Mid Century and Industrial Interiors

Don’t you just love the shape of this Stag chest of drawers from the 1960’s. The A6 model from their ‘A Range’ of furniture and designed by John and Sylvia Reid for Stag. It came in a 3, 4 and 5 drawer version and this models original cost was £16 and 15 shillings. I hope you like how it has been reimagined. The addition of homemade feet really alter its appearance.

Sometimes you have an idea but it’s hard to imagine how it will look. We had a reproduction metal fire insert and Walnut veneered surround and it was time for a change. In went a log burner, Oak mantel, and slate hearth. A lovely vintage Elm stool with three stone candle holders to the right and an old wooden box for kindling to the left. Up above a wonderful Bob Barker painting.

My home built solid oak shelving showing my collection of very random vintage objects. To some people this may look like a car boot sale on a shelf but I love it. I am sure I will swap a few pieces when I find better items. Hope you like it too.

A very basic 100 year old pine chest of drawers that had definitely seen better days. Frame sagging, drawers missing bottoms, burn marks in the top, all drawers had loose joints and a very thick coat of wax all over the chest.
I made a new Oak top, stained and attempted French polishing for the first time. I also sourced some original school science lab handles, which I think look really nice. The colour is Annie Sloanes Athena Black chalk paint, which I then aged around the edges before a couple of coats of dark wax.

Satinwood chest of drawers for my daughter. It was in a bit of a state. The top had split in half and had a really bad curl on the corner. My first attempt at steaming timber flat and second time French polishing. Think I have finally got the hang of it.

Bringing back to life this gorgeous 1930’s Marelli Italian Desk Fan. I bought this at an auction and it needed a litllle TLC. Just a beautiful object.

My coffee table. I bought this a couple of years ago for £300 and worth every penny. This is most likely to be an early 1900’s factory cart. It has been suggest that it could be a railway cart for moving luggage but as the wheels axels are fixed and cannot be manoeuvred other than in a straight line I very much doubt it is. It has 4 lugs in each corner where a metal section would be fitted to allow more product to be carried, maybe steel or timber.

Say hello to my gorgeous printers tray. I picked this up for £35 but it was an awful state. This would have been part of a large printers cabinet were they would store there printing blocks. This was manufactured by Stephenson Blake in Sheffield, probably in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. I couldn’t take this apart so it was painstakingly cleaned. The small brass cross brackets were a joy to polish, not. These make lovely wall art filled with random bits and bobs. You can pick these up on eBay but they are getting more expensive by the day. Try to find one with the brass parts if you can.

My second project was something completely different, a Herbert Terry 1209 Anglepoise lamp designed by George Carwadine in 1934. Herbert Terry and Co were the first manufacturers of the iconic Anglepoise lamp as we know it today. This was one of the earliest models ever made. Due to its condition it was given to me by a friend for free and had no base as it was adapted to a wall mounted lamp. It took me 18 long months to find an original base. I took this apart and sympathetically restored it as I didn’t want to lose the patina. Another one for my living room. I have seen these sold for £800 as it is quite rare.

This was my very first restoration piece. A 1920’s American solid oak filing cabinet by Walker Shaw. It was probably not the best piece of furniture for my first restoration project as it had lots of issues, broken drawers, missing brass parts and not to mention 100 years of grime and dirt to somehow remove. This probably took me 80 hours to complete and not something I wanted to sell although I was offered £750 for it. It now sits proudly in my living room.

Welcome to my Modern Rustic Interiors page.

Firstly, I am not a business, I am simply someone who has the love of Industrial, Modern Rustic and Vintage interior styling. What I do is simply a hobby. In all honesty I have no idea when I became interested in these styles, it just silently crept up on me.
I would look for items for our home, whether this was furniture, ornaments or just something quirky that just fit and the majority of modern items seemed to be cheap, imported and what I class as throw away items. By this I mean you would probably keep it few a few years and then sell it on or just throw it away. How does that help the environment?
As an example, look at most items manufactured today compared to pre 1970’s and they are very poor in comparison. It is sadly now all about the cost and profit for companies rather than quality.

I would eventually end up buying items with age and patina, most of which would need some form of restoration. I am by no means a professional furniture restorer but I have always been a decent DIY’er and anything I didn’t know I would turn to YouTube.
As I got more interested in these interior styles I would binge watch Salvage Hunters, Money For Nothing and The Repair shop amongst others and read books by Hans Blomquist. Pinterest and Houzz are also great apps for ideas.

So what is Industrial, Modern Rustic and Vintage interior styling?

Each of these three types of interior designs are very similar but with slight differences, but it is true to say that each style is currently very popular.

Industrial style refers to frill and fuss-free no-nonsense decor that takes inspiration from the lofty look of warehouses, factories, and other industrial structures. Industrial style decor comprises of stripped back architectural details including the use of bare bricks, metals, and wood, as well as salvaged and recycled materials. Industrial style furnishings are usually hardwearing and often obtained from reclaimed yards. The best benefit in creating industrial style homes is that you’ll have the opportunity to customise the look using furniture and decor that are completely unique to your home.

Modern Rustic decor style is embracing rustic charm and warmth with modern amenities. The key to a modern rustic space is an open floor plan, modern furniture, and preserved and exposed natural architectural elements. The colour scheme is very simple with large windows bringing the outdoors in. This style is ideal for comfortable modern living.

Vintage interior design is old fashioned and elegant. It involves the use of old or artificially aged furniture and decor. Vintage welcomes natural materials: wood, more rarely stone and forged elements, natural fabrics. The interior should look as if it was designed several decades ago.

So what is the point of this page?

Sadly we live in a relatively small house and although it’s a work in progress, there is only so much furniture and bits and bobs you can fit in it.
However, I am still keen to find lovely items to keep my hobby going and most of what I find needs some form of work carrying out on it. Sometimes it is just a good clean or it could be a complete strip down, replace parts, a French polish or even painting if it suits the piece for example.
Hopefully, once I have brought life into a piece I can find it a new home.
This page will offer items I have either restored, renovated or simply items I think would grace any home looking for an individual style.

Unfortunately, having a full time job and a pandemic to contend with, I may only have a handful of items to sell at any time. If successful I would love to turn this into a full time passion (I refuse to call it a job as it would be more than that)

Hopefully you can help support this page by sharing with friends or even look to buy the odd piece.
I am based in Beverley, East Yorkshire and can arrange delivery if needed. For anyone looking to buy from further afield then I am sure we can arrange something.

Many thanks