Lots of great stuff on ebay and etsy.com these days. In this roundup: A pair of vintage Schlage doorplates in tiki style… a wonderful vintage Lightolier bathroom sconce… a very collectible tiki print, Pearls of Wisdom, by August Holland… 150 s.f. of Coronet plastic wall tiles, new, gray-blue-green… and yes, more! Also see my etsy Retro Renovation Favorites anytime — I update these two to three times each week with great finds for your home and retro bling, too.
Mid Mod Madness
Kitchens – Countertops

I have da boomerang laminates covered one-by-one in other stories, but here, I pull them into one place for those renovators to compare and constrast. According to my research, there are three laminate boomerang designs — with a total of 14 possible colorways — available today. Updated January 2011: Wilsonart ads 11 more colors of [...]

A few years ago I saw my first bathtub and shower surround tiled in with a “crazy quilt” of all different tiles, and it was love at first site. If you love color and pattern, heck, going crazy quilt means can have it all. Designer Amy Mescia — with her new company Oscar & Izzy – now [...]

I just got off the phone with George from New York Metals – purveyors of the stainless steel edging to true to 40s 50s and 60s kitchen countertops. The recent question on the table has been: How to bend my preferred “Snap-On Molding” (in photo above) for rounded edges – be they quarter-round cubbies or [...]

I have been on a tear, of late, researching laminates. Considering how Greige and Granite-y 99% of what’s out there is, I want to provide Retro Renovators with the broadest researched selection possible of designs that have a more historical, retro appeal. After I learned that Formica’s butcher block laminate has been in production since [...]

As follow up to my post yesterday – with a round up of all the laminates for bathroom counters that are on my radar today – I also recently found this great little history of laminate in the 1950s, from Wilsonart. 2011 update, Wilsonart has taken story down, but here are a few highlights: Laminate [...]
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Vintage Daystrom dinette, Schlage atomic door escutchen & more
Vintage Lightolier sconces & more mint-in-box mid mod madness
3 vintage Lightolier pendants – Buy It Now, plus other NOS finds 














Would it be bad to buy that escutcheon plate when I don’t own a house? Must. not. buy. awesome. door. hardware.
Fabulous find, Pam!
Virginia, take note: Read the listing and you can see: He has TWO. One for the outside, one for the inside. Even more delightful!
You gotta love the door plates, right? In fact, I love them so much, I am in the process of buying a house with some like it. I think that they may even be the same ones.
Lucky you, kimmy kupcakes!
My self control can only be stretched so far. I caved and bid. It can join the sink and faucet I have in my closet for “the next house”.
Virginia, if it makes you feel any better, I have 3 kitchen faucets for my next house. 5 bathroom sinks. 6 bathroom faucets (that don’t fit these particular sinks). 100 rolls (approx.) of wallpaper. Only 2 door escutcheons, though.
Well, I lost that one (darn meetings!), but I did find a jade green sink I am very partial to.
This site is really a gateway drug, isn’t it?
Pam, those Escutcheons were mine!! (I am ebay seller bakelitebebe). I always love your Merry MIB Madness and to have something of mine on your site just make my heart skip a beat! Even if it was just my Ebay listing!
My dad was a salesman and then S.E. sales manager for Schlage Lock Co from the 50′s thru 1975. Schlage (pronounced shlayg) was acquired by Ingersoll-Rand Co. in 1974. They were the Cadillac of door hardware and manufactured all of their products in San Francisco at 2401 Bayshore Blvd. That plant ceased operations in December of 1999.
Our basement was filled with fully operational locksets like this mounted on fine solid wood displays with handles on top for carrying. Sure wish we hadn’t thrown all of them away years ago!