May 29, 2012
This is a neat old piano stool / chair. The seat height is adjustable thanks to a big iron screw thread. The letters cast into the iron are too faint for me too read so I don’t know the manufacturer of this component.
The rest of the chair is wood and is generally simply styled except for some patterned veneer in the upper chair back and carved claw feet. Unfortunately one of the chair back uprights needs repair (see slide show below) but otherwise it is in good condition. The top of the back is about 37 1/2 inches tall.
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Posted in $101-$150, 19th century, Antique, AVAILABLE!, Chairs, Otherwise useful, Wood |
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May 26, 2012
Mr. Chair is sitting at the Community Warehouse Estate Store West waiting for you. He is all alone, wondering if he is just too ’50s for this modern world. Mr. Chair was
Mr. Chair is almost 3 feet tall, likes to recline, swivel and provide much needed relaxation time. He is in good shape for his age and reclines with only slight groans. Are you the one to bring Mr. Chair home?
Come visit Mr. Chair and more at Community Warehouse’s new west side Estate Store on Friday through Sunday 10-4.
8380 SW Nyberg St
Tualatin OR 97062
503-612-0020
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Posted in $351-$400, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Chairs, Metal, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Modern, Other Unnatural Materials, Vintage, Wood |
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May 6, 2012
Cool old reclining platform rocking chair, upholstered in deep red vinyl. It’s pretty comfortable and in good condition.
Something, but I’m not sure what, makes me think this would be an interesting barber’s chair, or at least a good place to recline for a hot towel shave.
It is about 27 inches wide and 36 inches tall to the top of the upright back.
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Posted in $101-$150, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Chairs, Mission, Other Unnatural Materials, Vintage, Wood |
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May 4, 2012
Today is the day! We’re pleased to announce that we are formally opening our new west-side Estate Store in Tualatin. It’s located in the same facility as our donation center at 8380 SW Nyberg Rd. We’ve been taking donations for a few weeks but it’s time to get our lazy-bones up and working so the store will now be open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm (Of course the donation section is still open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm as well).
The Heywood Wakefield model 710 lounge chair and ottoman you see above were pretty good incentive to get this started. It is in fair to good condition given that there are some flaws (one hole on each arm and some torn stitching in the seat).
Barring upholstery issues this chair and ottoman is pretty darn comfortable and the wood and metal bits are in good shape. The best part is that it still has the separate head rest piece. Since this is not attached to the rest of the chair it’s usually long gone.
As the store gets up and running we’ll be featuring more stuff from there here at Estatestore.org and eventually we plan to set up a separate page for it, much like the Garage Sale page (which you should take a look at!). Until then maybe we’ll see you there
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Posted in $450-$500, 20th century, AVAILABLE!, Chairs, Metal, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Plastic, Vintage, Wood |
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April 29, 2012
This set of five ornately carved Chippendale style chairs probably date to the late 19th or early 20th century.
The chairs are unmarked except one bears a faint chalk number 236, which is probably the pattern number. They are made from solid straight grained mahogany and they are all in variable condition, but with a baseline of ‘good condition’. Two of them are absolutely perfect, the other three have minor flaws, most notably missing* trim pieces (You can see an example of what I mean in the slide show below). If you were an enterprising sort of person you might be able to take the five chairs and make four near perfect ones by switching parts around.
The seats were redone in vinyl at some later time. Given the use of a sort of burnt pumpkin orange color material my initial guess was the 1970′s. However upon looking at the seats closer I noticed that the support is canvas webbing and there is a thin veneer of rust on the nail heads, so perhaps the 1930′s would be a better fit.
The top of the back is about 40 inches tall.
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*Personally I like the story that missing parts tell about the history of an item. In the broadest sense it is tangible proof of the passing of time and possible witness to what happened. Things like the decline of empire at the turn of the century (both British and Ottoman), the rise of the automobile and the decline of the ice man, the end of the age of Morgan** and the rise (and fall) of the trust-busters.
