How We Live: Sarah And David Cunningham

It should come as no surprise that the owner of the fantastic Walker-Cunningham art gallery (which just happens to house the collection of one of my local favorites, Dora Atwater Millikin) has a beautifully-designed home.

Entry, open kitchen, seating area, high-top table for two.

What was surprising to me when I visited Sarah and David Cunningham’s home last week, though, was just how homey and laid-back the mid-century Sudbury house felt (I admit it: part of me assumes a gallery-owner would live in a white-walled box with one item per wall, straightened with a level hourly).

Color filled Kitchen

That’s exactly the goal the couple are trying to achieve. “We love how warm, inviting, and bright this house is,” Sarah says. “Hosting and entertaining for friends and family is very important to us, and this space is perfect for a gathering large or small; even though the house isn’t large (the 3 bedroom 2 bath is 1600 sq. ft.), we can still pack a crowd with ease thanks to the naturally open floor plan.”

Maybe part of the reason this treasure trove of mid-century pieces and artworks—both from Sarah’s gallery and acquired during the family’s travels—manages to be both welcoming and well-designed is the integration of their stunning collection into their everyday lives.

Master Bedroom

Kid’s Bedroom

The Eames rocker, a wedding gift and a favorite of both David and Sarah’s, was where they rocked their 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter to sleep, and where they still sit down to read to them. DIY updates (achieved with ample help from Sarah’s father H. David Boocock, a master craftsman and builder) include new cork flooring and new cabinetry, but also windowseats to nestle into and a comfy dog bed, complete with slipcovers by Sarah’s mother. Great light through beautiful ribbon-style windows is amplified by the light, bright paint-job that Sarah and David undertook when they moved in, and which they say transformed the space from a dark “cave-like” space into its current, airy incarnation. Even their toilet-paper storage doubles as a work of art!

DIY Bathroom

All the work has paid off for Sarah and David, who have definitely created the kind of space they were hoping for. “When we return after a trip or come home from work, it’s a refuge and a comfort to be home,” David and Sarah say. In their space, the old adage proves true: there’s no place like home.

Check out all the pictures we took at Sarah’s beautiful home on Facebook.

Spread The Love To Win A Diamond!

Amperfans, we’re not too proud to say we like you.

We might even LIKE-like you.

We’re also not too proud to say we need your help! We want to give this beautiful Bertoia chair to one of our fans, but we can’t do it until we get to 2000 likes on our facebook page.

So tell your friends, your family, and anyone you know who’s caught the mid-century modern bug that if they like-like us back, we have diamond (chairs) to spare.

Remember, when we do find a winner, we want him or her to hear the good news, so make sure that after you click that “like” button, you add Ampersand VM to your interests list.

Don’t worry it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Go to our Facebook page

2. Click on the settings dropdown menu (the little gear icon) next to the Message box

3. Select “Add to Interest Lists”

So start spreading the word (and crossing your fingers) and this stunning piece of mid-century design could be yours!

Diamonds are Forever, But This Contest Isn’t!

Valentine’s Day is almost here! If you want to get a diamond, make sure you’re sharing the &VM love.

When we get to 2000 likes on our facebook page, one lucky Amperfan will win this stunning Bertoia diamond chair.

Remember, we not only want to find a winner, we want that winner to hear when it’s his or her lucky day, so make sure that after you click that “like” button, you add Ampersand VM to your interests list.

Don’t worry it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3. Specifically:

1. Go to our Facebook page

2. Click on the settings dropdown menu, the little gear icon, next to the Message box

3. Select “Add to Interest Lists”

It could be you, so make sure to tell your friends! Spread the love for a chance to win a piece you’ll adore!

Happy Birthday, Alvar Aalto!

Alvar Aalto, Finnish Architect and Designer

When you think of mid-century design, few names loom larger than Alvar Aalto. The Finnish architect, designer, and glassware-maker helped usher in, then popularize, modernist design concepts, and his focus throughout his career on creating a “gesamtkunstwerk,” or “total work of art” with every project (those gorgeous chairs and vases that he designed were meant to complete the stunning buildings, so every part of the whole worked together) was truly inspiring.

In honor of his birthday (Aalto would have turned 115 over the weekend, on February 3), we wanted to give our Amperfans a few pieces of eye-candy (or should it be eye-cake?), highlights from a long and prolific career. Enjoy, and please feel free to show us some of your favorite Aalto buildings, textiles, furniture pieces, and glass designs in the comments!

A detail from the Baker House dormitories at MIT (1947-48). Viewed from above the building undulates, serpentine, from end to end.

A bird’s-eye view of the Baker House dormitories.

Following the concept of gesamtkunstwerk that Aalto applied to his entire career, the Paimio chair was originally designed to furnish the Paimio sanitorium, a building Aalto also designed. Aalto claimed the angle of the back was perfectly calibrated to ease the suffering of tuberculosis patients.

