Modern Homes Portland – Last Minute Gift Guide for Mods

Last minute gift giving guide for the modern obsessed love in your life (short and sweet):

Julius Shulman 3 volume book - $300

If you haven’t seen Visual Acoustics yet, get thee to an indie theater and do so.  If you have seen it, then you will most def want these books (photos is a link to the site where you can buy this for me your loved ones).

Frank Lloyd Wright Lego Set - $99.99

Build it yourself Falling Water Lego set.

subscription to Atomic Ranch Magazine

The Atomic Ranchers are based in Portland so you can boast a decent ” I shopped local” with this gift. Great design ideas for the MCMers.

George Nelson Bubble Lamp Calendar 2010 - $9.95

The George Nelson Bubble Lamp calendar for 2010. Full of vintage bubble lamp ads.

Eames View Master Reels - $35

Photos of the Eames’ Case Study House #8 in View Master fashion (photos taken by the Eames’ themselves). Pretty much everything else on this website would make an awesome gift too.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday! Enjoy everything and everyone.

“What good is a dream house if you haven’t got a dream?” -Julius Shulman

Please share your own ideas if you have them, thanks!

Visual Acoustics – The Modernism of Julius Shulman

This documentary about the work of Julius Shulman, famed modernist photographer best know for his photos of the Case Study homes in California, is playing this week at the Living Room Theater in Portland, Oregon. I highly recommend seeing it before it is gone. I am on my way right now.

Summary:

Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, Visual Acoustics, celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, the world’s greatest architectural photographer, whose images brought modern architecture to the American mainstream. Shulman, who passed away this year, captured the work of nearly every modern and progressive architect since the 1930s including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner and Frank Gehry. His images epitomized the singular beauty of Southern California’s modernist movement and brought its iconic structures to the attention of the general public. This unique film is both a testament to the evolution of modern architecture and a joyful portrait of the magnetic, whip-smart gentleman who chronicled it with his unforgettable images.

Rejuvenation Event – Fixture Gallery Opening

Rejuvenation is hosting another fabulous event. This event will be held on  Saturday, December 12th, from 1-5pm open house style. The event will be showcasing the library archive resource and fixture gallery space on the second floor of the Portland showroom (1100 Southeast Grand Avenue).  Bo Sullivan, the resident Rejuvenation historian, will be giving short informal talks at 2:00pm, 3:00pm, and 4:00pm where he will share some of the history and original lights and catalogs that inspired our reproductions.  Rejuvenation will also be giving us a sneak peek of their new, yet to be released, MCM hourglass light fixture!

Here is a sneak peek at my holiday wish list!

More about Rejuvenation and what they do:

• Rejuvenation Inc.

The showroom is located at:

1100 Southeast Grand Avenue

Portland, OR 97214

Modern Home Calendar – George Nelson Bubble Light

The Bubble Light Calendar

Howard Miller Clock Company Advertisement

I am not paid to endorse this product, I just really like it.

Other Modern Home Posts:

• Mid Century Modern Homes
• Rummer Mid Century Modern Home-Portland Oregon
• Janus Home – Vintage Modern Furniture

Mid Century Modern Home Builder Rummer Speaking at Rejuvenation Benefit

Rummer Home

Rejuvenation is hosting a benefit in conjunction with the Street of Eames – Portland’s Modern Home Tour on November 4th at 6pm.  The special guest speaker is  going to be local legend mid century modern home builder Robert Rummer!  Becca Cavell of THA Architecture Inc. will also speak, introduce and interview Mr. Rummer at the event.

Important Info:

You need to RSVP for this event and I was just notified that they will be at maximum capacity by this weekend.  This means you need to sign up right now….here!

There is a suggested donation of $20 at the door that will benefit the Street of Eames after school programs for homeless youth.

There will be light refreshments served.

For a list of all of the Rummer homes for sale in the Portland area visit the Rummer page where I will update listings as they hit market.

Located at:

1100 SE Grand

Portland, OR

Janus Home – Vintage Modern Furniture

Janus Home Showroom

I started following @Janus_Home on twitter a little while ago and the tweets were pretty entertaining; good taste in music, and there were posts with links to fun, vintage Craigslist items that they weren’t pursuing but (according to them) somebody should.  The other day a tweet flew by that Janus Home had staged a primo mid century modern home on Fremont designed by Birkmeier.  I grabbed my keys and headed over to the house, which has an amazing view, floor to ceiling windows, and the owners have left most of the original hardware and finishes.  The staging wasn’t quite finished but what they had set up was perfect for the house, or for an Atomic Crash Party…

After I had left this mid century marvel, I realized that I had never actually been to the Janus Home showroom so I popped on over to see what they have on hand. The 4,000 sq. ft. showroom is full of mid century vintage furniture that is in great condition.  Janus Home either obtains their pieces in great condition or they refurbish and reupholster furniture that is not in great condition. You can view their inventory on the Janus Home website and choose pieces prior to the refinishing process, and in some cases, choose your finish or fabric so that it is exactly what you want. While I was there, I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Jeremy, who is the twitter admin and also writes their blog that is very educational.

