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Vintage print adverts of Mel Smilow furniture for Smilow-Thielle
Two furniture designers, Melvin Smilow and Morton Thielle, started a design and business partnership around 1949. They named their...
Oct 9, 2024


Visiting Mies van der Rohe's Villa Tugendhat
Over the New Year, my wife and I were fortunate enough to spend some time in the Czech Republic. Much of our time was spent in Prague,...
Jan 31, 2023


Rediscovering a Forgotten George Nelson Design
Could an exceedingly rare design from the first Herman Miller collection directed by George Nelson have reappeared on the market? We...
Mar 19, 2022


George Nakashima's Origins Collection for Widdicomb-Mueller
In July of 1957, two furniture manufacturers, Widdicomb Furniture Company and Mueller Furniture merged to form Widdicomb-Mueller. A year...
May 4, 2021


Alvar & Aino Aalto's Artek Pascoe Venture
(Photo by Ezra Stoller, colorized) In July of 1940, in an effort to establish themselves in the USA, the Finnish design couple Alvar and...
Mar 11, 2021


Baldwin's Mid Century Piano: A nod to Danish Modernism
Perhaps the only well known mid century modern piano is the Baldwin Acrosonic pictured below. It is highly sought-after and consistently...
Feb 22, 2021


The Grete Jalk sled chair - a tale of misattribution.
(Photo from Wright Auction online listing) Several years ago, while researching Jerry Johnson's Sling Chair for Charlton, I found a...
Jan 26, 2021


Paul Rudolph's Unbuilt Sarasota Masterpiece recreated in 3D
In 1955, this Paul Rudolph design won a Progressive Architecture award but ultimately proved too costly to build. I became *slightly*...
Nov 26, 2020


Designing a home with style that ages well
Designing and building your own home is a serious investment: in money, time and vision. Making sure it ages well comes down to some very...
Sep 17, 2020


J. Bruce Spencer : A Modernist Architect in 1960s Lakeland, Florida.
In 2014 we bought an interesting modern house in Lakeland, Florida designed by local architect James Bruce Spencer. During the course of...
Mar 20, 2020


Mid-Century Modern Homes For Sale - Carver Edition, November 15th, 2019
This week I've been finalizing the book on Norman Carver's architecture - it's with the editor as I write this. So of all the houses to...
Nov 15, 2019


Architect at Home: Paul Schweikher's House in Schaumburg, IL.
Back in March we put together a blog post on a unique house in Arizona by architect Paul Schweikher and his partner Winston Elting. Ever...
Jun 6, 2019


Photo Tour and Trip Review of the TWA Flight Center and Hotel at JFK
Two weeks ago, we stayed at the newly restored TWA Flight Center and newly constructed TWA Hotel at JFK Airport in NYC for a couple of...
Jun 3, 2019


In Color and 3D: A Lost Architectural Masterpiece by Paul Schweikher and Winston Elting in Scottsdale, AZ
Original B/W Photo by Julius Schulman (© J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10) Colorized by Tim Hills,...
Mar 26, 2019


9 of Our Favorite Mid-Century Modern Fireplaces
As we head into what are set to be some of the coldest days in recent history (Brrrrrr!), we can't help but want to curl up somewhere...
Jan 29, 2019


Where Can You Afford to Buy a Mid-Century Modern House?
Finding a stunning mid-century modern home in America isn't hard. Finding one that fits in your budget, however, can be a little more...
Jan 22, 2019


Color Your Own A-Frame Holiday Fun!
Here at Trystcraft we're still A-Frame crazy and we're having fun coloring in these drawings done by architects John Carden Campbell and...
Dec 23, 2018


Eichler Homes and the Golden State Killer
Picture this: A single-story post-and-beam home in California. A property surrounded by fencing to deliver incredible privacy: Your own...
Jul 22, 2018


Paul Rudolph's House for Family Living: Lost and Found
In 1956, the Woman's Home Companion (WHC) magazine commissioned a house designed by famous modernist architect Paul Rudolph. The...
Jul 15, 2018
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