New Guy Intro, and my WILD 60's modern home...

[jonnycola]

Greetings all,

I've been a fan of this message board for years now... and I finally just bought myself a 60's modern house. The house was designed by Helmut Ajango in 1966, and completed sometime in 1969. He designed a couple of "landmarks" in the area. The Gobbler supper club, as well as the Fireside dinner theater. Some really great pictures can be seen here: http://www.lileks.com/institute/motel/index.html
http://www.helmutajango.com/main.html

My plans are to restore it the best I can to how it was when it was first completed. It's not very far off... it just needs flooring downstairs, a roof, some insulation work, etc....

Right now I'm in the hunt for vintage shag carpeting. Does anyone know of a source that might have vintage rolls in stock still? I know it's a long shot... every carpet place that I've been to has just laughed at me when I ask for bright orange-red shag.

I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions, or ideas for the place.

Anyways, here's the pictures. I hope you enjoy them.













































-Johnny

[johnnyapollo]

Hey Johnny,

Cool House! Very Jules Verne 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea-ish. I'd love to set my Sci-Fi collection in that setting!

-- John

[jesgord]

AMAZING looking house! Congrats!!!!!

[Stephen]

That's pretty awesome!

[nichols]

Great house. Love Milwaukee, Love Lileks and love that guy's work. There was a whole thread on orange carpeting a while back, but half the links are broken. Argh! Maybe you can find this "New Millennium" outfit or try the dye route...

http://www.lottaliving.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5236

[nichols]

If you can deal with the shipping, try these folks in New York and Los Angeles.. or maybe they can give you a more local reference:

http://www.spci.net/wwc/
http://www.abchome.com/

[ch]

Love it! Can't wait to see it all decked out with the new shag and such.

[classic form]

EXCELLENT! Congratulations...glad it's in good hands. How much steel is in the construction?

[sdmod]

Fantastic House...Congratulations

[moderns-r-us]

Thanks for sharing these.

I wonder if this guy was ever a Bruce Goff student?

Have you thought of contacting the architect? Maybe he would give you a free consultation.

[moderns-r-us]

I could imagine some Finn Juhl furniture in Orange or Green Kvadrat fabric really working in this house.

http://www.danish-furniture.com/designe ... tain-chair

[SDR]

Amazing house ! Talk about organic. . .

Love the floating loft-deck, and the slots of space around it seen from below. Also, a favorite detail: beds of crushed rock between floor and wall.

Congrats ! SDR

[rockland]

Fantastic house. And so nice to see another gem in good appreciative
hands.
I hope you will follow up with more photos as you begin the settling in!

Shags are becoming more available with a recent demand.
I've been randomly looking and getting a sample from this company...
http://stores.ebay.com/SANSOM-SHAG-RUGS-C

They have orange.

Sadly i just had to ditch my vintage wool shag. The backing was deteriorating.
I need a 10x10 for the liv-rm over wood floors, not wall to wall.
If you do find vintage stock, i would want to see it in person. If it has a backing,
it could be very brittle.

You could consider a neutral tight loop wall to wall and get a nice thick shag area
rug to delineate a seating area...just a thought.

[VMacek]

Wow-ee-wow! You are living the dream, my friend!
Re. the Gobbler: I have to appreciate an architect who gets the instruction 'Design my motel/supper club like a turkey' and runs with it!

[tomb]

Great place!
By coincidence, we were recently on the hunt for an orange-ish shag... the closest we found easily was a high pile twist Shaw carpet from the "Kathy Ireland" collections. Seriously! Its technically not "Shag" but a pretty decent modern version if worst came to worst...

[sumu]

I posted this company awhile back - someone had the exact same request:

http://shagcarpet.com/shagrugs.htm

[BAZ_MCM]

[modernmonkey]

Wow! I had to give a giggle because it is such a wild house. I would have had to buy it too. The picture window and view are worth every penny alone. Love it! Keep us updated.




http://eugenemodernmonkey.blogspot.com/

[firebird]

Wow, what an awesome house!!

Speaking of bright orange shag carpeting, I just removed mine from the lower level of my MCM. I did cut it into rolls. If you want it, it's yours for the price of shipping - PM me.

[jonnycola]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I'm excited as hell to have this place.

My search for shag carpet has come up with very little... so I'm thinking of getting a neutral colored short pile carpet, and hopefully find a couple of cool colored rya rugs to throw over it.

I'm slowly getting all of my stuff moved in from my old house (still in the family, which makes things nice) I've been collecting 60's furniture for years, and I've finally got the place to put it! But it's a little tricky getting things up into the loft.


Also...(try not to laugh) Haha, I'm on the untfor one of these as well if anyone out there wan't to let loose of theirs, or knows where one might be hiding. I've always wanted one and seeing a few in the suites at the Gobbler Motel that Mr. Ajango designed, firmed up the idea for me.

[rockland]

I just got my shag samples yesterday. Really nice actually. I ordered one
from their e-bay store and also asked about wool vs nylon. They sent a
generous wool one for free. Wool is twice the price but twice as nice. Very thick.

Check their sale rugs! (a decent size runner for 25)

The backing is very hard and stiff. And would scratch a wood floor, but i will
use a rug pad, recommended by the company. And free shipping on all rugs.

http://www.sansomshagrugs.com/colors.htm

The wool choices are near the bottom of the listing...

I also have a few 5x5 flokati rugs because they can be tossed in the washer.
But they never stay put.

But judging by your taste in furnishings, i think the nylon colors are fab.
(my bedroom is a bit over the top also and yet to be fully photographed)
Not sure why i've chosen such an Austin Powers romp in a room that should
be calm, but it is fun. And a bit embarrassing...

[googieagog]

Stunning house, just spectacular. Great site, too.

Moderns-r-us nails it in asking about Goff. Ajango graduated in 1959 from University of Illinois, which had a Wright-influenced architecture school. Champaign is also home to three or so Goff houses, originally built for U of I profs during Bruce's brief Chicago career. So there's a pretty good chance Ajango had a look at those. He probably also swung by the Ford House in Aurora IL, on the way between the school and his Wisconsin home.

Ajango spoke at the Gobbler for last summer's Wright and Like Tour. Sadly, I had to miss that part. He's still living and working in Ft. Atkinson.

Good on you for finding and caring for this gem.

[bamalama]

What a score! Your new home has an almost "Ken Adams lair" feeling to it, which I love.

[HappyBunny]

[jonnycola]

About time for a little update

I've been getting moved in. Had the orange shag shipped in from California, and installed just in time for christmas. A friend of mine snapped a few pictures, so I figured I'd post them up.

I also managed to find the exact same bed that was in the "Passion Pit" room at the Gobbler Motel and Supperclub. Drove to new mexico to pick it up... Mine is blue fur, but I might redo it in white fur.
http://www.lileks.com/institute/motel/rooms/blue1.jpg

[BAZ_MCM]

Thanks for posting. Loving this place. Keep 'em coming.

-Baz

[HappyBunny]

You found the Passion Pit bed? Oh that kicks a**! Your house is just about the coolest modern home ever. It is so lucky that it has you as an owner--someone who appreciates it and indeed, wants to make it as awesome as it was intended to be!

[jonnycola]