Came across a familiar looking sideboard on eBay tonight – albeit in a slightly different configuration to one’s I’ve posted on before.
With just over 2 days left and a starting price (with no bids) of $80 it seems to be flying under the radar. Shame it’s interstate (Victoria) or I would be posting about this listing after the fact….. 😉
To find, search eBay for – 1950’s Australian Classic Sideboard. Goodluck.
A little short for time this week, however when I received my weekly email from eBay listing items from my favourite (saved) sellers I thought I had to definitely had to share the following.
I’m really impressed with the speaker unit, such a great look, and to be specifically made (and integrated into) the sideboard/bar unit is awesome.
You can find it on eBay by searching for ‘Rosando Sideboard’. Whilst there be sure to check out the seller. As mentioned above they’re one of my favourites on eBay, consistently listing great items at very reasonable prices (note – we have no affiliation with the eBay seller).
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.
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.
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).
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.
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!
Search eBay for ‘Parker Sideboard Display Cupboard’ and you’ll come across the following –
Although it’s touted as being from the 1960’s, it actually dates from 1953. I like it, beautiful Queensland maple, angled lines, concave handles and yellow backing in the display section is so typical of the Australian Mid Century era.
Yes, there is a little damage, however with a little time and effort it would come up great, and all at a very reasonable price too!
A new category for the blog this year will be ‘Auction Watch’, which basically as the name suggests will preview and discuss items either being auctioned online or for sale online through various websites.
It’s not a new idea, however it is one I definitely like. I think it helps to give you/me/whoever is browsing an insight into what other people of various fields find interesting and intriguing, along with furthering your knowledge/understanding at the same time. Basically a win win situation.
To save the blog having a a heap of dead links in a few months time I’ll copy and paste a few photos, along with where the item is listed and the keywords needed to find it!
Don’t be shy to share something interesting you may of come across also, happy to hear and see what you guys are searching for/looking at. You can contact us here.
The first item I’ll be sharing is a ‘RETRO GENUINE ORIGINAL PARKER SIDEBOARD BUFFET 2 DOOR 4 DRAWER’ and although the auction has ended (was an eBay listing) I think it’s still worth sharing due to the interesting design of the piece.
This sideboard shares the same legs as an original Parker Coffee table that is currently for sale on the website (see here) and although we can’t quite make the date in the above picture, it would be from the late 1950’s, more than likely 1958 (same as the coffee table).
So why is this interesting you may ask? Well for me it confirms what I thought about the coffee table (possibly from the same series of furniture). That it is an in-between piece in regards to design and styling. Gone are the angled/splayed legs of the early 1950’s pieces however the veneers had not quite progressed to teak that became so popular during the 1960’s.
And what did it sell for? Well it was listed at $885, however the listing was ended early – most likely due to an outside offer/being sold through another avenue. Nice buying!
A little over 2 weeks ago I posted about a Sideboard I was in the middle of restoring/upcycling for a customers holiday house on the coast. Since that time the finishing touches were added and today we got around to delivering and setting it up.
I thought I’d take a few before and after pictures to show the difference a functional piece of furniture (being over 60 years old) can make to ANY room in your house. Sometimes we get too caught up in ‘dressing’ up a piece for a photoshoot that we forget it’s original purpose. I mean lets face it, we don’t all have Murano glass, bitossi bulls and period artwork pieces to decorate our sideboards with, so it was extremely refreshing to see just how good the sideboard looked today.
Before
After
As you can see, the sideboard fits in perfectly. It does everything a good, functional sideboard/TV unit should, whilst bringing a nice touch of 1950’s design along with it. I really like the combination of materials here, and how they all seem to blend seamlessly into one. We have the original maple veneer/solid timber base, the industrial look pine plywood, the vivid white backs/middle display section and the glass sliding doors/middle display shelf.
The new owners are over the moon and couldn’t be happier with the way everything turned out.
Be sure to get in contact if you are facing a similar situation. We are always happy to discuss ideas and see in what ways we can help!
A few weeks ago I received a call from a client looking for a sideboard to put in their holiday house down the coast. The brief was pretty simple. Something beachie and light to match a new coat of paint and some freshly discovered floor boards in their lounge room. It’s to house a flat screen TV, DVD player, DVD’s and a few books along with a few small ornaments.
With nothing quite suitable on the site I checked out our storage shed for a piece I had in mind.
