Category: Furniture

Can mud cloth from Mali and “MCM” — also known as Mid Century style — go together? Can they live happily together in one piece? Well, let’s see. Here’s what mud cloth looks like, if you’re not sure what I’m talking about:

That’s a mudcloth I “designed” with a fun interactive feature on the Museum of Natural History’s website, where you can make your own mudcloth – check it out. As you go through it, it tells you how mud cloth is made and the meaning behind the designs.

Mud cloth is also called Bògòlanfini. It’s made with strips of cotton cloth sewed together, and then painted with patterns that have significant cultural meanings that tell a story. It’s painted with fermented mud gathered from riverbeds, thus the name mud cloth. It can take weeks of work to make one mud cloth.

I own a few pieces of mud cloth. One found this summer at Chicago’s Randolph Street Market (there’s always some there from a vendor who sells wares from Africa) and a large piece I found at the famous Mustapha Blaoui store in Marrakech last month. At that TripAdvisor link about the store, you’ll see a review by Starr Covey Perry who was with our group and I snapped photos of her buying her rug! It is indeed a beautiful rug. Now I’m kicking myself for not buying a rug. But I did get mud cloth which was one thing I wanted to find and I knew Mustapha Blaoui had it:

This might be CRAZY, but I want to replace the black vinyl on this Mid Century style chair with mud cloth:

I can’t help but think of Mid Century as a hipster style thing. But I got this chair 20 years ago when I was hipster age and went through a Mid Century stage! Unfortunately I did not treat this chair well. The white plastic was scratched and to cover that, I spray painted it with that faux stone-look paint. Like THAT’S an improvement? I thought it looked cool at the time, 20 years ago. Maybe in 20 more years I’ll look back at this mud cloth phase and wonder, what was I thinking putting mud cloth on that chair? But I’m gonna do it. So that’s a DIY post coming soon.

So has anyone else mixed mud cloth and Mid Century? (Is it too geeky to say MC²?)

Yes! Some people have …

Here’s mud cloth on a stool with Mid Century style. It’s now sold, but it was from Etsy shop ChezBoheme:

Apartment Therapy reported on a collaboration between Philadelphia design company HYM Salvage and Urban Outfitters that resulted in this version of “mud + mod”:

And they made this stool/ottoman:

And this chair, with sleek metal detail that contrasts with the handmade cloth:

A piece of mudcloth is simply draped over a bench, to add pattern and color at Design Manifest. I like how they mixed the geometric mud cloth with the pillow pattern:

Here’s a pair of 1950’s brass stools upholstered vintage mud cloth. Now sold but was at 1stdibs. I think it works because the lines in the mud cloth are similar to the Sputnik-y stool legs:

Via Rent Patina, how about these two examples of chairs upholstered with mud cloth – one is a wingback, the other like Danish Modern or Mid Century:

Here’s a different view:

This is a 1970s chair with a sexy sculptural shape, paired with mud cloth. Chair now sold, but was at 1stdibs:

Here’s a mud cloth pillow on a Nelson bench, a classic Mid Century piece, snapped by Instagrammer xnasozi (you can also buy mud cloth pillows from her shop):

So it seems that yes, “mud” and “mod” can be paired together!

Watch for a DIY coming here soon where I reupholster the black vinyl on my Mid Century chair with white plastic curves reminiscent of Eero Saarinen style. The chair is a relic I still own from the days in my 20s when I worshipped Mid Century. I’m not into Mid Century now but this chair is so cute and comfortable, I could never let it go. So we’ll see if I can weave together favorite styles from the past and present!

 

In the last post, I shared that you can take a pile of wood discs and a tall candlestick, and turn them into cute little pedestal side tables.

But where might you use such a little pedestal table? Once I did that project, I started to see similar tiny pedestal tables all over online. Funny how that happens. Somehow, seeing something opens your eyes and you see it all over the place! I’ve learned there may be no more truly original ideas left on this planet. Here’s a few similar side tables …

These were featured in Traditional Home. Not DIY, but they show how they can be used as a design element. Because I’m not sure how else you would use these other than for a cup of tea:

Here’s a hot red little number at The Lily Pad Cottage. She painted it an OPI color, yes, like the color of OPI nail polish:

In addition to candlesticks, you can also make these little tables with tall lamp bases. Here are some tables made with vintage brass lamp bases, from a company called Ladies & Gentlemen.  It looks like wood discs were used to make the top, as I did with my table:

Here’s another lamp base turned into a pedestal table, but with a picture frame on top. This was made by the Richmond Thrifter for $5.50!

I’m not sure what she put in the tabletop – it looks like either fabric or scrapbook paper and you could do either to get a touch of pattern and color. Cute idea.

The Richmond Thrifter also shared the Anthropologie table below which looks similar to her DIY’d table, but for $298 retail! Now I think you can easily make this table for under $29.80, including a tall candlestick or lamp frame (thrift it or get it on sale), pieces of wood and a picture frame.

Here’s a pedestal table from Safavieh for about $225. Seriously. DIY it or BUY it? If you DIY it, you can afford to buy a lamp to put on the table.

I should start a new series here called “DIY it or BUY it!” It’s true that some DIY projects are so much time and trouble or they require pricey specialty tools, that you might as well BUY it. But I can tell you a pedestal table like this is so easy to make. All you need to build it is wood glue or E6000 glue, really. If you’re not standing on the table, you don’t even need screws. But you certainly can add screws or nails for extra strength and security. Then, paint the table. It’s an afternoon project, if even that long! I stenciled and gold foiled my table so it took more time. But if you’re giving it a single color of paint – so super easy. This is the kind of project where the final result looks like more than the sum of its parts.

You can even add a larger top on to a DIY table to make it more practical to use. Like you can actually fit more than a coffee mug on it. Infarrantly Creative shared this cute DIY candlestick table with a larger top:

This next example from Pearle’s Rosebuds shows the “before” and how you should keep your eyes open while thrifting for shapes. Look beyond the color and the pattern. Look for the potential of what things could be, not what they are at the moment. Because with some paint, they could become totally different looking, like this DIY pedestal table she made:

So? Have I convinced you to try this? Making my table was so fun, I might have to make another one!