Retro Renovation» patio

Midcentury modern planters — 19 circa-1950 designs from LaGardo Tackett available today

pam kueber — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:30:00 +0000

Could these be more lovely? Researching the life and work of ceramicist LaGardo Tackett recently, I learned that 18 of his planter designs — and one amazing garden sculpture — are still in production and available today. In 1998 Vessel USA resurrected the iconic ceramics originally made famous by Max and Rita Lawrence’s Architectural Pottery company beginning in 1950. These LaGardo Tackett planters — which comprise the largest portion of Vessel USA’s line today — accessorized the famous Case Study houses, and were featured in a Museum of Modern Art exhibit as early as 1951. The planters are as classic as classic gets— and, yes, still Made in America.

It is impossible to understate the importance of LaGardo Tackett and of Architectural Pottery to midcentury modern interior design history. The spark to create Architectural Pottery was actually lit when Max and Rita Lawrence saw LaGardo’s work in 1949: They knew that all the fab mid mod houses being built throughout California needed these planters. There was nothing like them, apparently, and we all know that California was about indoor/outdoor living. Max Lawrence was originally a meat packer, who earned his wealth packaging meat rations for World War II and the Korean war. But he and Rita were finely tuned to the arts and design, and their new company, Architectural Pottery, was an immediate success. From the 2010 obituary of Max Lawrence in the Los Angeles Times, which is a lovely tribute and fascinating read:

Architects began ordering the Lawrences’ wares almost as soon as the first catalog was published in 1950. It wasn’t long before a piece by Architectural Pottery was considered as necessary in the modernist home as an Eames chair.

…”Whenever we see a white cylinder planted with a tree or flowers inside or outside an office building or a bank, and now quite often at gasoline stations, all of that is the heritage of Architectural Pottery,” Bill Stern, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Museum of California Design, said….

You know I am not a died-in-the-wool “high falutin’” modernist. I do not believe that “Ornament is a Crime.” But, these garden sculptures by Tackett — again, still in production today — do have my heart all pitter pat. Yes, these pieces are “expensive”but they are the real deal.

I want to marry this planter. What a wonderful story Vessels USA has to tell. From the company’s About page:

Vessel USA Inc. was founded in 1998 to revive stunningly simple planters and other ceramic designs that brought acclaim to the Architectural Pottery Collection, a Los Angeles company founded in 1950 by Max and Rita Lawrence. Prominent mid-century LA architects such as Richard Neutura and Pierre Koenig favored the pottery line for spare, geometrically ordered residential gardens and commercial buildings….
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Knowing the inherent value of these historical award winning designs, owner Michael Stephenson painstakingly rescued the original company after years of research and development. “Geometric and organic shapes may look quite simple to produce although there is quite a lot of engineering behind the scenes to produce symmetrical forms. Molds can weigh hundreds of pounds and a single ceramic piece can take over a week to produce from start to finish. Proprietary techniques are used to execute the product”.

Hey, that’s my RetroRenovation.com font in their video!
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If you can bear to break out of Unhappy Hipster mode, there are even colors.

Click the photo above to see Vessel USA’s complete line. It seems you can order direct from the company, or google “Architectural Pottery” to find it at a number of other online retailers.

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Cindy’s midcentury modern porch remodel, including traditional random color slate

pam kueber — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:39:33 +0000

The amazing Cindy is at it again. We’ve seen her house, her bathroom remodel, her Amtico kitchen floor, and her new pinch pleat curtains, and now she shares the new, welcoming entry way to her 1963 home. I love the long, low lines, and the integration of a favorite mid century surface material, random multi-color slate tiles. She also helped design the custom made planters. Read on for more of Cindy’s vintage Sunset-inspired front porch makeover –>

Cindy writes:

The entrance to Cindy's 1963 house "before"

I’ll start with before photo of the front of the house — wild overgrown yews that were surely original to the house.

Cindy's new entry way "after" complete rebuilding

After all the work, above and below: The new front entry.

It was entirely rebult, the stoop area is slate – my favorite material and so appropriate to a mid century house. I then had a concrete slab poured around it. inspired by a photo I saw in a 1960s landscaping book from the library. I think it was one of those Sunset books….

The inspiration for the planters came from a restaurant I went to in the Azores last year. I searched your site, local garden centers and googled wooden planters numerous times, but found nothing that satisfied me.

So I had them made by a local cabinet maker friend. They add a bit of Asian feeling I wanted for this front area.

Great job, Cindy — I love the new expansiveness of the entry way. You can sit out, have a cocktail, and watch the neighborhood go by — but the landing still has a strong geometric feel that totally suits the modern design of your home. Interestingly, I have read that midcentury ranch homes were designed in a way that they would be “open to nature” — but that generally meant open at the back. I like that you have added this friendly touch to the front of your house, but in a way that is harmonious to the front facade. The landscaping looks “friendly”, too. I have several of those hydrangea trees — a very satisfying cultivar in our part of the world, it blooms all summer long.

I have a photo of Cindy on her old/original landing (above> from when I first visited several years ago. You can see that the random multi-color slate tiles were original to the era. Cindy has replaced them, including with a tidier squared-off design on two levels. Random multi-color slate tiles are abundant in Massachusetts – and they are relatively affordable. The concrete platform below, which Cindy designed, kind of “mirrors” the shape of the garage roof adjacent (nice touch, Cindy, you have “the eye” for sure!) and adds visual contrast. The concrete is also reduced her cost (compared to laying more tile), I assume. Be sure to work with professionals or to really know what you are doing if you attempt to do this kind of job yourself: Up her in northern climates, we can get cracks in concrete due to freeze/thaw heaving if the underlayment and binding (?) of the concrete is not done properly. You also will want to talk to a professional about the pros and cons of sealing concrete.

