2 Dramatic Blue Gray Dining Nooks with Orange Accents & LPs!

Blue & orange. If you know a thing or two about the color wheel then you know the BAM! that this complementary color scheme has to offer. Blue and orange are definitely a color trend now in film, video, media. Think CSI Miami! Anyways, here are 2 young but not juvenile dining spaces with deep navy walls the perfect accents of orange. This rooms also have something else in common: records! Being a vinyl hoarder, I love to see records used in design.

Celerie Kemble dining nook

The first room is from designer Celerie Kemble’s portfolio. This is a cool space. It’s a little more modern than what I do, but it has vintage. OK, so the room isn’t “navy” but it is a bit of squid ink paint shade, so there is some blue in that gray. This gray appears more “blue” with the touches of orange. I love dark gray walls. It is a bit of a “modern” shade and it can come across as very masculine, but it packs drama. You want to transform a room in a weekend, paint it this color. Everything you own will look completely different. Whites will pop and blacks will shine. Anyways, I love the record storage in this nook! It is so clever to have it under the seating in a small space. I got to tell David. He need to build us one of these.  Anyways, this is a cozy space, very hip. I want to listen to records and lounge around drinking beer and eating guacamole and chips in this nook. *Oh, I love the textiles in here because it keeps this color combo and space from being too masculine. It’s a nice balance.

The other dining room or nook is from Rejuvenation’s website. It is a really cool space as well and totally reminds me of the early 1910-1940’s Craftsman homes in the Seattle area being fixed up by young adults like ourselves. (Rejuvenation is based in the PNW). This dining room is the kind of dining room you’d see in our neighborhood while your taking the dog out for an evening stroll. It’s classic but it has a special type of vintage lust seen in the under 40 crowd. I guess what I’m saying is that I love the look of vintage mid-modern pieces shoved into a Craftsman. The cool thing about this space is that you remove the furniture and the accessories and you have a classic Craftsman home that appeals to everyone. You didn’t do anything to ruin the vibe or the bones of the house. You worked with the house and added your tastes without destroying the authenticity of the home. I’m all about that.

Rejuvenation dining room

Anyways, I love this room. Once again, it is a “squid ink” shade that looks awesome against that white mill work. The orange accents are brilliant in this room. The lighting isn’t very typical of old homes but it has a nice vibe, a young vibe. I love the records on the ledge (recognize a few from our own collection). And one can never go wrong with a Saarinen table.

I guess we are going to try to finish the upstairs bathroom this weekend. I have to admit that I’d rather do something else, you know, like something fun. Oh, well. This house isn’t going to renovate itself. Bummer.

-Victoria

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Our 2 “Green Tea” Thrift Chairs

Some of our weekend thrift haul

As if we don’t have a million other projects to wrap up, my chair fetish caused me drag in three more chairs this past weekend. I couldn’t pass them up. I love chairs. I love to “fix” them up. Here’s 2 chairs that we bought for under $3 each. I call these the “green tea” chairs because their color reminds me of brewed green tea. I think this shade only happens to old green things covered in tarry cigarette smoke. It’s one of my favorite colors. I really do like the damage that cigarette smoke does to furniture and paintings, haha. It’s like tea staining everything. So, yeah, these chairs are pretty darn grotty.

Does anyone know how to clean old vinyl furniture? These chairs are filthy. In the pic above, I have washed these chairs with Murphy Oil Soap twice. You would not believe how dirty the water has been both times. The pic is doing the chairs some favors. They are much dirtier in real life. Pen ink marks are on the mid-century modern chair. And the chairs are just so dirty. Any suggestions on what to use to clean these? I keep reading that people clean up these mid-century modern vinyl chairs with soap and water. That’s not really cutting it. I need your ancient vinyl cleaning secrets 🙂

I’ll scrub them again today with Murphy Oil Soap solution again and lots of elbow grease. I’m not really fretting because I like these chairs and I don’t go for perfection, I do like some imperfections.  And the price of these chairs were cheaper than 1 large green tea latte. I’m not losing much. I still need to clean up the wood, maybe coat the wood with Howard Wax to disguise visible scratches and add a nice sheen.