On another level missing pieces tell of the time when great-uncle Albert and Aunt Grace loaded everything into a Model T and hit the road in the summer of ’35, like so many families did. It reminds us how they only made it as far as Jersey City on US Highway #1 before their will gave out and they decided to settle down in East Orange. Somewhere on that brief journey the car rattled and jumped so bad that they lost one chair and pieces of others too. They turned back when they realized it was gone but all that was left were splinters in the road. Albert always claimed he could have made something out of them, if nothing more than a ship in a bottle. Grace usually walked out at this point in the story, she’d heard it before, besides she knew that the sight of a ship, boat, or even a dingy in a bottle would make Albert seasick.
** The photo of J. P. Morgan in the slide show was taken by Edward Steichen in 1903. This is the first picture I remember seeing of him and it left an impression of Morgan that no other photo has dislodged. The story of this picture is interesting in itself and can be found by following the link here.
Posted in $251-$300, 19th century, 20th century, Art Nouveau (real or inspired), Chairs, GONE! SOLD!, Vintage, Wood |
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April 22, 2012
It’s not every day that we see a set of Lane Acclaim dining chairs. The last time was back in September of 2010, so they aren’t rare but not common either. The Lane Acclaim line was immensely popular when it first came out since it joined good mid-century design (modeled after Hans Wegner) with unparalleled affordability. Acclaim was introduced in the late 1950′s and by 1963 it was the best selling furniture design in the United States.
What makes these slightly unusual is that they are chairs. Chairs tend to get rough use over the course of decades. A good example of how this happens can be found in what one of our customers had to say about his furniture on Friday morning:
“We still have the same table that we bought 50 years ago but we’re on our third set of chairs. The first ones had thin little curved legs, they were fine until our daughters started bringing boys home for dinner, they’d lean back and . . . “
This set of four have the typical Lane Acclaim species indicator “puzzle” or “dovetail” veneer pattern insert. They also have the original vinyl and two of them still have the manufacturer’s tag stapled underneath the seats.
Overall the chairs are good condition but they’re not in pristine shape as one has a broken (and missing) stretcher. Otherwise they just have normal light wear and are in good condition.
Just be careful who your dinner guests are.
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Posted in $251-$300, 20th century, Chairs, GONE! SOLD!, Mid-Century Modern, Vintage, Wood |
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April 17, 2012
Except for the use of different woods the darn thing is a dead-ringer for the one we had last November.
And with good reason. They were made by the same company, Crocker Chair of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Crocker went out of business in the early 1930′s, another corporate victim if the worldwide economic downturn of the Great Depression.
Unlike the last one this seat bears a label in the underside that notes the patent date for this design, September 20, 1898. This was one of two patent stool designs issued to Crocker that day.
Two decorative stretchers are missing (one each in the front and back) but otherwise it is in good condition. It is 23 inches wide, 23 inches tall and 15 inches deep.
If you’re not looking for a stool it’d make a pretty sweet little side table too.
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Posted in $51-$75, 19th century, 20th century, Antique, Art Nouveau (real or inspired), Chairs, GONE! SOLD!, Shaker, Vintage, Wood |
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April 16, 2012
Alas it’s only the ottoman. This goes with one of Ingmar Relling’s famous Siesta Chairs and we know not where the chair is. Luckily the ottoman can be used as seating all on its own if necessary.
The ottoman is roughly 24 1/2 inches long, 20 inches deep and 17 inches tall.
It is in very good condition, the only flaw is one of the Allen screws is missing, which is not an uncommon problem with these.
$120 but we’re willing to dicker a bit.
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Posted in $101-$150, 20th century, Chairs, Fabric / Fiber, GONE! SOLD!, Leather, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Otherwise useful, Vintage, Wood |
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April 12, 2012
This one has great bones and good lines, but could use a little spa time to get back on top of the world.
