FOCAL POINT STYLING: May 2013

AN AMERICAN TREASURE: STOW & DAVIS DESK AT GOODWILL

Spotting fab vintage finds doesn't always mean a trip to an antique shop. Look what I spotted this weekend at Goodwill: An American Art Deco style Stow & Davis desk - NEEDS WORK, yes - but it's got good bones: streamline styling, storage and stunning original brass hardware. In 1928 Stow & Davis introduced the first wood and steel framework desk in the wood furniture industry - made of walnut, mahogany, and oak during the 1920s and ‘30s. Developed in the late 1930s, Stow & Davis designed the Harwood, Croyden, Rapide, Metro, Beacon, and Moderne, plus Progression lines. Successive versions produced in the 1950s and ‘60s were known as Progression II and III. The S&D lines featured wooden case pieces in walnut of blonde satin finish and leather chairs or sectional seating. All of these lines were characterized by Art Moderne lines: curved tops, rounded corners, and streamlined hardware. At auction, and with the desk in a restored condition, it sells for $2000-$4000. This Goodwill goody though, was only $24.99. I wish I had a storage unit or shop to haul this piece to and restore to its former glory ~ What an American beauty!

Thrift Tip:

Location Counts

The older the area you're thrifting, the more likely you are to find vintage gems.

Great Deco Moderne design...

Stunning streamline brass hardware...

MADE IN AMERICA!

AMAZING!

IF I were to buy to restore, I would undoubtedly refinish in two two-tone like the below stained mahogany & ebobonized piece...

Restored desk at a Chicago auction...

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers

Stow & Davis was an American furniture manufacturer established in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1885. Grand Rapids once crowned itself "The Paris of Furniture Design." with the region's first cabinetmakers, and covers designs from Victorian + Modern through Reform + Revival to the high-tech office furniture of the late twentieth century. Steelcase acquired Stow & Davis in 1985, all Steelcase wood products were sold under the Stow/Davis or Stow & Davis name. You can read more about the American heritage in a book called Grand Rapids Furniture: The Story of America's Furniture City.

Available at Amazon.

That's what I love about thrifting:

you never know what you're going to find AND what you are going to learn...

DECO DETAILS TODAY: SAVOY COLLECTION at BLOOMINGDALES

While pinning images from the recent Spring High Point Market event, one trend was clearly coming on strong: the rebirth of Art Deco styling in home furnishings (Read post here). And while the High Point Market is filled with high end designer showrooms, with most products becoming available to designers, retailers or e-commerce, one well known retailer has already collaborated with Curate Home Collection to create an exclusive Art Deco inspired line - SAVOY at Bloomingdale's. If you're in the market to update your dining area, living room or bedroom, be sure to visit your nearest Bloomingdale's, or also shop them online. The line originally launched in February, but I noticed it in Elle Decor this month. I haven't set out to see the Savoy Collection set in the Bloomingdale's stores (yet!), but I'm sure this art deco inspired collection is sure to be a show stopper! Although sofas aren't available within the line, Bloomingdale's offers other brands such as Ralph Lauren and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams which can compliment the Savoy Collection for today's deco detail styling, without getting too themed in a room. Here's a look at the Savoy Collection...

THE SAVOY COLLECTION designed by

CURATE HOME COLLECTION

exclusively for Bloomingdale's

SAVOY BEDDING COLLECTION

at Bloomingdale's

SAVOY DINING COLLECTION

at Bloomingdale's

The other perfect compliment to the Savoy Collection at Bloomingdale's is the amazing rug Deco Collection of rugs designed by Catherine Martin - the set & costume designer for The Great Gatsby. Below is a selection of her rugs, plus my fave paired with a Ralph Lauren sofa, Savoy buffet, authentic vintage lamps found at V&M and similar fret back chairs at Hayneedle...

THE DECO COLLECTION

THE SAVOY LIVING ROOM

Items I used to create the board above:

Bloomingdale's Savoy Buffet

Bloomingdale's Savoy Bunching Tables

Ralph Lauren Home Indian Cove Sofa

Catherine Martin "Night Bird" Area Rug

V&M Pair of Asian Style Lamps

Hayneedle Fret Back Chairs

Yes... Although I shop with a thrifty budget, I do have champagne taste :)

Cheers to Bloomingdale's on a fine art deco inspired collection!

To Savoy!

Thanks for stopping by...

LYNDA QUINTERO-DAVIDS

HOUSE HUNTING IN AZ

Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend. Since we've been living here in the East Valley of Phoenix now for 18 months, we';re a little more comfortable with the areas and decided to start a little house hunting. Currently, we've been renting a 3 story home in Gilbert and 1. It is a bit too far east for Jeff's drive south to Casa Grande. 2. It's a MONSTER for me to keep clean (those stairs!!) 3. It's not a conducive layout for living an outdoor lifestyle - the kitchen is on the second floor, and there aren't any sliders leading out to the backyard for grilling - We have to cut through the garage. When we first learned of moving to Arizona (in September 2011) I had pulled together a binder of places to check out - some of which Jeff would visit while on the phone with me. In October 2011, I flew out to Phoenix, and had searched about 30 places in 2 days before finding this. We had taken it mostly because of its newer finishes in comparison to other rentals we looked at. Since living here for 18 months now, we both have a better understanding of distance + travel time, and think it's a good time to start looking a little closer to the main highway both for Jeff's work and my travels around Phoenix & Scottsdale. One of the areas we've been looking at is a development called Sun Lakes.

