Time flies when you’re having fun! 

Wow, we can’t believe it has been a year since our little mid century table makeover! Not only was the response on social media amazing, but it was featured on one of our very favourite design websites, Apartment Therapy, as one of their Before & After projects! It also appeared on the Norwegian design website “Kreative Ideer”.  So cool! 

Click on the photo to check out the story behind this fab table makeover! 

A mid century rescue

Let there be light!

It’s no secret we love a good vintage lamp round here, and with so many different mid century styles to choose from, accent lamps are a great way to jazz up a room or change up a space.

We’ve sold some gems in 2015, and currently have more in our store. So in honor of Christmas lights and all things bright, here are some of our favorites from this year!

Check out our store for more great Mid Century lamps!

For the love of Mid Century Modern…

By Sarah from Atomic Magpie

My love of all things Mid Century left me with little choice but to get sucked into the vortex that was Mad Men (binge watching TV series on Netflix is a favorite past time round these parts) And as sad as I am to see it finish, its impact on modern design trends is undeniable. Even Target has come out with a range of Vintage Modern homewares and furnishings. Which is lovely, but to me, nothing beats an original piece. A sumptuous lava drip glazed lamp from the 50’s, a walnut end table from the 60’s…these things sing to me in a way that a replica can’t.

Of course much of the time spent watching each episode of Mad Men was spent coveting the gorgeous furnishings and backdrops. From divine credenzas to burnt orange sofas to atomic ashtrays and bronze crane statuettes, it was Mid Century perfection. Oh to be a set designer on Mad Men!

So much swoon!
Mad Men – so much swoon!

I seem to do this a lot. Another perfect example recently was Hitchcock’s 1958 movie “Vertigo”. Yes, the movie is visually stunning and the story captivates, but it was the little details that grabbed my attention. The coffee percolator in James Stewart’s apartment, the cocktail glasses in the restaurant, a pin on Kim Novak’s coat. All eye candy for the accessory obsessed. It’s not lost on me that a good portion of the movie was spent trying to determine the manufacturer of the white chair in Midge’s apartment  – was it Woodard or was it Knoll – rather than following the storyline. It’s a bad case of mid-mod design ADD.

Vertigo
Vertigo

But…surely I can’t be the only one? What movies have hit you in the design bone? What movie or TV set would you love to ransack? Or replicate? We’d love to know!

A pair & a spare

There’s lots going on here at Atomic Magpie! We have a number of fantastic mid-century furniture makeover projects underway, and we are really excited to share them – just as soon as the paint is stripped, the stain is set and the brass polished.

Also on  the horizon are some amazing new finds fresh from Australia. They landed Stateside last week, and will be hitting our store in the coming weeks. Our magnificent vintage treasures include a stunning enameled cookware pair by Siltal of Italy, a retro-fabulous red ice bucket by Decor Australia, an AGEE Pyrex bowl and some other absolute gems. We’ll be sure to post more info once we have them listed in our store!

In the mean time, we’re going to share with you this sweet trio (or “a pair & a spare” as we like to say) of coffee mugs by Arcoroc of France. The are tres’ chic, and feature one of our most favorite colors – turquoise. In the popular Jardiniere design, featuring ribbed rings around the mugs, these tempered beauties are fab!

Turquoise beauties by Arcoroc of France
Turquoise beauties by Arcoroc of France

We love lamp!

Every now and again we come across a piece that makes us swoon. This lamp did just that. With its textured base, featuring gorgeous orange and gold diamond shaped detailing, and stunning walnut neck, this mid-century beauty is absolutely fantastic.

We have several fabulous lamps hitting our store in the coming weeks, be sure to stay tuned.

Mid Century Lamp
Orange and gold and walnut…oh my!

Isn’t it good, Norwegian Wood?

We ADORE anything Scandinavian, wooden & mid century modern. Now these beauties are California made, but they are mid century, they are wooden and they are pretty Scandanvian-esque. Made from stunning Black Walnut by Gladmark of Burbank, they are truly outstanding vintage pieces. 

Just recently we happened upon another Gladmark piece, a gorgeous carving board. We’ll be listing it soon, but we are definitely fans of this mid century (non Norwegian) wood company.