Gavin wrote me recently:
I have to share my new color: Sweatshirt Gray/Ralph Lauren. Home Depot is discontinuing Ralph, and it was $13 a gallon! Heck yeah there is more →
Gavin adds richness & drama to his “coolonial” living and dining rooms with gray painted walls
Posted by: • May 15, 2010
Vintage collage: A Funny Way of Seeing Love
Posted by: • May 14, 2010
These days I have so many balls in the air that I am about to weep. You know how it gets. You want to do Everything. One thing that has made me very happy amidst this ridiculous (self-imposed) buzz is cutting ephemera found at estate sales into little itty bitty pieces and then reassembling them into all-vintage collages. Well, I got one done. I made this piece for my mom Fran for Mother’s Day. My mom said she likes it, and has it right where she can see it every day. Since we live so far apart, this thought makes me very happy. The collage went into a pretty, vintage 70s frame, the kind where bamboo-like wood pieces are really magnets that hold the picture down. (See the complete piece here on my flickr stream.) Mom pointed out that this would make it very easy to change out the collage by season. Yes! I already am working on another collage for her. Another idea I picked up from the collage class that I’m currently taking Friday mornings (see? I’ve totally overloaded myself): When you go to an estate sale, especially if you don’t *need* anything, look for small items that you can buy to make a collage — a collage about that house. Even put the original address on it. I like that idea a lot, too. A lot a lot. Kind of a like, a tribute… a give-back… to the homes that make all of this possible.
Make your own Kodachrome slide lamp shade — but it will be hard to top Shane’s
Posted by: • May 13, 2010
Yesterday I saw some instructions on how make a curtain or lampshade out of vintage Kodachrome slides. You know: The gazillions of old family vacation and what-not slides we see at estate sales everywhere? At least I do — in every single house! I posted the link on Retro Renovation’s Facebook Fan page, and low and behold, one of our faithful readers — Shane — piped up that he had built the mother of all Kodachrome lampshades: Featured above. What a beauty. Shane says the project took 300 slides, 1200 holes punched and probably 1300 jewelry connector-rings. “I’m not sure how many hours I’ve got into the whole thing,” he explains. “Punching holes and connecting all the slides together was tedious at best.” Ya think???? I am So Impressed by anyone who has the patience and fortitude to complete a project like this… and, who can find ways to repurpose vintage artifacts in a way that can be enjoyed each and every day. Read on for more info from Shane. Heck yeah there is more →
Pamela of the perpetual pink potty palaces… oh my
Posted by: • May 12, 2010
Oh my goodness. Our resident collage artist laureate Mel Kolstad created this little surprise: A collage: “Pamela, Princesa of the Perpetual Pink Potty Palaces.” How silly can I (or Mel, or we) get all in the name of Save The Pink Bathrooms — where BTW more than 350 pink patriots to date have taken the pledge to preserve their pink paradisos. My favorite, which I have declared the official STPB Pledge:
“I hereby pledge to prevent the pulverization of period perfect pink potties and to persevere over pressure to part with my practical pedestal where my pint size prince and princess piddle…I Promise!” — Lou.
Click right here to make pledge to Save The Pink Bathrooms and while you’re there, share your pink bathroom reveries. And for the collage: Thank you, Mel. I think. See more of Mel’s work on her flickr site.
St. Charles steel kitchen cabinets are restored to Frank Sinatra’s Palm Springs home, Twin Palms
Posted by: • May 11, 2010
Frank Sinatra’s Palm Springs home, Twin Palms, was built in 1947. The kitchen in this mid-century modern gem originally featured St. Charles kitchen cabinets, but at some point over the past 60 years, folks removed the original cabinets. Today Retro Renovation is first online to showcase the all-new St. Charles kitchen cabinets that were installed in Twin Palms as a collaboration between St. Charles and the previous owners. This is not a period restoration. The house today is used for rentals, photo, film and TV shoots and special events, so it needed to have that flexibility. And, St. Charles is owned by the Viking Range Corp., so as you’d expect, it features those top-of-the-line, commercial-style products. To be sure, the update/backdate shows the relevance and adaptability of mid-century classics like steel kitchen cabinets to today’s kitchens. Read on for before and after photos of the Twin Palms kitchen, along with an interview with the kitchen’s designer, Andy Tobias. Heck yeah there is more →
Mid-century modern landscaping: The first in a special series
Posted by: • May 10, 2010
I met Ted Cleary of Ted Clearly Landscape Architecture when we both spoke at the Charlotte home show — that’s him, playing up his mad men persona, in front of the mini-Eichler he designed, installed and landscaped for the event. He and I got along famously, in fact, we were kind of a Friday night double feature: Mid-century homes inside… and out. I’ll tell you: I learned a lot about landscaping mid-century modern homes, in just one hour of listening to Ted. Heck yeah there is more →
Mid-Century Landscaping: Seminal books by Garrett Eckbo
Posted by: • May 10, 2010
Ted Cleary says that his icon when it comes to mid-century landcape design is Garrett Eckbo. I have added several of Eckbo’s books to my Pamazon store. Some used copies can be very inexpensive, I got one of mine for like, $1.98. Update: Reader Steve Keylon commented with a recommendation for a House Beautiful book by Howland – so I have added that as well. See his comment for more info; note: I have not necessarily read all of these books, but am going through two Eckbo books right now… Thanks, Steven.
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Disclosure: Retro Renovation is an Amazon affiliate, and I receive a small commission anytime you buy anything (retro or not) from Amazon after clicking through from any link on this site. Thanks for your support.
Bradbury & Bradbury holds its annual open house — and Tami gets the VIP treatment
Posted by: • May 9, 2010
<– TappanTrailerTami emailed me recently that she would be heading to Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpapers’ once-a-year open house on May 1. So, I asked owner Steve Bauer and customer service manager Beverly Phillips if they could give Tami a VIP tour so that she could file a report for the blog — and they happily agreed. Tami had a great time, and issues a full report from the field. Heck yeah there is more →
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