My Most Recent Finds

I shouldn't have stopped!  I shouldn't have stopped!  Last night, I stopped at Einstein's Attic, a little thrift store I love that is just down the street and around the corner from me.  Among a few Christmas presents I can't mention right now, I got the following really cool stuff!

First were these two books in "The Boy Scouts" boys' series from the early 20th century.  These are volumes one and two.

I also got this pack of 15 Flair Squares in the blue and green Wildflowers pattern, no. 2708-C 68-A.  The pack was $1.00!  I usually see this pattern in the brown and yellow version.

I also purchased a Christmas tin (not in photo, but a little newer) for $2.00.  Inside, were these vintage ornaments and pins.

I can't believe all the stuff they have in there, every time I go in!  They also have a ton of vintage owl stuff (including a huge clock - the clock had an 18" owl on each side, one snowy owl and one with ear tufts), some cool vintage aprons, other vintage textiles, typewriters, vintage furnishings and accessories, etc.  I never fail to find fun stuff there!

My "New" Old Chairs!

Yesterday, my brother hauled a chair over to my house, a chair that my parents purchased sometime around 1962.  Here's my poor new chair:

I love it in spite of it's years-in-the-making flaws.  It's from the Broyhill Premier line.  The label was on the seat under the cushion and shows how lovely the fabric used to be.

Here is the way it looked in 1965 (you can just see the corner of it at the right of this Christmas photo of me):

And it's behind me in 1967 on my birthday:

Last year, I brought home another chair (you can also see it in the photo above on the other side of the little round table from the Broyhill chair).  Here's what that one looked like when it arrived:

And here it is in 1966, just to the left behind my sister's buggy:

I love these chairs, not just because they've been in my family for so long, and they're actually mine now, but also because they both have such clean and distinctive lines (and they're both comfortable to sit in, too!).  I wish they'd held onto this couch and chair long enough for me to have them now - I love these:



My Free Credenza

Last week, I passed this beautiful credenza at the side of the road! I quickly drove around the block and asked my friend, John Spindler, if he'd be able to get it to my house (I didn't think I could get it into my small car, especially by myself - it's heavy!), and he did.

This is it's temporary place - eventually, it'll have my tv sitting on top of it. But for now, it's just fine right here. Great storage! Besides the three drawers, each side has double doors that open onto shelves. It still has a plate in the top drawer that reads:
Richardson Bros. Co.
Contemporary Furniture
Richardson/Nemschoff
In the little research I've been able to do, Richardson Bros. Furniture teamed up with Nemschoff in 1959. I would say this piece was produced within the next decade, most likely during the early 1960s.

Just recently, I've picked up a couple of cool midcentury pieces. Don't know what company made them, but I love both of them!

This bureau (the cat was already here - that's Shelby) has two large drawers at the bottom. The top part opens like a bi-fold door and inside there is another drawer and a shelf on top of that with two removable upright dividers on it. Great storage!

This is an unusual bookshelf - one flat shelf at the bottom, then two angled shelves above that. Just had to put a few midcentury books in there to see what it should look like!

Almost Finished!

Last week, I stopped at my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, just to browse. As I passed the tile area, a small box of pretty vintage yellow tile caught my eye, but it wasn't nearly enough for the bathroom. But a couple of steps later, I hit the mother-lode! 400 full-size tiles piled on the shelf, along with a box of bull-nose and pieces! A few short minutes later, they were mine! Even after my calculations (which showed I needed 450 tiles and 40 bull-nose tiles), I wasn't sure I'd have enough for the bath area. So I came up with a design that worked in slightly smaller new white tiles (since the fixtures are all white). Here it is mostly finished before grouting: And here it is after grouting. The only thing remaining to be done is putting the shower head, spout and escutcheons back on. I think it looks really awesome. But after it was finished, I realized that I really do have enough of the tile to have done the whole thing in yellow. You see, they were made a little bit bigger back then (just like ice cream cartons!), and I had also rounded up to the next full tile in my calculations. Oh well, there will be enough to save, until I find more and can do the walls, too!

The Bathroom Renovation Begins!

For a LONG time, I've wanted to get rid of the really disgusting tub surround that's been in the bathroom since who knows when. It's impossible to clean, it's never been what I really wanted in there, and it's just ugly! These are the before pictures: Yesterday, my handyman pulled it out and removed the wet layer of dry-wall that was behind it. This is what was under that - plaster and lathe on the top half and real wainscoting on the lower portion!