The biggest flaw in my mind is that some of the woven cane in the back is breaking. It’s nothing substantial yet (you won’t fall through for example) but it could use a fix. The next thing is that there are no cushions. It came with some horrid flowery cushions from another, differently shaped (demi-lune) love seat but they made this look dowdy so we . . . uh. . .”released them into the wild.”
Finally, one of the seat springs is missing. The others are pretty good as they held this used stuff merchant up during the all important testing phase.
Did I mention that it had great bones and good lines? The arms are a lovely ovate cross-section sculpted form with a little neck where they meet the back.
And look at those lines: notice how the front and back legs are angled just a bit and the they have a bigger taper where they meet the bottom stretcher/foot? Someone thought about this and worked hard to make a form that was pleasing to the eye.
It is marked with the usual Danish Furniture makers tag and a branded stamp that reads JK Made In Denmark. At first I thought that this was a product by the great Danish designer Jacob Kjaer, but further research shows that this was designed by Hans Olsen for Juul Kristensen. I couldn’t find the sofa but chairs that are designed on the same principles were made in 1958.
I hope this work doesn’t go to waste.
It is 48 inches wide, 29 inches deep and 27 inches tall.
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Posted in $151-$200, 20th century, Chairs, Couches, Furniture, GONE! SOLD!, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Vintage, Wood |
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April 6, 2012
In the late 1940′s Don Shoemaker got married and went to Mexico on his honeymoon with his wife Barbara.
This was to prove a pivotal event.
Don Shoemaker was born in Nebraska and studied painting in Chicago at the Fine Arts Institute during the 1930′s. After their honeymoon Don and Barbara decided to relocate to Mexico, eventually settling the state of Michoacan. He gave up painting and began making furniture out of tropical hardwood.
By the early 1950′s he started a small factory that went by the name Senal S. A.. He exported his completed designs to showrooms throughout the United States and in large cities in Mexico.
As well as his interest in the use of natural woods and organic design principles, he was famous for using complex joints and wooden pins in his chairs, rather than screws or glued dowels. Hypothetically then this chair could be* disassembled for transport or shipment.
This is one of his most famous designs, the sling swinger chair. It was available in Grenadilla, Cueramo and Cocobolo wood with your choice of black or brown leather upholstery. Our example appears to be made from Cobobolo and it is an unmarked specimen but it was purchased in Mexico by the father of the donor.
Our chair is in great condition, the leather is wonderfully intact and the woodwork and joinery are solid. The only notable flaws are some slight separation and one drying cracks on the “X” joints of the chair and a shallow channel worn by one of the bolts from which the seat is suspended (see pictures below). Otherwise it’s in great condition.
The chair is 32 inches tall, 31 inches wide and 30 inches deep. The footstool, which may also be used for seating is 23 1/4 inches by 16 1/2.
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*could be- In other words it is possible but there is some risk. I think that dis-assembly should be relatively straightforward but this piece is too valuable to ship via the usual low cost carriers so I’d want to ship it via Fedex or someone similar. To avoid falling into the freight category (mondo expensive!) it would have to be taken apart. Hence the trouble.
If you want this and want it shipped I’m willing to give it a go but we’ll need to talk first about how to handle the unlikely event where everything goes horribly wrong.
Posted in 20th century, Chairs, GONE! SOLD!, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, More than $1000, O. M. G., Vintage, Wood |
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April 5, 2012
In my hand I hold the Scarlet Shillelagh, the badge of my office, and I hereby call this meeting of the Red Leather Club to order.
We can get to work on deliberate relaxation (which is the serious business of the Red Leather Club) after I take a nap.
32 inches wide, 38 inches deep and 33 inches tall. The chair is in OK condition but the leading edge of the seat cushion could use a bit of cleaning if you’re fickle about the appearance of dirt even when it doesn’t have much substance.
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Posted in $201-$250, 20th century, 21st century, Chairs, Contemporary, GONE! SOLD!, Leather |
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March 20, 2012
This well-designed Windsor chair bears a paper label underneath for the John M. Smyth Furniture Company.
