Better Living Today through MCM Inspiration

DSCN0375, originally uploaded by kevinfandrey.

A recent flicker post which caught my eye. This home owner shows a good MCM sense when it comes to adopting, adapting and improving for their own unique blend for what otherwise could easily be too ordinary or too much.

Elkay Space Age Sink on eBay

Whoever thought that doing the dishes could be this Thrilling?

MID CENTURY RETRO MODERN SINK 1950's EAMES STREAMLINED
A dashboard style light & control panel, streamlined fixtures, and three basins - how could any one resist? Understandaby this is a rare find. Who knows how many of these are still around?

This I Like! Too bad the seller doesn't ship :/

Spiral Cone Legs by Lance Stephenson

Spiral Cone Legs - Indoor or Outdoor use - Original design handmade direct from artisan.

These legs are made of 1/4" steel round bar, formed and welded into a spiral cone ending at a 1-1/2" diameter solid steel ball.
They are very sturdy and can support a heavy table, with you dancing atop all the while.

The angled and straight legs of the same height, can be utilized within the same table, as in my Concrete computer table, pictured, which has two angled and one straight leg. The legs are sand blasted and powder coated for a long lasting durable finish.

Ringa-linga-ling!

Rotary Dial Phone Sources

These two sites must be shared.

Antique Telephone Repair Help Page Tons of info for the do-it-yourselfer. These guides helped me troubleshoot the hookup for my Automatic Electric to a modern outlet (specifically the ringer) so that my new/old phone was a happy phone - Proper Hookup of Ringers. If your trouble goes deeper, the author can also repair/restore your phone - Rotary Dial Telephone Repairs.

Vintage Rotary Phones A true fan site with discussion, sales and lots of photos.

There's plenty more to Google out there, but you'll have to excuse me... the phone is ringing.

Fired Up

Warmer weather may be on the way, but these Hot fireplaces are never out of season

In the 50's, Lovett designed the metal, freestanding fireplace, sometimes called a "firehood" with it's inverted space-aged coneshape with a parabolic opening to reveal the warm glow.

One of the big wannahaves of my lifelong MCM Dreamhome list has just been checked off. I've seen similar models, but last week when I stepped into my favorite retro shop "The Nest" I was lured, enticed and teased by these lovelies - two metal stand-alone fireplaces with that classic Lovett inspired design.

Firehood Find, originally uploaded by Space Commander.

One was a faultless white porcelein wood-burning beut by Majestic. She would be ideal for placement against a wall ("D"-shaped). The other was a red-orange electric by Preway ( "()"-shaped). There's been a vacant corner in my livingroom which has defied everything I've tried to make a home there. Everything was there, the retractable chimney, the screen, electric logs and the hidden heater unit. No dings, no rust. And with it being "off season" I got it for half the asking price. What a deal! Both fireplaces were likely manufactured by these companies in the '70's, but they are unmistakable in the inspriation of their design.

Here's one link I found helpful while researching my Preway and Majestic finds:
Tiki Central Forums - A Shag Style Fireplace

Make it or Leave it

Make-it! A Do-it Yourself Guide to Mid-Century Modern

As stated on the site "These twelve of the MCM-inspired how-to projects will show you how to make a Calderiffic Mobile, Eames-embroidered napkins, a fantastic Girard-ish ottoman and more!.

Each article includes background on the designer who inspired it, a materials and tools list, and detailed step-by-step instructions with high-res photos.

Got a DiY-er in the family? This book makes an awesome gift. Fanatic about MCM? You'll have plenty of cool projects to work on for months to come!"

Its a book that any MCM devotee can't help but love. There's projects for Calder mobiles, an Eames coat rack, the Saarinen tulip chair and a Nelson atomic ball clock.

Now where was this guide when I made my own atomic ball clock???

Download the PDF or purchase the book here!

Lili Chin's "Boogie On" Series

July, originally uploaded by lili.chin.

See Lili's full set of the moderne dog art at her Flickr page.

Mategot Era French Modern Perforated Stand as my New Coffee Table

Mategot Era French Modern Perforated Stand as my New Coffee Table, originally uploaded by Space Commander.

Mid century French wrought iron... Je t'aime!

Stolen!

Junior's beloved vintage Schwinn bike with the chopper handlebars, minus the banana seat, painstakingly assembled from bits and pieces by his loving Pop, was stolen. In broad daylight. Off our front porch. No witnesses :(

My So-Called Retro Life

It is Spring. I crawl out of the man-cave, take the first deep breath of fresh air and turn my face to feel the bask of the warm rays of a new day's sun. Yes, it is Spring...

Time to do some serious cleaning out the cobwebs of a long, long winter. A time to take stock of where we are in our grand experiment, of what has been accomplished in a year's time and with the return of warmer weather we can begin to plan what new things we want to make happen next.

Junior is Nine, and going on Sixteen it seems. He's got his own ideas what to do with his life and his room - he wants to keep the display of tin space toys, but has surprised me with a desire to return some of the old cowboy and horses theme he had when he was a mere child. He's also thinking of joining the Boy Scouts. How retro is that??

There's no cable television in our home. We're a year now living without and personally I don't miss it a bit! And I've taken ultimate control by unplugging the glut of undesirable content my nine-year old was being exposed to - even on the kids channels. Thanks to the wide variety of dvd offerings available now (I also allow Junior his video games), we have the best of both worlds, so to speak. Junior no longer lives in front of the tv screen. When he does view he enjoys watching classic westerns with the Old Man (The Magnificent Seven, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly), Lost in Space, The Abbott & Costello Show and more recently Sid Caesar.

Junior is always eager to show-off his skills on the blue 70's Schwinn Stingray (still trying to locate a sissybar for the banana seat). He loves to go camping and fishing. I can just smell the campfire now. Did I mention that he won't go to sleep at night unless he can listen to an episode from the Father Knows Best radio series? That's my boy!

The ranch home has come a long ways in a year... not as fast or as far as I'd like (what renovation, especially a retrovation ever does that?) But there's no mistaking what era this house harkens to.

A year ago the bath was stripped to the wall studs. The troubles I had with our retailer restocking plain black bullnose tile to finish the walls was even more monumental than locating a certain out-of-production faucet valve stem. Now its just hunting for the right accessories that fit the room - we have the medicine cabinet, sink, shelving, towel racks, hamper.... still hunting for the right bath mat and sink fixtures.

The livingroom... Oh yes, the living room. That abused wooden floor has been glaring up at me all winter long.

The kitchen has been the easiest to accesorize. I am convinced that when the menfolk pass on, the women toss out everything belonging to them into the waste can, but mothers pass on kitchen utensils to daughters as if they're the family treasures.

Storage. Another monster I've been dealing with in hand-to-hand combat, and not always getting the upperhand I might add. When these houses were built, American families didn't have/need all the daily items/things/junk that we load ourselves down with in the 21st century. Add to that, that I'm a natural horder and you know why I've got problems. The Attic crawlspace is filled to capacity, the basement crawlspace is choked, all my closets carry a warning "Open At Your Own Risk" and the storeroom is ummmm, let's just say its living up to it's name.

Finally, I long for a livable 9-5 employment. It's not much I ask. Just the simple desire to drop Junior off at school, then off to work, come home, eat dinner with my family on a daily basis, perhaps even weekends off for family outings! What's happened to us and the American Dream? The American employer is killing the American Family!

Whatever happens, this year is sure to bring us interesting adventures of retrovation a'plenty. But in the meantime I need to power up the Electrolux and vacuum Junior's dirty footprints from the imitation Himalayan Nanny Goat rug.