Remember when you received mail that you actually wanted? Yep, those were the days. Those were actually the exact days I was dreaming of when we first bought the Retro Ranch and I discovered that it came with the original 1965 galvanized steel mailbox crafted by Leigh Building Products and approved by the Postmaster General himself.
When it comes to the color teal, I’m all in. Teal, aqua, turquoise, cyan, aquamarine, robins egg blue, Tiffany blue, Pantone 319C–whatever you want to call it, if it appears midway between blue and green on the visible spectrum, I’m helpless against its power. This particular shade has been my favorite color ever since I…
Tag sales, garage sales, rummage sales, lawn fetes, yard bazaars– whatever you prefer to call them, the season is now upon us. Those types of sales are all fine and good for most people hunting for a bargain, but I prefer rummaging exclusively through dead people’s things. Ok, that sounded way more creepy and goth-y than…
Some people like to constantly Instagram their restaurant meals. Others obsessively selfie with friends. I, on the other hand, exhibit similar compulsive tendencies when my iPhone and retro flooring end up in the same room together. This most commonly occurs during open houses or estate sales, but can also happen in Chinese restaurants, 1960’s office buildings, or dressing rooms…
In honor of Mother’s Day, this post is about the one common love all mothers have. And no I’m not talking about Tom Selleck, I’m talking about the holy grail of home decorating: wallpaper. Gone are the days of struggling to keep yourself entertained while your mother browses the oversized wallpaper pattern books at Sherwin-Williams, snipping…
Well I think we all know the answer to that question. And it includes having 7 yards of gravel dumped into your driveway on a rainy Saturday morning in late February, so you can finally put an end to the 24-hr. weed-breeding factory that is laughingly known as your side yard. The area I’m referring to was…
“Hot damn, we have a money-tree!” I shrieked after David told me the high valuation our sod landscape crew had attached to the Japanese maple growing inside a barrel next to our back patio. “No, a money-tree is something that gives you money. This is likely going to cost us money. Especially now that I know it’s value and…
Not everyone will tell you what’s in their secret sauce. Have you ever gushed over the decor de jour at a friend’s house, casually inquiring how they assembled such an exquisite collection of complimentary pieces, only to be met with the reply “Oh, I just discovered them in my travels…” or some other nonsensical vagaries? Well I like…
If you’ve driven around Portland, Oregon you’ve seen them. There are at least a couple hundred scattered throughout the residential neighborhoods that surround the city. Their sleek, gabled rooflines, clerestory windows, vaulted entranceways illuminated by globe pendant lights, and carports that sometimes house swanky vehicles like old Mercedes SLs, Dodge Dart Swingers, and maybe even…
As any good interior designer will tell you, lighting is the one thing that can make or break a space. And as any retro enthusiast will tell you, finding mint-condition, period-correct lighting for your midcentury home is like looking for Bigfoot. Most of those swanky retro lamp styles hit the landfills in the 1980’s, when people were in favor…
So I’ve never been to prison. And I most certainly don’t plan to go. But owning a midcentury house with a half-acre of land requiring continual rehabilitation has given me a new and interesting perspective. I’ve definitely shoveled enough rock in the blazing hot sun to make me feel like I’m in the joint. The…
Ever wonder what your house looked like when it was first built? Who the original owners were? Where the furniture was placed? What the landscaping looked like back then? These are the things vintage enthusiasts become curious about when they buy a home that has a few decades under it’s belt. But since most post-war…
