MCM Patio Furniture Favorites

I was wanting to get some feedback on everyone's favorite patio furniture from the 1950s - 1960s. This is a time where I have very vivid memories of the parties my parents used to host with friends, neighbors, and co-workers. My parents always had a galvanized tube full 7-Up and Coke chilled by a big block of ice my dad would get from the local ice house. We had a way-cool redwood and aluminum folding picnic table with matching benches and always an aluminum folding table for the food...we had a built-in brick fireplace in the backyard to grill the hot dogs and burgers.

There were these two Adirondack chairs my parents had which had to be painted each year...that was always my job. They were forever white, I don't think my folks ever thought about different colors...they were made by my dad and originally painted white and stayed white.

Remember the webbed aluminum folding chairs you could take camping and to the lake? We always had some of those plus the older fan-back or shell-back metal chairs...I had to paint those to about every other year.

But my all time favorites, still are, the folding redwood and aluminum chairs...they were just too cool for Sunday School...and I didn't have to paint 'em every Spring.

I just loved that style...and like I said, I still do. I buy 'em every time I get a chance. Needless to say there's a few hanging around right now.

I found another redwood and aluminum folding picnic table the other day...fell all over myself buying it...it reminded me of the one from my youth. The last one I had got sold to the movie Secretariat which should be coming out soon. It was filmed in Lafayette, LA and Lexington, KY...I can't wait to spot the table and some of the other Mid-Century Modern furniture I sold as props. I tried to get the picnic table back after filming but one of the senior decorators had dibs on it...figures, it was cooler than to other side of the pillow.

I sure like to get know what your favorite MCM patio furniture is...let me know, maybe I'll find some...for me I'm bugnuts about the redwood and aluminum style.

I certainly sell a lot of fan-backs, floral punched, shell-backs, and metal patio furniture...but, around my house it's all about the redwood style...more later...hasta luego

Mid-Century Meets Southwest

I've been posting more of the Native American works my website @ rocketranchroadhouse.com. I've always had the eclectic decor which mixed my love for MCM furniture and accessories with my passion for Native American art. It seems the two may not be compatible or complimentary, but they seem to work well together.

Anyway, I'm moving out some of the Native American art pieces and offering them for others to enjoy...I just have more than I can really display. I figure what's the purpose of having works of art, if you can't adequately display them for your's or other's enjoyment?
I continue to change the decor in the house as pieces move in and through the inventory which I have available. That's one of the advantages of being a dealer, you get first pick of your own inventory...bring a piece in, take a piece out.

The fact that there's a surfboard in the living room which is lined by every skateboard I every skated bearing a cowboy hat which I wore at that time in my life seems natural to me...a little eclectic rather than eccentric.

Heck, I figure it's not eccentric, it's "colorful." As Strother Martin's character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid said, "I'm not eccentric, I'm colorful." Of course he was shot right out of the saddle immediately following that statement, but that's another thing altogether.

I've brought MCM together with Southwestern to create a unique appeal and a place I enjoy spending my time.

So, more Southwestern art is up on the web and the MCM remains mostly on CL here in Austin...'cause it moves quickly and affords my local clientele quality at affordable prices. And, it's helpful and flattering to find my CL posts on other local blogs about Mid-Century Modernism in and around Austin.

The next show I'll be at is set for 24-25 April at Palmer Events Center here in Austin...City Wide Garage Sale, which is one of a kind for finding odd, unusual, unique offerings of all types at more than reasonable prices...hope to see you there!

After Fayetteville...Back to Austin

Now that Antiques Weekend and the Fayetteville show is behind me and I've had a week to recover, I've been posting more Mid-Century and Danish Modern furniture and accessories on Austin's CL. I didn't take a lot of MCM to Fayetteville, just enough to give folks a taste of what I've been doing in Austin.

The show in Fayetteville was gruelling, as usual, with 12+ hour days and sleeping on a camp cot...then the craziest of all was on Friday 2 April I smacked a buzzard on Hwy 159 crashing in the windshield of my Suburban and sending glass all over me and the interior. I found a great place in Columbus, TX to fix it and was back in Fayetteville by noon.

It's been a wacky few weeks for the Suburban and my antique shows having it in the shop twice for transmission work and then the buzzard incident...but if you need auto repair work while in Austin, I highly recommend Adam Hall and his crew at River City Automotive...what I'd call fast and fair. I also recommend Juke Automotive about 2 blocks north of River City Auto...they did a great job for me also keeping me on the road.

Now back to what's up and for sale in the MCM and Danish Modern lines here at Roadhouse Antiques in Austin...I just a listed an absolutely fabulous Cathedral table from Broyhill's Brasilia Collection. It's in extraordinarily good condition with the original glass insert and ceramic bowl...you can take a look @ rocketranchroadhouse.com. I also have posted all of the MCM clocks, well there may be 1 or 2 still around the house I've not offered for sale but most are listed.

I sold a really great pair of "bouncer" garden chairs this morning along with a matching super light weight aluminum table...still have 1 aluminum table in the front yard along with a cool redwood and aluminum folding picnic table. There's a set of 3 redwood and aluminum folding garden/patio chairs and another set of 2...it was a set of 3 with the rocker but a lady wanted just the rocker and she took it home for a good price. I may be a little off with the MCM garden stuff, but I really go bugnuts over the redwood and aluminum outdoor furniture...I'm just ahead of headlights on the style. I think everyone will catch up soon, but it's my preference over the 50s fan backs. The redwood and aluminum folding pieces are the best for durability and style and just reek 1960s retro.

I've been working on repairing the stash of early coin-op games I have, so they are all off the trailer, cleaned and in excellent working condition...now we're talkin' some serious pin games from the beginning of the genre between 1929-1932. Games like O.D. Jenning's Victory Ball and 2 different Bally Hoo games...these were Bally's first games and 1 vends 10 balls for a nickel and the other vends 7 balls for a penny. I'll also have my Williams 1958 Short Stop Deluxe back from the shop in a few weeks. Steve Bronson with S & B Amusements here in Austin has totally shopped the game...who's ready for little pitch and bat baseball now the MLB season has opened?