My Evergleam.
MILWAUKEE, WI.—Aluminium was a foil for Midcentury America.
A section of the fantastic “Serious Play: Design in Midcentury America” exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum is devoted to the possibilities of aluminium (or aluminum.)
The late Chicago architect Henry P. Glass designed a collapsable aluminum and plastic trailer, a.k.a. the “Accordium Camp Trailer.” The proposed 700-foot camper folded up like an accordion and could be hauled behind a car. The mid-1950s project was commissioned by Alcoa Aluminum’s free-wheeling “Forecast” program.
Alcola promised, “There’s a world of aluminum [...]
Kurt Grahnke on Washington Island (photo by Eliza Grahnke)
WASHINGTON ISLAND, Wi.–The best books contain discovery on every page. Over the summer we had a book signing for my Camper Book at Fair Isle Books on Washington Island. We drove my blue camper van off the Washington Ferry (built in 1989 in Sturgeon Bay) on to the island of 35 square miles.
There are no bridges on this island, but there are timeless connections.
The cozy book store was one of our first stops. I always like to make sure my books are in the store. Book store owner Deb Wayman had a note for me. It was from Gwen Gotsch, an Oak [...]
Our parents told us not to get rid of the dining room mirror.
The mirror with rosewood trim stands on three legs and is 6’5” tall. It has always been bigger than me. While growing up in Naperville, the mirror was in the corner of our formal dining room. The mirror was the quiet guest at Thanksgiving dinners. For my Mom the mirror was a peek into her past when it stood in the corner of her parent’s dining room in downstate Taylorville.The January move into my mid-century dream house has been challenging.
Who knew about all the complicated red light signs in Westchester, Il.? “Right turn on red must yield to U-turn?” Sounds like some kind of [...]
Mid-century modern in Tulsa, Ok.
And for my next move….
I’ve rented apartments and bought a condo. I never owned a house. Before I packed it up I wanted to buy a small midcentury modern ranch house. It was in my DNA. I grew up in ranch houses in Naperville, Ill. (built 1966) and Columbus, Ohio (1959?). My brother owns a midcentury modern ranch house in Nashville, Tn.
It was all a return to forever.
I’ve read the magazine “Atomic Ranch” for years, although I will never have the money to trick out a house like the dreamsicles in Palm Springs, Ca., St. Paul, Mn. and Los Angeles. I wanted to unplug [...]
