Case Study Houses.

I've always been fascinated with case study homes from the mid century.  What exactly is a case study house?  They were experimental homes commissioned by major architects of the time including Neutra, Eames and Saarinen for Arts & Architecture magazine.   The idea was to build inexpensive and efficient model homes to accommodate the housing boom after WWII.  The program ran from 1945-1966 and most of the case study homes where built in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

One of the most well known homes and perhaps my personal favorite is the Stahl House, which resides in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, California.

#22 The Stahl House 

1960, architect Pierre Koenig

1635 Woods Drive, West Hollywood, CA. 

You had me at Peg Leg. Paul McCobb Planner Group, I love you.

My obsession with mid century modern began many, many years ago with a peg leg desk.  Mr. Paul McCobb got me hooked with his Planner Group designs.  The legs, the legs!


One of the great designers of the 1950's, Paul McCobb created some of the most beautiful American mid century designs.  His signature look is clean and simple with the hard-to-miss long peg legs.  The Planner Group is my favorite design of the mid century, along with Brasilia by Broyhill of course...and then there's Saarinen's tulip designs. Ok, my favorite 3! 



McCobb, (1917-1969), never received any formal design training.  He first established a studio in 1945. He worked primarily as a decorator and retail display designer, eventually turning his attention to furniture: by 1950, B.G. Mosberg was marketing his stylish, affordable Planner Group.

McCobb's pieces were flexible and practical, designed to meet the needs of post World War II middle-class lifestyles. For example, his "living walls", complete with moveable room dividers and storage systems, allowed for maximum efficiency in limited spaces.

He became a household name in the 1950's, earning himself the nickname "America's Decorator". His work was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Merchandise Mart in Chicago.

Some of his classic pieces....

Even though the Planner Group is my favorite design do you think I have even one piece?  Nope.  Still searching for them.....