I'm OBSESSED with this door! LOVE it!

Don't laugh - but Sun Lakes is an adult community. I know, sounds strange - but the lifestyle is perfect for Jeff and I: we don't have any children, and the area is surrounded with lakes (yay! water!) and golf courses. Jeff enjoys both fishing and golfing so points for him. Most of the homes are single story -yay! no stairs. Many people are buying into the area and renovating and even flipping home (potential for clients) and the HOA is lower than what we were paying in FL ($225 in FL vs $100-$150 here) Although it's a adult community, they start the age admittance at 40, and also have group meet-ups by age so we'd be able to meet with other people in 40-50. The area is quite - no loud parties like the neighbors had Friday, and no trains or airports nearby (something we didn't realize when we only had 2 days to find a place. The one thing I'm most drawn to is the different styling of housing - all different kinds from adobe to flat roof to slate tile roofs to yes - Spanish with barrel tile roofs. Many of the plans we've looked have a kitchen open to a family or sitting room. And even though some places are only 2/2, they'll have a den (great for an office), custom closets, cabinet storage in a 2 car garage, a fireplace and even a pool - something we steered away from when we were first looking, but it gets so damn hot here in the summer, a pool seems like a great plus to have, especially for exercise! (Remember my mini heat stroke I had while biking last Spring?)

This home is completely renovated, it's WHITE (yay1 No desert brown!), has a sleek looking lap pool with a cover on tracks (great for when a dust-storm hits) and no cacti - Reminds me of a South Florida home.

Sun Lakes - Alameda Model
The Kitchen is open to the dining / living room area, which is the layout we had in FL (with the exception of the sink was facing the area. I had converted this space to our Great room, and used a sitting area in front as our Dining room.

The downside is though, because we had done a short-sale of our FL townhome to be able to quickly relocate here to AZ for Jeff's job transfer (and during the lowest point of the FL housing market) we will still need to wait another 8 months before applying for a mortgage loan. The plus though is, we will fall back into the FHO loan qualification and many people here are doing Lease - Option to buy, which means we could rent until able to qualify again. The other plus I learned about from a Realtor I met with on Thursday is this area has wonderful yard-sales on the weekends (great for finds + selling stuff I don't want to just donate) and it also has the potential to capture new clients - people who want to update their 80s & 90s style places into the millennium (just like I did for my mom in Florida!)

I'm not doing this for all the places we've been looking at, but creating boards with the floor plans, along with before and after pics of some of the homes that have been remodeled is helping. Ideally, since we'd be renting the first 8 months, we'd prefer something that has already been remodeled because it's too much of a risk to do any updates while leasing, even if planning to buy. To get more of a feel for the area, since some of the communities are gated, we spent yesterday on the Golf Course inside one of the developments. LOVED seeing green grass, WATER, and palm trees - It felt more like living in Florida. And the drive from here to Jeff's work in Casa Grande would be cut by 20 miles which equals 30 mins less drive time. And it's still close enough to the main highway for me to get to Scottsdale or Downtown Phoenix for vintage and thrift....

Definitely not looking like the brown desert dwellings here...

And the homes inside one of the developments have a little more architectural interest both inside & out (in other words: not cookie cutter boxes)

Not set on any one yet, but we're at least out there looking, and liking more of what we're seeing vs. when we first came to Phoenix. I think the "culture shock" has past and we're adapting more to the area. I'd LOVE a Mid Century home, but most of those are up in North-West Phoenix, too far for Jeff. The prices are also more affordable from $175,000 to $200,000 for 1700+ sf to 2100+ sf.

The weather has still been holding out as comfortable too, but I'm sure the oven-like heat is just around the corner. But at least this year, we're more prepared and know what to expect. Shopping & doctors offices are close by the area, including the dentist, which is where I'm heading this morning.

Have a great day!

Thanks for stopping by,

LYNDA QUINTERO-DAVIDS

Around Town & Online: Shop Ultimate Consignment

I'm still learning my way around here in Arizona, and while out the other day I discovered a new and incredible playground of finds called Ultimate Consignment. The first store opened in Downtown Phoenix back in July 2012 (I need to go check it out!) but I stumbled upon their new location in Mesa Arizona. What an incredible assortment of consigned goods from high to low, vintage to antiques, sporting goods to tools, appliances to electronics, dishes to area rugs and lamps to artwork - reasonably priced too. I found four vintage chairs in good condition for only $34.97. The even better plus about this shop - Ultimate Consignment is available ON LINE, for anyone to shop from wherever you are. Along with a helpful staff, they have a unique system: No prices are on the items. Instead of prices, every item is tagged with a sku and kiosks are set up around the store for price inquiries. Kiosks have a basket of pens + tear sheets to help you while you shop. To help find the kiosks, the store has their logo of the loop arrow high above each kiosk, which lists the item info + additional photos of the item. You can watch a virtual tour of the Phoenix store (think of it as Craigslist warehouse!!) at YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yju5UOKbJsc