Blog Resources For My Future Home

The Wits

Yellow Brick Home

Restorative chair makeover for my similar mid-century teak chairs

Making a Farmhouse table here

Door Sixteen

Plywood plank floor for temporary use. In lieu of installing expensive hardwoods before you have the money, why not try installing plywood like Door Sixteen did here.

The Wits

Gorgeous furniture inspiration (see above) through their store

The Brick House

Refinishing Vintage Wood: Instructions from the Brick House for bringing used real wood furniture back to life like my dresser/desk, rocking chair, and mid-century chairs.

Easy Way To Check For Lead Paint: Using the 3M products Lead Check Swabs, an instant lead test.

Ana White (Easy DIY furniture tutorials and plans)

Home DIY project catalog

FYI: This doesn't mean I'll be posting any more frequently than I have been but I wanted to share these resources.

Modern Decorative Arts

The Studio Magazine began publishing in England in 1893. It was a fine arts and decorative arts magazine illustrating the Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts movements in home furnishings. The one I checked out of the library was the 1954 issue but they also had the 1909 edition which can be viewed in its entirety (168 pages) through Google Books here. After 1906, they started to publish an annual compilation called The Studio Year-Book of Decorative Art. This was dedicated to the latest trends in interior design, furniture, lighting, glassware, textiles, and ceramics. In the 1960s, it was renamed Decorative Art in Modern Interiors. These annuals ceased publishing in 1980. I would love to get my hands on the volumes from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s.

 

I just found the original magazines online here at the Internet Archives. How come no one told me about the Internet Archive. What an incredible source of free publications!

Another reason to visit London...

To see the Geffrye Museum!

"The Geffrye Museum's collections comprise furnishings, pictures and ornaments reflecting the history of the English home over the past 400 years. Our focus is on the living rooms of the urban middle classes, mainly in London, and our collection of objects is unique in being typical of those used in the parlours and dining rooms of people from the middle ranks of English society. These include lawyers, doctors, teachers and people in all forms of media and business, from retailing to banking. The choices they make, both in the past and now, in their own homes reflect their values and aspirations and are a key part of our national identity."


1640 London merchant's house

1960's London townhouse

Too cool, right?! And they have 11 period rooms of furniture, like this one from 1965:



Also check out their Life in the living room 1600-2000 exhibition online here.

My 2nd Favorite Piece of Furniture

You've already heard about the first, my $25 gift from my father. Well, here's a free bureau/dresser/desk I received from my older sister years ago, who got it at a yard sale.

Top and Bottom curved details that I love about it

It's in the same bad condition it was when I received it except now it has three vertical streaks down its front. Unfortunately, when I moved from Northern VA to Richmond, the drawers were taped so that the drawers would not fall out. The marks are what appeared when the tape (clear packing tape when it should have been masking tape) was removed. Therefore, even though I was tired of the beaten and graffiti-covered look before, I feel I really need to do something about it now.


 


Above is the secretary desk part of it with drop-down table. The desk caddy is on metal rollers and can be removed. When I had less closet space I used that area to stack my sweaters. Now it holds resume materials, printer paper, blank envelopes, my old cameras, jewelry, and some makeup.

I truly love this piece and I guess the main reason I haven't done anything to it is because I'm scared of ruining it. I know if you paint something you can always repaint it, but I have yet to do that with any other furniture I've painted. So I guess I feel I only have one shot at it. I'm thinking a dark blue-green to mix it in with my other bedroom stuff. However, before I tackle this piece I still have to finish the armoire in the living room which more people will see.

By the way, I would love to have a matching bedside table for this, so if anyone knows of one, let me know!

A Year Late

Last weekend I was watching a Mad Men episode (Season 2, Episode #8, "A Night to Remember") on DVD for the first time. I'm watching the second scene; which takes place in Peggy's sister's house, and I notice that Peggy is sitting down in a platform rocking chair. One that is very similar to my own beloved chair!

See? I can hardly believe it.

Mad Men

Mine

I consider mine the more streamlined version because hers has those curvy arms and mine are more modern and angular.

Now, I wish I had seen this episode last year when it first aired. It then wouldn't be so strange if I tried to pick the prop master or set decorator's brain about what they know about these particular chairs. However, a year later, I am still going to try. So, Amy Wells, you should expect an email from me!

By the way, if anyone can get me a clearer* screen capture of this chair, I would be very grateful!

