Retro Renovation » vintage

Vintage hair style how-to from Super Kawaii Mama

pam kueber — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:00:25 +0000

Super Kawaii Mama — aka Candice Deville — is a maven of mid-mod fashion in Australia, and she recently prepared this video showing us how to create a simple vintage style hair roll up do. The video is mesmerizing. Not only is Candice’s skin perfect and her Australian accent so alluring, but the video step-by-step actually makes creating this vintage hair style look pretty easy. My hair is long enough. And I think that Missouri Michael’s will be soon, too. You can keep your finger on the pulse of mid-mod Australian fashion at Super Kawaii Mama’s blog here.

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Vintage Swoboda pins

pam kueber — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 10:59:35 +0000

The minute I start feeling like house projects are done, I start to ogle vintage costume jewelry. I just discovered Swoboda pins… they are so joyful and each piece is more precious than the next. This Swoboda bird nest pin is $95 from etsy seller sundayandsunday. Click through for five more beautiful pieces.

$74 from AgedandOpulentJewelry.

$160, from AgedandOpulentJewelry.

$50, from AgedandOpulentJewelry.

$115, from sundayandsunday.

Ginormous sash pin, $395 from sundayandsunday.

Vintage Vera Neumann scarves on etsy Vintage Vera — Vera Neumann — is just the best....
Gorgeous mid-century sectional sofa + special offer to readers Reader Lara spotted this amazing green brocade mid-century sectional, available from...
Happy Mother’s Day, Mama Bird HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to my wonderful mother Fran. These days...

California Kathy’s vintage shelf edging

pam kueber — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:00:41 +0000

After the post on where to find shelf edging, California Kathy wrote to show some in action. This is wonderful stuff for open shelves, glass cupboards, and as Kathy shows — for showing off collections of vintage bowls and dinnerware:

Hi Pam, California Kathy here. Just wanted to show you the upper portion of my kitchen china hutch with its shelf edging. I scored it on eBay a while ago and couldn’t be happier with how it looks! We’ve been doing a few things to our 1949 Calinfornia ranch kitchen and I’ll send you some pics as soon as we finish up a couple more easy things. Course the “easy” things are the ones that take the longest sometimes! Thanks for all you do! – Kathy

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Stangl wigstand with vintage night cap

pam kueber — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:59:45 +0000

Finding quirky accessories can be the most fun (and never-ending) part of owning an eclectic mid-century modern or mid-century modest home. Here is my vintage Stangl wigstand, purchased 15 years ago, well before I lived the retro life. Isn’t she beautiful? She’s a blond, circa 1950. I think we named her Betty. Well, Betty sits on our built-in bookcase and always has a vintage hat of some sort propped on her head. This one is an amazingly lovely antique crocheted lace night cap (I think) lined with satin — one of my many wonderful finds from the time capsule estate sale last week. Peeking from behind — a vintage Shriner’s hat I bought 10 years ago at a thift store in Canada.

A retro renovators’ Saturday night Graham made this wonderful time-lapse video (turn up the...
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Vintage heating pad

pam kueber — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:59:20 +0000

Here’s a necessary accessory… a naccessory…for the bedroom. Well, you use heating pads in bed, right? “No annoying TV-Radio interference,” you’ll be glad to know. Mint in box, of course, $18, from vintage dame on etsy.

Vintage Vera Neumann scarves on etsy Vintage Vera — Vera Neumann — is just the best....
Four 1960s kitchens valances My goodness, will someone buy these wonderful 1960s kitchen...
Vintage telephone holder-memo pad Isn’t this wonderful? A vintage memo pad that also holds...

Suzy’s favorite salt & pepper shaker

pam kueber — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:59:38 +0000

Suzy is my graphic designer. She helps with things on the blog, like making Hallowe’en headers. This is her favorite salt and pepper shaker. It’s a MIB “Tiny T-V.” I don’t quite understand where the salt, or pepper, comes out. Suzy likes retro stuff and has other wacky habits. I like her a lot.

Christine’s salt-n-pepper pink bathroom It is actually quite amazing to see the diversity...
Hunker down with favorite seed catalogs My friend Margaret is the go-to-goddess of gardening with her...
Anne Taintor products Anne Taintor is one of my inspirations. Long before I...

Vintage Nutone home intercom system MIB

pam kueber — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:59:25 +0000

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming with this special announcement: Hot item — a mint-in-box Nutone home intercom system. Listing ends Sunday night. Click on the green box “View and Bid” to go to the listing to see more photos. Pretty cool.

Nutone recessed exhaust fan/light combination If you are renovating your bathroom and want to add an...
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Nutone doorbells, MIB pink shower curtain, MIB tablecloths & more Lovely mint-in-box Nutone doorbells… a save the pink bathrooms-worthy...

