When I originally discussed using knotty pine in kitchens, there were comments expressing concern about the wood’s appropriateness in the relatively humid kitchen environment. When I was at the Southern Spring Home & Garden Show last week, I ran into this company, Union Church Millworks of Covington, Virginia. They had some really gorgeous woods on display including “vintage knotty pine,” so I asked Kim Bennett Powers, the sales and consulting manager on hand, the knotty knotty pine question. Heck yeah there is more →

What are the key elements of 1940s interior design? What colors, designs, patterns and “feel” did we generally see? And why? To my mind, based on the advertising illustrations and magazine articles that I’ve seen from the period, typical designs from the immediate postwar 1940s – say, starting with 1946 – through to about 1953, had this variety of characteristics: innocent, sentimental, sunny, sanitary, patriotic, traditional, Hollywood glamour, and carryover streamline-deco-jazz age from the prewar period. Special thanks to: Bradbury & Bradbury, which made this slide for me. It also showcases one of their 1940s reproduction wallpapers. Heck yeah there is more →

My husband has this saying: “Good… Fast… Cheap…: Pick Any Two.” And for most everything in life, I agree. Now, though, there’s one possible exception: Making scarves and other creations from old wool sweaters.  My workshop yesterday at Crispina ffrench’s Pittsfield studio was wicked fun. And I’m telling you, Crispina’s technique, which is detailed in her new book — The Sweater Chop Shop: Sewing One-of-a-kind Creations from Recycled Sweaters — is amazingly easy — with a big-time payoff. It even fits within the Retro Renovation ethic, because it is based on taking old (err: “vintage”), 100% wool sweaters, washing and drying them in hot/heat so that they shrink and “felt” up… then hand-stitching them together into scarves, blankets, pillows, sweaters, toys, and more. Like: You don’t need to worry about fraying edges with felted wool… cut your pieces, design, stitch & run. It’s EASY and almost impossible to make anything that doesn’t look fabulous.  It was great fun to be able to learn how to make felted wool creations directly from Crispina ffrench… but if you aren’t planning a trip to Pittsfield, Mass., any time soon, I highly recommend her book. Very gratifying. Thank you, Crispina. I have a bundle of holey sweaters agitating right now. Disclosure: Retro Renovation is part of the Amazon Associates program and receives a small commission on any purchase you make from Amazon via any link on this site (a great way to support the blog. Many thanks.)

Troy picked up on my newfound love (obsession?) for bargello needlepoint pillows and is making some for his fabulous Eichler. He writes:

Hey Pam, a very timely bargello post – I’ve spent the last two weeks learning to stitch – perfect for those chilly evenings by the fire when thar ain’t nothin’ on TV. Next in line is a version of that great geometric at the end of your post. Later – Troy Heck yeah there is more →