As it turns out the Smyth company was a long time Chicago area furniture retailer (125+ years) before being bought out in the mid 1990′s. Since the piece isn’t otherwise marked I’m not sure who actually made. Whomever it was used high grade solid walnut, good joinery techniques and overall did a pretty decent job of it.
Design-wise it’s interesting as it sort of treads the fine line between mid-century/ Shaker geometric design and the often poorly considered aesthetics of the ‘colonial’ revival (usually in maple) of the 1970′s.
It stands about 34 1/2 inches tall to the highest part of the back. Overall it is in good condition and is a good serviceable chair.
I suspect the pierced top-rail with the center spindle running through it is a trait that would be diagnostic to the maker or designer, but I haven’t managed to figure it out.
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Posted in $51-$75, 20th century, Chairs, GONE! SOLD!, Mid-Century Modern, Shaker, Vintage, Wood |
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March 18, 2012
This vintage blue pleather (plastic-leather, a.k.a. vinyl) chair is in fantastic shape. Usually by the time we see these the plastic has cracked after someone’s college graduate child moved back home and spent six or eight months (or years) sitting in it eating nacho-chips and playing video games.
Not this one though. The plastic is in perfect condition and there’s no signs of nachos anywhere. Even better there is a pattern molded into the vinyl that mimics what woven leather would look like.
This chair is also surprising in that it is uncommonly comfortable and that the length, width and height make a cube of 29 inches in each dimension.
Pretty neat!
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Posted in $101-$150, 20th century, Chairs, GONE! SOLD!, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Plastic, Vintage, Wood |
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March 15, 2012
We have a winner! This Ekornes Stressless lounge chair and ottoman set is about as close to new condition as you can get without being new. It has been used but it was supremely well taken care of. It is in such good condition that I even removed the tape measure and razor knife from my belt before testing it, which is unprecedented.
The glide clamps work OK, it rotates and reclines nicely too. The only flaw I could find is a few small, faint ballpoint pen marks on the seat from someone who left an uncapped pen in their back left side pocket. These marks are not noticeable except on close inspection.
In green leather with a rosewood frame. The back of the chair is about 39 inches tall at the most vertical position.
$650
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Posted in 20th century, 21st century, Chairs, Contemporary, GONE! SOLD!, Leather, Mid-Century Modern, Modern, More than $500, Other Unnatural Materials, Wood |
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March 7, 2012
One could see this as a future star of one of those ‘badly repaired stuff’ blogs. Or one could see it as an item that was loved or needed and kept well beyond the point when most families would have replaced it.
I prefer to see it as the latter.
I suspect this dates to the period when reusing and recycling wasn’t a fad or political statement but was part of the realities of life.
It started life as a child’s size bent back Windsor chair but over time some of the spindles broke out of the back. But even with broken spindles it is still useful if only . . . there was a way to make it so one could lean against it.
Enter the noble plank.
Some bricoleur had a sort section of board sitting around. All that needed to be done was to carve a groove to match the bent hoop back and find a way to keep it in place.
Although there are many ways of doing this they chose to peg the bottom then glue a piece of thick (probably also recycled) veneer across the gap at the top.
The result may be a bit inelegant but it is surely better than not having a chair at all.
It the aesthetics aren’t quite your style it might make a good vehicle for participation in the Community Warehouse Chair Affair in 2013.
The 2012 Community Warehouse Chair Affair will be held March 15th at 5pm. If you happen to be interested in attending this year’s event (see previews of the art here) you better get cracking since tickets are on track to sell out soon.
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Posted in $16-$20, 20th century, Antique, AVAILABLE!, Chairs, Farmhouse/Country, Otherwise useful, Rustic, Seemed like a good idea . . ., Shabby Chic, Vintage, Wood |
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February 10, 2012
While not new this big table (a 72 inch by 40 inch rectangle) is in like new shape. It’s in such good condition that it must have been used by a species of near ethereal beings because they left barely any marks on the table top and the chairs. The matching bench, which we’re selling separately bears many light scratches.
