Make Your Pad Lush with Mid-Century Modern

The Kaufmann House. Photo: Tim Street-Porter, The New York Times

While in the end it didn't matter as by the time our condo was finally finished being built THREE YEARS too late (ugh) and we'd already moved to England, a website like Lushpad would have made our search for the mid-century modern furniture and knick knacks we wanted far easier (though it's always fun to wander the fabulous retro district in Toronto's Queen St. East. You just don't want it to be your only option - that doesn't involve dubious offerings and online bidding).

Lushpad is a unique online marketplace that specialises in the buying and selling of mid-century modern furniture and accessories as well as fine art - a dream for those looking to start their collection or add to it, and a desirable alternative for artists and designers looking to sell their work. It is run by Melanie Carlson, a Vancouver-based award-winning graphic designer and creative director with a passion for everything mid-century modern and the whole retro vernacular. She saw a gap in the online marketplace for a website dedicated to this much-loved design era and took her cue to fulfill her mission: to "democratize good design" by creating a place "where buyers and sellers can connect at every price point." The site currently serves North America and plans to broaden its reach soon.

And if you love the mid-century design aesthetic but only breakfast pastries come to mind when you hear Danish, you might benefit from Lushpad's expanding list of resources that currently includes designer, artist and architect profiles; articles on design classics; book recommendations and a blog, all of which can help you gain a deeper appreciation for this exciting and important design era. And in no time you'll know your Eames from your Mies van der Rohe and that Le Corbusier is a who, not a what.

To get you in the mid-century modern mood here's a Chevrolet movie presentation from 1958, featured on the website's blog. It's a long one but if you've got a minute even the opening sequence will put a smile on your face - love that echoey, deep-voiced narrator style, the dreamy music and the colourful graphic treatments so typical of the era:

Comments

[Malphi]

Just found your blog...loved scrolling through!
Malphi x