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.

My Grandma's Attic: Her Dinnerware Collection

Six months ago, my dad and I cataloged my late grandmother’s collection of dishes and cut glass pieces. We were pretty amazed at how much stuff that included, as most of this was never on display. Not surprising, I found that most of them were not my style. I love vintage but my taste is pretty specific and there was a lot here that I did not like. However, for our purposes of what to keep and what to donate, I tried to research the pieces I could identify from markings or specific details. It boggles the mind that my Grandmother had so many different sets of china, all styles, and an amazing large set of cut glass…everything! I’m going to post a few images and descriptions and at the end I’m going to show what made that whole afternoon of opening boxes, setting up groupings, and photographing it all worth it. Oh, so worth it!

Here’s the worst of the bunch, in my opinion the worst design I have ever seen on dinnerware and we are now in possession of a huge set of these:

Yes, your eyes are not lying, green and gold faux Victoriana plates from the Taylor Smith Taylor company. These were produced mid-century and manufactured in the U.S. The platters feature Victorian couples in the center surrounded with a deep forest green band with an intricate overlaid pattern in gold. Research shows this pattern has been known by collectors as Victorian Couple, George and Martha Washington, Quadrille, Romeo and Juliet, or Courting Couple. Each size plate, bowl, or cup shows a different scene. I think because of the green and gold colors that it resembles a holiday collection of some sorts. This. I do not like.

My grandmother has one standout set that is very popular and yet still very desirable. The pattern is popular in its own right and I have even seen it used on cell phone cases. The name is Blue Willow and you probably feel that you’ve seen it before, even if just at a thrift store. Like I said, it was very popular. This design or some kind of close variation was produced by many companies, such as Homer Laughlin (of Fiestaware fame), Spode, Royal Dalton, and Wedgewood. Our set was manufactured by Churchill, a British company and is marked so on the bottom of the pieces. However, when looking at the individual pieces I noticed some variation. Many had the inscribed Churchill mark on the bottom but the stamps would look different and the pieces themselves would have little discrepancies. This was not a one-time purchase, she probably accumulated these over time instead. If sold, it should be in groupings so that each set would have identical pieces.

This Ellesmere Furnival tureen is similarly colored but not related and unfortunately I have not been able to find any information more than the name marked on the base of the piece. Also note in the picture above that the two cups with the Blue Willow pattern have differently shaped handles, another example of their being multiple variations of that pattern in the collection.

  

Here are just a few of the unmarked cut glass pieces varying from butter dishes, compotes, salad dressing cruets to tiered dessert plates and hors d'oeuvre trays (not pictured).

Then there were these, the Whitney #5671 from Imperial China and manufactured in Japan. Again, not my type but I can appreciate its beauty. The white dishes with silver trim are surrounded with a leaf scroll design painted on a light gray band. We have a near complete set of I did a little research, I have much more to do, but I found out on one site that an 8 to 10 place setting, during a good market period, could bring in $700-900 depending on condition. So there is hope for our little venture.

Oh, and the items that made that entire day worth it? Feast your eyes on these!

A Blendo summer cocktail set!

Possibly from the West Virginia Glass Company, this frosted turquoise juice pitcher and eight-piece tumbler set, 2 each of bright aqua, coral, yellow, and sage green with gold rims. The company put out variations of these colorful sets where the saturated solid color at the base gradually fades as it rises into clear glass with a gold band marking the divide. Some were all one color sets, others were multicolor in brights and pastels. Check Etsy or eBay for "Blendo" and you will be amazed. Anyone who has seen my apartment (use the Home tag on this blog to see images) knows that these colors fit right in.  I adore this set. Though I have never 'had people over for summer cocktails', I will at least be prepared if the occasion ever does arrive.

I have a strong feeling that these were a gift to my grandmother because, come on, one look at the stuff above and then look at this...not the same style at all, right? Well, they are no longer packed away, though I would prefer that they were. My father put them through the dishwasher (No!*) and now has them on display in his home even though we agreed that they were mine to keep. I asked him to take care of them but I meant for them to stay protected in their bubble wrap. I hope to claim them in the future and display them when a place I live in is no longer considered a "hazardous place for delicate things to live".

