During the first few years we lived here, there was much discussion about any furniture we wanted to purchase for the Great room. We wanted any new decor to keep with the original early Mid-Century Modern ethos of the space, and if possible, we wanted to avoid buying just anything.
Until May 2019, about the only furniture in the space was the wee drop-leaf table, the cafe table and chairs that came with the house, and a couple of what are technically patio chairs. When the great flood in the studio building happened, we did house the black leather couches and TV in the downstairs area, but that was only for a few months.
A friend recommended several auction houses in the Bay Area, so I started checking out their offerings online. A few months later, a couple of interesting items popped up: some art (detailed in the next post), and a rather interesting dining room table. You can read more about that story here.
A few months later, I managed to score a gorgeous not-your-grandmother’s-rocking-chair, a wee side table, and our gorgeous Stein couch from the same auction house. That story is here.
I also found a few new items for the space–an armchair and a circular wall shelf at a World Market. Since they were large item, II ordered them online and had them delivered.
A few other bits of furniture came soon after: a late deco-style side table and a Danish Softline Pouf from auctions, and an updated take on the classic Eames lounge chair, an open-box sale item from an online site.
At this point, I knew I wanted to create/use circles in juxtaposition to all the existing squares in the space. Because the room is a giant box measuring roughly 26′ x 26′ x 24′, with the uprights creating 12 smaller squares in both the top and bottom sections, I figured circles would be a good contrast. Circles would also be a way to tie the Great room and foyer into one space, as there was no “flow” between the two areas.
With that in mind, I shopped for five new rugs for the space. I found two pretty abstract rugs for the sunken area, one for under the cafe table and chairs, and the other in the sitting area. Sadly, one of them was more of an outdoor mat, so I had to find a second option. Then I found a pretty floral rug for the upstairs sitting area, and a swirly-patterned rug for the foyer. Finally, I splurged on a gorgeous oval braided rug for the dining area.
Continuing the circle idea, I got a metal trellis, perfect for air plants, from Gardeners.com, and mounted it above the new couch. Coupled with the mirrors placed around the metal tree I found on a trip to Florida, and lots of plants in small wall planters, the circular theme continued downstairs. Here are some pics taken shortly after the space was painted and the first bits and bobs added:
Furniture isn’t the only thing I’ve found at auction, as over the last two years I’ve found lots of interesting other things…