* Yes, I DID set my camera up on a tripod in front of the TV to get this shot. I then had to queue up the DVD four separate times to take pictures of that chair. I'm so sad when it comes to technology...and so obsessive when it comes to my platform rocker.

I Could Work Here...

yeah in my dreams. Somehow I always seem to need a surplus of desk space so I can stack "junk" all over my desktop. It's the way I roll.

However, someone else, especially someone with a laptop (I still possess a huge desktop monitor, not even a flat screen!) could really love this desk.

I just saw this cute setup, the Trovato Office-in-a-Box, on the New York Times website and saw that it was available at OfficeMax of all places for only $150. Compared to similar setups available (without the stool/storage cube) like the Jay desk & hutch available at West Elm for $330, this is a true bargain.

I Found One in Fredericksburg!

Yes, I found another chair similar to my beloved rocking chair and this time I got to see it in person! I was amazed how happy it made me to see that the mechanism was almost identical, except for the fact that with this one you had a choice with how far you could recline by replacing that brass bar. I wonder if that is the original bar (there are no other brass accents) or if it is a substitute? However, the tag for this chair said it was a Morris; a name I've heard before in my research and, therefore, why I think this is much older than mine. Unfortunately, no date was attributed to it.

Oh and also, this one was going for $275 and I got my mine for a sweet, sweet $25.

Piet Hein Eek, I love you...

Reclaimed flooring

How can you not love these floors? From Piet Hein Eek's Demolition Wood collection, this floor is a patchwork of tree woods, different finishes, and a tapestry of textures and colors.

After going to the website for Piet Hein Eek, I found that they use this technique on a few of their furniture pieces and...again, I love what they do.

Bed

Cabinet

Cabinets

Though I have to admit I think combining multiple pieces of this in one room is a really big mistake.





Images: Piet Hein Eek

Squint!

From my 2Modern Design Talk post:

The Selkirk chair

Squint furniture company founder Lisa Whatmough is a former artist. Her mix of period furniture like Victorian chaise lounges and comfy stuffed sofas and chairs with contemporary and vintage fabrics is eye-opening and has a cozy feeling. She started out making these as custom pieces, but now they are available made-to-order. Interestingly, "Each design is priced individually depending on the final mix of fabrics used." Therefore, they are made-to-order with a custom pricing structure.


The Simpson - front & back


The Chicago - front & back

Squint is available internationally through Squint, Liberty , Designers Guild, Lane Crawford, J Roaman , Barneys New York, and AADesign Museum in Seoul.


The Canterbury, Highgate, and Victorian Chaise styles.

Your Home and Garden via NZ

The image above is from this story in Your Home and Garden magazine out of New Zealand. I followed a link from blogger Fancy Schmancy about a really cool ottoman/footstool project and found what may be the coolest home magazine I've seen in a while.

Check out their great DIY project archive here to find the instructions for the funky footstool that started it all.

Also check out this great Retro Homes slideshow that they have. That pic above is a clip from it and do you see the rocking chair in that pic? Look familiar? I MUST know more about it!

Let's take a look at the softer side...

of Sears.



I was searching retailers for examples of something to show another blogger when I ran into this picture of a dining set from the Ty Pennington collection at Sears. Not bad.

This Costa del Mar dining table is now on sale for $180 (from $340) and is very similar to other industrial looking tables talked about recently on Apartment Therapy.

I was also impressed in the lamp department. Though most of their lamps were not my personal style, they definitely had style. The look was in the vein of Restoration Hardware but without those high price tags. Classy, sophisticated, and looked far more expensive than they actually were.

By the way, when I was looking at the site I noticed an ad that would take you to the Martha Stewart Everyday collection at Kmart. Did Sears buy Kmart or are they in a partnership? Please don't tell me this is something that happened a long time ago and I just didn't know about it.

Sofa Showdown: Round Two

Sure these sofas are not exactly bargains, but they are more affordable than the offerings I have seen recently in some home magazines. I can't remember what magazine, but recently I saw someone suggest both a $7,000 and a $9,000 sofa. My car cost only $10,500! Of course, that was ten years ago, but still. I feel good about that purchase but how would I feel if I had bought a sofa for nine grand ten years ago and now I want a different one? I think the cheapest sofa they had pictured was $2,500.

So I feel fine about posting these very beautiful sofas from lesser known manufacturers. Most of the sofas below are offered in both full-length and love seat size.

