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... 

 

Read more at: 

Stow & Davis Furniture Company

Grand Rapids History

 

Speaking of "find".... look at what else I found while looking for the furniture maker label, hidden in the drawers... 

 

Black glass covered dish + vintage salad or chip & dip bowls...

 

Another Thrift Tip (I've said before, but too important to not repeat)

BRING HAND SANITIZER WITH YOU WHEN THRIFTING.

My hands (and phone) were grey after digging this stuff out - but fun to treasure hunt!

Thanks for stopping by

Southwest Style Inspirations For Our Move to Arizona

Houzz.com and Pinterest have become some great sources for organizing new design concepts, thoughts, and style approaches for our new location. By collecting these style thoughts now, it can help me make some more decisions on what to give away or donate before we pack up to leave. I think I'd give my mom most of my more beachy - nautical blues, so she would have things to do her guest room. I 'may" hold on to some of my greens I love to use in the Spring - especially since I won't be seeing so much green out in the desert. And I'm glad I've been re-united with my reds lately, because I can see them being used more frequently with our new lifestyle & surroundings.



Geodes...

Already do love stones and rocks. Really like this look with long feathery grass....

Some of the new pieces & details I'm looking forward to collecting or adding to our decor is Navajo prints (blankets, rugs - even as a wall hanging - or pillows, geodes (gorgeous mineral rocks & stones), more silver & turquoise to grow my existing collection (I'm fascinated with the Navajo needlepoint design for a cuff), weather & reclaimed woods, pottery and some yummy brown worn leather. To help get us started, I'm REALLY tempted to take some sandpaper to Jeff's brown leather (recliner) chair in the living room... It needs a little more character and texture - don'tcha think? :)

LOVE the look of this muted turquoise adding life to

the rustic elements, furs, and skins...

Navajo Needlepoint Cuff

Would like to find a vintage map of Arizona to mix in with existing galleries...

Sandy, earthy mix of stone, wood, and metal.



Something I started collecting and taking photos of last year was of horses. Maybe I can capture a few more images of wild horses to put up in our new place. I know cactus is going to be a new subject (vs. images of skyscrapers). And something I was more into here, but I think I'm going to do less of out there are the more intense seasonal changes. I don't think I'll only have our shells & coral on display only in the summer. I think those are going to become more mixed in to our decor, along with more of our travel photos - AND MAPS - to tell the story of where we've been (New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Georgia, and Florida's beaches / coastlines).

New obsession: Tobacco / brown leather...

LOVE these colors & these horses...

Mixing textures, rustic elements, and industrial finds.



A new room I'm excited to get set will be a guest room, because I can't tell you, how many people are ready to book a flight out to AZ to come visit us. My mom's friends up in New Jersey are even wanting to meet her in an AZ airport and come visit all together :) and that would be REALLY nice! Something else that will be nice is getting to explore a different part of the United States, and learn more about its history. Might have to also venture out and do some American Picking out here, especially since some of AP's travels have been to AZ. And one of my favorite American architects - Frank Lloyd Wright has a place to go explore, Taliesin West, which I believe also holds most of his drawings.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West



LOVE this color pallet!

Navajo textile called Two Gray Hills

Great idea: Display some southwest (Navajo) textiles on wall to welcome guests to AZ.

 
A few people from here on the blog and on Facebook have even contacted me (thank you) to ask me to come help them with their home after we're unpacked (that will be fun!!) And even just to meet for coffee... Who knew when I first started blogging coming up on two years ago, this would be a tool to help bridge and connect us to new people and lives in the new place we'll live :)

I already love & admire Ansel Adams photography...

So I'm sure you'll see a few more, other than the two winter ones I have.

Desert Tracks Ansel Adams

Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona 1942

Although I still have a few projects to share that I've done around here (like refinishing the buffet and decorating for Fall - while selling our place) I did want to take a few posts to share all the new information and inspiration I've been coming across lately... I thought it would have been sooner, but the house will finally be listed by this weekend. The other day, they hauled away Jeff's truck, which kind of finalized that this is "really"" happening... Right now, I'm processing all the new info and getting ready to "embrace the (new) place where I'm at." I read Ralph Marston daily, and recently came across this line, I thought was appropriate for now...

"Don't be too quick to place judgments on events as they unfold. What initially seems like it might hurt you, may very well end up helping you." ~ Ralph Marston