Documenting Our Family China

What would we do without the Internet, right? Now you can look up the meaning or whereabouts, or history of almost* anything.

I once made a promise to myself that the man who would/could track down the soundtrack to a particular Hungarian movie, The Time of the Gypsies by Emir Kusturica, would be the man that would win my heart. (Sappy, yes) Well, I own that soundtrack and it was a simple google search to get it for myself. Figures. (Best song: Ederlezi, named for the Romani Spring Festival**)

Anyway....

That story was to illustrate how almost anything can be found nowadays. During a trip to see my Dad last year, he tried to hand off the family china and flatware sets to me. My sisters had already refused and had their own already. I have no use for them but I did want to know more about them. The majority of this post is more for my family than anyone else (others, see story and music links above)

 

First set: white with green flowers and scrolls by Sango. 

Information inscribed on bottom of all pieces:

Sango, Japan, Debutante, 3699

  

Second set: White with pink roses and gray leaves by Royal Doulton. 

Information inscribed on bottom of pieces:

Royal Doulton, English translucent China, Pillar Rose, T.C. 1011, copyright, Doulton + Co. Limited.

Yes, Royal Doulton, but no handpainted periwinkles. Darn.

Glassware: A large set of forest green cocktail glasses that graduate in translucency from their thick solid green bases to thinner, more delicate, and almost clear glass at the top. Purely cylindrical, no stems, indentations or lips. In highball and lowball sizes. No markings or engravings whatsoever on these. Gorgeous, though.

Silverware: There were no distinctive marks or engravings anywhere on the silverware or its padded box to give me even a tiny clue to go on. One thing is known though, my father must of picked it out. The style is very dramatic incorporating the silver with angular gold and wood (mahogany or teak?) handles. Very modern for the time, mid-sixties and would look more at place now. However, they would obviously not work with either of the demure and proper dish sets above!

By searching mid-century stores on Etsy for something else I came across them and was able to track down some information. They are Japanese, mid-century, and the pattern or company (not sure which) name is called ELDAN. They seem to have been popular because many stores had small groups of pieces for sale. However, we almost have a complete set with storage box, including cocktail forks and the serving utensils pictured above (2nd pic).

*Of course, it is always our own responsibility to do our due diligence and not just take one source as an authority, but look to responsible sources of information.
** Link to an awesome Ederlezi dance mix version here.

Adorable House Tour, Somewhere Else

Go check this place out Pam's Southern Charm on the PieWacket blog! I love it and it only has a little bit to do with the fact that I grew up with a set of Danish furniture (sofa and two chairs) that almost match hers but more like the ones below (they're just a little more angular.)

  Just like these!

Unfortunately, my sofa succumbed to termites when I left it with my roommates over the summer. Who knows where it is now? I still have the chairs though and my dad is storing them until I have room for them. Oh, and about PieWacket, well, you should be reading it anyway. The photography is A-Mazing! Definitely look at her archives and especially view her Lost & Found tag. Believe me, you'll love it.

SHELTER Sets: Somewhere Pink To Land

With season 6 updates!

The last ever season of Mad Men has aired. While looking at all the retrospective articles, episode recaps, and fashion commentary, I also looked at the interiors of the Mad Men sets. With Joan Holloway-Harris' departure from McCann Erickson, a lot more of her scenes were staged in her little pink apartment. Even though most of the articles mentioned above spoke about how the characters had or had not changed in the last 10 years, one thing that did not change was her home. When I first put together this post, Joan was still a newlywed. Now, despite all her life changes in the past ten years and the fact that now her little boy and mother share the space, it miraculously looks the same. Check out some new pics and updated commentary (in blue) below.

Well, come on in! Welcome to the apartment home of Greg and Joan Harris (nee Holloway), wonderfully sourced and styled by the talented set decorator Amy Wells, production designer Dan Bishop* and their design teams at Mad Men.

It is definitely girly, all done up in coral pink and seafoam green. Or in other words, shades of red and green. You do remember that the former Joan Holloway got married during the Christmas season, right?

Add in some cream, turquoise, gold accents, robin's egg blue in the kitchen, lavender or lilac in the bedroom, and you have Joan's complete interior color scheme for her amazing pink apartment.