-Victoria

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2 Bedrooms with Song Bird Print Wallpaper

House and Home birdy bedroom

I’m aware that it’s popular and it will be cliché one day, but I can’t help it. I love “bird” imagery. I love nature inspired prints and home decor. It would make sense that I would like the whimsy touch of songbirds in decorating. Here are 2 bedrooms that I’ve stumbled upon. The designers of these bedrooms love birds just as much as I do.

This first bedroom was in Canadian House and Home. It’s cute, thanks to the birds and birdcage wallpaper. I love the carefree print. I have really been craving prints lately and that is very unexpected for me. Everything in the room is “cute”. I like the pieces but together I feel they look a bit contrived. Maybe they don’t look so forced “antique” in person. Pictures are difficult like that. All of the neutral colors really let the wallpaper take center stage here. It’s a charming room.

The other room was featured on Room Envy. This room is much more colorful, but it still has the same vibe. Both rooms have beautifully printed wallpaper, white linens, and a lovely iron bed. This is a bit more “lively” version of the first bedroom shown here. I love the accents of teal. Teal is one of those colors that I

bird bedroom featured on Room Envy

have liked for such a long time. I love the mix of prints and the crisp white linens. I love the wallpaper print and would love to have that print on linens or curtains. Adorable.

Bird wallpaper in cute prints is expensive. Often retailing for about $100 a roll, so many to choose from if you type search “bird”, here. I found a nice bird print with lots of teal for $27.99 a roll here. I’ve never dealt with these companies.  I just know, that I like these prints. I’ve also learned that it pays to shop around and to “give in”. Sometimes you must have vague wants such as “blue bird wallpaper” when you’re remodeling on a budget.

Off subject…I made a plum frangipane tart yesterday and it turned out delicious! I’m really taking this cooking thing up a notch. And I purchased a rolling-pin for $5? I’ve complained for 5 years over something that is $5? Why do I not buy the kitchen items that I need? I’ve decided that if I need it then I will buy it. Having a retro kitchen has motivated me to have “retro” kitchen items such as sifters, rolling-pins, pie weights. You know those things that grandma had around but most young moderns couldn’t identify out of a line up?

-Victoria

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Cute As A Button, Things To Do With Vintage Buttons

Martha Stewart Living napkin rings

I’m really attracted to vintage buttons. Currently, I have them stashed away in a few Mason jars with no clue  what I’ll do with them. I just like looking at them. They’re cute. I’ve seen lots of button crafts throughout the years, but I didn’t really like them. People glue them on picture frames (here). This doesn’t really work for my decor. It could be cute in a craft nook or sewing room. I’ve seen buttons stuck on everything from flowerpots to fridge magnets (here). I didn’t like these either. I did find 2 things that I do like. I think the napkin rings from Martha Stewart Living are cute. These look less kid’s craft to me. They are simple. I have bakelite buttons that I really do want to show off. I think this would be a great way to do so. I have buttons that are elegant enough for a dinner party 🙂 Yeah, napkin rings are silly and unnecessary but I love a nice looking place setting.  Here’s the link to make the button napkin rings above. Side note, I can’t stop laughing about the term “shank” being used in the tutorial. I didn’t think that Martha had to use those in prison. Boy, I bet she was confused.

The other DIY button idea that I liked were these cupcake toppers. I never got into the cupcake craze. I like to make fro-yo and candies/pastilles. I also like to bake big, normal size cakes. These seem a bit silly and unnecessary (like napkin rings), but I do find them cute. And it is a way to show off cute buttons at an event (birthday party, etc.) so that everybody can see how cute they are and how crafty you are. Here is the tutorial for those toppers below.

This isn’t a home DIY project, but I thought it was cute. Check out how to quickly make cute shoe embellishments using vintage buttons (here)! And I’m sure you’ve all seen button jewelry projects. Many of those don’t appeal to me either, but I love this bib necklace I found on Etsy from seller ButtonsSoupJewelry.

