Fall Lookbook- Mad Mod World Vintage STYLE!

I always try to keep up with current trends because lets face it, not all of you want a home that looks like you just stepped into the 1950's!  (Ok, I know there is a chunk of us that would like nothing more!!!!) In reality, not all of us are furnishing period homes.  The good news is mixing your furniture styles is very much IN for the fall season!  That means you can add pops of mid century in with your farmhouse or cottage décor and really pull it off.  Good news for my friends in PA that seem to always end up in farmhouse or shabby chic haven!  Good design is timeless and even if the 'experts' are saying it's tired and ready to move on, I have news for them....there are legions of folks passionate about the era and it's offerings so I do not feel they are on base with that prediction.  Only time will tell.  If you follow my shop, you will see I tend to walk the lines and will always say YES to something that I feel adds an interesting visual appeal or texture to a space, even if it is OUT of the era.  I do have many interior designer clients so having things that appeal to them is very important to me.

Color trends for this fall include BLUSH, which they tend to pair with deep dark colors or let's say my navy day bed!  I pictured this day bed in a space like a nursery or den.  Style that is functional and a great piece for a part time retreat. The cushions are brand new and very thick foam which is quite comfortable for lounging with a new baby or for an overnight guest. Day beds are trending now as well.  This one is better than new!  The beautiful velvety fabric is from Joybird's pet and kid friendly line as well.  All original details were recreated including the piping and tufting. All cushions feature zipper entry and the metal base features sexy hairpin legs.  This truly is a fabulous piece!  Swatches shown below are all fabrics from F Schumacher, which I am able to purchase for you!  Most are available in custom pillows as well if you are not crafty.  I would love to work with you and have access to everything they offer on the website.  I can order samples from them as well, and I definitely recommend that!

I have incorporated some other fabulous trends in this style sheet including VELVETS and FURS which add great texture to a space and are ON TREND for fall and honestly, they have been trending for a while. Mixing textures and patterns is a fabulous way to go and gives a great eclectic, boho or 'jungalow' style. This is another great way to jazz up the standard MCM piece.  Typically, mcm is very minimalistic and can get bland and sterile.  Your choice in popping colors, patterns and textures are really what makes it fit in with other eras and really softens the often hard, sleek lines of the design.  Accessories will really allow you to incorporate these pieces as trends change, and you know, they will!   A new coat of paint on the walls, some throw pillows and even a new area rug can give you a whole different look without spending a whole lot.  This is why investing in refinished vintage goods is the better option than say, Target's reproduction line.  Those things are made in china and not made to withstand 60 years of use.  With some love, these restored pieces will hold their value and will most likely become more valuable as the years go on. 

With this said, another great trend is woven and wicker goods!  I can see why!  As I worked on reweaving my Italian Ladder Back chairs I can tell you that I fell in love with the look.  The modernist shape of these chairs and cartoon exaggerated backs was almost humorous and because they have the same farmhouse chic style as a traditional chair, they can morph into a lot of different dining rooms and be accepted.  I left the black chippy finish alone but did add a clear coat over all the wood.  I felt that this aged finish was perfect for today's shabby trends and by all means, I am not an advocate of faux finishes.  In fact, I will be the first one to say there is nothing durable about a chalk paint finish at all!  Before you spend money on this, know that every woodworker I work with thinks it is a crap finish and will definitely cause you strife in the long run.  I made a set of 6 incorporating 2 natural chairs with the 4 black.  I think it also adds interest to the set! 

Woven accents also include textiles!  Just so happens I have been acquiring some fabulous pieces!  My new obsession is rugs....Persian, Turkish.  All hand woven, a bit shabby from age and in fabulous bright hues, they will add an exotic air to your space.  These pieces have been a mystery to me and if you have been following along, can have some maintenance involved.  Of all the things I have bought and sold, I will say that a good rug will cost you. The good thing is, they are heirloom pieces (just like any decent mcm treasure!) so if it is taken care of, it will provide your family with years of use and grace your floors with excitement!  I always here BLOND is OUT! Well, let me tell you, this fall's trends look fabulous with light wood and many natural and light finished pieces are showing in this fall's trends!  A great time to snatch up some Heywood Wakefield, that always presents well in a social setting!  Sleek, curvy and smart, it truly ebbs and flows in and out over the years but one thing is for certain, it is well made and a joy to refinish!  Most pieces found 'in the wild' have issues, but it can almost always be saved!  This collection of end tables were all trashed when I found them and now they are gorgeous!  I collect this brand myself so if you want to know more about it, I would love to help you along.  It is addicting and reminds me of school furniture, perhaps because they did make the old wooden school chairs we remember from our youth!  With all the darks coming back en vogue for wall treatments and accessories, now is a great time to add some lighter woods to your décor! They also look great with exotic designs, textures and bright colors!

