Rachel, I guess it depends on your definition of 'modern'. If you want sleek and stark and contemporary, then this piece isn't for you. But I agree with Saratoga that to me this is very 'modern' for its time. It's beautiful as is (which is how I would probably use it if the veneer is good) but its not a priceless antique so it be changed up if that's your style and would go better with other pieces in your house to give it a new life. Either way it has soul that contemporary pieces lack in my opinion. It's a little piece of history and a statement about the industrial time it was created. Including the beautiful mirror.

Try this. Hang the television to the right of the wood stove on the wall opposite the french doors. Use the wall with the high windows for a looong sofa and add two chairs across / angled slightly - low back so you can look over one to television. use console / sofa table on entry /bed door wall just past where entry door opens so you have a lay down surface. Forget glass, it isn't for this era and won't make it feel bigger. Paint ALL french doors inside and out and small windows and entry door same color and trim same color too. Try a charcoal rather than a black - something in the blue-green-gray shades like new providence navy. do all the walls in kitchen and living in a warm white - this tone has the wood as an undertone - http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/woodash then, for the cabinets . . do a bungalow thing and go deeper on the cabinets to a classic drabware tone - with the wood walls and floors / try bm bracken biscuit http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/brackenbiscuit these will all go together like gangbusters, keep it light and bright but interesting and work with a new blue green gray back door in a tone like bm beach glass http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/beachglass templeton gray as a counterpoint on some craigslist piece of furniture . . add warm undertone tan and oatmeal nubby tweed upholstery to start . . the teal navy gray will work with the black iron stove and accents without going black. start keeping the left door to the kitchen closed and get a door stop to hold the other one open permanently . . this will work because you need a little more wall to make the tv work well - in the kitchen, pull your table away from the wall just a tad - consider a padded bench on the wall to provide a kind of sitting space in there and put the chairs across - if you shift your television to the wall (high enough the heat is not an issue , you can still have big speakers work well - and remote the media equipment - run the wire and patch the holes. Hang it mid-height - eye level when you sit plus 15 degrees . . check out the amazing sconces you can put on the entry wall - shades of light petersik pendant with home-made trim wood brace to pump it out from the wall since the power is high? over the console? round wood table in middle - even a hd butcherblock round on a painted drum base in trim tone? With those tones - teal gray, biscuit, creamy off-white, muted blue-greens - paint your white chairs and a hand me down bench wythe blue and find a graphic sunbrella print with a little blue green, chocolate and orange for cushions and pad skirts with velcro at the table . . make a galvinized pipe leg / plank 1 x 12 / clear finish console for behind the door . . now you are cooking with gas . .

@Tribbletrouble44152k7 Trek, no not necessarily.. it fulfills it's purpose if you buy the one that is correct for what you want it for.. a bit of a catch22 and up to the store to point out that the thin stuff may dent.. in fact any of it can... there are many things that will void warranty of laminate floors.. here is a good website dealing with the cleaning and care .. http://www.baneclene.com/articles/laminate-care-consumer.html Remove shoes with spiked or damaged heels before walking on the floor. Spike or stiletto high-heel shoes may cause denting and related damage to wood floors due to the extremely high compressive force they generate. Such footwear can produce dynamic loads in excess of 1,000 pounds per square inch, even when worn by someone of slight or average build. Worth reading the whole thing.. Just worth reminding people that laminate flooring is mdf with a picture of wood printed on the surface with a couple of protective layers of clear coating over the top..it cannot be wet or steamed.. it will swell. Make sure you ask questions.. Wood vinyl planking is very durable and hardy, and bamboo is considered to be one of the strongest timbers.. if you choose to have floors redone with any of the above products please look them up on google and find out the qualities.. I vote for wood vinyl.. looks brilliant, can float or be glued (recommend glue for wet areas such as bathrooms, laundries) is hard wearing and cost is comparable with mid range wood laminate flooring and hardier. Hope that all helps. If you must have wood laminate then go for 10 - 12 mm.. anything less will flex. Must have underlay and be laid on a level floor.. There are self levelling compounds you can use to make this easier... hope all this helps.

