One Mid-Century Bar, Many Uses

I'm still trying to find out what collection our American of Martinsville bar was part of, but after many hours on Google I might have to call this one done, without an answer.

I'm having such a hard time because it may have been part of multiple collections. It at least has many uses:

The second piece of a bench
The top of a buffet
The bottom of a book shelf
And it seems that in some cases it had legs, but in most it didn't - ours doesn't. That's one very versatile mid-century liquor cabinet.

Mid-Century Austin Homes Tour

The 2010 AIA Austin Homes Tour has been announced, and it looks like there are a lot of modern and mid-century modern homes for people to tour. For example, this uber-modern atomic ranch renovation project
Here's what the builders had to say about it:

Our project creatively transformed an older house in an inner city neighborhood from a small, nondescript, one story cottage into an efficient, hip, two story dwelling for a young couple to showcase their collection of art, midcentury modern furniture, and furnishings.

And here's a time lapse video of the renovation


I just hope all the homes are stroller accessible.

More American of Martinsville Info

American of Martinsville has an extensive history and is still producing furniture today, but here's their streamlined story with the pertinent parts for a mid-century fan: Founded in 1906 by Virginia tobacco producers, American of Martinsville furniture line consisted of only bedroom furniture. In the early 1920s the company added dining room furniture and began to expand its offerings through a number of diverse styles. In the 1950s, as the company grew, so did American of Martinsville's reputation for styling and design leadership. With products in almost every design, the company continued to expand its offerings to cover the living room, in both wood and upholstered furniture.

The adjectives that are used to describe American of Martinsville's mid-century furniture the most are "Danish modern" and "high-quality" - at least from what I've found online. And the easiest way to spot their vintage stuff is either by these slats or these pulls and Xs Neither of which the mid-century bar I'm tracking down has, which is making it a little harder to pin down what collection it's from.

American of Martinsville Mid-Century Bar

Doing research on Broyhill furniture was pretty interesting, so I'm going to track down information on the other mid-century furniture pieces in our house. Up next, the bar we found on craigslist a few years ago.
It's an American of Martinsville bar.
In the top drawer it has a mechanized tray, with glass holders, that comes out when you open the door. Behind the tray is a mirror and a light to make your barware look swank.
Under that on the left is a cabinet with a drawer for silverware, swizzle sticks, etc. And on the right is a big cabinet to hold the booze.
I'll try to find out more about American of Martinsville and what line the bar might be from.

Mid-Century Famous

Thanks to Pam over at Retro Renovation for adding Mid-Century Austin Living to their blogroll. I've been a long time reader (and a former pink bathroom owner). It's nice to see the Mid-Century Austin Living name among the other great blogs there.