Adding a fun bright pop of color to an otherwise neutral room is so much fun! I have selected some swatches from F Schumacher's collection of wall coverings to show you how fun this can be. Featuring some dark shades as the trends are calling for and also some basic neutrals.  We built our home in 2004 and the whole living room is tan and brown.  For me, accenting with bright colors makes my room feel pulled together instead of bland.  Throw pillows, curtains and chairs are my relief!  I choose bright colors for these beautiful Heywood Wakefield side chairs because I know there are many boring rooms that needs some color.  Because I also collect Heywood Wakefield myself, I can assure you I put much care into my restorations.  They are fabulous and fun and I cannot believe they are still here!  The blue pair has well over 100 <3s on chairish!  Because they are smaller, I can totally pack these for the bus and each chair would probably ship for around $60 cross country! 

No matter what your style, color and texture is universal to bringing it all together!  Have fun with it!  I would love to help you along in your decorating either with some new furniture or help you select some wallpapers or fabrics!  I represent Joybird and F Schumacher and can be your go to gal for anything you need!  Reach out anytime to discuss!   xo Malissa

A quick note to the locals!  My furniture featured at Fleetwood Antique Mall is now 50% off!  Come on out and grab them!  Cash and Carry please!  I would love to find them homes and redecorate the space for fall!  Send your friends! WED-SUN 10-6 14129 Kutztown Rd (Route 222), Fleetwood, PA 19522ots of new listings in the etsy shop too! 

This pair of late 1800's Empire side chairs are mahogany and have red velvet covered seats.  That can be swapped out and I would gladly help you with that! Reach out with any requests! 

Preserving a masterpiece and other things about fine wool rugs you may not already know.

I always enjoy a good research project.  The Leger rug has become this summer's mission.  My first stop was Ward's Oriental Rugs in Allentown, PA.  I am always concerned about pieces I bring into my home and having this professionally cleaned was at the top of my list.  I also wanted to talk restoration.  

My family did not have heirloom rugs so care and maintenance was not something I was familiar with. I am skilled enough in textiles to recognize the moth damage and know that a textile such as this needs regular maintenance and care to survive generations. The first thing I learned about care is regular vacuuming is essential to keeping your wool carpets from degrading.  Embedded dirt wrecks the fibers.  Also on the agenda should be regular washing by a professional rug cleaner. In low traffic areas, this should be done every 3 years.  A rug in a high traffic zone can be done yearly. 

Moths are attracted to dirty wool.  Rolling up a rug to store that is not clean is pretty much an invitation for moth activity.  They move in and work quickly at ruining woolens.  The larvae actually eat the knots so the piling just falls right out. But most modern rugs like my wall to wall modern carpets, are not something they would go for....that was a relief to hear!  I learned that freezing the rug will actually explode the moth eggs.  Good to know when you are bringing in new pieces all the time.  If they are small enough to get in my freezers, I am good to go. Wards has a large freezer so step one for them was to keep my piece in it for 3 days. Then they would do a thorough wash, protecting the dyed yarn from bleeding and I already knew it was not colorfast. Once clean and all of the damage was exposed, I would receive a quote for reweaving the areas of missing pile.  This is done by a skilled weaver who will match wool to the rest of the piece.  In most cases, a restoration adds value to a rug and unlike some antiques where repairs are not recommended, this does not detract at all from the value of a rug.  

The largest area of moth damage after the wash. This will all be repaired by an expert rug weaver. it could have been much worse so glad I was able to save this beauty!

The showroom at Ward's Oriental Rugs in Allentown is full of beautiful hand woven carpets, new and vintage. 

Ward's Oriental Rugs has a fabulous showroom in Allentown, PA.  If you are in the area, they have a fine selection of new and used carpets and are extremely knowledgable about them. It was a pleasure to work with them and I look forward to finishing this restoration!  Due to the slow time of year and my cash flow, I am holding off the the reweaving until I can fund it but hopefully it will be complete in the next few months.  

