Into All Things Orange and Retro

If I had room, I'd have one of these...currently on KSL for $300- http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=4982045&cat=&lpid=1 though I probably would forgo the wood paneling, carpet, and weird tile backsplash....I would have it in my fabulous mid century modern glass house like this one.

$50 Well Spent

Lately I've been bummed out about the lack of cool stuff on Craigslist, but there was one listing that kept popping up that was sticking around.  I kinda sorta needed a more comfortable office chair, but it was far from crucial, but when I saw this baby, I couldn't really get it out of my head.  I have a friend who collects all of this vintage office furniture, and it looked so cool in her house, so I told her about the chair.  Days went by, and she didn't get it, and there it was still languishing on Craigslist.  I decided to offer the seller $40- she wanted $80, but hey, these are tough times.  We settled on $50 and I picked it up last night.  It is a mid century classic office chair made by Shaw-Walker of Muskegon, Michigan.

After doing a little research, I was pleased (shocked) to see that a restored version of this chair is selling for $1250!!!!  So, I'm off to figure out what a restoration would entail.  First thing is getting the upholstery cleaned and re-padded.  Coincidentally, I live across the street from an upholsterer, so that will be the research project du jour.

Couch Covet

My absolute dream couch currently on Ebay. I have to have it!

Melissa's Mad Skills Get a Shoutout!

I love checking in on Grassroots Modern every now and then, almost as much as I love obssessing over Craigslist and KSL.com. All of my friends know that I love bargain hunting and I love when people charge me with finding them a sweet deal on that rare or hard to find thing. Creede mentioned on his blog that he was looking for some Emeco chairs but didn't want to spend the ridiculous price of 400/chair that retailers like DWR charge. I found authentic ones some on CL.com for 70/chair and let him know. He promptly snagged them, and gave me a shoutout today:

http://grassrootsmodern.com/2008/10/08/thanks-melissa/

If anyone else needs anything, let me know, I'm always on the hunt. But beware, I might beat you to the punch if it's supa-cool!

I got this really cute memory game with all of these vintage designer fabrics on them by Girard, Eames, Pantin, etc. I put them on the wall above my little saucer chair under the stairs. I bought these little removable adhesive glue dots at the drug store, and they can be easily rearranged.

I Love the DI

A quick run to the DI thrift store yesterday yielded some really cute yellow vintage plates. You can see from the date stamp that they are from 1957! They are a sunny happy yellow, and they put a smile on my face. Some research showed that they are a mid century classic, and Gilkes was an Ohio ceramicist who worked for TST during that time. Sunburst is the color.

New Danish Modern chair

I admit, lately I have a little furniture problem, especially chair problem...I found this on Ebay, but the great part was that it was a local seller, so I contacted them directly, made them an offer, and picked the chair up. They wanted $125, I gave them $65- not a bad deal! Best guess is that it is late 60's or maybe early 70's but it's hard to say. It's solid walnut, and even though the chair isn't too big, it's really heavy!
You may also notice that my dresser is gone...I sold it on cl.com, but it was premature you see...the replacement dresser from Ikea was too big for the space. Now I need to find a new dresser, or just bag it and try to find a new home for the clothes that were occupying it.

Chairs in Position

One of the chairs in it's new home up in the loft.
The other chair in it's new home in the living room, to which I have tried to throw in more color, after being accused of on Rate My Space (hgtv.com), of being 'bland and mundane' with color...bitches! Whatever, I'm still trying to figure out the artwork. I like this artist on Etsy- her name is Rachel Austin, check her out, her stuff is super cool and beautiful colors. I'm going to order some prints. www.http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=44863

Yard Sale Score!

A lot of people have been asking me 'Melissa, what do you do now that you are not climbing?' Well, if you haven't noticed, my blog has been tending towards more homey stuff, because obviously, one of my hobbies is interior design and shopping for cool house furniture and accessories.

A big part of my daily routine is scoping Craigslist to see what cool things people are selling, and I think it's fun to incorporate bargains and vintage stuff into your house- it's the ultimate recycle.

I have also been spending a lot of my days Garaging as I like to call it. Today was a banner day, as we scored a charcoal grill for 10 bucks, as well as the Coup de Gras of all garage sale finds: a vintage designer piece.

Yep, I scored two Eames fiberglass shell chairs for 10 bucks a piece. The real deal, stamped and authentic. Ok, so they had seen better days, but with a little guidance from Ron at the Green Ant, they restored beautifully.

See the pics below and view the complete transformation. Now, if I were a greedy bastard, I could now put these suckers on Ebay and make 10-15 times (or more) in what I paid for them, but with all the blood, sweat, tears, and itchy fiberglass now imbedded in Adam and I, why would I do such a ridiculous thing, especially when I now own a sweet little piece of Vintage Modern history.

Scroll down to the very bottom view all of the instructions for how to sand and refinish an Eames fiberglass shell chair, as well as to see the pics of how it went.

The happy sanders are smiling behind their masks!
Adam uses steel wool to polish the metal legs.
Melissa applies Penetrol with a soaked rag.
Post sanding. The chair on the left has not been coated yet with the Penetrol, the chair on the right has been treated- AMAZING transformation!

BEFORE: Dull, itchy, UV and water damaged, fiberglass-flaking chair...
A classic, stamped!
The "H" Base
Adam and I conduct a 'wet sand'. First with coarser 320grit water proof sandpaper, then finer with 600grit. You have to apply a fine mist as you sand and keep the chair wet to minimize fiberglass dust. A moistend dust mask is essential as well as heavy duty rubber gloves.

Mid Century Craigslist chair

I have been eyeing several pieces of Mid Century Modern furniture lately (also seen below in my "I am Coveting" post of the Eames rocker...Here though, tucked delightfully under the stairs is my latest gem of a Craigslist find- a cute little Mid Century bucket chair. The last addition to my living room, except for the artwork.

House pics

Projects on a shoestring!

I really like doing projects. Even now that I live in a house that really doesn't require projects, I still think it's fun to reinvent your spaces to make them more enjoyable and livable. Today we put a new track light in the laundry room to brighten it up. We also put a white laminate table top over the washer and dryer to create more useable space. It had a side benefit of lightening up the room, defintely in conjunction with the new light.

Total cost for this pj:

$25 for track light (IKEA)
$15 for white laminate counter top (as-is room at IKEA).

Add it up, and you have a cool laundry update for 40 bucks...

While we're on the bargain subject, I LOVE Craigslist. I sell everything on there you can imagine, and I'm always on the hunt for a good find. Last week I sold some nice maple blinds that we removed while painting, and no longer had a use for. I sold 6 of them for $50- hopefully they were psyched on their bargain...

That same day, I hit the jackpot and fount a gorgeous balau wood and stainless patio table for $50! Actually, it was $65, but the guy accepted my offer of 50...So, the revolving door of Craigslist keeps spinning, and I am so happy with my transactions.

Enjoy the pics of my happy home makeovers.