I LOVE this picture. It captures the essence of Christmas decor I want to have in my home. It also sent my husband and me on a mad search for bottle brush trees. (Once I finally figured out what they’re called!) I’ve found some on Etsy but I was hoping to come across some vintage ones at local thrift stores. No beans.
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Art, Art: crafts, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design | Tagged: bottle brush trees, mid-century christmas decor, vintage christmas | 
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Posted by mahlbrandt
That’s Merry Christmas in Swedish. (Or “Good Yule!” literally.) This little green ceramic tree with tiny colored lights is a festive find from our holiday thrift store searching. We were on the hunt for bottle brush trees without much luck.
The Dálecarlian horse was a gift from my Uncle Bob several Christmases ago.
Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design | Tagged: christmas tree, mid-century christmas decor, retro christmas | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Our little East Nashville Atomic ranch is an ever-changing canvas. I love that we’re always removing boring items (from IKEA mostly) and replacing them with rare & interesting collectibles.
I was just looking back at the wonderful photos we had taken last October by the very talented photographer, Beth Rose Goin. There are a couple of publications I’d like to submit photos to but I just can’t bear to send these off knowing how much the rooms have changed since they were taken. Here is one of the few corners of our house that has not changed much in the past 14 months:
I think I may just have to hire Beth Rose in the spring for another shoot.
6 Comments | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design | Tagged: east nashville atomic, home tour, mid-century home, our home | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Christmas has arrived at our little mid-century modern ranch. I was pretty excited this year when I asked Jason if we could get down the Christmas decorations and not only did he have no objections but he had an idea for a creative modern West Elm inspired Christmas tree! (Apparently, his Christmas spirit returned when he quit Starbucks. Yay!)
My cherished Shiny Brite ornaments my Granny gave me a few years before she passed away. They’re from the 1950s or 1960s.
We’re minimalists even at the holidays.
Our neighbors on either side have icicles draped across the front of their ranches. I’m afraid this wreath looks a bit Grinch-y in comparison. I’m thinking of lining the big front windows with white lights from the inside (if I can find some working strands.)
2 Comments | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design, Family, Family: Jason | Tagged: atomic ranch, Christmas, christmas decor, mid-century modern home, our home | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Moving along on the bathroom renovation one Saturday at a time. Last weekend we put up more of the tile. Eight sq ft are now up. Only 112 more to go. Can you see why this is going to take a while?
Also, we finished up all the concrete board. (I use “we” very loosely here. I wasn’t feeling great but I am excellent at providing moral support.) We covered the curb so now the concrete shower pan can be poured at any time:
On one side of the shower we built in 2 shelves for shampoo, conditioner, soap, shaving cream, etc. (As the woman of the house and the obsessive organizer, I’m taking credit for this idea.)
Things to do in the near future: pour shower pan, install rain shower in ceiling and plumbing in wall, install recessed light in shower, install ceiling shower fan, put up 112 more sq ft of tiny tiles.
Trying hard not to lose momentum here!
Where we started:
2 Comments | Art, Art: bathroom renovation, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: bathroom renovation, master bathroom, tile | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
I’m not calling this a stage because it’s not really a stage change in the bathroom. The tile arrived over the weekend and on Monday, Jason and I decided to put up 2 square feet to see how it looks. We have 2 different colors of .75″ x .75″ tile that come in 1 sq ft sheets and it’s up to us to pop off 50% of the tiles (112 per sheet) to make a random pattern.
Let me just say that this process sucks. It takes a lot longer than I anticipated and the mesh is like sandpaper on my fingers! But I know it will all be worth it. Jason and I are really pleased with how it looks once the 2 colors are randomized together:
It took us 20-30 minutes to make 2 sq ft. So … multiply that by 60 (120 sq ft total) and it looks like we can plan on 20-30 hours of tile popping. That’s not counting installing the tiles on the wall.
… Putting each tile we popped off back into the other color sheet …
… And making sure they’re all straight and flush. But it’s going to be SOOOOO worth it! I can’t wait to see how it’ll look when the whole shower is done.
Meanwhile we still have a couple of sheets of concrete board to hang and the shower pan to pour. Once we realized how long the tile is going to take we figured we’d better get started right away so we can takes breaks to do other parts of the process.
