Thursday, January 14, 2016

Still geeking over this, a year later


But fabulous design is, quite simply, fabulous design. Several years ago, this dining set fell into our possession (it was literally rescued from the back of a truck heading to the dump/landfill--heaven forfend!!). Our daughters at university used it for a few years, but eventually they acquired a 'modern' (cheap Asian-made) set that they liked better (kids these days!) so Mr P and I were told to remove the vintage dinette from their apartment, which we did about a year ago.

The set was constantly disparaged for its age and shabbiness (for the record, I saw its cuteness from Day 1) but I refused to part with it. A little research revealed that it was manufactured by the Imperial Furniture Company in Ontario (Canada) and designed by one Jan Kuypers.

His stuff is hot (Vintage Home Boutique is listing refurbished JK chairs for $245 a pop) but as with all vintage/antique stuff, you have to find a buyer first. Not that I'm looking for one at present. The set will likely go to one relative or another. I have several who collect MidMod furniture.

This set is so cute. If you love Mid-Century Modern and/or Danish design, enjoy!





It's very fantastic to find original manufacturer's stickers!

 Kuypers is known for his "floating" designs. Note above, how the table top appears to float above the legs/base. Indeed, at no point does the top touch the wood of the legs. They are connected only by the metal runners used to expand the table.









More floaty style: the chair seat appears to hover over (and slightly ahead of) the legs. These chairs give good lumbar support and are very comfortable.



The table opens to a generous, family-friendly 78" (But first you need a craftsman to make you a 24" leaf or 2-12" leaves; unfortunately, this table lost any and all leaves somewhere in its sad history). It needs a lot of TLC. Some little dog must have chewed on the legs.



If this set were refinished (it's solid yellow birch) and reupholstered with some funky retro fabric, it would be beyond awesome.




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