Retro Renovation

Richard and Sali ask:
We have a yellow Borg bathroom scale with a somewhat rounded triangle chrome face at top with a fairly thick glass lens to read weight. Inside the dial it reads, “The Borg-Erickson Chicago U.S.A.” On the back it reads “Made in the United States of America.” What year was this scale made? [...]

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Hi Pam, Since discovering RetroRenovation.com it has become a “must go to site” each morning! Thanks for all the information and enthusiasm you provide.
I am about to update some aspects of my 1960s bathroom and two of your posts this week caught my eye - I never thought much about my shower base and was [...]

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My dad lives in an apartment building in Brooklyn that opened on April 1, 1951. I assume the bathroom is original. The bathroom floor tile is a (true) gray and white in a simple checkerboard pattern. The wall tile is a funky purplish-gray field with a black bullnose border. It doesn’t [...]

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Happy 4th, everyone. Here in the beautiful Berkshires, James Taylor’s 4th of July concert at Tanglewood is the must-see event each and every year. JT lives right here in Lenox, and his Sweet Baby James, with its Stockbridge-to-Boston, is literally our national anthem. The crowd goes wild - me included. I have to say, I [...]

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Olivia has got a groove going on over at RetroRichmond.com, keeping up with MCM in her fair city. She posted these super cool bowling alley lights - via craigslist - the other day. Thanks, Olivia, for spotting them - and I’ve put you on the blogroll.

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Oooooh, look. A circa-1962 retractable Moe ceiling fixture, just like the one in Greg’s house, but in blue rather than orange.

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I am very very skeptical of environmental “solutions” that start to get trumpeted - when there is yet a lot of research to do. Case in point: Ethanol. And guys, don’t get me started on electric cars. “Total carbon footprint’ — and ‘embodied energy‘ — are key.
Another case in point: Bamboo floors. [...]

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I went looking for Pete Seeger singing Little Boxes, and discovered Malvina Reynolds. Apparently she wrote the song…and while I don’t agree with its message — I LOVE OUR LITTLE BOXES! — I have to say, I LOVE MALVINA! And I love her singing this other counterculture song. Have a happy and productive Saturday, everyone, [...]

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Stangl dinnerware. What memories. The first thing that my husband and I ever collected. The start of it all. I don’t collect the birds, too much. I think that is about to change as I am considering options for a mid-life crisis. Who needs a 2005 Mazda Miata and an eyelid tuck - when there [...]

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Dear Pam,
I really enjoy looking through your website. My husband and I are remodeling our 1915 story and a half. The kitchen had a (1950’s) metal Sears sink cabinet with one sink bowl and drainboard top, with 4 drawers and double doors beneath- and a separate, but matching, one-drawer, two-door base cabinet. [...]

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