Vintage view: Four mid-century occasionals

Kya deLongchamps takes a look at four mid-century occasionals the retro adventurers might come across while scouting for treasure.

I was, at one time, a complete chair nut.

Chairs of every vintage and example were littered throughout the house, stacked in outbuildings and on highly conditional loan to unwilling friends with a square metre of daylight and floor space.

Given my frail, erratic budget, many are in a creaky, ‘as-is’ condition and screams of ‘no-no-no- don’t sit on that!’ are a given treat on a first visit to Kya’s house.

Well, now I’ve moved onto tables, the co-owner of the house has put down his size 13 steel-capped boot, and I’m limited to occasional tables only. Spoilsport.

There are four small tables I would like you to consider taking off the market.

The first is the Astro from G-plan, a fantasy in teak and glass gleaned from the fascination with all things spacey and nuclear happening in the 1960s.

Designed by VB (Victor) Wilkins it’s really a coffee table, and comes in teak and afromosia in a number of styles.

The best in my opinion, is the oval Astro, of 123cm by 42cm with its surprisingly hefty inset glass top.

Four cleavers in laminated teak make up the base. Rarer, the round Astro ‘spider’ occasional raised up on more dainty arachnid feet is now rare and desirable.

You can check the authenticity of any of this group with a discreet drop to the floor to find the G-plan badge.

Five years ago, you might have picked up a piece of good G-plan for €50, today Astros start around €100 if you’re very lucky, and more likely €200-€250 retail. Look for tight joints, and minimal scratches and fading.

My second choice is again G-plan as it’s one of the few quality names you will find thrown about in a secondhand shop. Fresco is a name beloved or loathed by collectors.

The downturned, mouth-like handles on the sideboards and dressers from the 60s are a bit big-boy’s bedroom for me.

However, the nesting tables, which were a common sight in the homes of bright young middleclass things by E Gomme, are pared back to a few attractive lines, softly rounded corners and bombproof strong.

If you love Danish 60s but can’t afford it, ask a specialist dealer to source a set of Fresco nesters for you. Ensure the top table is not hugely paler than its offspring beneath, as in use this can annoy the eye.

Sets in good condition start from €150, no more than you would pay for wobbling modern pieces. Palette and kidney shapes scream mid-century. Add some Zambezi Midwinter china and you are grooving.

A somewhat generic form, and far too intriguing for its intended use, the formica and teak plant stand takes a few puddling abstract shapes and suspends them vertically on a trunk of solid wood.

You’ll often find these beautifully ugly vintage survivors at auction thrown out with the yellow 1980s pine and jaded office furniture at the back of a general sale.

Their witty, psychedelic, tiered form is becoming increasingly appreciated for use as display pieces with lower stages suited to parking a cup by your favourite chair. Kicked out legs shod in metal or plastic atomic balls, are a nice touch, adding sophistication and stability.

The problem with formica and plants is that very often a leaking plant will have spoiled the laminate, water teasing between the protective top coat, the metallic edging and the layers of vulnerable particle board beneath.

Examine it root to top branches for rust marks and any serious rocking and rolling. Wood glue, teak oil and a good polish can bring them back to near perfect condition otherwise, so keep your eyes peeled for spangled patterns in an asymmetrical styles waving from the backs of charity shops and auctions.

John and Sylvia Reid were British architectural darlings of the 1950s and their line for Stag was aimed at the young in heart and in pockets. Formed in mahogany, walnut and oak in pleasing 18th century-inspired shapes with minimal intrusion from handles and decoration, these boxy forms have influenced many manufacturers to this day.

Their cubist ‘C’ range with its good timbers and dovetail joints as standard would be my choice, and the dresser with its long mirror, three drawers and integral seat is as useful a valet today in a bedroom as it was in the early 1950s.

Straying up into the 1960s, veneers can be thin and knocked about, so source the best examples you can afford. There’s a lot of this furniture floating about still unrecognised for its simple utilitarian design.