Button Party! From http://www.craftystylish.com

So, I don’t really have time to do such “useless” crafty projects with this renovation devouring my free time, but I can always find the time while drinking my morning coffee to waste on-line looking at what other people do with their free time. I know that if I ever get around to planning a party that it will be as cute as a button.

-Victoria

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2 Hot Pink Bedrooms With Vintage Fabrics

Living Etc. painted hot pink brick bedroom

I’m attracted to pink rooms, even vivid, hot pink rooms. Here are two hot pink bedrooms that I’ve stumbled across on  Living Etc. website. I think the use of the color is unexpected but not overwhelming. But, do I ever find pink overwhelming? No.

This first bedroom, an attic bedroom, is a bit daring. I think painting brick is daring. I don’t know why. I just do. I especially think it is daring to paint it hot pink. But, I do like the touch, using the brick wall as the accent wall. This is a cute room with an interesting roof line. I assume it is a teen room with that vanity filled with mainstream fragrances you’d find at Sephora. (Bumper sticker: My other blog is a fragrance blog). I like the country home touches of baby blue floral fabrics and painted white furniture. The chandelier isn’t bad either.

The other room has the same type of vibe, even if the walls aren’t painted hot pink (pink vintage wallpaper, cool). Bold pink is brought into this space with linens. This room is a very much a collector’s room with all the wall art. I like excess and I like collecting. It’s always nice to see someone’s collection displayed so deliberately. It also makes me feel better about being a thrifter.I think this room is very achievable. The walls are pink floral wallpaper, I feel they are working with their wallpaper/the house. The room is transformed by linens and artfully displaying collectibles. It appears to be a smaller room, a livable room with

Living Etc. pink bedroom

allowable clutter. Books are everywhere, the nightstand is being used, a laptop is charging. It feels like a real space. I love the brass bed and the mismatched linens. This hits me as a thrifters room and I like it.

David and I spent a day in Portland. It was totally awesome: great food, reproduction streamline bathroom lighting, jadeite glassware, and salvage yards. PDX is the mothership. Need to move.

-Victoria

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Whimsy Decorated Porch with Paper Parasols!

Midwest Living porch

I don’t have a porch, but I have a nice deck. Of course, the grass is always greener and we want what we don’t have. I didn’t think about it too much until I stumbled across this picture in Midwest Living. I love it. What a retreat! This makes me consider living in the Midwest if I could have a porch like this, well for a split second it does, I love the West Coast and this porch has a West Coast vibe with those colors and chrysanthemum Asian prints. I love the linens, the paper parasols, and the mix match chairs. Very cool look for reunions, birthdays, and wedding receptions.

We are having a beautiful weekend with lots of sun today here in Western Washington. The garden is thirsty but I don’t mind being outside. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

-Victoria

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Our Retro Kitchen Hardware to Complete Our Retro 50’s Kitchen

"Fancy" 5 cent pulls (only 2 of those)

OK, so it took me some time to find the kitchen drawer and cabinet hardware that I wanted, but I did find it. I wanted something chrome-like and 50’s dinner or 30’s streamline moderne. In the basement, there were some built-ins with the coolest pulls. I wanted something like that. The items offered at Lowe’s were either Scandinavian modern or country kitchen. Not what I wanted. Here’s what I wanted and how I got it:

Our kitchen. Don't judge me on the mess. No dishwasher 😦

Hickory Hardware "The American Diner" knob, reproduction

For the cabinets we purchased from Van Dyke’s Restorers “The American Diner Knob” in Chrome. We paid less than $2.50 for each. I don’t know if Van Dyke’s is carrying the chrome knob anymore. We of course ordered many of them and needed one more. Van Dyke’s was sold out. We found our last one on Amazon for more money. The American diner knob is manufactured by Hickory Hardware. So if you are looking for this style of knob, search for places that sell Hickory Hardware. Total cost for us: $21.50 plus shipping (including Amazon knob). I think shipping was like $9 (ordered some other things). And I had to buy that lonesome knob from Amazon for like $4.50.

