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Remodel & decorate in Mid Century Style

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Home / What to Collect

Entries closed on this month’s “Love the House You’re In” collage

pam kueber - Updated: May 6, 2021

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

Update: A winner has been chosen and emailed. Thanks for everyone’s entries — SO FUN to read about our pets. Astro says, “Woof!” He approves.  ENTRIES NOW CLOSED. Stay tuned for July’s contest. Hmmmm. What shall I ask this month? Original post: Robin was last month’s winner of a “Love The House You’re In” custom collage made by our collage artist laureate Mel Kolstad. That’s Robin’s house… and her dog, woof!… all interpreted by Mel — she cut out each little brick by hand! Now, it’s time to find a winner  for June. If you would like to enter to win a custom collage featuring your house and photos, read on….

To enter, complete these two steps:

  1. A bunch of our collage winners choose to include their pet. Hmmmm… So this month, step #1 to enter is to leave a comment on this post telling us about your pet. If you don’t have a pet right now… then, tell us about a hobby that gets your nurturing TLC.
  2. And, subscribe to my newsletter. Yes, this helps me build my newsletter list… I send ’em out just once a week, usually.

Please read all the rules here before entering. I’ll pick a reader next Friday morning.

Meanwhile — thanks again to Mel for a fabulous collage! You can find Mel’s collage works on flickr and her blog, Much Ado About Stuff. Thanks, Mel, you know I love your work, and I’m so excited to have this addition to the blog in 2010.

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What to Collect

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  1. LoquaciousLaura says

    June 25, 2010 at 11:08 am

    Susie, it has always been my dream to have a gigantic “ranch” and keep every single kitty I find!

    My partner Lacey and I just bought our first home. Very exciting! It was built in 1954 and has a very midmod + Frank Lloyd Wright feeling, hard to explain. We’re furnishing it in a mix of modern + contemporary plus all kind of weird items from my childhood and grandmother’s old house that I refuse to get rid of (well, I love them!).

    We have four cats and a doggie, Bella, who is a pit/lab mix and is a huge dork, full of love and falling all over herself. Her favorite feature of the new house is a tiny gap in the backyard gate where she can stick out her nose when we’re leaving. 🙂 Three of the kitties were mine before I met Lacey: Potsy, Chicken and Ben. They are brothers I rescued when I was in college, and at the time they fit in my hand! I bottle-nursed them and they still think they’re my human babies. Our fourth cat, Joey, is a handful. When we saw her at the rescue fair, she tried to leap into a fenced-in area full of dogs, and I should have known then that she was way too much to handle! She bosses the other cats around despite being about a third of their size and likes to let loose a particularly annoyed yowl when we aren’t paying attention.

    Love your site and love the collages!!

  2. Susie says

    June 25, 2010 at 10:53 am

    Boy, I sure would love to have a collage of our house with all my animals! First, there’s Roxy. She’s a Flame Point Himalayan, and she is very bitter and annoyed by all of the animals that have come after her. She thinks she is way better than them. Next came Sophie. She’s a rescue kitten, an extremely adorable and slightly evil looking black and white half Persian. Her original mommy went to have routine surgery and didn’t make it, leaving behind a house full of cats apparently. Sophie was one of them, and she is so greatful to have a new home. Then there’s Henrietta, who showed up on my front porch step one day. She’s a grey Manx cat (no tail). She was pregnant and had 5 little babies. 3 had tails, 2 didn’t. I found homes for four and kept little Henry. They’re inseparable still, and the sweetest kittens in the world. Last year, I finally got my dream puppy…an Old English Sheepdog. Her name is Dottie, and she is absolutely insane. She loves to play, eat shoes, eat paper products, play some more, and chew. She also likes to sleep in the bed. She weighs about 70 pounds and she’s still growing! I really wish I had a farm so I could save every homeless cat and dog I see. Maybe some day…

  3. Sharon Potts says

    June 25, 2010 at 10:33 am

    We have 2 adorable Westies, Toby and Boo. Toby was a traditional adoption and has turned out to be the cutest dog in the world. We got him at 7 months from a family who kept him in a crate for 8 hours a day. They fortunately decided this wasn’t a good life for a pup and sent out the call through Westie Rescue, who called us since we had applied for a puppy. I’m pretty sure he thought he got to heaven when he came to our house – he was a happy boy from the start and gives ups great joy every single day (5 years later!), except when he tries to attack the mail carrier or any delivery person, for that matter. Keep away from my house!
    Our 2nd boy was a true rescue. He came from a puppy mill and was going to be euthnanized because he was scrawny and goofy looking and had a small injury on his head so he couldn’t be sold to a pet store. At 4 months, he weighed only 5 lbs. He peed on the floor as soon as we met him and he was really odd looking but we took him anyway. Once again, our home was puppy heaven. He jumped into Toby’s bed within minutes and fell asleep. He and Toby became best friends immediately and now, 2 years later, whenever they are separated, they are very sad. They aren’t without each other very often. Boo has grown into a fine looking boy and is the lord of the manor, although he doesn’t give a hoot about the mailman. And while I was hoping he would stay little, he’s now a cow like 25 lbs!
    What would be so great about having a collage with them in it is that we also just finished rescuing our 1925 bungalow. It went from a yellow metal covered meh of a house to a jewel on our street. We pulled all the siding off to reveal the original cedar shake shingles underneath, as well as all the original crown moldings and trim on the doors and windows. She is now repaired and painted and is so adorable, I swell with pride every time I pull in my driveway.
    How terrific to put all these rescues into a fabulous collage!