The Aalto-Musiktheater Essen, in Essen Germany, was designed in 1959, by which point Aalto had entered a more experimental phase of his career. The performing-arts venue wasn’t actually built until 1983, seven years after Aalto’s death.

The Aalto Vase, designed in 1937, has become an icon of modern design. It’s often referred to as the “Savoy Vase,” since Aalto and his wife, Aino, originally designed it for the Savoy restaurant opening in Helsinki that year.

This wonderful video is from the current Alvar Aalto exhibit at Jackson Design Berlin. The exhibit runs through the end of this month and contains rare and important pieces from the Finnish Architect and Designer.

We’ve collected more Alvar Aalto images on our newest Pinterest board, and you can find out more about his life, including a more comprehensive list of his major works, here.

Be My Valentine Contest

Be my Valentine and we’ll be yours! When AVM reaches 2000 Facebook page likes, we’ll be sending one lucky Amperfan a vintage Harry Bertoia Diamond Chair by Knoll. Because we all know that nothing says love like a diamond.

Couple things to note about the contest:

You need to add Ampersand Vintage Modern to your “Interest Lists”. This is the only way not to miss out and continue to view our news, contests, announcements, photos and blog posts in your feed.

The solution is easy peasy:
1. Go to our Facebook page
2. Click on the settings dropdown menu, the little gear icon, next to the Message box
3. Select “Add to Interest Lists”
Done and done.

All fans (new or old) in the lower 48 states will be eligible for the contest, but it will only happen when we hit that 2000  mark. So don’t forget to “Like” our Ampersand Vintage Modern page on Facebook if you haven’t already. We can’t reach 2000 page likes without your help. Spread the word, share our page, and especially this amazing giveaway and keep your fingers crossed, and maybe you’ll be getting a Bertoia diamond this Valentine’s Day.

The Original DIY Project – The Airstream

photo via Poetic Home

So many of the trends in the DIY, vintage, and upcycling worlds are small-scale (even though they can have a huge impact). I’m talking about the hunt for that one perfect piece, or the reworking of an antique mason jar into any of a few hundred beautiful, useful items, from lighting to urban gardens. But lately, some seriously innovative DIYers are thinking big. Airstream big. Refurbishing these mid-century classics is a trend that’s really picking up st(r)eam lately, and for good reason; their sleek lines lend themselves to beautiful, artistic interiors, the challenge of living more simply is one that is appealing to more people every day (if you haven’t heard of the tiny home movement, it’s another fantastic creative outlet for DIYers nationwide), and the appeal of being able to pick up and go, without leaving any of the comforts of home behind, is perennial.

American Airstream – painting by Leah Giberson

Even the art world loves the Airstream. Artist Leah Giberson pays homage to this icon of American travel –check out her mixed-media paintings featuring the Airstream on her flickr site.

Southwest Coaches published this video on YouTube and it’s a must-see for the Airsteam aficionado. Filmed over 40 years ago at the Airstream Plant, the video offers a first-hand look at an era where manufacturers still believed that quality was attained through details. We love their tag line, “Where Building Dreams is our Business.”

Check out some of our favorite Airstreams (both updated and in all their original glory) here, as well as these fun facts about America’s favorite camper!

* Airstreams are the original DIY project; company founder Wally Byam built the first in 1929 in his backyard, after which he published an article titled “How to Build a Trailer for One Hundred Dollars.” After selling hundreds of his instruction-sets to readers of the article, and building quite a few trailers for friends, Byam decided to expand the operation into a full-fledged business in 1932.
* Airstreams have been upcycled into everything from permanent shoreside homes to mobile libraries to food stands!
* Byam was as invested in the community of Airstream-enthusiasts, or “Airstreamers,” as he was in his product. Starting in the early 50s, Byam started leading groups of buyers to specific travel destinations around the world (check out this fun collection of vintage images of Airstreamers at play. The Wally Byam Caravan Club still meets up every summer.
* Several campsites nationwide are Airstream-only. Some even require membership in the Caravan Club for entry!

Music That Gets Us Through (What We’re Listening to Now)

I know I’ve been a little absent on the blog at the start of this year but, some of us roar into the New Year and some of us recover from the flurry of activity at the end of the last year. Oh, and getting our books in order from 2012 was a bit of a deterrent to our brains feeling creative at all. It’s like a hurry scurry little mouse darting every which way on its path to discovery that finds itself in spilled molasses. That is when you have to crank some tunes, shake off the stick and get the blood flowing again.

I stumbled across George Maple late one night while driving home from a picking trip. Coming back into the Boston area around 1am, I switched over to our local college radio station, 88.9 WERS from Emerson College.  Apparently ‘ERS has an Australian Radio Hour, who knew? Although she’s not Australian, I was introduced to her soulful British voice and immediately Shazamed the track and purchased it. When I got home I went on iTunes and was greatly disappointed to see this was the only track currently available but mark my words, this is an artist to watch.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE to dance so a fly DJ spinning great tunes gets my toes tappin’ and when you mix it up with a bluesy sound you get me at “Hello.” The French DJ group C2C,  Disco Mix Club World Team DJ Champions four years in a row (2003–2006), puts down some hot tracks and the song “Down the Road” is right in my wheelhouse.

