Retro Renovation» 60s

Restored antique lighting from Rejuvenation

pam kueber — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:00:57 +0000

When Rejuvenation hosted a facility tour for Jane (above) and me in March, we got a first-hand view of the gazillions of vintage lighting fixtures that they had in stock at their warehouse. They use this stock for reference when considering new reproduction designs… They are all just light-lovers and pack-rats like the rest of us, so can’t resist buying them… And, they actually restore them for sale locally and on their website. I really like their online catalog of restored antique lighting because it shows a good selection of the true diversity of lighting that was available in the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. So much of the interior design media today only focuses on the iconic (so far) mid-century *modern* lighting, that it’s easy to forget there were many other really beautiful styles out there, too.

When Jane and I toured, there 10 or more of these beauties on hand — seemingly ready for the set designer at Mad Men to snap them right up for Sterling & Draper’s offices.

For those of you who live in Portland, there’s a big selection of antique lighting for sale in their main store, and if you have particular needs, I bet they will let you see the stock in warehouse.

Tim Wetzel, who works in product design, and Bo Sullivan, historian, took Jane and me on the tour. That's all vintage stock behind them, and then there are rows and rows more to the left beyond.

The rest of us can keep an eye on the website, where they post a selection of restored lights for sale. Here are some of my favorites right now — encompassing the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s:

This circa-1940 chandelier has a wonderful, all-American sweetness to it. I like that Rejuvenation always seems to give some good historical detail: “The streamlined “slip-shade” or “cup-shade” type of fixtures became popular after 1935. This classic example features subtle Colonial Revival decorative details that help it fit comfortably in both traditional and modern interior settings.”

They have two of these unusual gold-finish pendants. The housing is 18″ tall, so the pair has the potential to make quite a decorative statement.

This circa-1945 pendant is very pretty and glamorous.

A very pretty colonial revival hall lamp — available as a pair.

A circa-1935 “tiny lantern” for the hall. I could definitely be happy in a sweet, pre-war colonial revival home.

1955 Scandinavian Modern ceiling fixture — to me, this is bridge between streamline and moderne.

This one was in the warehouse, it’s not on their website. I’m calling it 60s mediterranean, but now looking at it, it could be way earlier — a historic romantic revival. It’s so amazing how the period revivals just keep getting reinterpreted — and that means even today, don’t kid yourself.

Tha tha tha that’s all, folks. A 1935 exit sign – the EXIT printed on both sides. Now couldn’t you have some fun with this?

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1960s time capsule house on DeluxeVille

pam kueber — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:00:13 +0000

MARY DELUXE of Welcome to DeluxeVille get the weekend super retro recon award for the photos of the wonderful time capsule open house. Dig this deep pink — salmon? coral? — bathroom with its original folding tub enclosure shower door and octagon-and-dot floor tile. And, oh my, yes, we LOVE the metallic wallpaper. Repeat after me: Yes, we do! Click over to Mary’s blog, and you’ll see that the vintage wallpaper — very 60s — covers the ceiling, too. And, there’s more on her blog, including another bathroom and vintage steel cabinets that have been stripped down to the metal for a stainless steel finish, something that we have not discussed or seen yet. Thank you, MaryDeluxe, for sharing, and for RetroRoadmap for sending the link to me on Twitter. Oh my, we are so socially networked.

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Mid-century American Standard Gracelynn sink

pam kueber — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:00:55 +0000

YES, I AM OBSESSED with this sink. I have one — in white, although I also love this icy gray — in my garage on hold for my tiny, storage-challenged master bath; I am waiting to see if the retro decorating gods also send me the vanity. Meanwhile, I have finally learned its official name: It’s the Gracelynn Cabinet-Lavatory. The toilet: The lovely Carlyle. You know it is one of my life goals to be able to name every midcentury toilet and sink on sight. This 1960 photo is from flickr friend Java1888, click the image to go straight to his photo stream. Another flickr friend, What Makes the Pie Shops Tick, has a 1965 American-Standard catalog posted where I found the name of this much-coveted sink, and more. Final note, I believe this sink was introduced in ’59.

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