Here's the bucket of parts - I hope I can get the calcium deposits off the faucet pieces because they're perfect for my bathroom of the future!

Someday in the future, I want a sink vanity something like this one:

The style is perfect, but I'd rather it had either two doors opening traditionally or sliding doors. It would be great to have a laminate top with a hudee-ringed sink, too, but the laminate companies are rapidly discontinuing any laminate pattern that might work. They all seem to just love anything that looks like granite or marble, but nothing with the sparkle and charm of 1960!

Although the wainscoting is mostly in good condition, that's for the person who owns my house fifty years from now and wants to renovate the bathroom. My plans are 4" tiles with bull-nose tiles around the edge. Don't know the color yet (although, since it's "forever," it will probably be predominately white so it goes with anything), but it's going to be something very 1950's-1960's. I don't care that my house was built in 1870 (the original portion), 1915 (the front room and attic over it, along with this bathroom), 1941 (the kitchen) and 1965 (walling in the back porch), the rooms are (eventually) going to reflect a mid-twentieth-century impression. I'll keep you posted!

Dressing Up the Bed!

Really, really complete primer on making bedspreads! I especially like the photo on the last image, probably because it's orange and rather unique. I'd probably end up making something much simpler than that one, though! Have fun!

On to Slipcovers!

Today, I thought I'd put up the instructions for slipcovers fromt he 1970 Better Homes & Gardens Sewing Book. Slipcovers can cover stains and rips, protect upholstery, fit into a decorating scheme and unify.

Making Curtains and Drapes via the 1970 Better Homes & Gardens Sewing Book

One of these days, I'm making my own pinch-pleat draperies. I've wanted them for a while, but everything in the stores is really expensive (if you can even find nice looking drapes), or they are really nothing but glorified curtains. And I have perfect instructions right in my BH & G Sewing Book binder, printed in 1970. This is the divider for the "Sewing for the Home" section:


For anyone else who wants to learn more about it, who might want to try it, here are some images from the book, showing the process:








Keep watching for "Slipcovers" and "Bedspreads!"

My Newest Branchell Melmac Dishes!

Quite unplanned, I was in an antiques mall yesterday, browsing, not planning to buy anything. All of a sudden, I spotted a great find - at least in my area! Forty-three pieces of Branchell Melmac, mostly Color-Flyte, for $22.00! Thank you, Auntie's Antique Mall in Parkman, Ohio http://www.auntiesantiquemall.com/! Although I had several of the pieces already (of course, I can certainly always use more dinner plates), there are seven lug bowls (with the little fan-shaped handle on one side) and a pastel yellow dinner plate - not Color-Flyte, but definitely Branchell - that I did not have!


These are just a few of my other Branchell pieces (I have some cups in the pastel colors that are still wrapped from when I bought them - since I don't use the cups very often, there's no point having them out until I have a good place for them. I also have miscellaneous other pieces, like another butter dish, at least one other set of Color-Flyte-style sugar bowl and creamer - the two bright green pieces in the photo above that look like tea cups, but have a different handle, a turquoise Royale-style sugar bowl and creamer, and some others). I started "collecting" (never meaning to really be collecting!) Branchell because that is what my grandmother used in her home when I was little (well, really all the way up to the time she sold her house). She only had Color-Flyte, but I've found I love it all! For those uninitiated, Color-Flyte colors consisted of Mist Grey, Glade Green, Glow Copper, and Spray Lime. The colors of the Royale line were Gardenia White, Charcoal Grey and Flame Pink during the first run, and Turquoise Blue was added later. There were also several different patterns - my favorite is Flyte, Buttonflower, and an unknown pattern that sort of looks like it has an atomic symbol rolling around on the plates. In addition, and probably among the last ones designed by Branchell's designer Kaye LaMoyne, were some beautiful spring-like pastels in yellow, pink, blue, peach, lavender, aqua, and green. A really definitive site (not complete, but very good) on Branchell Melmac can be found at http://notagaingraphics.com/Branchell/index.html, for anyone who finds these dishes as fun and interesting as I do (and they don't break!)

Dinner plates

Platters, serving bowls, salt and pepper shakers, and (hiding, sort of) serving spoons

Bread and butter plates, salad plates


Royale-style sugar bowl and lid, gravy boats