OK, now to the drawers. I wanted something that matched the built-ins in the basement. We looked and looked. We were about to order The Deco Drawer Pull from Rejuvenation in Polished Chrome. This beautiful pull retails for $16 each. Ouch, we’d have to buy 13 of them. But, I was sick of looking and I wanted to open and use my drawers. By chance that afternoon I went to our local Habitat for Humanity thrift store. I found the pulls picture here for 5¢ each! OK, so they aren’t as jazzy as the Deco Drawer Pull. But, they are so cheap, in awesome condition, and are original. I picked up more than I needed (in case I didn’t notice rust or needed to replace a few). I even got a set that was very fancy. I used these on the cabinets under the sink. It pays to thrift! Now looking at all of them up. I think I like these better than The Deco Drawer Pull because they are simple. The kitchen has

5 cents kitchen "plain" retro pulls

more of a pink/aqua 50’s vibe and the ones that we have “fit” better. Total cost for us: 65¢

We were fortunate enough to have these hinges already on the bottom cabinets. They cleaned up nicely. They aren’t perfect but I’m not going for perfect. I’m also going for cheap. Total cost to us: $0

Our total on kitchen hardware: under $30 (including shipping) for 20 drawers and doors. We didn’t have to buy screws for the vintage hardware. We already had that lying around.

Guide to Retro Hardware:

Looking for retro hardware or retro looking hardware? Look at dealers such as Van Dyke’s Restorers. Do not overlook their clearance page. It has awesome deals! Who knows? Maybe what you want is on sale or you can settle for something similar. If you know you like a reproduction knob/pull. Find out who the manufacturer is and search for them on-line. Find the best deal that way. Love the ease of Internet shopping! If you’re not on a budget search at places like Rejuvenation or Anthropologie.Don’t forget about salvage yards, thrift stores, and even antique stores. Sometimes you can find a great deal like we did. By thrifting we saved over $205! If you choose to go the thrift route be prepared to look and look. Keep a list of the number of knobs/pulls that you need and their dimensions on your phone or in your wallet. And if your going cheap, don’t forget to mix and match. It can look really great and polished. Check out kitchens in design magazines. They usually use up to 5 different knob/pull designs in a large kitchen. I need to add that sometimes salvage yards will make “trades”. Have a 40’s sink you switched out for something else? Trade it for hardware. (I’d call before hauling a sink around). Also check out vendors on Etsy. Etsy has options that fit into the no budget range and the budget range. It’s worth checking out.

*I’m not the best at pictures. Excuse my crummy quality. Photographing small chrome things is not easy. Also, this is a living and working kitchen. Excuse my crummy mess. I don’t have the mad skills to Photoshop the dirty dishes out 🙂

Original hinges

-Victoria

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2 Quirky, Bold Hot Pink Rooms

I’ve craved quirky and bold color combos lately. I blame it on summer. Summer makes me go for crazy colors. That’s what got our home in the mess that is in 🙂 I chose the colors during the hottest month in the PNW. We ended up with overly energetic/obnoxious colors. I spent most of the winter months hating them/criticizing my design choices and now I love them. My house would be fluorescent/day-glo if I lived in a warmer and sunnier place.

Colorful room with pink floors

I have found these two rooms on-line. I love them. They are wild and unexpected but still classy. They don’t look “dormy”! This first room is bold. I can’t remember where it came from. I wish I knew because I would love to explore the entire house. You don’t get any bolder than paining your floors hot pink. And you definitely don’t get any bolder than painting your floors hot pink and your trim yellow and your walls with polka dots. I’m in love with this space. It’s so bold that even I don’t know if we have the guts to “go there”.  This is my dream interior for a New Orleans row-house or a Caribbean mansion. I love the insane-o colors mixed with the dark woods (mega-contrast). The “accessories” are so classy but unexpected with the colors. I mean wouldn’t that chair with the pink upholstery be bold in any room? In this space, it is looking very tame. And don’t you love those chintzy rose curtains? It adds a needed shabbiness.