Chalkware fish from Miller Studios on etsy

pam kueber — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:58:38 +0000

Miller Studios seems to have been the big maker of chalkware fish back in the day. I also spotted another manufacturer, Freeman McFarlin. There is a very healthy trade in chalkware fish — they so speak to the period. They can be picked up very inexpensively, but of course there are rare and expensive sets as well. Above: Gotta love this pair Miller Studios chalkware fishes from frenzyfinds on etsy.com.

Pink Miller Studio chalkware fish with bubbles from nenerzlife on etsy.

Multicolored Miller fishes from the cherrychic on etsy.

Aqua and white chalkware fish and shells from ACollectibleCachet on etsy.

Miller Studios chalkware fish on ebay Of course, chalkware fishes — and mermaids and starfishes —...
Mint-in-Box Miller Studios chalkware & more A little of this and a little of that...
Pink bathroom accessories on etsy Jump onto my etsy.com favorites page and see the...

Mid-century galvanized metal patio set

pam kueber — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:01:20 +0000

I live in a dinky New England village, so we often go over to Northhampton, a fun college town, to shop for the day. My super favorite store there is Retro Genie. Jean’s focus is vintage clothes, but she also has bits of furniture and kitchen stuff, too. I loved this vintage metal patio set, with the mill finish (like a 50s screen door) and original umbrella. I’ve never seen one like it. Jean says it all folds up, the table, too, and that’s certainly a plus when you have to find a place for everything in the garage for the winter. P.S. See those three pairs of vintage canvas shoes – black, red, navy? I now proudly own them. I am such a sucker for MIB. Do not ever believe a single word that I write about “restraint.” Except, I guess I didn’t buy the patio set. I am so proud of myself.

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MIB 1963 Welbilt stove at the Re-Store in Alexandria, Va.

pam kueber — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:01:38 +0000

Tina spotted a vintage Welbilt stove – mint in its original packaging, $100 – at her local Re-Store / Habitat for Humanity over the weekend. Anyone want to go for it – if it’s still there?

Tina writes:

Hi!

We were strolling through our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore today in Alexandria, Va, and the clerk there saw we were focusing on retro items and showed us an amazing brand-new, never used, 1963 Welbilt gas stove, The back section, with the clock and an amazing glass zig-zag design, was still in its original box. The newspaper that was wrapping up the shelves and items inside was dated November 1963. If we had gas in our home, we would have bought it in a flash.

Here’s my question… where would be the best place to publicize the availability of this item to folks who are looking to retrofit their mid century homes? The price tag said $200 but he told us they’d likely take $100 if someone offered. I took some pictures with my iPhone, but they certainly don’t do it justice.

I’d love to match up a buyer with this amazing piece. Can you help? Thanks! I’d love it if you featured it.

Thanks!

Tina

Ooooh, the stove is a “Tiara” or “Hostess” series. Readers, please note that the one thing I learned the hard way about buying vintage stoves is that in some states you cannot legally connect gas stoves unless they have an automatic safety pilot. So check this out with a professional before throwing down your dollars and carting the hulk home. And, if you’re thinking of doing any restoration yourself on any kind of stove, also consult a pro – as old appliances may have asbestos in their insulation, lead in their paint, etc.

I also asked Tina to tell me her retro renovation story. She responded:

We’re not really doing a retro renovation. We live in a traditional 1980s colonial in Fairfax, Va., and have tried to un-colonial it as much as we can. I have a huge collection of 1950s lamps (some might call it an obsession) that are sprinkled throughout the house (sprinkled? more like layered), and have created at least one retro room. I’ll send pics when I’m finished. I just want folks to walk in and see right away that it’s not the typical Virginia colonial, but not get too wild. Make sense?

I love your site, by the way, and have used it for decorating ideas. We do want to transform our powder room into a 1950s bathroom, which is why we were looking for toilets and sinks at the ReStore. We want to find a great set of yellow, green, pink or blue porcelain.

Thanks again!

Tina

Tina, I am quite sure that the retro decorating gods will send you something lovely indeed. Be sure to watch the Forum — Scathing Jane scans craigslist daily then posts the best stuff. And not just vintage steel cabinets but other Kitchen and Bathroom Stuff. In fact, Jane has quite the eagle eye when it comes to the most wonderful, magical, desirable bathroom fixtures — vintage Crane for example. I’ve seen lots in your area, I think… Watch for her smilie faces. Jane, you rock! And so do you, Tina, for this great retro recon!

Here’s the link to the Alexandria Re-Store. Note, though, that the stove is not on their website.

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