The sofa on the left is from Dania Furniture. I may have featured it before, but it is worth a second look. Though the Paramount is pricey at $1,395 it is still quite a bit cheaper than Design Within Reach's same-size, near look-alike Bantam for $1,950.

These next four are from Rowe Furniture's Cosmopolitan line and their MiniMod small-scale sofa collection.

Gayton

Martin

Greer

Caren

Hudson

Sofa Showdown: Round One

SHELTER Sets: "You're gonna make it after all..."

When I think young independent career woman on her own I think - Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. When I think of a "career-gal" apartment, I think of Mary's attic apartment in the 1892 Victorian at 119 N Weatherly Ave. in Minneapolis.*

What did I like about her place?

The open space, the big windows, and the pass-through kitchen. I have always wanted one of those. I imagined that when I had a party, I could keep in on the action by listening through the opening and yelling cute contributions to the conversations in the other room. However, I never really had one of those apartments, in fact, I have never even been shown one of those for rent.

My current apartment is the closest; I have an extended breakfast bar separating the living room from the kitchen. However, sometimes too much of my kitchen is visible, so I will be installing a curtain drape to pull over when the mess threatens to take over the rest of the apartment. But I did have something in common with Mary. Even though I never had her pass-through, I sure had plenty of Mary's "bad" parties.

Layout of apt D, 119 North Weatherly Avenue (click to see larger)

I found an incredible article at The Mary & Rhoda Magazine that details the design and contents of Mary's apartment and even helps you source the items that were used in its decor. Now I don't know that many people today who would want to live in the apartment as it looked then. However, if you are interested in set design and how you can show aspects of a character's personality through their living environment, it's a fascinating read. Think about it, would Monica Geller have been the same without her lavender painted apartment and mis-matched kitchen chairs?

Interesting facts about Mary's first apartment:

• The apartment had to look like the rent was only $130 per month in 1970.
• A real attic apartment would NOT have a sunken living room. However, it gave them two levels to the set, which would make it possible for all the actors to be seen during group scenes like Mary's infamous parties.
• When Mary did move to a better apartment, a lot of her furniture and things moved with her. Some were re-upholstered or refinished, just like someone would do in real life.
• The kitchenette that I loved so much had a stained glass panel that could be raised up and down to hide the kitchen if needed.

Some of the items used to give Mary the impression of being a young, educated, career woman with traditional values:

• French Provincial furniture as investments: dining chairs, armoire, lingerie chest, etc.
• Brown velvet sleeper sofa
• Fine art posters:

Ben Shahn's January 18th to February 12th

Toulouse-Lautrec's Jane Avril, 1893

• Franklin stove
• Chemex hourglass-shaped coffee maker
• White Samsonite luggage with gold detailing
• Blue rotary dial phone

And her one modern touch, a futuristic Laurel lamp.



*The real location of the house was 2104 Kenwood Parkway, where the house is currently worth over three million dollars.

Apartment blueprint from here uncredited, though I think it's the work of artist Mark Bennett.

The Mary & Rhoda Magazine
The Mary Tyler Moore Show Online!

Pick a color, any color!

For the last week, I've had a few green swatches on Flickr.



From left to right:
Pepper Green (Behr), Meadow Twilight (Valspar), Chopped Chive (Valspar), New Green (Behr)

I've been polling to see which green I should pick for the armoire. This is the last piece of furniture I need to paint in the living room. YAY!!!!

I tried three different photos and originally put up these two up without the paint color names to see if people still chose the original favorite shade, Chopped Chive by Valspar. Even though they were only going off of numbers, it was still a near unanimous vote.



From left to right:
Row 1 Meadow Twilight (Valspar), Pepper Green (Behr), Chopped Chive (Valspar)
Row 2 Putting Green (Valspar), New Green (Behr), Leprechaun (Valspar)

So, let me know what you think, ok?

Thanks.

The Inkling for the Table

I am so happy that I finally finished painting that blue dining/sewing table. That project had been on my list for over a year. I kept putting it off because it would put a delay in my sewing. You know, like I didn't have my own procrastination-fueled delays. Well, it's done.

Here is the inspiration for this project.

1) This color scheme has been on my mind ever since I saw this picture on Yvestown's website:

2) Until I saw this picture on Apartment Therapy:SF as part of Emily and Damon's House Tour, I didn't know exactly where I was going to use that color scheme.

A nice simple utilitarian table in baby blue. Yum!

Then today I noticed all the other blue painted table inspiration that was in my archives. I guess I REALLY like the idea of a blue table.

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