Retro beauties

Posted on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 by midcenturyjo


This week’s retro overload comes from Family Circle Home Decorating Guide. Hundreds of Great Ideas to Beautify Your Home, New York Times Company, 1973. Oh the patterns! Oh the colours! Oh the bizarre blow up seal in the last photo! Oh my poor sore head! Is that a suzani from the 70’s? I guess everything old is new again.

Finished!

Posted on Sun, 10 Feb 2008 by midcenturyjo


At last that #*%*# credenza is finished. So much work for a $39 thrift store find! I can’t complain though because we needed the rain. Here it is with my tarted up lamp. (Just wish I had remembered to turn the seam away from camera.) The chair is a Grant Featherston R152 from the 50s. The artwork is a mixed media I made from vintage Penguin paperbacks. Papua New Guinea spirit house pole and stool, West German floor vase, vintage Portuguese copper coffee set and one of a pair of Murano glass vases round out the group. Except for the New Guinea pieces and rug everything is from a thrift/secondhand store or made by me. (I’m trying to furnish my apartment on thrift or handmade.) OK that’s one piece I can tick off my “to-do” list. What’s next?

Watching paint dry

Posted on Sat, 9 Feb 2008 by midcenturyjo


It isn’t raining! Hooray! I have a chance to finish my credenza. What do you do though while waiting for paint to dry? Lampshade! I bought this fabric from Metremade back in August for another lampshade. It sat all this time in my linen cupboard confronting me everytime I opened the door. Today I measured cut sewed ironed glued and pegged until I had this “new” lampshade for my vintage Italian pottery lamp base (secondhand shop find). I must admit the old one was looking rather ratty. If my credenza is dry by Sunday (and I can drag it into the dining room) I’ll take a picture of my tarted up lamp on my tarted up credenza.

WINKS

Posted on Sat, 9 Feb 2008 by midcenturyjo

WINKS – weekend links. Here we list what has come in during the week, things we’ve found and things we think you’ll want to see. If you’d like to see your blog or website featured email us and if we think it fits with our readers we’ll link you. So what’s in this week?

  • To celebrate the launch of his first ever decorating book due out this fall Thom Filicia, celebrity interior designer, star of Bravo’s Queer Eye For The Straight Guy and Style Network’s Dress My Nest is scouring America in order to find his next family room makeover muse. To find this lucky makeover candidate he is sponsoring his own online contest. The winner most deserving of a family room style intervention will receive not only a free entire floor-to-ceiling overhaul by Thom, but may also be featured in the new book. To find out more go here. Not fair! I don’t live in America! Get those entries in before March 4, 2008.
  • Mark Cutler designer and blogger extraordinaire sent some images of his latest venture. I’ll let him explain. “They are a series of Tables that I have designed called “Tableaux Cloths”. I designed them to fill a need I had for a low cost, yet stylish solution for a covered table. They come in a number of different sizes. The Tableaux cloths come in beige with a black image but can be custom colored (for just a little bit more) in any Pantone color you choose, so the possibilities are endless! I love the whimsical blend of antique and modern, and have used them in many different situations. It is one of my favorite tricks! They are currently available at Colburn Sassaman, and we are happy to ship all over the world.”
  • kontakt magazine, a modern design magazine focused on architecture, urban living, interior design, art, and travel based in Phoenix, Arizona, is hosting a furniture design competition. The competition invites independent designers or a group of designers to submit original contemporary furniture designs for a chance to be featured at the Phoenix Contemporary Design Fair. Finalists will display for three days at PCDF in April and will appear in a post-show issue of kontakt. Renderings and/or sketches of the design are due by March, 14, 2008. If chosen as one of ten finalists, designers will be required to have a live prototype by the time of the design show. You’ll find more information and registration forms here.
  • Kathryn emailed me to introduce her blog and I’m glad she did! “I thought I’d share my blog, Snippet & Ink with you. It’s a little different, and though it’s not interior/home design, it is about design and inspiration. Every day I post one or more wedding inspiration boards, some of them just for fun, some based on requests by brides.” Beautiful and so inspirational. Thanks Kathryn!
  • Nadine from Munich, Germany also wanted to share her blog Creative Lounge. It’s about fashion, interior design, lifestyle and travel and it’s full of lovely eye candy. I’m off to check out the archives!
  • Muse is a new online wedding space to help couples plan their weddings online. Muse wants to make it easy for you (and fun). They’ve made each planning tool with the couple in mind. Muse is very easy to use and completely free. Thanks for letting us know about your site Clio!
  • Katie Howlett opened a small home accessories shop in Richmond, VA with her partner Megan about 5 months ago. The girls sell primarily handmade goods by independent designers, their philosophy formed around the idea of quality over quantity, and sustainability. You can check out the shop and the designers they carry at their blog. Katie let me know when you go online so I can wink you again!
  • Dom Trapp sent images of his newly designed modular storage system Quad. Simple, elegant, durable the Quad can be coffee table, bookcase, night stand or storage column. Endless possibilities as you fit the cubes together. Merci Dom for sharing your design.

Crazy/kooky/adore

Posted on Fri, 8 Feb 2008 by midcenturyjo


Talk about a crazy mixed up space. This fabulous 4 floor Victorian era house has a distinct style on each level. Funky futurist 60s, white, light and cavernous climbs to elegant French grandeur with panelling and high high ceilings on the first floor. The second floor is pretty and feminine while the third is a cool 70s den of design. The perfect house for when you can’t quite make up your mind what style you’re feeling today. Oh and I’m head over heels for that curly cane headboard(?) as a stair rail.

Images from Inspace locations