Donna White Interior Design Donna White has run her Interior Design practise from her Auckland home for many years. “Covid-19 and Level 4 lock down in NZ were a shock to me, and the whole world. I knew, in fact, as we all knew, the world was going to change forever. Interior Design for me is about meeting, listening and engaging with my clients. I love the discussions, the banter and slow immersion into their lives, and their homes. I get the best results with face to face communication not only with my clients, but with my suppliers and manufacturers. On the eve of Level 3 lockdown moving into Level 4 the next morning, I had a second meeting with a new client. Prior to confirming the meeting, we tentatively checked with each other on our health and possible contact with Covid-19 carriers. We walked through his home, discussed his brief in more detail, and even ended up at an antique shop in Parnell, Auckland. OMG, the good old days, because the next day and every day since, the restrictions of Level 4 Lockdown have been driven home. What Covid-19 is doing to me, is making me embrace social media, something I have tentatively embraced – have you seen my Instagram? Now I have time and no excuses to adapt the way I operate. Of course, I am not alone in this.I am learning how to handle the Covid-19 and the Level 4 Lockdown impact by talking to fellow creatives. In fact, three of my professional interior design friends and I have thought about how to add value to our clients. We launch a Zoom chat next week on ‘What you can do to improve your living spaces during Lockdown’. I have work to continue with pre-Level 4 Lockdown clients, both existing and brand new. What I am doing is thinking about what they need right now, and finding new ways to deliver from my little bubble. This is exciting, and positive. A looming question is how are we going to attract new business - all of us from Interior Designers to suppliers and manufacturers? Talking, and being kind will help, and E-interior design too.” Designworx Amanda Neill is the lead designer in Designworx, has run a busy Devonport Studio for many years and is now based in the Bay of Plenty, working from her Design Studio there. “The days leading up to lockdown was a race to try to complete as much as we could in amongst the uncertainty of what was to come. Once lockdown hit, there was almost a sigh of relief and a stillness that you just had to go with. Nowhere to be…. No time to be there…. We completed a client presentation over a 2 hour zoom meeting on the 2nd day of lockdown. It wasn’t an entirely new way of working for me as I had done a number of remote projects, but it was a new way of working with NZ clients. Everything then came to an abrupt halt as the industry closed its doors for all but essential projects. The first week was spent sorting out my studio and catching up on all the tasks that had put on the back burner. It has been a time for reflection and planning. The creative process has been flowing and my bubble has allowed me the headspace and time to think about how I can add value during this lockdown period. Working with 3 other design colleagues, we are going to run a series of webinars to help people with their interiors during lockdown and beyond. The key will be adapting to use technology to work within the industry. Visual graphics will be very important to help our clients visualise a project. Like the below example of a project in the Isle of Man that we completed remotely. Cuthbert Interiors Anna Cuthbert is the principle Interior Designer at Cuthbert Interiors a three-person team based in Parnell, Auckland “Currently all working from home, my team and I are continuing to source and specify projects. The hardest thing for us is that a couple of extremely large projects have been pushed out as our teams of builders and tradies are unable to go to site, and other projects are somewhat suspended in mid air. The unknown is a little scary but with technology we have been able to adapt and continue to liaise with each other, clients and suppliers. This confinement has given me time to work on my business, a luxury that I rarely have. It has also allowed me to catch up on technical webinars and learning which is neverending in this industry. I believe that that most important thing I can be doing for my business is connecting with people. As we are all becoming so much more acutely aware of our immediate surroundings, people are thinking about changes and improvements to their homes which they want to implement at the end of this lockdown time.. I’ve been using zoom to meet with clients and suppliers so that projects continue to progress and the economy wheel keeps turning. While our doors cannot physically remain open we are always here on the phone or computer. I will continue to specify NZ manufactured products wherever possible as our borders may take some time to open, however more importantly we have amazingly skilled craftsmen and women in this country and we need to support local businesses.” Michelle Bevin Design Michelle runs her design practise from her home based studio in Karaka “The Covid 19 Lockdown happened suddenly in NZ, and everything felt so surreal. I went from a week of booked colour consultation meetings, to clients cancelling. My new build clients and development work ceased. NZ owned Traillite Motorhomes where I have been the interior designer for the last 8 years temporarily closed the doors. Having the luxury of time I have been able to think about how to improve my business, how I can add value to my services, add value to clients projects, work on my new website, and keep conversations going with existing clients and suppliers. With technology it has been nice to catch up with fellow colleagues, continue my presence on social media, and be constantly inspired by all our local talented craftsman and suppliers. They are going to need our support on the other side of this.