1.30.2010

Good (yes good) 1970's Design

Although most of the 1970's design that I remember from my childhood was dark and uninviting (fake walnut paneling and brownish orange shag carpet tend to give a room a dungeon-like quality), there was a lot of good design from this era that was sadly overshadowed in our memories by the bad. I may have mentioned before how fond I was of the kelly green velvet loveseat that my parents had, and how heartbroken I was when they gave it away in the 80's. I was 12 at the time, but already had dreams of designing a fabulous pad of my own around it. My parents also had a pair of high-backed wicker peacock chairs, one of which stayed with me until about 5 years ago when it had finally started to fall apart. A friend of mine used to call it the Mr. Roarke chair, a tribute to Fantasy Island. And if you're too young to have lived through these times, may I introduce you to some tasty 70's design?
Not my parents loveseat pictured above, but even this one is even better! My Mom loved this color so much that she carpeted an entire house in kelly green in 1980. It was pretty fantastic, but I'm still not sure how she talked my dad into such a bold color. The room below is almost timeless, don't you think? This photo was taken in the early 70's.
Nice walnut Eames stool (used here as a side table) to accompany the Eames lounge chair . Has anyone ever actually seen an Eames stool in a real home that hasn't been staged for a book or magazine? They're beautiful, and ridiculously expensive.
Imagine that when those plantation shades are open, this dining room looks out onto a courtyard full of tropical plants and maybe even a swimming pool. That would be kind of perfect.
Not a look that appeals to me for everyday, but this room manages to be elegant and playful at the same time.
Has IKEA tried to reproduce this room yet? If not, I'm surprised.
The room below is classic, perhaps with the exception of that dangerous-looking coffee table. And why aren't more companies making attractive couches anymore? They all seem to be these overstuffed puffy things. Can someone please make a comfortable modern sofa that doesn't cost $3,000? Please?
My first truly modern wicker sighting.
All images are from: Good Housekeeping's Complete Book of Decorating (1971) and How to Make Your Windows Beautiful (1974).

1.26.2010

The Coconut Chair

Over the weekend I went to see The Richard Avedon Kennedy Portraits exhibit the The Hunter Museum (a fantastic museum that my mid-sized city is so lucky to have). The pair of George Nelson Coconut Chairs in the lobby prompted this post. It is amazing that a chair this sleek can be so comfortable.
boomerang for modern (case study house #22)

1.22.2010

Agave

Our rainy week (or rainy winter, I should say) has me thinking of the beauty of a dryer climate. Thus the Agave...










Sources: wikimedia, sm growers, flickr (users Eric in SF, cobalt123, Floris van Bruegel, eyecatcher, Bill Gracey, Jim Skea, gatalinkica, plantmanbuckner), mountain states wholesale nursery

1.20.2010

One Year Blog Anniversary!

I kind of let it pass quietly, but last Sunday was my blog's one year anniversary! Let's eat some cake to celebrate.
I finally caved under the pressure from friends and family, and set up a Facebook page (even though I still think Facebook is a time-sucking demon, heh). I set up a fan page for the shop as well, where I will post shop sneak peaks, link to blog posts, etc. Just what you need, another thing someone is asking you to follow, right? It's in its early stages, but if you want to check it out, here is The Cottage Cheese facebook page. (To lure you there, I've also loaded a few long-promised and never delivered casual snapshots of my wedding week on my personal page, which you can access through my fan page by clicking on me - Marsi - in the "friends" box).
Thanks to everyone for reading my blog, you guys rock!

Red Umbrella

Related to my prior post, Don left me a comment about his wife and sister-in-law's consignment shop in Petaluma: Red Umbrella. You know I love a good consignment shop, so I hopped over to the shop's blog to check it out. How cute is this place? I could design a little girl's room around this bedroom set. I'm thinking white walls , white wood ceiling, and hardwoods (preferably white floors, but realistically speaking, not practical for a kid's bedroom). Ok, must stop myself from daydreaming now...
I spy lots of great pieces for that 40's or 50's cottage look.
And how cute is this jeans display?

The one of a kind Natalia Peacock Love Seat was created by artist-upholsterer Melissa Stanbro-Cavener.
So if you're anywhere near Sonoma County, check it out! Photos via Red Umbrella and ffocuss.

1.18.2010

Howard's End in Petaluma

This cute little rental cottage in Petaluma, California is called "Howard's End". The cottage's central location makes for easy travel to Napa and Sonoma, SanFrancisco, and Pt. Reyes National Seashore.
Sunset Magazine did a feature on this little gem, which started its life as a garage. The owner is a furniture designer and builder, and his personal touches are evident in the 13 different kinds of wood used to build the cabinets, floors, countertops, and shelves that are found in the guest cottage.

Don't you just want to sit out on this little porch with your coffee?
Did you all have a smashing good weekend? I enjoyed quite the lazy weekend with Mr. Cheese, but I did get out and find some gems for the shop. Think kitsch.

Photos found here and here.

1.17.2010

TeenAngster: The Blog

Etsy's own TeenAngster (aka Alison Feldmann) started a long-anticipated personal blog. Go there now. Seriously.
Photographed by Carter Smith, via Teenangster

1.15.2010

Front Page Treasury: Think Pink

I'm so excited that the "Think Pink" treasury that I curated was on the front page today! Here's the archived front page from craftcult:

And this is what it looked like by the time I caught sight of it 50 minutes after it first landed on the front page. So exciting - 5 of the items had already sold, so all of my lovely alternates also got to be on the front page. Yay!


I couldn't catch the entire treasury in one screen capture because of my small macbook screen, but you get the gist. So sorry if this isn't interesting to anyone else, but for me and my simple little life, it was pretty exciting :) Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

1.14.2010

Real Estate Sampler (Part I)

In this cruddy economy, my husband and I have had to shift our focus from whole-house renovations of our own to working multiple projects in various arenas. From my husband's restaurant renovation work to my Etsy shop, call it diversifying to maintain self-employment in hopes that eventually we can get back to our dream business. But man oh man, do I miss real estate. The thrill of searching for that perfect fixer, the design and renovation process, the anxiety/high of sales contract negotiations. Add to that my daydreaming of living in many different places. To feed my hunger for houses, I'm a design blog junkie, and frequently lose myself for hours in real estate websites such as Realtor.com, Sellmodern, BobVila, etc. This cold spell has me longing for warmer days and happy outdoor spaces, which is the basis for the first two dreamy home listings that I'm sharing. Both of these were found on Realtor.com.

First up is a charming 1940 Mediterranean style home in Hollywood, Florida. This house has so much potential, it just needs a little cosmetic sprucing up. I would live in that backyard. Seriously, I could see myself pitching a tent and camping out there. $399,000.


House #2 is a 1909 Arts and Crafts style Sears Kit House in Belfast, Maine. The modern addition is definitely not in keeping with the character of the house, but the rest of the house's original charm has been maintained. Sited on Penobscot Bay, with views of Belfast Harbor. Just look at the way the porch openings frame the view. Happy sigh... And it can be yours for only $1.2 mil


I'm considering making this weekly or bi-weekly series, what do you think?

1.12.2010

Insanely cool designs at The Wallpaper Collective

I'm still wallpaper phobic (make that design commitment phobic, as proven by my 3-times-painted-since-I-moved-in two years ago office and kitchen). However, the funky selections from The Wallpaper Collective make me ridiculously flipping happy. Whoever thought to put a flocked velvet skull and bones motif, mix tapes & turntables, squirrels, polar bears, jellyfish & squid on wallpaper is a mad genius. (Oh, and there are some nekkid ladies too).














Did you spy the jellyfish? (Look closely at the second to last image).