Yes, I know we’re crazy. Did I mention we got a really good deal on the tile?
3 Comments | Art, Art: bathroom renovation, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: bathroom renovation, master bathroom, tile, tiled shower | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
We had a great weekend with our friends Dave and Emily visiting from PA. I didn’t take any pictures over the weekend, though. Whoops!
Here are a few highlights:
• Hatch Show Print on Friday afternoon
• Buca di Beppo for dinner
• The guys jammed together while the girls enjoyed the almost 80º weather with a walk Saturday morning
• Lunch at Baja Fresh
• Mac store, mall, thrift stores* and chillin at Dan & Ginger’s house
* got 2 new MCM treasures! I’ll share later this week
• Party Saturday night with bonfire and games. Lots of yummy fall food: hot dogs, smores, cheese dip, homemade soft pretzels, homemade donuts, hot spiced apple cider
• Sunday church and then lunch at another friend from PA’s house
• A restful evening at home Sunday
We said our goodbyes on Monday morning. Hopefully D&E will be back to the promised land soon! I’m thankful I took the day off Monday to get caught up around the house and get a nap after a fun but busy weekend!
More about our tiling adventures tomorrow!
Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: bathroom renovation, friends, tile, weekend | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Wow – a lot got done this week! First we cleaned out all the rubble and moved all the salvageable and scrap drywall pieces into the laundry room (we have a laundry room!). Next, we cut a hole in the floor so we could move the vent.
Then, while Jason was prying up wood flooring we had the first accident of our renovation. A board went airborne and hit Jason in the face causing a top tooth to cut deep into his bottom lip. It was pretty bloody then purple for a couple of days but thankfully, nothing major.
Once the flooring was removed we installed drain flange and the rubber PVC liner for the shower pan. Then we hung the concrete backer board on the shower walls – that’s the moisture tolerant concrete material on which we mount the tiles. Notice Jason’s mask? Yeah, after 3 weeks of inhaling drywall dust and waking up in the middle of the night with dry throats we finally decided to buy some masks.
We didn’t finish hanging the board because it got too late and we needed to actually clean up the bathroom. I’m pleased to report that we’re taking a break from renovations this weekend because our friends from Erie are visiting. Yay! Maybe I’ll have something other than bathroom renovation to blog about next week. Look how “clean” it is, you can actually see the floor in this picture!
See our progress here:
2 Comments | Art, Art: bathroom renovation, Art: interior design | Tagged: bathroom renovation, master bathroom, shower installation | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
The most creative part of the bathroom remodel so far is definitely picking out the tile. We fell in love with .75″ x .75″ unglazed porcelain (or ceramic) tiles but they can be a bit pricey. Local stores and online retails both sell them from around $6 / sq. ft. all the way up to $12 or more. That adds up quickly when you’re buying 120 sq ft.
The look we’re going for is something like the picture above. We wanted to do all 1 color but we found a fantastic 40% off sale online with limited quantities. They only had around 50% of what we needed in our top color choice, Mint Julep, so a combination in a random pattern needed to be created. Jason picked out some color ideas (based on price and availability) and I made mock ups so we could decide:
1: 50% mint julep, 25% fog, 25% cascade
2: 50% mint julep, 50% cascade
3: 50% mint julep, 25% fog, 25% camo
4: 50% mint julep, 25% fog, 25% topaz
The tile has been ordered EEEK! Biggest expense of the project is out of the way.
What is your favorite? Anyone want to take any guesses which combination we decided?
2 Comments | Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: bathroom renovation, master bathroom, tile | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
In September we found a mid-century modern Paulding lamp at a Nashville thrift store. While we were in Erie, PA a few weeks ago, we found a companion lamp for the other side of the living room. The styles are different but they’re both blue-green, retro and fit nicely in our atomic ranch.
Here’s a side by side comparison of the lamp buddies. They have matching shades from Target.
1 Comment | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: mcm lamp, mid-century home, thrift store find | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
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Graphic designer, MCM interior design enthusiast, wife to amazing guitarist and hard working realtor, mama—by way of foster care, adoption and biology—and follower of Jesus Christ.
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