Displaying posts labeled "Vintage"

… yes that’s Ali McGraw in her late 70s pad

The scanner is fixed and my stock of retro design books replenished. At long long last it is the return of the retrolicious, the retro revolting and the retro just might be redeemable. Make up your own mind as I present for your delight and mortification scans from The Apartment Book, by the editors of Apartment Life magazine, Meredith Corporation, 1980. Who would have thought? Build your own 3 mannequin arm table (I have the instructions if you need them), corrugated cardboard as a blind and a hammock that never looked less appealing! (If you are new to Desire to Inspire and have never immersed yourself in my retro obsession click here to see all my previous posts… if your dare.)

This is the last day of my Easter weekend (5 days!) and it was fix-up-my-bedroom weekend. Plaster, sand, wait for it to dry, plaster, sand, wait for it to dry…..still waiting…..to hell with it, paint, paint, paint. This went on for 3.5 straight days. I was too impatient to do a great job but it was good enough. You can hardly tell there used to be a closet in my bedroom. Mission accomplished.

Here’s a quick glimpse (as I showed you all the other day) of the former room, looking at the mess that used to be the closet (and what a b*tch that was to patch):

I went with a very pale pink on the walls, which turns out to be hard to photograph accurately. I chose BM’s Elephant Pink at 25% strength, and BM’s Snowfall White for the trim and the floors. I need to give the floor a few days to cure so in the meantime I am sleeping on my DIY couch. Turns out painting laminate floors works quite well. (I plan on replacing all that cheap laminate with hardwood eventually). This morning I put out a few items I hope to use in the new bedroom, to give you an idea of where I’m going with this project. Vintage boho I’ll call it – which means I get to reuse alot of junk I already have as I am still trying to pay off my kitchen and funds are reeeeeally low.

Hopefully next weekend I’ll be able to move some furniture in there and get out to Ikea to get the rest of what I need (new headboard-less/footboard-less bed frame and bookcases). More photos to come after that happens.

What a beautiful day it is here today! I love this time of year (early autumn in Australia). Perfect for a little retro al fresco inspiration. If only my outdoor area looked as good as these retrolicious beauties. Hard to believe they are almost 40 years old! Scanned from The Practical Encyclopedia of Good Decorating and Home Improvement, Vol 13, Meredith Corporation, New York, 1971. Hope your weekend is exactly what you’re wishing for.

Studying hard Kim? Thought I’d cheer you up with a retro post. Haven’t dragged out a retro design book for some time now. The title says it all. Enjoy! (Scanned from The Practical Encyclopedia of Good Decorating and Home Improvement, Meredith Corporation, New York, 1971.)