"Before"

Remember this recent story about how to reupholster vintage dinette chairs affordably? Well, reader Melissa used the video shown to tackle doing the upholstery herself — both on the dinette chairs and a vintage Cosco high chair she found for $3.12. Melissa also used steel wool to polish the chrome, and achieved what looks to be perfect results. Oh my goodness — her DIY project turned out beautifully — you go, girl! Read on for Melissa’s story of triumph…

Mel writes:

Very impressive job, Mel!

Hello!

I’m always checking out your website, because I love retro and mid century modern style. I know your always putting people’s projected on your site. And I thought you might like to put mine up

I have refinished a 1950′s table and chairs as well as a high chair. I bought the table and chairs off craigslist about two years ago for about a $100… I bought the fabric for about $50… and then the steel wooling started. I thought it was going to be much harder than it actually was, and I was pretty worried it was not going to turn out well. But I surprised myself. and everything turned out better than I could have ever imagined.

Yes, who among us has not purchased and refinished a vintage Cosco high chair -- before we actually had a baby for it?

Then a few weeks ago I spotted a retro high chair at the thrift store for $3.12. I thought to myself well I don’t have any kids, and that would be stupid for me to buy. But I could just couldn’t resist it for only $3.12. So I thought, well, I could refinish it and sell it. But now that I have it done and it looks so good, I feel like I need to save it for when I have a child lol.

I asked Melissa whether she used the video I featured on my site, and also quizzed her on where she got the supplies. She said:

I did use her video. But I did not know it was on your site, I just googled “reupholster retro chairs” and eventually found that video. I bought the fabric from Beatrice, the lady in the video. I had originally emailed her to find out where I could buy that type of vinyl, because the only kind I was finding was the kind with backing or non plyable. Then she just told me I could buy it from her. So I did I also got the white piping-piece from her. I had my mom help me with them, I thought four hands would be better than two. And we did it in the middle of the hot summer on my front porch with the heater on us — lol it was HOT.

Mel

Thank you, Mel, for this inspiration. Of course, I asked Mel what else she had going on in her house. More to come maybe!

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I’m also reading the text more carefully these days, so that I can start to re-introduce the original terms used to describe different products and features. The first and most fabulous one we’ve ever discovered has to be: Hudee rings. But in this 1962 brochure, I’ve learned that we should be calling electric range tops “tabletop ranges.” And, in this brochure, cabinets with raised panels were called “sculpted.”

And you know I always must call out some of the macro-trends images like these illustrate and reflect. Some thoughts:

• Cabinets are mostly wood. The brochure calls these kitchens “warm and colorful.” Steel, especially white steel, ain’t so warm… Also, by 1962, I think the transition from steel-to-wood was well under way because, more than ever, kitchens were being opened to adjacent family rooms, causing kitchen cabinets to be treated more like furniture.
• I’m seeing lots of tile in these photos… and lots of brick and stone on the walls. Incorporating these organic materials into the interior of the home comes from ranch-home movement, which included the idea of merging the indoors with the outdoors.
• Lots of fun with laminate. Notice several thick countertops and breakfast bars — the move away from metal countertop edging to laminate edging meant that designers and homeowners were no longer hostage to 1.5″ thick countertops.
• All this said, these are mostly studio shots — they are marketer-interior-designer fantasies, and include some silliness to be sure. This brochure was produced by the National Plan Service, Inc. — a company that was all about selling house plans. As far as I know, the National Plan Service was not in the business of selling kitchens per se. This booklet was likely produced to help homemakers building a new house to decide on their kitchen plans. I am not sure what Interestingly, A.A. Laun Furniture Co. continues in business today, making furniture in Kiel, Wisconsin. The company is 110 years old. In the 1950s, it had a Modern Collection of more than 50 furniture pieces. I am guessing that in the 1960s they also facilitated new-home construction in some way, and that is why their name is on the front of the booklet.

I have made notes on each photo in the slide show. To launch, click on the first image, and it will enlarge; move forward or back with the arrows at the bottom; you can start or stop anywhere in the show:

Need more 1960s inspiration? My favorite book:

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And Fascinating: Joan Rivers introduces June Havoc … as if everyone knows her. Ummm, I didn’t. So I looked her up. Jumping jehosaphat. She was “Baby June” – the vaudeville prodigy and younger sister of Gypsy Rose Lee… immortalized in the 1959 Broadway play “Gypsy”, “the greatest Broadway musical ever.” But, dig into June’s life and there there’s even more to her story, lots more…

On Joan Rivers and decorating: I watched that documentary, “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,” which was released last year. She is huge into decorating — which is already clear in her 1969 TV show. Asked last year about her regal French-style Manhattan apartment, she quipped,

This is how Marie Antoinette would have lived if she had had money.

On June Havoc: What a story, what a life! Vaudeville performer and silent film star from as early as age two (?)… younger sister of Gypsy Rose Lee… eloped at age 13 or was it 15 or 16?… tried to shoot her mother when the mother had the boy arrested… destitute during the Depression, survived by doing dance marathons; for five months, she held the all time record for marathon dancing of 3,600 hours… she then became pregnant by a married man, a marathon promoter… endured to became a successful star of film and stage… wrote memoirs and turned them into Broadway plays…. helped restore an historic Connecticut village… and it sound like her homes were just lovely. June Havoc died just last year, read her New York Times obituary here, it’s all quite amazing. Our Reality TV has NOTHING on this one. Among the most poignant moments in the reprise of her life:

Over the years Ms. Havoc tended to be diplomatic when speaking of her mother and her sister. But in a 2003 interview with Alex Witchel of The New York Times, she was particularly straightforward:

“My sister was beautiful and clever — and ruthless. My mother was endearing and adorable — and lethal. They were the same person. I was the fool of the family. The one who thought I really was loved for me, for myself.”

Golly, what one can learn from the thread of a Joan Rivers tv show about kitchens.

On this 1969 episode of “That Show”: I learned some things, too.

***If you have a little time, I invite you to help me chronicle the tips within this 22-minute segment. What did you learn or enjoy? Leave a comment!*** I’ll start with:

Use soda water to clean stainless steel. Put some club soda on a sponge or rag and wipe it over your stainless steel countertop or sink to remove spots. Thank you, Brini Maxwell, Sally Pepper Adams, Joan Rivers, and June Havoc <3 .

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