  4. Elizabeth Mary says

    June 25, 2010 at 10:11 am

    Oh boy, I am entering this one. I am never without a pet, and usually quite a few. Right now I have 3 cats and that is the perfect number. So, if I am lucky enough to win a collage I would love to see my cats hanging out in the windows as they do all the time.

    All 3 are shelter babies and are wonderful gorgeous kids. Daisy is the oldest, at 12, and she is a long haired tortie/calico mix — from the top she lookes like a tortie and from the front and bottom like a calico. She has been seen on this blog — in a picture of her looking at a siamese cat in a pink bathroom. She is the most affectionate cat I have ever had and loves to sit on my desk while I am online, especially in the evening. Nice, but a real pain at times when her big furry tail covers the keyboard.

    The other two, brother and sister Tommy and Callie, came are 8. Tommy is a “longish” haired yellow and white “tuxedo” cat and Callie is the prettiest chic-est calico ever. Every morning when I wake up, the three of them are on the bed, or somewhere else in my bedroom, and I look at them as tell them I am the luckiest person in the world to have them, and this wonderful little 1946 Cape Cod ranch house.

  5. Kelly says

    June 25, 2010 at 10:09 am

    What a great idea since the only way I’d ever be able to have a picture of my dogs in front of my house is if they were cut out and superimposed on a collage. They absolutely REFUSE to pose for photos! Even the sound of my camera turning on is enough for them to come running over to me, tails wagging and noses snuffling. We have two rescues. Lulu is a black lab mix with the prettiest face I’ve ever seen on a dog and Bowie is a Catahoula with one blue eye and one eye that is blue on one half and brown on the other. If he were a person he would be Hugh Hefner. I actually think he smokes a pipe when we’re not around. We also have a 16 year old cat named Frankie who wants nothing to do with the nonsense these 2 dogs have brought into our lives!

  6. Susan Uhring says

    June 25, 2010 at 9:25 am

    I love your blog and read it every day. We have a 5 year old chihuahua named Leah. She can stand on her back paws for a very long time, to see out the windows or beg for food. We live in my husband’s childhood home which we are returning to its original design, using lots of second hand furniture and pieces I pick up at estate sales. I would love to have a collage of my house.

    Thanks for everything
    Susan

  7. Kelly says

    June 25, 2010 at 9:21 am

    Fingers crossed on winning one of these collages! : )

    What a fun question! We have two cats. Sobu is our seven year old tortie cat and she’s like the old woman of the house. Sometimes, it seems like she could talk to us but simply doesn’t choose to. Pip is our tuxedo kitten with bright green eyes and very sharp claws – she’s the one to watch. Especially if you’re wearing a skirt or trying to fold fragile fabric. We love them both and this house wouldn’t be the home that it is without them chasing each other through it. : )

  8. Deb says

    June 25, 2010 at 9:08 am

    Ours is a pet-keeping family. Besides our five dogs (two great danes, two border collie crosses, and a pug), we have a semi-evil kitty, three guinea pigs, a dwarf rabbit, two happy parakeets, and an aquarium. To say that these critters keep us busy is a definite understatement, but we love them all. 🙂

  9. Natalie @ Chadwell Chronicles says

    June 25, 2010 at 8:57 am

    We have two dogs. They are the total opposite of one another. Reelee (1.5 years, Aussie/Corgi) and Maeby (5.5 years, Scottie Mix) are their names and it truly describes their personalities. Maeby acts like cat and is only around for food, outside, and some cuddling. Reelee is in your face all the time. You leave a room, he follows you, You aren’t petting him, he sits on the floor and stares at you. They are both wonderful dogs and make me laugh on a daily basis even if the hubby doesn’t particularly care for them.

    • Elizabeth Mary says

      June 25, 2010 at 10:03 am

      Natalie,
      I have had the pleasure of knowing and loving an aussie/corgi mix dog, Sydney, for the last 14 years. He belongs to a former next door neighbor and he is hanging in at 16 years now. He is EXACTLY like you describe Reelee and is a total love. Lucky you to have Reelee.

      • Natalie @ Chadwell Chronicles says

        June 29, 2010 at 11:08 am

        Thanks! He is awesome. Potty training him was the easiest thing ever! When the day comes and he isn’t around, I am going to have to search far and wide for another Aussie/Corgi. Funny thing his dad was the corgi. Ha.

        You can see pictures of him on our blog. =)

  10. Leah says

    June 25, 2010 at 8:01 am

    Oh wow~ It would be so cool to win a collage!
    We just rescued our dog, Betty a few months ago. She is in love with my sons and the feeling is mutual. Our 3 year old Joshua tells everyone he meets that he is going to marry Betty, because “she’s his life and he loves her sooo much.”

    She was very defensive when it came to other dogs ( the result of a life as a stray), but is starting to feel safer & is being less aggressive when we introduce her to other pups. She’s part shepherd, and it’s fun to watch her try to ‘herd’ our 3 sons up in the backyard. I know exactly how she feels at that moment.

    We’re so happy we took the plunge & brought her into our family, I just can’t imagine life without Betty 🙂

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