A Year Ago {glimpse of east nashville atomic}

12/08/2009

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:

livingroom

I think I may just have to hire Beth Rose in the spring for another shoot.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Free December Calendar

12/03/2009

I just created a December calendar for my computer background (desktop wallpaper). It’s a sort of collage/montage of my dining room table set for Christmas.

Would anyone like a copy? The only problem is, it’s formatted for my macbook pro (1440×900). If you want it in a different size, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

If you click on the image above it will open the full size (1440×900) where you can right click or drag on to your desktop to save.

Let me know if you like this idea. I’m thinking about making one every month in Twenty Ten as a free gift for my mid-century modern life readers.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Christmas at the Ranch

12/03/2009

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: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Pyrex Teacups {a MCM thrift store find}

12/02/2009

A few weeks ago, Jason and I found two of these sweet little Pyrex tea cups at the thrift store.

I am not sure of their vintage-ness but they look pretty retro to me. What do you think?

New hat + new tea cup = I’m all ready for winter!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Our Home & Garden in November

11/30/2009

These photos were taken November 21, 2009.

We haven’t/hadn’t yet had a frost so our banana tree is still alive and at least 12 feet tall.

All the rain has caused some beautiful moss to grow in one of our bamboo plants.

Our fire pit has seen some good use this year.

The giant pine tree in our front year provides an endless amount of pine cones, pine mulch and shade. The lavender is still going strong. Although I’ve seen a few birds go in and out of our birdhouse, no one has made a permanent home there.

I love this frosty blue-green sage. Lucy, our chocolate cocker spaniel, just turned 5 and has been scaring us a bit with some strange health episode.

We are so crazy about her. Isn’t she just adorable? She’s as sweet and as soft as she looks. (She found a new “bed” in the throw blanket storage box behind the couch.)

The heavenly bamboo out front is producing lots of pretty red berries.

1 Comment | Art, Art: God's creation, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design, Family: Lucy | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Bathroom Renovation Stage 6

11/25/2009

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:

Bathroom Renovation Stage 1

Bathroom Renovation Stage 2

Bathroom Renovation Stage 3

Bathroom Renovation Stage 4

Bathroom Renovation: Tiling!

Bathroom Renovation Stage 5

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Blue Bowl & OJ Pitcher {mcm thrift store finds}

11/19/2009

Over the weekend we stopped by a couple of thrift stores and came away satisfied by these 2 finds (for about $4 total):

This pretty blue bowl that Jason spotted.

And this funky glass orange juice pitcher that I found.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Bathroom Renovation: Tiling!

11/18/2009

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: , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

The Tile Arrived!

11/17/2009

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!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Picking Out Tile!

11/10/2009

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.

BrioPearlMermaidBlendAlt1_300

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:

tileideas

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: , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

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