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Add curb appeal to your midcentury home with ornamental metal porch columns — 3 sources for this old school product

pam kueber — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:27:10 +0000

Researching ornamental iron and aluminum columns and railings to help owners of mid century home add some old skool curb appeal to their front porches was hard — the websites were not set up for national consumers, particularly, so I had hunt and peck. For this story I found three suppliers — one really good sounding, national source of decorative aluminum columns… and two local sources for ornamental iron columns and railings. (There surely must be more, so I welcome any tips.) Oh, did I mention old school — these companies have been around since — yes — right after World War II, and still have fabrication in the U.S. of A. Check out these three places where you can find to decorative metal columns and railings –>

My most useful find — with distribution in 84 locations nationwide — is Superior Aluminum Products of Russia, Ohio (just north of Dayton.) This company was launched on July 11, 1956, in Youngstown, Ohio. That is their photo, above.

I talked at length with one of the co-owners, Darren, who was super helpful. Superior offers a wide selection of design possibilities for its aluminum railings and columns. Here’s how it works:

Superior fabricates your column to order. They can use square tubing either 1″, 1.5″ or 2″ wide…. space the tubing 9″ or 12″ apart…. customize to your height… do “flat columns” or “corner columns”… and use the decorative insert of your choice — the 10 possibilities, some simple, some flowery, shown above and in the lead photo. If you have a complex installation, for example, one that includes a big wrap around (rather than just two columns), it’s recommended that you work with a local contractor so that you get the measurements just right — this stuff is made-to-order.
Darren notes that the simply scrolls are still manufactured at a related company, Francis Manufacturing, across the street. Yes! Manufacturing in America!
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices start at about $97 for the simplest unit and rises accordingly if you go fatter, wider, scrollier, taller, etc. However, these are MSRPs, you can wheel and deal locally when you go to buy.
Superior Aluminum has 84 distributors / retail locations across the U.S. To find a supplier in your area, call or email Superior, they would love to connect you.
Links: You want the 600 Line of decorative columns and railings.

When I first started my research, I was thinking decorative cast iron rather than aluminum. I found two places that fabricate and sell mid century style decorative columns and railings. I talked to Chuck, the manager at Remodelers Supply Center (RSC) in northwest Chicago — that’s their Climate Guard line, above. Chuck was also very helpful.

Remodelers Supply Center (RSC) sounds like a big operation. Their main business is manufacturing replacement windows, but they also do custom iron work, with 12 different styles of columns. HOWEVER, Chuck says that the company requires that they do the measuring and installation of all work. Again, like others I talked to, he reiterated that measuring for these columns and railings can be tricky. Look at those stair drawings –if you get the angle or even 1″ wrong, you are in trouble — the piece is useless. In addition, many folks use those columns as structural supports for their porch ceilings — consult a pro, do it right, you don’t want your porch roof falling down. Chuck said that an 8′ painted corner column runs about $200 plus $30 installation. Link: Remodelers Supply Center – note, they also do aluminum awnings, $91 cash-and-carry for 48″ wide, 36″ projection, they manufacture it themselves, Chuck says!

RSC is another American success story. From their history page:

Our History – An American Dream: Remodelers Supply Center (RSC) is a division of Logan Square Building Material Supply, Inc. and was started over 35 years ago as an iron, awning, and fencing shop by Mr. Isaac Silver. Mr. Silver is the heart and soul of RSC, and some of our customers still call us “Isaac’s Place”…. Mr. Silver’s story is a classic American immigrant story of coming from hard times after surviving World War II. Born in Poland, Mr. Silver came to the United States through Israel and Cuba in the 1950′s. Able to speak Russian, Polish, Spanish, and English, his legacy personifies Chicago’s diverse culture. His Polish background complements the second largest Polish city in the world here in Chicago. The American Dream became a reality for Mr. Silver and his wonderful family through very hard work and the true American work ethic. We will always be indebted to his wisdom and leadership, and he can never be replaced but he can be emulated and that is what we strive for.

Chuck says the company also made wrought iron dinettes after WWII. And finally, here’s a boo-hoo story from RSC: Chuck says that up until 12-15 years ago, the company had boatloads of wrought iron plant hangers and plant stands in their warehouse. “Fancy stuff with scrollwork,” he said, and those plant stands that have three shelves that wrap around to look like a staircase. They finally had to clear the space out. They had mega sales and sold hundreds. But when all was said and done, they still had to send lots and lots to scrap. Alas.

I also spoke with Watson Steel and Iron in Mathews, North Carolina. Also very friendly and helpful — Robin was great. Like Remodelers, she said that normally, all work they do is custom and includes installation. That is their work in the photo just above. But she seemed open to the idea that they could work out shipping for columns, if you really want cast iron. She indicated that cost for a standard flat column with scrollwork would typically start at about $250, a corner column, $350. Shipping extra. Link: Watson Steel and Iron Works.

I found another place, other side of Chicago, that does installations only, because of the measurements issue. Railings and Things.
I tend to think there are more, local places like this across the U.S. They may not have website that popped in my search. Or at all.
If you want to bargain hunt, try the Re-Store, craigslist, and salvage yards. Be cognizant of the potential for lead paint on old pieces – consult with a professional, take the right precautions.

If you have more resources, I’d love to add them to the list.

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