Lords of the Ring - Article in Wall Street Journal, 8-8-14

[Greg G.]

http://online.wsj.com/articles/decorating-with-vintage-phones-1407513013

Decorating With Vintage Phones
Why old-school models—truly stylish and far more high-fidelity than mobiles—are the lords of the ring

By STEVE GARBARINO
Aug. 8, 2014 11:50 a.m. ET

QUITE LITERALLY a conversation piece, a vintage phone dials back to an era when household gadgets were made to last roughly forever. And today, when ineloquent, on-the-go texting rules our lives instead of civilized chatting on the horn, it pays to embrace these sturdy, corded contraptions. Not only do their Technicolor hues and resonant rings evoke less frenzied times, you can actually hear your caller clearly, and use your shoulder to hold their barbell-shaped handsets in place as you jot down info, or idly doodle.

It doesn't hurt that such reconditioned phones are handsome. From the boxy Bakelite models introduced in the Art Deco and Midcentury eras through aerodynamic 1960s and groovy '70s iterations, their distinct style can elevate a room beyond the predictable.

"A vintage phone gives a sense of grandeur to any interior—not just certain periods of décor," said Jim Walrod, a New York-based designer. "The phones anchor a room and suggest permanence. They're the opposite of kitsch."

He makes all his calls from his Chinatown apartment on a powder-blue, '60s Ericofon (famously shaped like a submarine periscope). "There is an honesty to them," said Mr. Walrod, who was an interiors consultant for "The Ice Storm," the 1997 film set in the '70s. "You can't lie to someone as to your whereabouts when they're calling you on your landline. Possessing one is a sort of power play."

Old-school power players still dialing it in include the art dealer Larry Gagosian, hoteliers Jason Pomeranc (Sixty Hotels) and Andre Balazs (The Standard), and fashion designer Andy Spade, who's behind the Jack Spade label.

"They're super-studly, not campy at all," said Mr. Spade, who has integrated two vintage rotary models into his prewar Park Avenue apartment. His 9-year-old daughter Bea, he said, has taken particularly to the '50s-era black desk phone in the library. "Aesthetically, they're more beautiful than anything in the world," said Mr. Spade. "But I just like to take the time to dial, watching my finger revolve around the notch. It gives me time to collect my thoughts."

Miles Redd, a Manhattan interior designer, revels in "the gravitas of them, that solid feeling they have," he said. He recently chose a tangerine-hued '60s rotary for a client's home. "I particularly like the ones that look as if they're from a vintage James Bond film," he said, adding that the phones add "oomph" to a work desk or coffee table.

Favoring them in powder rooms and guest bedrooms, Brian Bockman, a New Orleans-based interior designer, said the telephones add "intimacy and show you care. There's a comfort element to that nostalgic ring of an actual bell, as opposed to a mobile phone 'twinkle' or 'barking dog.' "

Eschew retro reproductions, and go for the real thing, mint-condition and fully refurbished. Most touch-tone models plug in to current cable modems or wall jacks; adapters are sold for those that don't, as are pulse-to-tone converters for rotary models. "Nearly all modern cable components support them," said Mitch Hazam, owner of the Front Royal, Va.-based Vintage Swank, which sells phones that date from the 1920s to the 1970s. "They work today as well as they did 50 years ago," said Jonathan Finder, owner of the Pittsburgh-based Old Phones. "There's simply better sound quality on a corded versus a cordless phone," he said. "Mobile phones aren't made for talking or hearing."

Considering their value as showpiece and mouthpiece, these callbacks are a modest expenditure. They range from $65 to $700, depending on style and rarity. Can you hear us now?

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Edit: Photo and photo caption added for posterity

"Clockwise from top left: Pink Ericofon, $180, and Automatic Electric 50 Wall Telephone, $350, available at oldphones.com; Orange 2500, $109, Yellow Sculptura, $139, Green 302 (1940s), $650, and Western Electric 202 Cradle, $295, available at Phoneco, Inc., 608-582-4124 Danny Kim for The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas"

[LarryInMichigan]

This is disturbing.  It seems that I am doing something fashionable   I have always tried to avoid being fashionable.

Larry

[tallguy58]

I have found over the years that if you're into retro stuff like phones, radios, fans, comic books etc. that you will always be ahead of the curve when it comes to interior design.

Eventually, as the old saying goes, "what's old is new again".

[WEBellSystemChristian]

This is disturbing.  It seems that I am doing something fashionable   I have always tried to avoid being fashionable.

Larry

I couldn't agree more. My sister is always getting annoyed because my summer has practically revolved around phones, and she hates the smell of the smell of "old cheese" in my room (hmm, I wonder what that could be from... ) She has always tried to do the most fashionable thing, while I do the absolute exact opposite. Now she's a little annoyed that I'm doing something trendy (I can't begin to tell you how much I hate that word), and I'm not even trying!

[Tim Mc]

Very cool.  I shared this with my wife, although she would also agree that I'm not fashionable at all and that the article is just well-timed.  However, we get a lot of comments on the vintage phones used in the house.  My brother-in-law asked if the WE 653 hanging in the kitchen actually worked, to which I responded "h@ll yeah!"

[Sargeguy]

This is disturbing.  It seems that I am doing something fashionable   I have always tried to avoid being fashionable.

Larry

There's always wooden phones, Larry.

[WesternElectricBen]

I read this a couple of weeks ago, I didn't think too much of it. But, what I did notice was the high prices in the caption, although true, I think that would steer people away from buying these phones.


We have a phone I just restored a 440 (manual) sitting on our hall table, I'l take a picture in a bit.


Ben

[WEBellSystemChristian]

What I did notice was the high prices in the caption, although true, I think that would steer people away from buying these phones.

I dunno, a lot of artsy people pay a lot of money for something worth very little.

[WesternElectricBen]

I don't mean to thread-hijack, but this should pertain.

The only 'staged' telephone in our house, that being do to there is no phone jack. The rest, besides the ones on my display, are hooked up to an outside line.

It fits well on an old hall table, with my mothers serving dish, "roses," and lamp. Of course, a hall telephone generally would be single line, but it fit so well, we decided to keep it in place.

Ben

[Slal]

Couple of my hobbies politely called 'eccentric.'  Glad to know one is "fashionable."   Planned it that way all along. ; )

PS:  For those who might not have seen it, thought the following cartoon was cute.
_____________
One Big Happy ® by Rick Detorie - Creators Syndicate / Creators_com © 2014.  Low Resolution personal use only.

[JorgeAmely]

Cute indeed. Picture stolen. 

[Mr. Bones]

Ditto, and ditto. Tango Yankee! =(Thank You!)

Best regards!

[Slal]

Cute indeed. Picture stolen. 

Serious or kidding around?

If serious can easily explain the EULA for Creators.com.

If kidding around.  "Ya got me!"   

Ditto, and ditto. Tango Yankee!

Best regards!

Tango Yankee.  Not sure I get that one.  Never been in the military, but Dad was USAF fighter pilot so learned some of the lingo.

"Tango Uniform" would mean an aircraft is "belly up" (damaged & cannot land.) Pilot would likely have to bail out.  Trying to think of a word that would begin with "Y" but nothing comes to mind.

Meanwhile...

"Fun meter approaching pegged"  : 0 !

Best

--Bruce

[rp2813]

"Mobile phones aren't made for talking or hearing."

Truer words have never been spoken.