You are here: Home / 2011 / Archives for April 2011

TGIF from KY: What are you doing this weekend?

Posted by: • April 8, 2011

vintage day of the week dish towelYou know how I mentioned yesterday that I have been in Kentucky for the past two weeks visiting with family and helping with some renovations to my Mom’s house? Well, I’ve now been here 17 days, and I am barely holding my blog together, what with all the to and all the fro. For sure, I am collecting lots of stories — but quiet time with computer is way harder to come by. For example, I have a whole little story to tell about vintage Day of the Week dish towels — a wonderful story — with lots of delightful images, and resources, and memories from Grandma and Aunt Mary Anne and Aunt Tootie, too. But it’s super late (as I write this), and I just had a Dairy Queen, and I am totally absolutely pooped. So for today’s blog post it will just have to be: TGIF.

This weekend I am doing a painting project for Mom’s house and going to see a movie with Dad. How about you?

1970s Drexel Whimsy campaign style bedroom dressers – $1,200 BIN

Posted by: • April 8, 2011

vintage drexel whimsy bedroom dresser

When I die and go to heaven, I want this to be my bedroom set: 1970s vintage Drexel “Whimsy”. Two dressers — “campaign” style — are for sale RIGHT NOW on ebay: Heck yeah there is more →

Farmhouse kitchen cabinets – wonderful door design from Martha Stewart for Home Depot

Posted by: • April 7, 2011

farmhouse-kitchen-cabinetsI have been in Kentucky for the past two weeks, visiting and also helping out with some renovations to my mom’s 1974 home. That means: I have been to Lowe’s and Home Depot about 10 times, combined, I am not kidding. We don’t have a Lowe’s where I live, and the Home Depot here in KY is much bigger than in my small town. So, I have been having a party cataloguing at all the goodies.

martha steward oxhill kitchen cabinet doors

One of things that I have seen — and which had me jumping up and down in the aisle — was this cabinet door in Martha Stewart’s new line of kitchen cabinets for Home Depot. I love it — it’s called a “double batten” door with flat panel. The original cabinets in my 1912 Colonial Revival house in Saline, Michigan, had just this door style, in quartersawn oak. This Martha Stewart door — called OxHill — comes in four painted finishes — a white, a light green, and two grays. I think it could be a wonderful choice for a vintage-inspired kitchen in a prewar home such as a Victorian, Colonial Revival or Arts & Crafts bungalow… a southern shotgun (I think that’s what they are called)… a farmhouse kitchen… or a cottage. Well done, Martha!

Our 73rd brand of vintage steel kitchen cabinets: Ace

Posted by: • April 6, 2011

ace metal kitchen cabinets

Over on the Forum, 52PostnBeam aka just discovered a new vintage steel kitchen cabinet brand: Ace. We are now well into year #4 of running the Forum — which I think must be the web’s #1 place to buy/sell vintage metal kitchen cabinets. With all this history under our belt, it’s a big day indeed to discover a new brand. Woop dee doo and thank you, 52!  Tip: If you have more sink holes of time to waste … I mean, spend … diving into the Retro Renovation world, the Forum can be a very gratifying addiction. The group on the Forum has lots of fun looking at all kinds of vintage kitchens for sale. I can’t even begin to cover all the wonder here on the main blog. Once you register, there’s link that you click each time you log in to see just what’s new since the last time you checked in.

7 ideas to house a flatscreen TV in your retro interior

Posted by: • April 5, 2011

vintage stereo retrofitted to hold plasma tvThe recent invitation to readers to upload photos of their televisions and how they incorporate them into their homes yielded a bundle of ideas. Today, I want to spotlight some of my favorites — in particular, several that start with vintage furniture as a base for our big ole high def plasmas.  Heck yeah there is more →

Wendy discovers a time capsule lighting store and buys 37 vintage lights

Posted by: • April 4, 2011

time-capsule-lighting-store-in-st-louis

As I think I have mentioned before, I started an all new Thread over on the Forum called: All the Best Stuff’s In St. Louis. The idea came from that fact that week after week, month after month, the Retro Renovation Recon Squadrons continue to spot all kinds of amazing stuff, and amazing stories, in St. Louis.

vintage-lighting-store

Consider this story, from weed30 aka Wendy — who discovered a time capsule lighting store in St. Louis and raided it, scoring dozens of wonderful vintage lighting fixtures at great prices. Read it and weep: Heck yeah there is more →

Where to put a modern TV set in a retro interior? Upload your photos

Posted by: • April 3, 2011

dwight-and-mamie-eisenhower-watching-republican-national-convention-in-1952

Where and how to position a modern TV in a retro living room or family room? Back in the day — for example, when Mamie and Dwight Eisenhower set to watch the 1952 Republican National Convention, where Ike was nominated to run for president (above, Library of Congress photo) – placing the TV set was relatively easy to figure out, because TVs came in compact cabinets and could be easily positioned in the room. But today — as more of us are heading toward 52″ flat screens — and in smallish rooms, to boot — well, what should we do with the TV set? Share your ideas — and upload photos of how you incorporate the TV into your room. Heck yeah there is more →

Vintage style drainboard sink – Clarion by Strom Plumbing

Posted by: • April 2, 2011

drainboard sink

This story has been updated — there are actually two, wall-hung farmhouse sinks like this on the market — read about them both here.

If you are looking for a porcelain drainboard sink made new, this is the only one that I know of. It’s the Clarion, manufactured by Strom Plumbing, and for sale online and via catalogs at places like Vintage Tub & Bath. It’s not cheap — around $1,600 — but it appears to be the real deal — a reproduction of an original farmhouse sink, made of porcelain over cast iron, and including the much coveted double drainboards. It’s a whopping 5′ long. What an amazing centerpiece for a farmhouse kitchen, a camp house or cottage kitchen, a bungalow kitchen, or a Victorian.

« Previous Page
Next Page »