Mid-century Marvels in 2 Rooms

On my most recent trip to CT, my brother and I browsed through one of our favorite antiques shops, and I came home with two marvelous new mid-century treasures.

The first has been on my shopping list for quite a few years... a telephone table or gossip bench, as they are also named. Usually when I've seen these, they are made of wood and they are not in good condition, mostly because they were often used daily, so they received much wear and tear.

This one is probably 1950s, and is in excellent condition, with no torn upholstery or broken/missing pieces. (I already had the hotline phone, which fits perfectly, and works!).

The shop had a second gossip bench, identical to this one, except it had a lamp with a fiberglass shade attached to the back of the tabletop. Unfortunately, the table had separated from the metal base, and the particleboard underneath had disintegrated.

I love its black metal base with X-side design, and even all four rubber caps on the legs are intact.
I especially like the striated (they look like free-form horizontal brush strokes) vinyl upholstery with black, gold and beige, and the gold piping on the backrest.

This gossip bench is in my home office/guest bedroom. I placed it next to my groovy green Eames chair, which I've had for many years, also purchased at an antiques shop in CT.

And, of course, part of my cool TV lamp collection is not far away.

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In my master bedroom next door, I've added this vintage metal magazine rack, found at the same shop as the gossip bench. I think it's probably 1960s — it definitely has an atomic age look.

In addition to being decorative, it's highly useful. I'm still a big magazine reader, even in the digital age.

The bottom part, where the magazines sit, is fake wood, which makes me think this could be 1970s, too, since fake wood was popular during that decade.

My bedroom now has a pretty substantial assortment of vintage treasures, including a swivel tulip chair, atomic lamps, etc.

Wild about mid-century treasures

2019 is already yielding some great vintage finds. I can't wait to discover what May's Brimfield Antiques Show has in store!

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Rug Refresh || A Bit Audacious, But With Taste

A little over a decade ago, I redid my living room with a yellow ocher damask wallpaper, red fireplace wall (Benjamin Moore's Ladybug Red) and pink fireplace mantel (Benjamin Moore's Florida Pink). I also painted the insides of my built-in shelves in turquoise, and had Roman shades custom made in a red paisley print with scalloped fringe trim and tassels. For the finishing touch, I found the perfect rug at Anthropologie, with a solid gold center and patchwork square border in pink, brown, gold and grey. This is what the room looked like...

I've since rearranged the furniture a number of times, but I've kept the rug because it works so well. The only thing is, at 4' x 6', it's a bit too small for the room, which never really bothered me until recently. So, I decided to add a couple of rugs to give the room more oomph.

After looking on various websites, I found a couple that worked out well. The first is a 2' x 3' Safavieh "Soho" rug for the room entrance. It's 100% wool pile, made in India, in an oversized animal print.

One reason I chose it is because it complements the round bullion fringe footstool in front of my wing chair.

The late French designer, Madeleine Castaing, would approve, don't you think?

The second rug I added is this traditional area rug, which I placed at the other end of the room by the windows. It's a 3'6" x 5'6" Loloi "Loren Collection" rug, 100% polyester, power loomed, made in Turkey.

I chose this rug because it really ties all of the room colors together – red, pink, turquoise, with bits of brown, orange and cream – and, like the rest of the room, it's about the absence of white. In addition, even though it's new, it has the look of a vintage piece.

Getting back to Madeleine Castaing, she once said, "Be audacious, but with taste."

I think it's very sound advice, and what I often strive for in my home, especially with regard to colors and patterns. It's me.

Time To Shine || Christmas 2018

’Tis the season to shine, and over the past year I've added significantly to my vintage Christmas treasures, so without further introduction, it's time to embrace the joys of the season and brighten up!

Instead of saving the best for last, here is my splurge of the season, purchased from an online auction site – an Aluminum Taper 4-ft. "Pom Pon" Tree. It's truly special because it arrived complete with its original box, metal tripod stand, snap-on foil discs, packing and instructions.