This other room is a bedroom found at Marie Claire Maison. This is another fun, quirky space with lots of hot pink. It’s much less bold than the room featured above being that the floors aren’t Barbie pink and the walls are a neutral color. This Marie Claire room is all about the accessories. They transform the space. I think this an adorable room for little girls and big girls. My weakness is bold painted trim. It’s easier to do than what people think and it

Marie Claire Maison quirky pink bedroom

totally changes a space. I wish we did the trim crazy throughout our house. I did one room but I wish I did the entire house. I need pink trim throughout the house 🙂 This room has so many quirky accessories and textiles. This room is all about the “treasures”. These treasures add whimsy to the room. They are cute but they sure are creepy. That’s my favorite genre for home decor. I love this bedroom because it seems so livable. It isn’t a huge room. This seems like a room that regular-ole folk could get even though I know that some of those accessories are pretty darn pricey. *Note that creepy baby doll in the glass dome! But, I like this room because it can be transformed by switching textiles. You can also hide stuff under the bed and nobody would know. The shelf is a nice touch but I don’t think I can sleep like that. I’d be so paranoid that my $175 tray and all that glassware would come tumbling down on my face while I sleep. I do live in an earthquake zone, so that is a bad idea.

So, yeah, I hope that these rooms have inspired you just as much as they have me. I now know that there is no such thing as too bold. Just look at these 2 rooms!

-Victoria

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Plain & Simple: Rustic White Bathrooms

We really underused white during our renovation. Now that I am design exhausted, I feel that white would of been the way to go. It’s simple and fitting, especially for bathrooms. The only two “big” projects that we have left are the bathrooms. One have one full-size bath (as full-size as a 1930’s bathroom comes) and a “powder” room. I’m halfway finished with the full bath. I can’t decide what to do with the powder room. We keep changing our minds.

This first bathroom is very nice, very simple. I like its simplicity but I do fear that my “flamboyant” personality will grow tired of this. This really would be my exhausted design choice. I love those beams. Those will never be in this house. Oh, and a bathroom this size will never be in this house either unless I decide to convert a bedroom into a bath. Lame.

The other room is a rustic bathroom. I apologize. I have also forgot where this one came from. This is more our speed. It appears to be a tiny, realistic bathroom. I do like the wainscoting going all the way up the wall. I look as wainscoting as the paneling of today. I do fear that it will be horribly dated. I am considering wainscoting because the plaster in the powder room is well, crumbly and thin. Frink smushes his smushed, flat face against the wall and it dents. We need to come up with something to solve this problem. Anyways, I like this 2nd bathroom because it is so practical. It actually looks like it is lived in and they’ve had to create storage for an older bathroom. David’s solution is to get rid of my skincare rituals. This will never happen. He better be ready to hang up some shelves.

-Victoria

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Our Studio Overhead Lighting

David and I have had a difficult time with choosing just the “right” lighting for this house. We’ve kept what vintage lighting that was left with the home. This has only been a few rooms. During the 1970’s and later, most of the lighting in our home has been replaced with the most boring and cheapest lighting options available. This is a shame because replacing it with period lighting is very, very expensive and time-consuming. We’ve spent months searching antique stores, salvage yards, websites looking for the kind of lighting that would have been in a middle class suburban home in the mid- 1930’s. The reproduction market is plagued with overly fancy items that would have never have been in this home to begin with. I have found a few antiques but they weren’t exactly what I was looking for and didn’t want to pay $500 for something I didn’t know if I liked or not. So…we’ve decided to put the search on hold. We have more important things to do. In the meantime we’ve decided to just replace what was in the house with something that we like better but isn’t expensive. We’re waiting for just the right thing.

In the studio, we didn’t have any lighting at all. When we purchased our home, there was just some rigged up extension cord contraption. The electricians wired the room for overhead lighting in the middle of the room. For many months we’ve had a boring bare bulb. Our wonderful neighborhood joined forces and started giving us lighting that had hanging around their basements. This is how we’ve ended up with our current studio lighting. It had a glass bulb with some floral etched design. We decided to remove it for more of a harsh, steampunk type of feel. I wanted an Edison bulb but those offer very little light. We’re using a “decorative” bulb instead. We’re calling it “The Days of Our Lives” fixture. Hey, it was free. No complaints.

-Victoria

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