04/26/2012
Our new home exterior will have cedar siding, as well as concrete block on most of the front, and hardie plank accents around the side and back. I was having trouble visualizing the cedar so I did some homework and looked for images on Pinterest.
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Here is what I DON’T want it to look like!
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Or like this. Too rustic for my taste.
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I stumbled upon this image, also. This house has several elements similar to ours. Concrete facade, cedar siding, courtyard entrance, glass store front style door. I also really love the unexpected pop of blue.
1 Comment | 
Art, Art: modern design, Art: new home build | Tagged: cedar siding, construction, dream house, modern, new house | 
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Posted by mahlbrandt
03/29/2012
Good news: Pinterest has some practical real life applications! Last week I was pinning pictures of kitchens for inspiration for our new home. Our architect emailed us and said, “I noticed you’ve been looking at soapstone countertops. Do you want us to get some prices together for soapstone counters in the kitchen?” Jason said, “How did he know that?!” Because he follows my boards on Pinterest, of course!
It’s true. We’ve been thinking about putting black soapstone countertops with high gloss white cabinets and stainless appliances in our new kitchen. We like the solid dark color, the soft feel, the heat resistance and the matte finish of soapstone. And supposedly it’s quite a bit cheaper than granite. Here are some inspiration pictures I pinned on Pinterest. Some are pinned because of the cabinets, some the counter tops, some the configuration.
3 Comments | Art, Art: interior design, Art: modern design, Art: new home build | Tagged: cabinets, countertops, dream house, interior design, kitchen, modern, new home | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
03/19/2012
Jason and I got a tip from my co-worker about an estate sale in a 1960s ranch. We went on Saturday when everything was half off and I was surprised to see that the couch I had spotted in the online preview was still sitting in the living room.
The sofa was covered with junk but we loved the shape and decided to go for it. It was marked $200 so we got it for $100. It was set up in the living room as a straight couch without the rounded corner piece, and we might end up using it that way in our new house. It’s in desperate need of new upholstery and new foam for the seat cushions which were…crunchy, dry-rotted. Gross. One end of the sofa doesn’t have an arm rest, like a chaise, which is pretty sweet. We set it up in the loading bay of our storage facility for a quick photo shoot before we packed it away.
7 Comments | Art, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design | Tagged: couch, estate sale, mid-century, modern, sectional, sofa, vintage | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
02/23/2012
We’re waiting for our architect to finish up the construction documents so we can find the perfect contractor and get started on our new house. In the meantime, I decided I’d take Ryan’s front elevation drawing into Photoshop and have some fun with it. I used a photo of the property from October (when the trees had leaves) and then added colors, textures and landscaping.
I don’t know how accurate this mock up will end up being but it sure does get Jason and me excited!
Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: graphic design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design, Art: new home build | Tagged: architecture, mid-century, mock up, modern, new home, photoshop, plans | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
10/26/2011
Recently, I told you about our new rocking chair. Since a few people asked about it, I wanted to share that it’s now on sale for just $107 with free shipping. The price seems to change frequently on this for some reason but I’m not sure I’ve seen it this low.
Baxton Studio Letterio White Cradle Chair
Also, I just signed up to be an Amazon.com Affiliate since I shop on Amazon all.the.time. If you’ve been thinking about buying this Baxton Studio rocker, I hope you’ll consider doing so through the link above. (I get a small kick back from Amazon.)
3 Comments | Art, Art: kids room, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: baby, eames, kids room, modern, nursery, rocker, rocking chair | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
10/25/2011
Jason and I have been dreaming big lately… dreaming about houses. I’m not ready to tell you why yet.
Here are some inspiring images I’ve found.
Check my Pinterest page for sources.
8 Comments | Art, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: dream home, dreaming, eichler, homes, inspiration, mid-century modern, modern | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
08/18/2011
Have you looked through the IKEA 2012 catalog yet? I’ve skimmed but I haven’t had a chance to give it a thorough inspection yet. (I do that when I get the paper copy.) If you have, are you excited about any of the new products? I was intrigued and challenged by the Small Spaces video series.
I noticed that our SOMNAT crib went down $20 in price.
I’d love to have this poster…
Other than that nothing jumped out at me but I really enjoy browsing through the catalog every year. In several places IKEA succeeded in making these spaces look real and lived in. I love this. It’s a nice change from staged, perfect catalog images.
2 Comments | Art, Art: graphic design, Art: interior design, Art: modern design | Tagged: furniture, home, IKEA, modern | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
03/09/2011
Ever since we moved into our mid-century modern ranch 4 years ago, we’ve been planning to add a fence around all or part of our backyard. It’s not that we don’t love our neighbors—we have great neighbors—but we like the idea of creating an outdoor room. Here are some inspiration photos Jason has been collecting for the past few years:
(Sorry, I don’t know the source for any of these.)
10 Comments | Art, Art: modern wood fence | Tagged: fence, landscaping, modern | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
12/21/2010
I wish I could take credit for this but alas, I cannot. I saw it on a blog last year and saved it in my inspiration files. (The blog is now private so there is no point in citing it.) Maybe it will inspire someone else out there, too!
1 Comment | Art, Art: Cooking, Art: crafts, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: Christmas, gingerbread house, mid-century, modern | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
myMCMlife.com 