Most of you know my travel partner and vintage sniffer Rex, he’s always there and puts me in a great mood. He’s so patient with my wandering and using him as my personal dress up doll. This next song by the ’70s French pop artist Joe Dassin always fills my heart to the bursting point because I think about strolling down Les Champs-Élysées, me bopping my head cheerfully from side-to-side and he’s sniffing the air and wearing the outfit from the picture below.

Rex, ready to stroll Les Champs Elysées

Some catchy stuff I know. Hope you enjoy the tunage as much as I have lately.

How We Live: Sean and Zach

In a perfect world, we would all find spaces ideally suited to our style, in our dream location, and – since we’re already engaging in some serious wishful thinking – with a rock-bottom price-tag. But Sean Litchfield and Zachary Violette’s intriguing Jamaica Plain apartment – just 400 square feet and loaded with potential stumbling blocks like a narrow entry hallway and occasionally odd angles – proves that creating a warm, welcoming, beautiful home isn’t about starting with the ideal canvas. It’s about transforming the space you have to reflect your tastes and fulfill your needs.

For Sean, a freelance photographer, and Zach, an architectural historian and PhD candidate, those needs include maximizing the small apartment’s space, since both of them often work from home, and getting the most out of their kitchen, since they enjoy cooking together. They’ve managed both with a series of ingenious workarounds, including loads of shelving and a willingness to wall-mount just about anything.

While their space may be limited, their funky style is anything but; their tastes range from Victorian ephemera to mid-century modern, with room for just about anything that strikes their fancy. Dedicated thrifters who are never above peeking into a dumpster, Sean and Zach have created a space that is personal, unique, and best of all, inexpensive. “We both have very specific tastes,” says Sean, “but neither of us would ever pay a premium for them. It’s both amazing and appalling what people throw away.”

Luckily, those peoples’ losses are Sean and Zach’s (and our!) gains. Take a peek at their own little cabinet of wonders (and if you like Sean and Zach’s unique style, swing by the store – we just happen to have a few pieces in stock right now that would fit perfectly into their one-of-a-kind space!) :

From the entrance to Sean and Zach’s 400 sqft. apartment, a wall lined with books leads all the way through to the window.

A sharp left leads into a hallway where Christmas tree lights illuminate a collection of vintage maps and Occupy Wall Street signs.

The tight quarters beg for storage solutions. This Mid-Century teak wall unit with desk helps fit two people into a small space. An additional, unique storage idea is the vintage suitcase beneath the coffee table. You can put anything inside, the hard case offers great protection, and best of all, you can tuck them in just about anywhere, since they make a great design element!

One “wow” moment in this space came when I saw the typewriters and paper cutters mounted to the wall. Such an original idea, and it really looks amazing. Check out our Facebook page where you can see the album in its entirety.

Living Room

Sean & Zach’s cozy bedroom. Note the beautiful reuse of rustic windows.

Views of the kitchen

When you can’t spread out, spread up: it’s a great way to maximize a space’s potential!

Know someone in New England with an amazing space? Let us know about it by sending an e-mail to info@ampersandvintagemodern.com and it might be featured in a future installment of “How We Live!”

A Heartfelt Thank You

25% OFF everything except Jewelry (but, you get free shipping on Jewelry). All this is brought to you by Rex, the Ampersand Reindeer, and proud sponsor of all road trips.

Rex the Ampersand Reindeer

We’re Famous! and 5 Hours until…

First, we hope everyone had a safe and wonderful thanksgiving holiday. I was able to take a break and head West. We spent some time with our families and then headed to New York City to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from a friends balcony. Very exciting stuff. Here’s a picture of a new balloon in the parade this year. “Companion” is the brainchild of the amazing graffiti/graphic artist KAWS .  He started his career by subverting imagery on New York City street advertisements in the 90′s and soon his work became highly sought after. Check out this article in the LA Times if you’re interested in learning more about the balloon and the artist.

OURHAUS Interview with Jodi Vautrin

We are so excited to have been interviewed by the wonderful Jodi Vautrin from Ourhaus blog. Always exciting to have fellow bloggers interested in what we are doing here at Ampersand. Ourhaus is full of great information so you should definitely check it out. Rex even makes a guest appearance.

and 6 hours until…

Our first contest will be ending. You can share the the last two posts from our Facebook timeline, including my interview with Jodi Vautrin from Ourhaus blog, join our mailing list, follow us on Twitter, or Instagram a picture of the beloved & with hashtag #avmcontest for your chance to win one of three great prizes. You have until 7pm.

Our Vintage Cyber Monday Sale on Fab.com goes live tonight and you won’t believe your eyes! It’s like Christmas morning when you were a wide-eyed 5 year old except now you’re not 5 and there’s grownup presents. So don’t forget to check out all of our amazing finds in just 6 more hours!