A “planter top” toilet tank lid from Eljer

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A PLANTER MOLDED RIGHT INTO A TOILET TANK LID? Well, this is a new one to me… found in this ad for a 1964 Eljer Estate toilet. And of course – LOVE it. Has anyone ever seen this? Let’s all be on the lookout. Like spotting rare and endangered species in the (retro)Amazon. Carry your cameras, readers! Heck yeah there is more →

12 great products to create a Lodge kitchen

vintage-magic-chef-range-good-time-stove-2

omega-dynasty-cabinet-door-lodge-styleI WAS EXCITED TO SEE AN ALL-NEW DOOR STYLE from Omega/Dynasty: “The Lodge”. Who doesn’t want a cottage with a warm, cozy, rustic-style kitchen? Fortunately, there are a lot of great products today to pull one together. How about starting with:

  • A refurbished vintage Magic Chef stove circa 1930, from The Good Time Stove Co. This is not inexpensive at $10,500 – but what an heirloom. I’m going to visit this company within the next few weeks – they are right up the road from me in Goshen, Mass.
  • The new Lodge door is from Omega/Dynasty. Honestly, I’m not sure what kind of wood that is – at the home show in Oregon I saw “knotty cherry” available – it looked like this. Cherry is a harder, more durable wood than pine, which makes it better for kitchens. I like!vintage-style-barkcloth-adirondack-moonlight
  • But: Use a vintage Youngstown steel sink cabinet with porcelain-enamel-on-cast-iron drainboard sink for your sink. Yes – you can use JUST the steel sink base and surround it with cabinets – this is a great look! The vintage Youngstown sink cabinets (or similar brands) are arguably the easiest vintage steel cabinets yet to find today – as they were sold by the piece starting in the 40s. You see them stand-alone in ads from the period, surrounded by wood cabinets (presumably made by pa) just as I am suggesting.
  • And I’ve suggested a bundle of other features and accessories to add color and interest: thibaut-scottish-plaidWonderful Scottish- plaid wallpaper from Thibaut… Adirondack-style barkcloth for drapes from Full Swing Textiles… a schoolhouse lighting shade from Rejuvenation… wrought iron cabinet pulls from Crown City Hardware… Marmoleum flooring… a Capel braided rug… laminate countertops … and more.

Heck yeah there is more →

Chemex Coffeemaker – in production since 1942

This beautiful coffee maker is a wonderful accessory for any midcentury home. Designed in 1942 and still in production today, the Chemex® Coffeemaker is so revered that it’s in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

And guess what – the company that makes it is just one town over from me in Pittsfield, Mass.

Heck yeah there is more →

Shutter dogs from Acorn Manufacturing

“Shutter dogs” — do you know what those are? Well, if you have, or want, shutters on the exterior of your ranch, colonial or Cape … you need to know about these! Shutter dogs are the decorative hardware used to hold the shutters back against the house, usually just decoratively. And like a classic pearl necklace – they are “house jewelry” that makes all the difference.

The real go-to place for shutter dogs — along with all kinds of other early American, wrought iron hardware including cabinet pulls, is Acorn Manufacturing. I like this company a lot a lot! Heck yeah there is more →

Open thread: What’s on your weekend agenda?

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What’s on your list for the weekend? Weekend warrior? Or goin’ fishin (as in Rejuvenation “salvage art”, above)?

I’m doing a major clean of the bathrooms, oh joy. But also, taking my 14-year-old shopping for vintage clothes at Goodwill and Salvation Army — she’s into it now, hurray!

What about you?

Vintage shower head blogging

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Over on flickr there’s a group called “Mirror blogging” — people who take their photos taking a picture into a mirror. Well, here I am taking a photo of myself peaking into vintage shower heads during my recent vintage to Rejuvenation in Portland. There were so many quirky architectural items there – I had a blast. More to come, over time…