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Posts tagged as:
vintage
MIB NOS bathroom and kitchen items are still out there, readers. Reader Tami made a big score with this 1980 Mercury exhaust fan, which she found for $27 on craigslist. I asked her if she could tell us the whole story and some more about what’s going on in her kitchen: Heck yeah there is more…
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A reader recently wrote to ask, “What color stain would be most appropriate or authentic for a mid-century oak floor?” Drats, I cannot find the email. And, I am not academically sure what the correct answer is. I would guess… a “natural” stain. Heck yeah there is more…
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Vintage Vera — Vera Neumann — is just the best. Etsy had a lovely round up of vintage Vera scarves yesterday, one more delicious than the rest. I recently bough one with little houses on it, to wear to my home show appearances for good luck. Etsy story here. Scarf above from etsy seller smartvintage. Heck yeah there is more…
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OCTAGON FLOOR TILES are great for pre-war homes — 1920s, 1930s, 1940s — and then some colorways came around again in the 1970s. This tile style can work, I think, for either a vintage style bathroom or kitchen floor, and that dot gives you a nice flourish of color to play with. Heck yeah there is more…
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Finishing up my Youngstown Kitchens 1957 mini-series, here is their Monterey line. The unique selling proposition of this line: Sandalwood-colored steel base cabinets and doors…. with wall cabinets with Sandalwood-stained wooden doors on steel bases. Reading through this marketing material I see: Industry concern about color fatigue, oh no! “Give us a color we can live with for years” and “that goes with everything,” consumers asked, Youngstown explained. Again…as we’ve discussed before…the move away from enamel-painted steel, which was difficult to repaint (and likely getting more expensive), to wood cabinetry (which was easier to re-paint and also had the “furniture look” of adjoining spaces”, was under way. Heck yeah there is more…
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Third up in 3-for-Wednesday Reader Shout-Out: Kristin hunts down toothbrushes to fit old-time porcelain toothbrush holders. Heck yeah there is more…
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It’s a small world — I literally bumped into reader Cindy (center) as I headed to shop in Northamptom this weekend. This is really kind of freaky, because that’s a half hour from her house and an hour from my house, and there are 6,497,967 people in the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Cindy had been going to tag sales with friends. She picked up this trio of vintage seagull wall art for $5. I think you’d call them “in the danish modern style” – although it might be more true to say “popular 70s.” I think these are great for patios… I have a brassy seagull wall hanging, also a steal $, above our barbecue in the U-shaped patio at the front of our house. Well done, Cindy. See you at the James Taylor concert at Tanglewood in two weeks!
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A big “thank you” to Elizabeth Mary for hosting me at her house on Friday. She lives just 35 miles away, so I took a little road trip to visit her and see her 1946 house. More to come on the visit soon. Meanwhile, many thanks, Elizabeth, for your kind hospitality. Your house is gorgeous, so full of love. P.S. Yes, I collect vintage greeting cards, too. Basically, there is nothing mid-century I don’t collect, much to Mr. Retro Renovation’s consternation.
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HAPPY SUMMER SUNDAY, everyone. Here’s a little reminder to take a moment today and celebrate the teeny tiniest little details in your home. These vintage plastic bellflower curtain pulls must have been pulled up and down a million times since they were first installed. You can see how the oils on the Mrs.’ fingertips have left their mark. I find them amazingly beautiful. Maybe it’s the small stuff that is the most important of all. Thanks to flickr friend fancymefoxy for seeing this detail, and capturing it to share. You can see her entire photostream by clicking directly on the photo.
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