There is a chance that it was used to stage a house for sale and our getting it is a sign that the real estate market is slowly bouncing back, in concert with the rest of the economy.
While having a table formerly used by a ghost family might be kind of neat the ongoing economic recovery is more practical.
In all seriousness I haven’t seen a set in this good condition in a long time. Since the table is a solid piece, without leaves we’re selling this with the set of six chairs and have split the bench off for separate sale.
Update: The whole lot has been sold!
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Posted in $101-$150, $500-$1000, 20th century, 21st century, Chairs, Contemporary, GONE! SOLD!, Mission, Tables, Wood |
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February 2, 2012
Happy February 2nd. It’s also Groundhog’s Day, Candlemas, Imbolc, and/or St. Brigid’s Day. It’s a busy day with all those holidays stacked one atop another. Luckily they’re pretty much mutually exclusive and none of them have any relevance to the subject at hand, namely this vintage love seat.
It’s a decent old piece. The wood work is nice and the upholstery is in fair shape but in a somewhat dated pattern (little flowers, thank goodness it’s not plaid). Generally it is in fair condition.The major strike against this piece are two water stains, one on the far left edge of the seat and on the left arm and one on the upper portion of the left side back.
I gave them both a good sniff and they don’t smell bad or even seem to stink at all. This is a good thing, 1) ’cause I don’t have sinuses saturated in wretchedness and, 2) the love seat can still be used until you can get to reupholstering it.
This piece is about 58 inches wide, 36 inches tall and 32 inches deep. The exposed wood work appears to be mahogany and it has a collection of carved flowers and leaves at the center of the back.
Posted in $251-$300, 20th century, Chairs, Couches, Fabric / Fiber, GONE! SOLD!, Vintage, Wood |
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January 27, 2012
Telephone tables are sign number 437 that things have changed and kids have it too easy. (The wire mesh table is still available.)
“Back in my day we had to have special furniture for our phones. It wasn’t some easy thing where you carried around more computing power in your pocket than the Strategic Air Command and could do internet searches for even the simplest stuff, like how to breathe. No, we had to remember phone numbers or look it up in a book. Ever hear of a book kid? It’s not some E-lek-tronik doo-dad, no sirree, its analog and uses paper and you had to know how to spell to use it. Bah you kids!
Wanna play Words With Friends?”
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Posted in $41-$50, $51-$75, 20th century, Chairs, Furniture, GONE! SOLD!, Metal, Otherwise useful, Vintage, Wood |
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January 25, 2012
I look at this leather upholstered bar stool and think, “If this were at my drafting table I could sketch cities, build Important Edifices or design untold futures.”
Instead I have an old cast iron and oak stool that’s just a bit too short, the mark of a plonker, a dilettante, someone who’s not, note the capital s- Serious.
But I’ve had that old stool too long to casually toss it aside for a flashy new brunette. I spent a lot of night sitting on it with only a purloined milk-crate for a footrest and a wall to lean against and it suits me pretty well.
This new bar stool is about 48 inches tall with a seat height of 30 inches. It is 23 inches deep and 21 3/4 inches wide, unfortunately we have only one.
If you don’t have a drafting table it’d class up a home bar much better than tossing an olive in your PBR and calling it a martini.
Posted in $76-$100, 21st century, Chairs, GONE! SOLD!, Leather, Otherwise useful, Wood |
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January 22, 2012
This is a first! I don’t recall ever having a couch like this here at the warehouse but it could have happened when I was sleeping on the job or before my time.
Anyway, this is a rather unusual sofa with a tall back and high arms (I’m sure there is a proper name for this style). The wood frame is birds-eye maple with overlain decoration. The upholstery is in excellent condition. I suspect it is probably a late 19th century piece.
It’s the kind of piece that would be awesome to put near the wood stove or fireplace since the tall back would help conserve heat. You can sit in it in different ways which is nice if you don’t have an external heat source or want to use it in clement weather.
It is 42 inches tall on the high side, 32 on the low, 65 inches wide and 30 inches deep.
