Category Archives: General

General updates & posts.

Douglas Snelling Sideboard – Functional Products Pty Ltd

Of late there have been some really great ‘Snelling’ pieces available online. So much so I thought it was about time I shared a few pictures of pieces I’ve come across in my time. Some I still have in my collection, other’s I have moved onto great homes where they are appreciated and adored – not to mentioned used, everyday – making them a truly functional piece of furniture, even 60 years on!

The first is a 6 foot sideboard.

Douglas Snelling 1950's Sideboard
Beautiful Australian Mid Century Sideboard

The story of how I ended up acquiring it I’ll save for another day, but it definitely was the most challenging set of circumstances I’ve ever had to deal with.

1950's Mid Century Australian Sideboard
Douglas Snelling Sideboard

These sideboards were available in a variety of sizes and combinations (glass/doors/drawers). I’ve only seen one other thus far in the 6 foot version (in a Carters Everything Vintage book).

Great 1950's Australian manufactured sideboard.
Angled drawers of a Snelling Sideboard.

4 drawers to the left, double glass sliding doors to the middle and a single hinged timber door to the right provide beautiful proportions whilst still maintaining a great deal of functionality for everyday use.

Functional Products sideboard - circa 1950
Top view of a Snelling Sideboard. Amazing grain.

As you can see from the images, the Sideboard is in amazing condition, it didn’t get there by itself though! Various chips to the amazing Queensland maple veneer, a few loose joints and 60 years of grime had all taken it’s toll and did make it look a little tired – Enter ‘M’ the new owner – With a wealth of restoration experience ‘M’ undertook a sympathetic restoration, not to make it new again, but rather to give it a fresh breath of life to see it through the next 60 years, and what a great job he did.

Loose joints were re-glued and clamped, chips to the veneer were matched so perfectly I even forgot where they originally were! The yellow backing was given a wash and the original lacquer hand sanded ever so lightly with a new coating then being applied. The result – spectacular.

Be sure to check back, more Snelling related posts in the coming months!

Shine Your Shoe?

Picked up this little shoe shine box a few weeks ago from a recycle centre.  I was almost going to keep on walking but there was something about it that just had me intrigued.

Perhaps it was it’s simple construction, or the ever popular teal blue colour it is painted. It’s well worn and would of had a countless number of shoes polished on it. I don’t really think it would have been used for a source of income, however you never know? Maybe that’s where the intrigue (for me anyways) comes from.

Best things about it? It’s still as functional today as it was 30 – 50 years ago! Simply to tie your shoelace and save your back, or for a good polish this piece will slide straight into your entry hallway, back veranda, sit at your front/back door!

Shine your shoe?
Cute little shoe shine box.

Hacker Teapots

A few months ago I came across an unusual teapot that was labeled as being made from an ‘old shell’. It was in pretty good condition, bar the fact that the solder on the hinge had come loose. Fast forward to just last weekend, and I come across another teapot by the same manufacturer. This one is made out of stainless steel and has a mid century look to it and just like the teapot from months earlier, the original pin from the hinge is missing.

Let’s hope the universe isn’t trying to tell me something! LOL

They won’t take too much to repair, and I look forward to cleaning them up and getting them online.

Vintage Teapot
Mid Century ‘Hacker’ Teapot?

 

NSW State Ballot Box

Over the past long weekend I came across this interesting ballot box.

Broad arrow stamped ballot box
NSW State Ballot Box

Straight away my eye was drawn to the ‘broad arrow’ symbol, which was used to mark and identify  items that belonged to the government/military. Add that symbol to the other writing that is on the front of the box along with the purpose made slot and lockable lid and it looks like this is an original NSW State Ballot Box.

Manufactured from a heavy gauge galvanised steel the box is very sturdy, however I do wonder about it’s size. I’d imagine in a city/town with a large population it would have to be emptied reasonably often.

When questioning the seller about its origins, he was told it was from the Wollongong region (approx 1 of 20 that was used in the area) and dates from the 1950’s/60’s.

A quick search online turns up one other from the Central Coast region which appears to be almost identical.

Definitely a great piece of NSW government history, hoping to have it in the online store next weekend!

Atomic magazine rack, no its a coffee table, no wait it’s a standing lamp……….

As I mentioned a few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to come across a magazine rack  in an antique store whilst on holidays which was extremely similar to the one I been restoring, however this one was a slightly modified version, being a combination between magazine rack/coffee table and standing lamp.