Its a 1950’s sideboard, comprising of a laminex top, 4 drawers and cupboard space (again covered in laminex) along with a display area to the centre of the piece with a glass shelf/2 glass sliding doors.
Now lets face it, the piece is pretty ugly……that pink/salmon laminex along with that darkish stained timber…ugh. The sideboard though had great dimensions along with those awesome splayed legs that flow so smoothly into the bottom support. The ‘bones’ were good, and in this situation that’s all that matters.
First up the laminex top, drawers, and door were removed along with the drawer runners and cupboard space shelf. This left a few gaping holes to fill. We decided the best way to achieve the ‘beachie & light’ style we were after was to go with a pine plywood. It does bring an ‘industrial’ style feel along so we decided to go with exposed/countersunk screw heads also.
Once the majority of the frame work was completed the original timber veneer sides/solid timber base were sanded to remove the 60+ year old shellac and the accompanying dark timber stain underneath. The masonite backs were lightly scuffed and primed in white undercoat.
The plan is to varnish all the exposed timber (cuts down on ongoing maintenance – holiday home) whilst painting the masonite backs in a vivid white paint to not only add to the ‘light’ feel of the piece, but to contrast nicely against the the wide flowing pine plywood grain and the tight maple veneer grain.
Definitely looking forward to seeing the finished product. Stay tuned.
Every now and then, as mentioned previously in this blog post I have a ‘run’ on certain items.
It was only 2-3 weeks ago that the hallway in our home was littered with chairs. I counted 12 down one side, 4 in a spare room, 2 in another room, 6 out in the shed……….anyone that came around to visit must of thought I was in the process of throwing a party for 20+ people! Never mind though, as I believe when you come across quality items, that is the time to buy them, even if they do start to encroach our living areas!
A few weeks on and after a few sets of our chairs finding new homes the hallway was starting to look a little bare…..not for long though!
Within the last week I have picked up 4 new pieces that will soon be for sale both in the online store and on eBay!
From left to right we have –
A really interesting combination piece, dating from the 1950’s it incorporates a bookcase/display cabinet/telephone cabinet.
Next in line is a really cool ‘transitional’ piece that has been fully refurbished, dates from the late 1940’s/early 1950’s and has both an Art Deco influence combined with early Mid Century design/style.
Following on is a 1960’s Sideboard/Buffet heavily influenced by Parkers range of Nordic furniture. This piece is the wider model, being 180cms wide.
Last but not least is a solid timber Bookcase/Storage unit manufactured by Noblett who were based in South Australia. Circa 1960/70’s. Love the offset compartments in this piece.
If you see an item you’re interested in please don’t hesitate to contact us!
Just recently I have had in my possession 2 early sideboards/buffets. One I have a previous blog post on, being a 1950’s Parker Buffet. Since that post the piece has been restored to working order and will be coming up for auction in the coming weeks. The second one was a 1920/30’s Oak Sideboard/Buffet.
Both are beautiful pieces and originally manufactured for the same purpose – to be placed in a kitchen/dining room next to a matching dining room suite and house various cutlery, plates, dishes, jugs and so on.
Whilst doing the ‘photo shoot’ for both pieces I thought it would be beneficial to place both buffets side by side and take a few comparison shots to show the different styles of both pieces.
I can think of a few more different styles that could fit both before, in between and after these 2 pieces. The 1940’s style buffet was a boxy, dark veneered square bottomed piece. The 1960’s style Buffet was a rectangular unit strongly influenced by Danish design, sitting on pokey style legs (not splayed like the above Parker buffet) and manufactured in a teak veneer.
As I come across all these smaller, different style buffets I’ll be sure to add them to the blog as a reference for different design and styles.
If you see one you like on our site or in a blog post be sure to get in contact as the Oak Buffet has already found a new home.
I came across this Parker Sideboard a few weeks back. Dates from mid to late 1950’s and is made from a Queensland Maple/veneer. From the research I have done I would say this piece would be one of the last of this style made by Parker before they released their range of furniture based on the Scandinavian influence.
It certainly has served its time. In all my years repairing and restoring furniture these would have to be some of the most worn drawer runners I have seen! The right side was definitely more favoured then the left. Fortunately the missing door handle was tucked away in the back of the left drawer.
Looking forward to giving this cute little sideboard the TLC it deserves after serving 2 life sentences!