAN NOW BE YOURS (FOR A GOOD CAUSE!)
While browsing eBay for midcentury items, we came upon this amazing stove from the home of Ronald Reagan. After Nancy Reagan’s death, the Bel Air house was sold and most contents auctioned off. Apparently this stove was too large for the auction so it was donated to the Junior Blind Foundation. Alas, it’s too big for our kitchen! Since proceeds go to the charity so it’s probably a tax write-off. It looks like it’s from the 50’s – this O’Keefe and Merritt stove features 6 burners, 2 ovens, a broiler and warming oven – a bonanza of cooking potential! The auction starts at $5000. We can just imagine Ronnie scrambling eggs in his bathrobe…
Here’s the eBay item number: 122244621086.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!
Every day we read the newspaper and realize how many things we have to be thankful for. How about you? Have a mid-century modern Thanksgiving!!
CHARLTON HESTON: THE HOUSE REVEALS A LOT ABOUT THE MAN
We are still REELING with joy from a visit to the home of the late Charlton Heston. (Estate sale) Much of what we remember about the actor was negatively tied to his NRA association. But he was a much different person than we imagined. He built his Coldwater Canyon dream house in 1959 with Ben Hur money and the help of architect William S Beckett. And he cherished every carefully thought-out inch of it. (Incredible!) The actor was far more intellectual than we expected – his library and book collection was amazing. And his appreciation of art was evident in his huge collection. Heston was married to his wife Lydia for 65 years until he died, and his two children are both educated and successful and admired their father. Forget politics. He was evidently a decent and intelligent man. Could you ask for more?
Click HERE for more house photos!
WE CAN’T STOP LOVING ELVIS’S PALM SPRINGS HOUSE
The house that Elvis Presley and his bride Priscilla occupied in 1966 to 1967 is up for sale in Palm Springs again. The mid-century structure is gorgeous – it consists of three round stories – there’s not a square corner in the whole place. Architect William Krisel designed the 4962 sq ft,4 bedroom 5 bath home in 1962, and all this magnificent house needs is a little love – and good taste. The tacky décor tries to look original but falls flat. The fireplace is a killer. Million dollar Listing realtors, the Altman brothers tried to sell the house for 8.5 million with no luck. It’s now listed at Trulia for less than 7 million. A loving restoration is in order.
BOBBY DARIN: DREAM LOVER OR DREAM CAR?
We just saw these photos of Bobby Darin’s “dream car” and just HAD to share them. This futuristic vehicle was built by a friend of Bobby’s in Detroit and it took seven years to build (1953 to 1960) at a cost of $93,000. Darin told his friend he’d buy the car if he ever “hit it big.” He DID. and paid $150,000 for the car in 1961. Darin enjoyed the car for years and finally donated it to the St Louis Museum of Transportation in 1970, where it remains today. He died three years later.
MID CENTURY MODERN CASUALTY TO JOHANSSON REYNOLDS DIVORCE
It appears that Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds’ marriage was doing just fine in August because they bought a beautiful restored mid-century modern house with walls of glass in Los Feliz for 2.8 million dollars. The 1960’s 2835 sq ft dream house was designed by Buff & Hensman and originally featured four bedrooms but they had been redesigned into two larger bedrooms. That pretty much leaves out the immediate prospect of kids – which was supposedly one of the marriage problems. Scarlett has a history of bad real estate luck – she sold her last house at a 3 million dollar loss.
MCDONALDS’ EXPERIMENTAL FUTURISTIC DECOR IS HERE
Photo Credit: Splash News
Take a look at the possible future of McDonald’s. Not bad, eh? It just goes to prove that NOTHING has to be ugly. The fast-food icon just opened an experimental “Black Label” McDonalds in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. It features mid-century modern Danish decor, free Wi-Fi, flat screen TV’s, (we can live without THAT) – but we LOVE the functional modern bathrooms. It’s the first example of this new urban design in the US, and McDonalds is carefully monitoring customer reaction. The food, however, remains the same.
GODMOTHER JENNIFER ANISTON SPLURGES ON COCO ARQUETTE
You couldn’t wish for a better godmother than Jennifer Aniston. Jen is godmother to Courtney Cox and David Arquette’s three year old little girl Coco. Jen knows her best friend Courteney loves mid century modern homes and décor so she splurged on a gift for Coco. Jen completely redid Coco’s room in mid-century modern with child size versions of classic Knoll furniture like Eero Saarinen’s womb chair and Van Der Rohe’s leather Barcelona chair along with a Knoll credenza. She added a rug, lamps – and everything was 2/3 the size of adult furniture.