sparklythings

Lowe’s is gearing up for spring, and among the new patio furniture I spotted these beauties:

They’re from the Garden Treasures Retro set, and while I wouldn’t call them 100% authentic they certainly do get the look across. They’re also significantly more affordable than the other brands in the Apartment Therapy motel-style  roundup that Pam cited.

They even have kiddie-sized chairs for the mini-mid century enthusiast. I love the colors but i can’t believe there’s no classic cherry red!

from the orange files:

I have said that i’d never buy a used sofa – I have in the past, but have heard too many horror stories to push my luck again. This gorgeous set makes me want to roll the dice, baby.

And then there’s this bar set. How did we go from nothing cool to all this amazing stuff?

If the first bar set is a little too much for you, perhaps something a little more subtle. Look at the art on the wall, too – I wanna party with these folks.

get outta my dreams, get into my house.

craigslist - Daytona Beach

I think  i’m just nuts over anything tufted, really. I’d love to put this in front of our living room window – all the cats could perch on it at the same time. Here are some other fab benches from Flickr:

shilobyrd

shilobyrd

revolutionarygirl

dottie angel

xjavierx

hitbyabus

Bjorn Wiinblad (1918 – 2006) Danish designer of all sorts – ceramics, posters, textiles, metals…the list goes on and on. His whimsical figures certainly seem to have made an impact on a young fella named Jonathan Adler:

Wiinblad via eBay : Slokems;   Jonathan Adler

Wiinblad continued to produce works well into the 1990s, so there’s quite a bit to choose from on eBay – some very affordable, some a little higher-end. But all fantastic.

gigmari

privatesampler

privatesampler

privatesampler

privatesampler

fishwhistle

new2elephant

nature230

iron-comet

mishaguy

privatesampler

retroactive

For more information:

• Wikipedia
• Boot the Mold
• Casa Sugar
• The Moldy Doily

from today’s estate sale preview:

How have I never seen anything like this before? And what do I need to do to get it?

Ruby Lane : The Sullivan House

Ooooch. At $850 for this one, maybe I ought not to be in a hurry to get to the estate sale.

Mario Lighting

design-crisis

a cottage industry

Would be amazing in a child’s room…like this:

I am on the hunt for coasters. Of all things, right? But after having company over for the holidays – and now that we’re actually hanging out in the living room – I realized they’re something I need to get. There’s so many kinds to choose from – tin, glass, plastic, paper…glorious, vintage paper. They’re not all just frat-boy beer ad style, either…

bostonbaglady

BettyandDot

diantiques

bostonbaglady

junkexchange

pumpkintruck

pumpkintruck

joules

holly1959

MeAndLu

kimaroo

estateofmind

vintagedarby

FloridaGuys

cameronbottling

polishjohn69

notioncreative

Coasters – paper or otherwise – are turning out to be one of those things that I see all the time until I start actively looking for them. Then they all just disappear! I’d buy online but I do have concerns with odor, even with the packaged ones. Just one more thing to keep searching for…

Hmm, do you see the pattern here? It wasn’t until we put up our Christmas tree that we realized how much we needed a lamp in the corner of the living room – we could like, you know, actually see in there? (My beloved Tallvik is a cute nightlight, but certainly not a reading lamp.) My darling husband went with me to HomeGoods and picked this out instantly:

I liked it as well, but I had to go back and check every single other option online first – resulting in the lineup above. A few were in our budget but most were way, way out; HomeGoods strikes again in the value department! Some highlights from the research:

Naturally i’d start off with a Jonathan Adler – the man can do no wrong.

Likewise with this Robert Abbey – they have so many things I like! There was a very close facsimile of this one at HomeGoods too, just with a hideous shade. I was very tempted.

Oh dear. Mary Kate and Ashley? Seriously? The lamps are practically identical! (Heh, get it?)

The Olsen connection aside, I was happy to find something that we both liked for a good price. I went back for the lamp the next day – one of the easier house decisions I’ve made. And Penn likes it too!

a continuation of this post where I was researching bookshelves for the living room, as the coffee table was at capacity with books and magazines and photo albums. We ended up with an expedit – thereby turning our living room into an IKEA ad – but these were some other serious contenders:

target

target

crate and barrel

And these were some less serious but really, really wished for options:

objectorange76

sandiv999

cute or kill?

next up – and presumably the “last thing” for the living room – either a floor or table lamp for the corner, i’m still undecided.

Merry Christmas to all! I’m taking the lazy way to update by linking to my flickr set of our holiday decor. But if I don’t get to bed soon, Santa won’t stop at our house!

The White Mole

There is a lovely writeup on Jascha Brojdo – pimp name: Georges Briard – at No Accounting for Taste that pretty much says it all. Wonderful patterns, a sense of whimsy and humor, and readily available in the thrifts – that’s perfect.

iloveupstate

Thrifted Sisters

jennyelkins

chickletvintage

krakencrafts

menzocollection

noahmodern

hiddenlibrary

Hoodlam

VintageVeritas

juliewolfson306