2009 June — Retro Renovation

Supersized midcentury sofas

Posted by: pam kueber • June 16, 2009

1970s-sofa-round

WHY DID SOFAS GET SO BIG? I do not know. But you have to admit these supersized sofas are statement-makers. And that’s before we even get to — upholstery. This 1972 wonder belongs to Lynne’s Lens, a flickr friend. She bought it 10 years ago from a house with purple shag carpet and Peter Max wallpaper. It had two more pieces that made it *too big* for her house and she gave them to a friend. Mr. Retro Renovation loves this sofa. Read on — you’ll like the next one, too, I promise… Heck yeah there is more →

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On my retro radar: Vintage barbeque, shuffleboard, gliders, Raymor

Posted by: pam kueber • June 16, 2009

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Comments will be deleted when…

Posted by: pam kueber • June 16, 2009

Just a reminder, on rare occasions I delete comments. I do this when (1) they break our rule about civility. No dissing on someone else’s choices. No ranting, even about TV home shows that trash pink bathrooms. Thanks to the vast majority of readers – 99.99% – who continue to join in the conversation with a spirit of appreciation for the many choices that we all lovingly put into our homes. And (2), No selling please. Heck yeah there is more →

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Where to buy authentic pink flamingo lawn ornaments designed by Don Featherstone

Posted by: pam kueber • June 15, 2009

NO DISCUSSION OF MIDCENTURY LANDSCAPING IS COMPLETE without including the famous pink flamingo lawn ornaments designed by Don Featherstone. According to my online research, Featherstone is an artist who sculpted 750 products for Union Products, Inc., in Leominster, Mass., starting in 1956. He sculpted the iconic pink flamingos in 1957. They were based on National Geographic images, and they went on the market in 1958. The taller one is 30″ tall when staked into the ground. Read on for more history — and how to still buy these today!

Heck yeah there is more →

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The Ink Spots: It’s Only A Shanty in Old Shanty Town

Posted by: pam kueber • June 14, 2009

The Ink Spots via Bob & Dusty’s

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1952 Willett maple furniture

Posted by: pam kueber • June 13, 2009

1952-willett-furniture I‘M FASCINATED by the midcentury midwest furniture companies. I have this suspicion they were more interested in quality than transient styling. Willett was based in Indiana, and they made some really nice stuff. With real wood. My guy Royal Barry Wills also designed a line of furniture for them…. This Willett ad is from 1952…the 40s period was coming to an end…recall, 1953 started The Fifties. Can’t you just imagine how proud a family was when they bought this furniture? The sofa — it’s such a classic. And it was not cheap: $495. That’s $4,014 today!

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46 years of Aladdin Home catalogs

Posted by: pam kueber • June 12, 2009

1954-aladdin-home WOW, THIS IS AN AMAZING TREASURE TROVE: An online archive of 46 years of Aladdin Home Sales Catalogs, courtesy of Central Michigan University and its Clarke Historical Library. I’m serious: Complete catalogs: Page through for hours and watch the history of middle-class housing styles in the first half of the American 20th century unfold. The catalogs were the principal marketing method for the houses…. So also you get all kinds of little detail that paints a picture of how people lived, what they considered when looking for a house… See the dramatic shifts during the Depression and wartimes, for example. They are little social history books. Aladdin’s were kit houses… manufactured houses like the famous Sears’ models. These kinds of homes are EVERYWHERE across America. Heck yeah there is more →