Snaps to the king and queen of pink bathrooms — Nancy and Thommy. You may recall, Nancy’s pink poodle bathroom is world famous, not just here at Retro Renovation but also as headliner of the New York Times pink bathroom story. Now, our daring duo has served up a pair of pink potties from the Leo Carrillo Ranch, an historic site in one my original home towns, Carlsbad, California. Heck yeah there is more →
1930s pink bathrooms — Leo Carrillo Ranch, Carlsbad, Calif.
Posted by: • October 31, 2011
“Finish What You Started” Week #4 weigh in
Posted by: • October 30, 2011
Chelsea gets a Gold Star for finishing laying the tile in her guest bathroom last week — part of our continuing “Finished What You Started” weekly weigh ins. Now she says, “On to the grout!” Did you do it, Chelsea dear? The world wants to know. This weekly “get-off-yer-bum-and-no-bringing-new-stuff-in-until-you-get-old-stuff-processed” pressure is keeping me pretty highly motivated. I’ve been finishing some longstanding projects, too, and will be featuring some photos and maybe even a video soon, too. How did you do in Week #4? Upload your photos and show us your pro-ductive (rather than pro-crastinator) self –>
Nutone indoor barbecue and more
Posted by: • October 30, 2011
Wow, a Nutone indoor barbecue… and two New-Old-Stock decorative push screens for your mill finish screen door… Tip to using the ebay carousel: To go to a particular item, click on its photo (NOT on the ebay logo) — then, click on the lime green “View and Bid” box, which will take you to ebay. Disclosure: When you buy anything from these ebay carousels or after you click into ebay here100 years of dance and style in 100 seconds
Posted by: • October 29, 2011
Which couple is your favorite?
Don’t be shy — use those little four-way arrows at the bottom right of the box (next to where you see YouTube) to enlarge this to Full Screen, and watch. When you are done, hit “escape” to return to my homepage. Dance along, shake it!
Carrara marble laminates – 3 choices – an authentic retro choice
Posted by: • October 28, 2011
For either kitchen or, especially, bathroom countertops, I believe that Carrara marble laminates are an authentic vintage choice. I blinded myself searching for them among the 8 retailers of laminate in the U.S. today. The number-one choice, I think, is going to be from Wilsonart — their White Carrara, shown above. Read on for some history and learnings… and for two more Carrara laminates to consider –> Heck yeah there is more →
1960 Progress Mardi Gras light – $40 BIN – plus more finds
Posted by: • October 27, 2011
The wacky and wonderful circus-like pull-down light looked very familiar to me and, yes, I have the catalog: It’s a Progress Mardi Gras light, and it dates to at least 1961. Another reminder, though, folks: I am told that pulldown lighting is no longer to code – consult with an expert about these and other vintage lights and their safety for re-installation today. Tip to using the ebay carousel: To go to a particular item, click on its photo (NOT on the ebay logo) — then, click on the lime green “View and Bid” box, which will take you to ebay. Disclosure: When you buy anything from these ebay carousels or after you click into ebay here, it nets me a teensy commission.
Farmhouse sinks — two sources for authentic early-1900s reproductions
Posted by: • October 27, 2011
Laura made a skirt for her Sandford sink
Reader Laura gets major snaps for finding the 42″ Sandford farmhouse kitchen sink, above, which she used in her adorable retro kitchen renovation. If you are doing a bungalow kitchen, or a Victorian kitchen, or a charming Farmhouse kitchen with any degree of retro / vintage twist — this sink would be great. You gotta LOVE the drainboard on the left — so useful. Other great details: It’s 42″ — a great size to pair with a 42″ vintage stove (repetition of sizes is good in design)…. It’s porcelain-enamel on cast iron — just like the originals… You’re going to use a wall-mount faucet, 8″ spread, like the ones here. Note, 7″ deep bowl is going to get splashy, a good excuse to wear a spiffy vintage apron. Where to buy: $827 with free shipping — Buy it exclusively at Signature Hardware, it’s made just for them, their website says.
There’s only one more sink like this available today (that I know of) — read on –> Heck yeah there is more →
Reader Giveaway: Chalkware mermaids from Cats Like Us
Posted by: • October 26, 2011
Update: Comments/Entries now closed. Congratulations to winner Cheryl in TX, whose number was chosen by Random Number Generator. Blondes won! Thanks, everyone for playing!
What self-respecting Retro Renovator could be without a set of chalkware sea creatures in their pastel-colored bathroom? The folks at Cats Like Us — serious purveyors of rockabilly wear and kitschy collectibles — are providing this week’s giveaway: A set of reproduction chalkware mermaids. Thanks, Cats! I show the pink, but if you win, you can choose from six different styles. And, no Made in China here! These are all hand-made by Barbie K, who lives near Cats Like Us in Tonawanda, New York: Heck yeah there is more →
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