Materials I reviewed in the library at the Philadelphia Art Museum. 

My research:

 In the mean time, I have been researching this rug like crazy. I spent a day reviewing some catalogs at the Philadelphia Art Museum and ordered a 1960's catalog from a tour of Marie Cuttilo's works, of which the Maquette or working sketch for this piece was included. The rug in the tour was larger than mine and slightly different coloring, so I really want to make sure that this rug was not copied by another maker.  I am certain that everything on this piece follows suit with what she made, however, but the only way to be sure is to find the proof. I have a magazine coming that has an article about her tour so hoping that helps as well.  She had this tour in the 60s to sell more rugs and although that did not go as well as she had liked, I suspect that this rug was one of those she sold.  I have some good comps on it that all provide a little more info and provided those galleries did their research thoroughly, I am still convinced this is her piece albeit a mid century produced piece and not from her beginnings in the 20s and 30s. Regardless, I do believe this was a very small series of about 20 so it is definitely not going to be something that pops up a lot for collectors and that makes it very special.  Whether a fan of the artist Leger or a fan of the amazing woman who attempted to bring back the art of tapestry by translating fine art into fiber art, this rug is just an amazing representation of a time when both worlds collided. 

A Marquette is the working drawing that was commissioned by the artist and which the rug design was based on. Most refer to this design as 'Blanc' which is referring to the white background on this design. 

The cleaned rug all ready for restoration. It was frozen, cleaned and treated with a moth deterrent.  I would hope my future buyer will consider hanging it, but I was told it has many years of life left on the floor if properly maintained and in a low traffic area.

I will update more if I discover more about this piece or start to proceed on the restoration work! 

XO Malissa

Take A Magic Carpet Ride

I hope you enjoyed the vacation blog. I figured it would be a nice change of the usual stuff and if you are outdoorsy, might help you plan a trip.   I always hope that you find my posts informative and useful and try to share my experiences sourcing, cleaning and evaluating. If I can help just one person I feel like it was a worthy post! I understand that most of us get slammed with junk mail all day (the Gap sends me no less than two emails per day) and I always wonder if my one a week or so emails annoy people. If anyone has any complaints, critiques, please comment!  

Anyway, Just before I left for vacation I won some things at auction. I am only now going through them, cleaning and evaluating and listing things. There is a great set of teak nesting tables by Bent Silberg Mobler which I will be tending to shortly. I also picked up 3 fabulous rugs.  

Just listed! https://www.etsy.com/listing/541370161/on-sale-antique-persian-hand-knotted

I have been researching my finds. Rugs is one thing I have interest in but is new territory for me so each purchase is really a means to learning more.  I know enough about textiles growing up with a mother who sews, quilts and does alterations. This knowledge is super helpful when seeking vintage textiles. It really honed my ability to quickly identify quality workmanship and materials. I have a special love of wools and natural fibers so rugs just seem like another place I wanted to be.  I have been doing some auctions online without seeing the goods in person. It can be risky. Always assume the dealer is not an expert and has not disclosed everything!  If you keep that in mind and have the know how, resources and determination, you can usually repair most of them.  The little mat above has many issues but in the cases of antique rugs, they are best kept with their flaws and wear intact, it is personal preference to the user, but patina on a rug is not a bad thing at all.  Finding a 60+ year old piece with no issues will not happen often.  I delve into researching. This rug is definitely a hand knotted rug.  I find some sources online telling me how to spot machine made rugs like Karastan over hand woven and study up.  Then I think the size may lend to being a prayer mat. I research religions and although I thought some Jewish sects used prayer mats, my research showed Muslims are the only religion which would consistently use one. The wear on this one, to me, could be from kneeling.  Having dealt with an estate in the past that I knew the man had lived in Israel for some years and was a rug collector.....I mean he had rugs on top of rugs and although I only took one textile home, i did take an acid etched piece home that was from an Iranian artist, Bijan.  So right away, I am thinking Iran. They are known for rugs.  My searching showed me that most Muslim prayer mats have a definite top and bottom in the design. Many are similar to the shape of a Mosque, like a key hole. This rug depicted flowers and not other typical patterns that were on prayer mats. Not that is was not one, but I found no florals without a center medallion like most of the oriental rugs depict. Iranian rugs were the closest to what I had but to date it, or even confirm that is just pretty hard for a novice.  Rugs from the region in which Iran is located typically are referred to as Persian so I knew that is what I had but I also knew there was more to the story.  Turns out that I have a colleague who is a rug specialist and without me asking, he told me I had a Sarouk rug (which is a region in IRAN!) and he dated it to the 1930's. It is a real treasure! The quality of rugs in this sale was good. I could tell by viewing the lots that these were fabulous antiques. It is always nice to get validation that my hunch was correct! This beauty is listed and ready to ship. I would definitely keep her in a low traffic area to prevent further age related issues. I will discuss care in a bit.

