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Where to find parts for your vintage bathroom faucets and toilets

Posted by: • October 9, 2010

where to find replacement parts for vintage faucets and toiletsRandal’s reco after I wrote about Randal’s Mermador shower door. Jacob wrote:

I found Faucet Parts Plus in Oklahoma.  Wonderful place.  They seem to have everything.  I guessed my shower fixture was American Standard, as that was marked on all the other fixtures, and I found the replacement stems pretty quickly.  Ordered a kit with new handles, trim, stems and seats.

Shane wrote:

Man that plumbing place needs to be a solid source for vintage goodies. I just found exact replacement stems for my 1954 Briggs bath fixture on their site. Every once in a while you get to do something the easy way, because of someone else’s hard work. Thanks Randal!

Yes: Thank you, both!

Link: FaucetPartsPlus.com … and don’t forget to also try deabath.com, too, which in particular are experts at parts and restoration of vintage Crane faucets.

How to repair 1950s faucets without removing tile — and see Randy’s Mermador!

Posted by: • October 8, 2010

vintage shower door by mermadorYou know I love it when I gets to see me something all-new old. How did I run across Randal and his vintage Mermador shower door? The one in his lovely, 1955 pink tiled bathroom with the ming green Crane (?) toilet, tub and double sink vanity? I do not know. But, I love Randal’s bathroom… and his post about fixing his plumbing… and most of all, his Mermador shower door. Read on for more, from Randal… Heck yeah there is more →

7 reasons that recycling old building materials is growing in popularity (plus the blog in the news)

Posted by: • October 7, 2010

Coming to your hometown newspaper, maybe, soon: An Associated Press (AP) story on the growing trend of homeowners stalking places like the Re-Store for used building materials that they can re-use or re-purpose. Writer Melissa Dutton interviewed for this AP story after she landed on my post about a kitchen countertop made out of recycled bowling alley wood. The bowling alley was at “my” Re-Store in Springfield, Mass.  Melissa was a sweetheart, and we talked and talked and talked on the phone. I am a good talker, and though only a bit of the interview made it into the final story, I remember warning her that IMHO the trend to use recycled building materials was on the rise for, like, seven converging reasons –> Heck yeah there is more →

Toast-o-Lator mania: March of the Muffins

Posted by: • October 6, 2010


So I am about to turn off the computer and go to sleep. My blog post for the a.m. is all set. But then I look at my emails one last time and get an intriguing message from Jason. He is responding to Tuesday’s story about the $10,099 vintage Toast-o-Lator sold on ebay. He writes: Heck yeah there is more →

10 Donfeld costume sketches for Claudia Cardinale in 1967′s “Don’t Make Waves” — estate sale treasure

Posted by: • October 5, 2010
donfeld costume sketch for 1967 claudia cardinale film dont make wavesIn three years of daily blogging, this is the first news from a reader who seems to have struck bona-fide estate sale treasure. David’s booty: 10 vintage Donfeld costume sketches done for star Claudia Cardinale for the 1967 movie, “Don’t Make Waves.” This apparently was a comedy about a New Yorker — played by Tony Curtis — dropped into free love surfer heaven southern California. David came across the sketches at an estate sale. Not only are they super cool Hollywood memorabilia, it turns out they seem to be worth a couple of thousand dollars. Each. For your vicarious thrill of the day — and a slide show of the 10 sketches — read on for more of David’s story … Heck yeah there is more →

19 interior designs from 1970

Posted by: • October 4, 2010

a 1970 attic design with blue sofa and orange pendant lightingWhen I took my second collage class this year, I was really blessed that there were several supremely talented artists as students, too. I am telling you: You could put any stack of paper crap in front of these women and in about an hour, they would turn it into a stunning piece of art.  Heck yeah there is more →

Hippie decor & more 1960s interior design ideas — 15 pages of rooms from 1969

Posted by: • October 3, 2010

1969 bedroom painted blueCirca 1969 my Uncle Robert and Aunt Judy were like hippie American Pickers. Uncle Robert was the youngest of my dad’s brothers, and Aunt Judy was a Texas beauty with big hair, short miniskirts and go go boots. Together they were totally groovy. During Sunday drives (remember those?!) around rural southern California (remember that?!), I guess we used to caravan together, because I remember them making everyone stop their cars to dig into seedy roadside junk stores and worse — abandoned farmhouses  — to look for treasures. Heck yeah there is more →

Formica retro countertop discontinuations: More info on end-dates + alternatives

Posted by: • October 2, 2010

formica boomerang laminate in aqua blue and coralUPDATE (Oct 2011): Click over to –> this story to get an update on all three sources for boomerang laminate.

In wake of the news that Formica is discontinuing, or has discontinued, two shades of our beloved boomerang laminate, I started receiving reports from readers of other discontinuations. I checked with the super duper helpful PR folks (thanks, Laura!). Warning warning Will Robinson: To ensure you get while the gettin’ is good, read this full report: Heck yeah there is more →

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