So, let's start with that sumptuous floor pillow Joanie is lounging on above. This would be easy to replicate with some damask fabric and the same kind of trim which can still be found at any fabric store, some 30 decades later. How about a mix and match of the two below from Wrights trims?


Wrights trims

In this view, we can see the green graphic patterned drapes alongside shorter cream or eggshell colored sheers; a gilded oval mirror, candle sconces, and her cream painted dining set with cane back chairs. Notice that her walls are in a deep coral (or salmon) and that the trim is that color that landlords still stick you with today, Antique White/Apartment Beige (or as it's called in the U.K, Magnolia). At least she has the wall-to-wall seafoam green carpet to augment her color scheme.

• The painted piece near the dining table stands in for a bar and seems to have a faux shagreen finish on the sides and gold detailing. Anyone know what this piece is called or what the furniture style is?

• Gilded gold round coffee table with inset glass resting on three chunky legs.

General Electric refrigerator for S. 3 and newer one for S.4

• Season 3 had the most adorable refrigerator ever! It took quite a while to source this one! Luckily, it was distinctive because of the vertical handle, separate freezer compartment on the bottom, slightly raised middle section on top and the deep channeled detailing down the center. It looks like it could be either a General Electric Deluxe PB6-40 or just a B6-40. Now whether or not they kept the same designs for years, may mean that this model is as old as the 1940-50s. Perhaps MM noticed that too because Season 4 shows a different, less-cute refrigerator.
  
  

  

  Season 6

• Season 6 shows an even newer refrigerator, in bright blue! What was Joan doing to those things? That seems to be a lot of wear and tear in just ten years.

• Remember those nubby sofas? What was that fabric and why was it so hard to clean?
• Here we see a coral armchair in a different style than the cream damask club chair seen in the earlier picture.
• I love that pale wood TV cabinet on hairpin wire legs and the lovely turquoise bowl/ashtray on top.
• Also do you notice the painted street scene? A very similar one is seen in her new office this season, I wonder if she brought it from home or bought herself a new one?

Season 6

• In season 6, Joan still has the same sofa. It is over ten years old and still covered in the same fabric. I find it hard to believe that with the huge increase in her salary this was never replaced. Every other character on the show has changed homes, some numerous times. However, Joan not only did not move but she had never changed anything in her apartment except a kitchen appliance or two? Puh-lease.
• Those turquoise drapes do not seem to have faded and the carpet has changed from a pale seafoam blue to cream, despite there being a child under ten living there.

Season 6

• Gilded faux bamboo bar cart with turquoise and gold tipped glasses. Of course, this made it to season 6!

• An unique folding buffet tray for appetizers. I used to have a wooden sewing basket that was constructed just like this. Here's one by Karoff that I found online at A La Modern. I'm tempted to believe it's the same one that Mad Men bought. Others can still be found on eBay and Etsy.

Karoff buffet tray

• A better look at the abstract patterned barkcloth curtains at the back of the room next to the plant.
• A closer view of those nubby, uncomfortable sofas? We had two otherwise lovely Danish armchairs recovered in that fabric (almost the same color too) when I was a teen. They originally were in tufted black leather...le sigh.
• Notice Joan's gold-tipped tea service and canape server. You can tell that she studied entertaining from her copy of Emily Post.
• I wish we could see those hanging light fixtures better though.

Red pearl Crucianelli accordion.

• I found many similar looking Italian-made Scandalli models before I could find a picture of a Crucianelli model like Joan's. Isn't it truly gorgeous?

Update: Picture of Joanie's bedroom, just ignore the exhausted diva in her jammies.

Lookee! Here's Joanie's color scheme from a 1952 print ad for DUCO paints from DuPont.

Images: Courtesy of Tom and Lorenzo (Thank you SO much guys!), A La Modern, AMC, Retro Renovation

*Links to two online versions of Etiquette: in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home, 1922.
** He's a VCU alum too!

Frank Lloyd Wright Did Gas Stations?

Did you know that Frank Lloyd Wright designed a service station?