Next win was a slightly larger Turkish flat weave kilim rug.  These rugs have no pile like a knotted rug. They are more similar to the style of weaving you learn as a kid in art class, but a lot more intricate. This rug is also wool. Unlike the thicker knotted rugs, these are very pliable. I have a few throw pillows that were made from cut up rugs and they are so fabulous, the never got listed. This look is very boho, tribal and honestly looks great in all decor. It is classic and sophisticated. Investing in an old rug is very much like investing in quality original art. They can hang on walls, used as room accents interspersed with furnishings and repurposed into pillows, not that I ever recommend cutting up a rug.  Sometimes the damage involved may warrant it. This rug does have some holes but it generally is in pretty good shape.  I cannot determine age but I would guess that it came from the same home as the others which could be 30s-50s era. Shabby rugs are trending right now too!

Beautiful Turkish Flat Weave Kilim https://www.etsy.com/listing/527579136/on-sale-turkish-wool-flat-weave-kilim

The final rug I bought that day makes me feel like I won the vintage lottery! There was a picasso rug that got higher than I could spend so I concentrated on one signed Leger. It reminded me of 80s pop art. I won it. Fernand Leger was a French cubist who pretty much inspired the 80s pop art movement and so many other artists we know and love. His style was so cutting edge, it was in the 1930's when he was doing this stuff! He died in 1955, by the way so his stuff is pre mid century. Some great reading on Leger can be found here, a preview to an exhibit that was showing his work at the Philly Art Museum. He was involved in early television and his art pieces sometimes were referred to as cartoons.  It's fascinating. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/leger-modern-art-and-the-metropolis-at-the-philadelphia-museum-of-art/2013/11/14/0faa43f4-4c87-11e3-ac54-aa84301ced81_story.html?utm_term=.6888ca2d8627 As awesome as he is, I found out more on my rug that is equally as awesome! Meet Marie Cutillo, an Algerian who spent her life reviving a waning Algerian art of rug making! She purchased original art from the great cubists and had her newly trained rug makers replicate their designs in textile form. She collected the original art and eventually donated her entire collection including many Picasso's to the largest art museum in France. Her fashion house, Maison Myrbor, was who sold the rugs in Paris and the clothes and rugs: haute couture. Art collectors world wide were purchasing them for their collections. I could go on but I am still learning things. The research continues!

My rug does have some issues. I am doing some cleaning today. Delicate stain work using a watered down dis solution. I suspect there was moth activity although I found nothing to lead me to believe there is an active infestation. Moth larvae does horrible things to rugs. I plan on taking this to a rug cleaner and restorer in Philadelphia in the coming weeks. I have found comps ranging from $7500-35000 for this design. So definitely with investing into. I also am considering adding casings to wall hang. I am worried that the  damage has weakened the structure that it would not be feasible to use in a floor situation. The other concern is always preservation.  I am hoping to get some quotes in a few weeks for cleaning, restoration work and possible casings, but I think I can do that myself. There is a book on Marie Cutillo, however it is in French. I may pick it up though. My boss is fluent. ✌️Here's a pic of this lovely piece. I will share more as I work through getting it ready to sell. This piece is definitely a collector piece and I am so lucky I could obtain it! It is a pleasure to be able to help it connect to a new home where it will be preserved! 

Shadow from deck rails and a plant but you get the idea. I am getting ready to steam it.  Steam will kill any moth activity and eggs. Leaving in a hot car for a few days will help as well. this is just one more reason to trust your dealer. Insects can be a problem with vintage goods.  Bedbugs, moths, etc. I am very careful to inspect and clean everything that I sell. I spray all wool and non washable fibers with Cedarcide, a natural insecticide. I will invest in a pro cleaning on this piece after it is professionally evaluated.

Hope you enjoyed leaning about rugs!

xo Malissa