The Mid-Century Modern design movement is characterized by sleek lines contrasted and balanced with organic shapes. This beautiful aesthetic is way beyond style, as it incorporates ingenuity, creativity and sustainability in pieces that are both trendsetting and timeless. Elise and Jeff are helping to bring this classically modern style into the 21st Century, one restoration at a time.
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AE: So, what do you look for in a great mid-century modern piece?
ES: We typically source items that we would want for our own home. So, we look for high quality mid-century modern furniture, pieces that were made to last. We also love color and pattern, so we often source art and decor items that fit the color scheme of our own home! We have bright primary colors throughout our living spaces and we like to incorporate pops of those colors in our furniture and decor selections.
AE: I love that, color really makes home a lot happier! I really enjoyed learning about some of the different designers and furniture makers of the mid-century modern era from your blog! What do you enjoy more, the history of the movement or the design of the pieces themselves?
ES: Thanks for reading my blog posts! I guess I would say I love learning all that I can about whatever I can. Vintage mid-century modern furniture wasn't really made all that long ago, yet it's sort of a black hole in the internet. In forums online I see people searching to identify pieces of furniture that actually just came from our local Sears and Montgomery Ward department stores in the 50s, 60s and 70s, but the original owners didn't really talk about it, so there's this mystique about vintage items. Sometimes there are pieces that are truly exceptional, that were hard to acquire new at the time they were being sold and we source them from someone who doesn't think they are anything special at all.
I like to know the history of everything involved - who designed it, where was it manufactured and sold and how did it get here? Oftentimes, the designers are unknown or hard to identify without a lot of digging. Which still surprises me, because these people were designing only 60 years ago. I think it just wasn't well documented because it seemed pretty ordinary at the time when so much manufacturing was happening in the United States.
AE: That’s so cool that you do that, I think that the history makes those pieces even more special. Do you have a favorite designer or a piece you just couldn’t let go of?
ES: We found ourselves collecting Modeline of California lamps. Our first piece was a double orb, sculptural wood swag light sourced by Sarah from Highway Child Vintage at a thrift store. It was an unbelievable find and we were so grateful she allowed us to purchase it. It was designed by Arthur Jacobs for Modeline and is actually quite valuable, so the fact that someone donated it is crazy to me. We have two other lamps from the same company and we love the sculptural designs of all 3. We have no plans to sell them, they will probably be in our estate sale!
AE: What an amazing find! If only more people would appreciate these timeless treasures. After finding a furniture gems like a Modeline, would you mind sharing the basic process of restoration?
ES: Pretty much everything we source needs cleaning and some sort of repair. When it comes to dressers, my husband, Jeff, always services the drawers. That involves repairing drawer slides, lubricating the components and sometimes adding spacers so that everything lines up just right. Sometimes the dressers have taken a beating to their finish and he might sand and refinish the piece or do a light touch up, depending on condition. We work with a very talented refinisher for our tougher projects (like a chalk painted Broyhill Brasilia dining table!)
I handle most of our upholstered furniture. I am not an expert, but I have reupholstered dozens of dining chairs. I typically strip the old material, add new foam, batting and fresh fabric. There's a lot of staple removing and stapling involved. I also repair and dye leather furniture when the pieces have small tears or have faded and do not need a complete overhaul.
AE: That’s amazing, and it's so cool how you guys work as a team to bring pieces back to life! Any suggestions for those looking to add the mid-century modern aesthetic into their style?
ES: The way we started incorporating mid-century modern in our home began with swapping out a low-quality new item with a more durable vintage item. Vintage doesn't have to be expensive. You can try out something small like artwork or lamps or swap something you don't enjoy for its vintage counterpart. We got hooked pretty quickly and honestly, we can't ever go back to buying new furniture!
AE: I love that, especially incorporating more durable and sustainable pieces. Please, tell us more about the Omaha Modernism Guild and the OMG Vintage market; how did these ideas come about?
ES: The Omaha Modernism Guild idea came about early last year. I saw that other areas like Palm Springs, Denver, and Des Moines had mid-century modern events and markets. I really saw a need for Omaha to have a niched down community focused group to help our community learn about mid-century modern design. Omaha historically discards a lot of its history, so I wanted to help people learn how to preserve mid-century modern history in even small ways like preserving and restoring furniture.
The OMG Vintage Market was an offshoot of the Omaha Modernism Guild idea. We had the opportunity to use a space and the local vendor and the community response was really good, so it just continued to grow with each market. Overall, we have enjoyed working with other small businesses and the markets have been really successful because of our niched down focus on mid-century modern and retro.
AE: Good on you guys for helping to preserve history and give Omaha something fun to look forward to! What helps keep you creatively motivated and how do you keep the fun in your work?
ES: I would say as a creative person, I always have new ideas, although I can get bogged down by the ups and downs of running our business. We went through a few setbacks over the past year and we have had some health issues in our family, but I try to always be resilient. I have incorporated some artistic and writing projects into my work and that helps keep things fresh for me. We also meet some great people buying and selling and I enjoy learning about the people as much as I enjoy learning about the furniture!
AE: Being resilient and keeping things fresh, two things I’d personally like to implement more. So, what’s coming up for you the rest of 2023 that we can support?
ES: We plan to hold another OMG Vintage Market in the fall, date to be announced soon! We also recently set up a booth at the Omaha Brass Armadillo, #145 on South Dakota Ave., and we will have more announcements on where to shop with us this summer!
AE: I’m so glad to hear that! Much respect to you guys and everything you do!
Keep up with Elise and Jeff at www.alittlemorelikehome.shop and www.omahamodernismguild.com. You can also find them on Instagram at @alittlemorelikehome and @omahamodernismguild. You can also visit their booth at The Brass Armadillo (145 South Dakota Ave.). Photos provided courtesy of James Lathrop Photography (www.jameslathrop.com).