Neither did I until I noticed a headline on a publication we receive at work. It was an issue of the Society of Commercial Archeology Journal (the oldest national organization devoted to the buildings, artifacts, structures, signs, and symbols of the 20th-century commercial landscape.) I had no idea that this organization even existed. I love roadside attractions and signs so I will probably keep checking out their website.

Not only do they cover the architecture of gas stations, motor-lodges, roadside diners and early fast-food restaurants, but there is also a focus on roadside signs, travel postcards, and personal accounts of mid-century automobile travel.

For more information on roadside buildings, signs, and other roadside attractions, please check these other sites:

American Diner Museum
Googie Architecture Online
Lost Highway
Roadside America
Roadside Architecture - where the categories include Paul Bunyans, Giant Foods, and Tiki!

Note: Does anyone know the rules regarding the usage of archeology versus archaeology?

Frozen In Time

I was reading through the blog B.E.L.T., which covers historic buildings in St. Louis, and found out about the strangest thing. A 1950's era home is currently being sold with all it's period furniture and appliances intact. The amazing thing is that the furniture is almost pristine; barely used, because the family did not do their primary living on the first floor but instead lived in the basement rooms below. As written on the website set up by the realtor, Circa Properties, Inc.:

"This ONE-OWNER home was resided only in the lower level during their stay here, so the main level has been frozen in time and perfectly preserved. The vintage Magic Chef gas oven had a head-count of 28 turkeys cooked in it for 28 Thanksgivings — that's IT."

I understand the practice wasn't that strange back then. I suppose it may have had something to do with the advertised image of the perfect housewife that you see in ads from that period. The June Cleaver-like housewife, in a nice dress, heels, pearls, and lipstick standing in the middle of her perfectly spotless house with a bright smile on her lips. The public rooms of the house; if the real living was done elsewhere, would always be clean and ready for company. You know, one step further than using plastic furniture covers.

In the ad for this house it's mentioned that the basement living space included a kitchenette and that is why range was only used for the big holiday meals; because it could accommodate and cook the turkeys on Thanksgiving.

Check out the fabulous slideshow showcasing the house and its furnishings:

Highlights:

• the telephone nook in the hall
• the half-circle shelves flanking the window over the sink
• the vibrant pink tile in the upstairs bath (no wishy-washy pale pink here!)
• that big four-legged TV cabinet
• the white double door Magic Chef stove (!)

I would love to hear the story of the person who purchases this home. Will they just buy the house to live in and then sell the furniture or were they equally interested in the whole package?

Lustron Homes

Note: Originally published at the 2Modern Design Talk blog.

How would you like never having to paint your house again, inside or out? Well, this would be possible if you built your home out of steel or if you possessed one of the many classic Lustron homes still existing around the US.





Created by Carl Strandlund in 1947 to help alleviate a critical housing shortage, the Lustron home was different. Meant to be durable and maintenance-free homes manufactured as easily as cars on the assembly line and in record time, they were touted as the perfect home. Text taken from their brochure states:

You have your choice of exterior color combinations - all in non-glossy porcelain enameled steel which will never weather or stain, never need repainting, redecorating, or reroofing. The Lustron Home is decay-proof, vermin proof, rustproof, termite-proof. The construction itself acts as protection against lightning. The porcelain enamel, fused to steel at high temperatures, will take a hard blow without chipping or marking, will never fade, crack or peel. And the design and color will be as pleasing to your grandchildren as they are to you today.

Sounds perfect, doesn't it? So how come everyone did not grow up in one of these? Was it because, they only had so much variety and people didn't like being limited to Pink, Tan, Yellow, Aqua, Blue, Green and Gray as house colors? Or perhaps it feel weird landscaping a metal house with growing trees and flowers?

It turns out that politics was actually the cause of Lustron's downfall, but how many of you would have felt comfortable living in one of these? Here are interior shots of storage solutions for the bedroom and living rooms:




Here is a website from a former owner of a Lustron home, who lived in one for over sixteen years and his thoughts on what he missed during that experience.

You can locate other Lustron homes through the Lustron Connection, a great community website devoted to these dwellings and Lustron Preservation, which has a location database.


Here are a few more great links on Lustron homes:
A series of articles on the homes from the Old House Web.
The complete text from an official Lustron home brochure.