Bungalow Heaven homeowner Debra Manners went in search of Craftsman furnishings for the home she bought in 2005 in the Bungalow Heaven neighborhood of Pasadena. But last year, she opted to replace the vintage look with a mid-century modern decor, swapping Stickley for Hans Wagner Wegner and George Nelson. Her house will be featured as the Living History Home on the Bungalow Heaven� s Home Tour � Living History Home� on Sunday. (Photo by John Hyde)
Touches of the '60s and '70s make Debra Manners' Pasadena Craftsman home stand out. (Photo by John Hyde)
So when organizers found out that one of the tour homes -- a 1912 Craftsman -- had been redecorated with mid-century design, it was time for Stone, who normally produces plays, to do what she does best: change the script.
"It is pleasantly surprising and refreshing to see fine examples of mid-century furnishings in a Craftsman setting," Stone said. "Danish Modern furniture, in particular, has similarities to Arts and Crafts furniture. Both designs focus on the natural beauty of wood, celebrate fine craftsmanship and look to the past to inspire but not duplicate."
The home will be one of eight Craftsman- style houses featured on the 22th annual Bungalow Heaven Home Tour on Sunday, April 10, 2011. At the Living History house, actors will re-create what life was like in the early 1960s.
The unique Living History Home is owned by Debra Manners, who moved into the house in 2005 fully embracing the Craftsman aesthetic.
Manners grew up in an Arts and Crafts house, but later her father built a modern home and filled it with modern furniture.
"I loved both styles," Manners said.
After moving from Valencia to Pasadena, she began selling her contemporary furniture and went in search of Craftsman finds; Stickley chairs and a dining room set became centerpieces in her home.
Last year, while recuperating from surgery, Manners changed her mind.
"I was walking though the house feeling like I lived in a museum," she said. "I started painting the walls white, I sold furniture but still wasn't sure what I wanted. I started thinking I loved '70s furniture, so I started collecting some mid-century modern, Danish modern and classic modern and mixed them with some reproductions."
The Stickley pieces were sold on eBay and replaced with Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs and a George Nelson bubble lamp.
"It really makes sense," Manners said. "The design of the house is actually very modern, very square and very repetitive. There is a square in middle fireplace and inset in door and in the glass pattern in bookcases."
The day of the tour, Stone will use Manners' home to take visitors back to 1961 to meet a couple who've recently purchased a "nearly 50-year-old home" at the time. That was when the Arts and Crafts era had given way to a more modern design aesthetic fueled by the technological advances developed during the war years.
The couple is struggling with their choice to buy an older home when they desire a more modern
The entry to the dining room in Debra Manners Pasadena home is all Craftsman, but the furniture is anything but. Note the clear plastic '70s-style chair in the foreground and the classic midcentury sideboard on the left. (Photo by John Hyde)
"Visitors will discover how early 20th-century architecture can seem as modern and timeless today as when it was first conceived," Stone said.
Jennifer Errico is a Pasadena freelance writer.
Bungalow Heaven Home Tour
What: 22nd annual home tourwith vendors, entertainment, demonstrations and food.When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 10, 2011.
Where: Neighborhood surrounding McDonald Park, 1000 E. Mountain St., Pasadena.
Tickets: $18 in advance,$20 on dayof tour.
Information: 626-585-2172 or www.bungalowheaven.org.
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Blu Cantrell Ali Campoverdi Sunny Mabrey Dania Ramirez Brittany Murphy
