RETRO AND ART DECO'S DISPLAY GLASS CABINETS

Dear All

Good, solid display cupboards are hard to come by nowadays. Contemporary display cupboards are mostly made of plywood or chip boards. The back of these cupboards are flimsily glued or even stapled. The shelves, also of ply or compressed wood are held by metal or plastic studs that cannot stand weight. Though they may look beautiful when new with all kinds of the latest paint techniques and veneer effects, they are not made to last. These furniture are planned not to last just as electronics are planned to be obsolete. Even those that boast of solid wooden furniture, seldom have all the parts solid. The back could be ply and some parts of the supports, especially the hidden parts are made of those crate type of wood. I'm sure some of us has the experience of buying so called solid wooden furniture and end up each day sweeping the dust made by the wood bugs!

The beauty and the value of art deco and retro furniture of the 50's and 60's is that they are totally made of solid wood, from the frames, to the shelves and to the back, every part of them. The art deco's of the 50's are usually made of Burmese teak and comes with beautiful wood grain, and of such generous thickness, that some of my customers wax lyrical about them. These pieces are work of art, fine craftsmanship and labour of love. They are made to last, to endure the test of times, to be inherited, to be bequeth to the next generation, to store lasting memories of things past. They evoke such a nostalgia judging from the strong buying by my customers mostly young professionals, sentimental of the past amidst the fast tracks of modern living.

There is very little demand, nowadays, for stand alone wardrobes especially with the popularity of built-in wall-to-wall cabinets. This is also the case with vintage wardrobes. I've seen these pieces being left at void decks of HDB flats, or hacked to pieces. For them not to go to waste and survive the commercially driven consumers taste, a new practical use and relevance need to be found. I got my restorer to convert them into display cabinets with glass shelves. We make sure the glass is of a good thickness and sits on a wooden ledge instead of on metal or plastic studs. In this way, the shelf will not slip off. We keep and polish the original handles and change the locks since most of them have missing keys. The result is a beautiful and useful see-through display cabinet to store one's collectibles such as porcelain, silverwares, crystals, toys, books etc. Its a happy combination of vintage teak and clear glass. Its also one of the best selling furniture at SECOND CHARM.

Below are pictures of 2 types of retro teak display cabinets of the 60's and one type of 50's teak display cupboards. There are a few other variations to the three below. They are with my restorer and should be available in the next few weeks.




A retro 1960's teak wood display cabinet with the characteristic metal trimmings at the sides and slim, elegant pencil legs with metal caps.

Another type of retro 60's teak display cabinet. With straight edges and pencil legs


An Art Deco 1950's teak display cabinet. Most 50's cupboards have flat base. But there are some that comes with straight legs.

Till my next posting, have a great day.

Warmest regards

Sharifah





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Write by: Dj Ganden - Senin, 15 Maret 2010

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