For a long time, I considered aluminum trees a bit too minimalist for my tastes, but tastes change, and having the pom-pom branches really ups the Dr. Seuss-Meets-The Jetsons appeal, giving it a really fun, whimsical look. This tree is displayed in my home office, where in past years I've had a 2-ft. silver tree on my Saarinen table. This one anchors the space much more dramatically.

The foil snap-on discs at the end of the pom-poms are reversible, with gold on one side and blue on the other. I mixed them up, though next year I may do just the gold sides.

Even the cardboard box is cool with its atomic star design. It probably dates to late 1950s/early 1960s...

Aluminum tree box side.
It was hard to make out, but the top of the box (not pictured) has a Pennsylvania address,
so it most likely originated from there.

I have an abundant supply of vintage ornaments, but I decided to use my tri-tone collections for this tree, including this box of Shiny Brites I found this past November at the Cambridge Antiques Market...

I also found the friendly pixie elf, who has poseable arms and legs.

Also new this year in my office... a melted plastic popcorn Santa, displayed on the closet door. This is another vintage holiday item I often deemed too tacky, but I guess I was feeling nostalgic for the 70s and changed my mind.

My other new friend for 2018 is Ruby, my sequined red poodle from Cambridge Antiques. She sits obediently on my new white radiator cover next to my decoupaged lamp.

I'm Ruby.
Fetching, don't you think?

Moving on to my living room, I have another new tree... a small tabletop Tiffany-style lamp I found on one of my visits to Provincetown this year. It looks especially festive on my fireplace mantel.

This mini English plate is also displayed on my fireplace mantel for the first time this year – perfect with its cozy Christmas scene...

I decorated with all C7 lights this year, using all white for my real 7-ft. Christmas tree.

I used my large plastic red bell cluster for the top, with twinkle lights, of course.

I used C7 figural lights for the fireplace mantel, including this lantern I found at Cambridge Antiques this year for $4.

This is one of two C7 white biscuit bubble lights I found at Stratford Antiques this past November.
(The pink and gold glass ornament on the left was always on our tree growing up, from Woolworth's.)

This shows my entire fireplace decorated for the season. The two outdoor plastic coach lanterns I found at the Brimfield Antiques show this past July.

This year, I displayed a lot of my vintage Christmas original boxes, putting a group of them inside my fireplace surrounding the light-up Santa. Some of the box graphics are really fun and colorful, don't you think?

A Shiny Bright & Peaceful Christmas to all...
And to all a good night.

Old Radiator Upgrade Project

Like every other room in my condo, the home office has an old radiator in one of the corners. I got tired of looking at the old chipping paint, and instead of repainting, I decided to order a new metal radiator cover online in a clean, matte white finish.

Because it's a somewhat unusual taller size, I had to order a custom size cover, which took about five to six weeks to ship from the midwest.

The cover shipped flat in a cardboard box with instructions to put it together. The only tools needed were pliers and screwdrivers. It was a bit tricky, but only took about an hour or so. I think it's a definite improvement, and having an extra shelf to display more art objects is most welcome.

Radiator before

Radiator after

In addition to covering the radiator,
it also covers most of the wall's chipping paint.

Radiator with decor.
I look and feel much better now.

It's Showtime! Paranormal Provincetown Weekend

This was the first year I celebrated Halloween weekend in Provincetown, and despite a deluge of rain, it did not disappoint. As expected, crazy-clever costumes and diabolical decor were in abundance.

Though difficult to explain without photos, two of my favorite costumes were the four guys dressed as beach umbrellas, and the guys dressed in pink baseball uniforms from A League Of Their Own.
 
I didn't get to see much indoor decor, but many of the homes and shops on the outside transformed themselves into something fun and creepy...

A mildly creepy, classic New England facade.

Spooks are everywhere.

White heads with giant spider

Nightmare On Commercial Street

We have come for your art.

The BIG Bad Wolf

Just plain BAD.
Please pop this toxic balloon!

Giant beetle and black cat

Giant dynamic spider duo

The Spiritus in all of us

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!