So, if you are in need/want of some incredible vintage modern furniture, stop by the showroom or visit the Janus Home website (they will happily ship anything, anywhere!).

Located at:

1324 SE Grand Ave

Portland Oregon 97214

Mid Century Modern Home Feature: Architects Saul Zaik and Jack Shimshak

NW Regional mid century modern home designed by Saul Zaik and Jack Shimshak 1963 - SOLD

main entry

model of home

UPDATE: THIS HOME HAS SOLD

I had the opportunity (with permission from the listing agent) to take a tour of this amazingly well preserved mid century modern home designed by famous Portland Oregon architects Saul Zaik and Jack Shimshak (under the Zaik/Miller firm).  The home was custom built in 1963 and it appears that nothing has been altered/changed since it was built.  The home has a Northwest Regional design, which makes a Saul Zaik home easy to identify (still currently designing here).  There are 3 bedroom, 3 baths, 2 fireplaces, upper and lower floor, floor to ceiling glass, vaulted wood ceilings, circular driveway, original (functioning) intercom system, original stove, 3,200 sq ft, and it is built in a wooded area which makes you feel like you are at a modern ski lodge. More photos here.

Located in the Greenhills area:

5608 SW Sweetbriar Rd

Portland, Oregon 97221

Shag Midcentury Modern

mid-century modern sofa at Shag

While cruising the local vintage store circuit the other day, I decided to stop in at Shag since I had checked out their website and it looked like they might have some interesting pieces.  It is located on a small strip of stores on Sandy right across from the Hollywood Theater.  UPDATE: Shag is now located in the Montavilla neighborhood at 418 SE 81st.  The interior is a 1,000 sq. ft. showroom where the furniture displays are all arranged in groups where the pieces complement each other. You can tell they hand pick good quality items and the owner, who was running the show while I was there, said that they have new inventory all of the time from designers such as: Charles and Ray Eames, Florence Knoll, Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, Borge Mogensen, Arne Jacobsen, George Nelson and more (they also post their inventory on their site).  This is a must stop for someone who is furnishing their home with mid-century pieces.

You can also order on their site the REAC mini design chairs (multiple volumes) which are a lot less expensive than the Eames collectibles ($129 for set vs $250 for one Eames chair).

mini mid-century design chairs

Mid century modern homes for sale

Mid Century Ranch – Montavilla

mid century ranch 1916 SE 76th Ave ~ SOLD

UPDATE: THIS HOME HAS SOLD

I was out touring the new listings in Montavilla today and saw this cute little 850 sq. ft. mid century home built in 1950 that has a very modern design.  It almost has a completely flat, slightly pitched roof and from the outside looks tiny, almost like a doll house. However, I was surprised at how spacious it felt once I was inside, the rooms feel large due to the high ceiling. There are beam ceilings (that I would paint oxford brown), original 50′s tile in the kitchen, new hardware on kitchen cabinets that give it an original feel, newly refinished hardwood floors.  I drove around the next couple of blocks and there are quite a few homes with the same design that are so cute (probably most are under 1,000 sq ft). This is a mid century hot spot that I am going to keep my eye on since it is so close to Mt. Tabor and there were a couple of fixers in the bunch.

Located in Montavilla:

1916 SE 76th Ave

Portland Oregon 97215

Atomic Ranch – Mt. Tabor Portland Oregon

Mt. Tabor Atomic Ranch Portland, Oregon. 6440 SE Pine ~ SOLD

kitchen

living room

pool

UPDATE: THIS HOUSE HAS BEEN SOLD BUT ITS STILL FUN TO LOOK.

While browsing through the listings in the Mt. Tabor neighborhood looking for a great mid century home find, I stumbled upon this amazing Atomic Ranch offering owned by Portland’s famous Poiriers. Now, if you don’t know who the Poiriers are then you haven’t been into NE/SE Portland ever (they even have a song written about them). Anyway, since I haven’t actually seen the inside myself, I wrote Jerry to see when they are doing their next open house and guess what? They will be doing one next Sunday July 19th from 1-4pm, so not only do I get to go in and see it but so can you!  Judging by the photos that they sent me it looks like they have spent a lot of time and money on upgrading this home while preserving the mid century aesthetic. Built in 1962 (the Poiriers purchased it from the original owner who was 98 when they sold it), it has 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3,540 sq ft.

Here are a few of the feature in case you weren’t drooling enough:

• 3 fireplaces (2 gas)
• 2 family rooms
• in ground salt water pool
• new plumbing, electrical, insulation
• solid maple kitchen cabinets
• Jenn-air double stainless oven & warmer oven
• surround interior & patio sound

Located on Mt. Tabor:

6440 SE Pine

Portland Oregon 97215

Mt Tabor Homes for Sale