Coffee Table 1950
Retro magazine rack

It was great to see another one floating around (although slightly different). I previously mentioned about researching what the original divider would of looked like, and ended up coming up with my own variation after my research failed to shed any light on it (which in my opinion kicks ass compared to the boring, rectangular shape divider used in the original). It was also handy to see the original fastening method of the frame to the central rack.

Mid Century Mix
Coffee table/magazine rack/standing lamp

Would you believe that since then I’ve come across another? Always the way though, never around when you’re looking for one, and plentiful when you’re not.

Standing lamp
Mid Century combo piece

Early Fler TVS Chairs x 4

Been a little quiet of late – due to the fact we had snuck away for a little break over the last week or so. Whilst the holidaying was great, we did still find some time to browse a few vintage stores.

There was one in particular that had a few interesting pieces (more in the coming weeks) but tonight I thought I would share this great set of early Fler chairs. Comprising of 4 pieces in total (2 with arms/2 without) I really, really like the styling and design (more so of the 2 with arms).

Metal Rod Furniture
Early Mid Century Australia Chairs

Unfortunately for us they were priced a little out of our range, so we dragged ourselves away and carried on. However for the collector or die hard Fler enthusiast I think they represent good value.

If interested, be sure to drop me line and I’ll pass on the contact details/location (Central – North Coast NSW).

Vintage North Sydney Charcoal Sketch

Tonight I thought I would share a few photos of a sketch I came across a few months ago. You may ask yourself why I would buy a charcoal sketch of a random building. Now normally I wouldn’t, but seeing as the building was able to be identified by a street address/suburb in the bottom left hand corner I thought that this was a perfect opportunity to possibly find the said owner of the random building and see if they may be interested is an original charcoal sketch of their home from 40-50 years ago.

Old Sydney Buildings
Vintage charcoal sketch 

Now I’m under no illusion on the extremely limited  market for this item however I know that I’d be rapt with an old original picture/drawing of our home if someone offered it!

So how will I get contact with the possible owners? Well I guess the only real way is to send a letter (wow, I know right?) and see if they’d possibly be interested. Fingers crossed.

Just how CLEAN is your ‘new’ piece of furniture?

Auctions, Markets, eBay, 2nd hand stores, Op Shops, Specialist stores are just a few of the many places where you can find that special piece of furniture for your home, and a truth that comes with every item, be it – vintage/retro/industrial/mid century/antique is that it is ‘2nd hand’. Someone, somewhere before you has used it, loved it, and perhaps eventually had enough of it to move it on.

Now is this a bad thing? Of course it’s not! It’s just something to keep in mind when you are looking to purchase your next  item as you’ll see below.

For this example I’m using a beautiful Queensland maple coffee table that I purchased in Melbourne last year. I loved it’s style and use of materials and surely enough, it made the 600km journey back home with me.

Now when you’re shopping, the lighting in some stores can sometimes be a little dark making it hard to see just what condition the item is in. Now due to this being what I do it is no big deal, however for the single/couple looking for a nice coffee table for their living room buying something that is dirty, or that hasn’t been cleaned correctly, or been checked over and the necessary repairs made it can turn into a real headache.

That’s why when you purchase any item from us (or from any reputable store for that matter, be it online or bricks and mortar)  you can feel 100% confident that the item has been thoroughly gone over. Any necessary repairs will have been carried out, ensuring all parts are functioning as they should, cleaned to a high standard (able to place it straight into your home) and the finish attended to (whether it be oiled/polished/waxed/varnished/etc).

Below you will find before and after photos. Could you imagine putting this coffee table straight into your lounge room in it’s before state? Having your phone, wallet, TV remote sitting on 50+ years of dirt, smoke and grease build up? No way! And as you’ll see, the difference is amazing.

Dirty Water! Before and after images of the water used for cleaning retro coffee table
Dirty Water! Before and after images of the soapy water used for cleaning the coffee table!
Before and after pictures of a great looking retro maple coffee table.
Before and after pictures. Thoroughly Cleaned & Oiled.
Images of 1960's Maple Retro Coffee Table Legs
Support rail and top of legs. Before & After.
Great pictures and images of the Top of a 1950's/1960's Retro coffee table
Top corners of the coffee table – Before & After.
Images of a 1960's Maple Retro Coffee Table Legs
Cleaned & Oiled. Look at the life brought back into the timber! Amazing.
Full Image - Retro Coffee Table
In full sun! The sectional top has the grain running at 90 degrees to each other which creates a huge impact.