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Posted in $300-$350, 19th century, Antique, Art Nouveau (real or inspired), Chairs, Couches, Fabric / Fiber, GONE! SOLD!, Wood |
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January 19, 2012
We just hooked into a great catch of fine quality furniture, which we’ll be showing over the next several days or until it runs out.
For example we have FOUR of these wonderful and pretty darn comfortable deck or plantain chairs with swing-arms. They have wood frames, woven cane seats and are new but do have minor defects (which is how we got them).
They are about 44 inches deep, 30 inches wide and 36 inches tall. We’re selling them individually.
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Posted in $251-$300, 21st century, Chairs, GONE! SOLD!, O. M. G., Other Natural Materials |
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January 11, 2012
This set is well used but still has a lot a life left.
The leather is still nice and supple although there is a little wear at the ends of the arm. It’s obviously been broken in, but it’s not broken down.
Unfortunately the glide wheels (a.k.a. clamps) that keep the back in place when you recline are worn out and will need to be replaced (and a previous owner broke an Allen wrench off in one bolt head). You should be able to obtain all the repair parts from your nearest authorized dealer, but they didn’t answer the phone when I called so I don’t know for certain that you can.
Since there is some element of repair and possible risk, we’re offering this piece As Found.
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Posted in $251-$300, 20th century, Chairs, Contemporary, GONE! SOLD!, Leather, Metal, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Modern |
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January 5, 2012
These chrome frame chairs with metal seats and backs make me think of the darkened restaurants where sweet looking little old ladies would congregate which are among my first memories.
Those same ladies would spit hell-fire and damnation and roundly scorn their husbands and humanity in general while occasionally slyly handing a free soda to the bug-eyed kid standing dumbfounded on the other side of the counter.
They’re are all long gone now and I’m sure the old shell-back green and yellow metal chairs we sat in have since been turned into SUV’s or kitchen accessories.
This set of four chairs probably once sat in a similar kind of establishment. The smell of old smoke and cooking grease that probably once coated these is long gone scrubbed away and covered by a newish coat of paint.
They’re in good condition and measure 32 inches tall to the top of the back. I’d guess they were originally made in the 1950′s.
Posted in $101-$150, 20th century, Chairs, GONE! SOLD!, Metal, Vintage |
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December 18, 2011
This is a slouch-tastic chair and ottoman set! It’s even great for reclining in while you listen to Synchronicity II on repeat after a hard day at work.. You can put your feet up, relax and use your laptop as a drinks coaster on the floor beside you.
What ever you do this chair exudes relaxation. You won’t feel compelled to check your email while managing your linked in account all while working on next week’s big presentation. Next week will come soon enough and you’ve got some important lazing about to do.
The chair is 36 inches deep, 25 1/2 inches wide and 36 inches tall. The foot rest is about 22 inches square and 14 inches tall. Originally sold by America The Beautiful Dreamer the set is in very good condition.
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Posted in $300-$350, 20th century, Chairs, GONE! SOLD!, Leather, Wood |
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December 17, 2011
This reclining lounge chair was designed by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin of High Point, North Carolina. This is a little different from the last one we had. Most notably the arms are far nicer and ‘sculptural’.
Since ours does not have the original label I questioned if this was actually a Thayer Coggin piece at first but with some basic research I found not one, but two others that still had the original labels.
Of lesser importance, someone reupholstered it not so awesome not mid-century fabric. At least it is a redeemable flaw. The vaguely southwestern, possibly 80′s era fabric is in good shape but could use a little cleaning. What it really needs is replacing with appropriate looking/ period fabrics, but that’s outside our current abilities.
When, like tray tables at landing the chair is in the full, upright position it is38 inches tall, 28 inches wide and about 38 inches deep. When fully reclined it is about 60 inches long.
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Posted in $300-$350, 20th century, Chairs, Fabric / Fiber, GONE! SOLD!, Mid-century, Mid-Century Modern, Vintage, Wood |
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