Floor lamp & glasses {MCM Thrift Store Finds}

01/07/2010

Technically the floor lamp is not a thrift store find since it’s from a legit vintage shop in Cincinnati called Red Polly. But it’s mid-century modern and we found it. A lovely addition to our living room, we think.

At a real thrift store in Cinci we found these OJ glasses that match a pitcher we got here in Nashville a few months ago. They might not be from the same set but they’re pretty darn close. The glasses are Anchor Hocking but the pitcher is unmarked. Cute, huh?

We also found these smokey yellow glasses that reminded us of our grandmothers. I like the shape. There are 4 total but 1 was in the dishwasher when I photographed these.

That’s all for this household but our shopping buddies picked up a few cool things, too:

Retro blue canister set

Blue starburst glass vase

Corning Ware “Spice of Life” canister

Glasbake navy blue star / snowflake casserole dish

Curtis Jere wall sculpture of wheat (from Stu)

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Bathroom Renovation Stage 7

01/06/2010

Our master bathroom makeover has been slow moving, mostly because of the busyness of the holidays. But now we’re back at it full steam with a goal of finishing the shower this month. It’s going to be a challenge since we’re averaging about 4 sq. ft. an hour with these little .75″ unglazed porcelain tiles. One wall is almost done.

We’ve got a good system going now where I pop half the tiles off of each sheet in a random pattern at about the same pace as Jason can stick them up on the wall. If I crop out the unfinished parts and you use your imagination with the grout (we’re thinking gray) this picture gives a pretty good idea of the finished look:

Lost? Here’s the process up to now:

Bathroom Renovation Stage 1

Bathroom Renovation Stage 2

Bathroom Renovation Stage 3

Bathroom Renovation Stage 4

Bathroom Renovation: Tiling!

Bathroom Renovation Stage 5

Bathroom Renovation Stage 6

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Posted by mahlbrandt

New Years MCM finds

01/05/2010

We had a wonderful New Years in Cincinnati with our dear friends and fellow MCM enthusiests. We ate some delicious food: lobster, pork ribs and sauerkraut, Cincinnati chili, Cheesecake Factory. Some new—from IKEA and H&M—and “new” mid-century purchases—from Red Polly, SA family store and Stu Nizny‘s house (oh the stories!)

I’m so excited to report that we finally found the perfect vintage MCM cabinet to use for our master bathroom vanity. Wow. After a year of searching it’s going to take a while to sink in! (Pun intended that time.) And it fit in our car!

While we were poking around at the thrift store I pointed out a table that looked mid-century. Out of nowhere an  eccentric silver-haired guy in a hot pink down puffer with a saucer-sized belt buckle and white silver-tipped cowboy boots was giving us his business cards, inviting us back to his house to check out his vintage collection, offering us wholesale prices, and listing off his résumé of famous clientele. We shopped around a little more than then took him up on his offer.

Stu’s house was a museum of mid-century and vintage furniture, housewares, glass art, Jeres, vintage t-shirts, suitcases, light fixtures, art … and he was right: he did have several mid-century modern cabinets that fit the very specific dimensions we needed. Thanks for the great deals, Stu! We’ll definitely be back.

I’ll share more about our other finds soon.

1 Comment | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

01/01/2010

Nashville Preds game last weekend

And here’s the Christmas photo that didn’t get posted in time for last week.

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A Tiny Winter Forest

12/29/2009

After spending most of a Saturday searching every thrift store, craft store and gift store in town without much success*, Jason and I finally found some bottle brush trees at a craft store. This is about half of the tiny forest. We’re going to experiment with spray paint to see if we can get the effect of vintage pink & yellow dyed bottle brush trees.

*Have I ever mentioned how awesome my husband is? He totally got behind my obsession with this photo and was willing do drive me all over looking for some!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Happy Christmas Eve!

12/24/2009

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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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Posted by mahlbrandt

God Jul! {MCM thrift store find}

12/23/2009

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.

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Salem Biscayne China {a MCM thrift store find}

12/15/2009

I’ll never forget the first mid-century modern treasure Jason and I bought. We debated about whether or not we should pay $2 for a random platter and were surprised months later when we discover it was worth $50 and a legitimate collectible. A few months later we hit the mid-century antique furniture jackpot with our American by Martinsville end tables and coffee table.

A couple of weeks ago we struck gold again. Out on a leisurely thrift store stroll, we came across a set of mid-century modern dishes. What made this lightly used china so special was the size of the set. We couldn’t believe it: 9 teacups, 9 saucers, salt & pepper shakers, creamer, sugar bowl, gravy bowl, serving platter, serving bowl (not pictured), 6 dinner plates, 6 dessert plates, 6 cereal bowls and 6 small bowls.

Even though the price was amazing, I wasn’t sure I liked the pattern enough to own these so we walked out. (Not a big flower pattern fan.) As I suspected, after some googling a couple days later I regretted my decision and my wonderful husband went back to the place and scooped them up.

I can’t believe we almost missed out on these. Thank God for second chances. We’re thrilled with this Salem Biscayne china, especially after discovering it’s worth 6-10x what we paid for it—not that we plan on selling.

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Phone Photo Friday

12/11/2009

Pretty, colorful, vintage dishes are worth washing by hand.

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Wishing You a Shiny Brite Christmas

12/09/2009

I love my vintage Shiny Brite ornaments … as you can see from my Christmas decor the past few years. This year I was inspired to make a Christmas poster to add to our decor, ya know, being a graphic designer and all. I scanned one of my Shiny Brite boxes and made a design based off of it. I had so much fun making these.

The first one is the original.

I know it’s hard to read at this size … I changed the words to read “Wishing You a Shiny Brite Christmas.”

I’d sell this poster in my etsy shop but I have a feeling I’m infringing on copyrights here.

I’m going to order the last one for my home – brown, red and white. I’m thinking white frame.

Which color combination do you like best?

4 Comments | Art, Art: graphic design, Art: mid-century design | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

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