Protorio's Profile

Nice place! Is that an original finish on the ebonized Mathsson chair? I've never seen one in that color.

Good advice thus far. I would only add - walk instead of Metro. Its often not that far - and is there a better city to walk in and let the kids take in the sights? During a month stay in Paris last summer I took the Metro once on my first day and walked after that. Lots of great playgrounds to explore. Dog shit is everywhere in Provence, though - so watch your step and stroller tracks.

Home Tour, please. Great collection of art and vintage pieces (detractors of mid-century "style" need to get back to watching HGTV - this is a collection).

We have a drop-leaf table from Paul McCobb that is really handy, folded down when we want the practicality and feeling of more room.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25671211@N02/6756702723/in/set-72157626602351222

Almost any vintage modern store will have a Danish drop-leaf table, often becoming very narrow (think 8 inches), like the Larsen design. BTW, that mirror table is pretty rad, although I can't imagine using it much.

This room would be so excellent without a TV, and with a nice stereo.

OK - float all furniture. I'd put two lounge chairs (perhaps with ottomans) angled inward on the left side (under a window?), then leave the space in front of the fireplace open with a nice rug in front and some floor pillows, then create a conversation area to the left, with a sofa running parallel to the right wall (again, floating), with a small coffee table and two small lounge chairs to complete a small conversation area - think Eames LCM or vintage Larsen "penguin" chairs or something to that effect.

The right side is kind of closed off anyway, so keep the left side lighter with lounge chairs. If you must, and if there's a wall around the stairwell facing the living room, hang the idiot box on that wall over a credenza.

Elsa Beskow rocks. The illustrations are lovely, but its the language and cadence that I enjoy. The ragamuffin weeds in A Midsummer's Party are my girls' favorite. "What Happens on Wednesdays" by Emily Jenkins/Lauren Castillo is my all-time favorite to read with my 6 year old.

If you have an Eichler or an original mid-century modern with exposed plank ceilings or original mahogany veneer walls - don't paint over them! Or at least think twice about it. It will decrease the value, and move away from the originality of the design (and be a royal pain, in not impossible, to restore). Just look at old Shulman photos of case study houses and be thankful yours hasn't been altered.

60s and 70s full-wall paneling can be difficult to look at, though. I'd imagine its because the trend negatively inhabits many of our memories. Just imagine the reaction to granite counters in 15 years..

Its been said, but I am compelled to comment - fix the mirror.

The best place for a TV is in an extra bedroom with a comfortable sofa (maybe a pull-out which can serve double duty as a guest room) - if you've got the space. Living spaces should be built around conversation, reading, music listening, and drinking wine. Add a TV, if you must, in the most hidden way possible.

This is great. Its perhaps especially helpful to the commentators on AT who have "grown tired" of vintage modern "style" or can't look at another "mcm" room, or don't like two many period pieces because it looks like a "museum." These designs - from the furniture to the pottery and enamel work - arrive from the California experience, and serve as something of an endemic aesthetic for lots of native Californians.

I dunno - its really fun to buy vintage. Plus, you can sell it for (usually) what you bought it for - or more. To be honest, its hard to give "new" stuff away. Try to resell a Macy's sofa on Craigslist and see who comes to get it. When buying vintage, you can always trade stuff out. Over the course of a year, we found lots of vintage pieces for our house and its been fun. Sofas are more challenging than chairs, storage, and tables. Ours is new: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25671211@N02/6689900423/in/set-72157626602351222/