Retro Lighting Craziness

My friend is currently in the market for a house and she always knows what weird things will catch my fancy. This popped up in one of the houses she toured today so she had to take a photo and share it with me.

This is in the bedroom. I don't even know what is going on here. It appears to be a pull down light? and the owners couldn't decide whether they wanted to go square or round so they chose both. Why not?

It sounds like this is the house currently on the top of her list and rightfully so! Any house with a crazy light like this has to be good. Right?

Right?

 

Well...this is the bathroom. Now I admit to liking a lot of things the general population frowns upon in the decorating department. BUT this combination is even a bit much for me. Now note I did say combination. I do think that wallpaper would be flower-power-rific in the right space. I have a feeling that tile is plastic and gross in person. If it was ceramic I like that color combination too. 

Doomsday Dinner

We all have survived the end of the world premonition and more importantly, the craziness of Christmas. Fortunately I was more stressed about getting Christmas plans organized and underway than the end of the world. Though last Thursday night Mark and I decided to indulge in some Runza. If I had to choose a last meal (sadly?) eating at Runza just might be it. We were waiting for our food when we heard 667 being called. Was that our number? No, that was the order after, wait, what was their number!?

LOL, yes, the evening before doomsday our order number was:

I would have expected my chili and cinnamon rolls to be a little warmer!

 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!

 

(a more merry post will hopefully follow though I won't promise anything!) hehe

 



Furnace Time Part II

So I've had this post about 1/2 written for the past 2 or 3 weeks. I should just schedule a weekly time to sit down and write so I don't have to start out my few measly posts lately with excuses.

It's been fairly warm outside but so far so good on our new furnace/heat pump. It's amazing how much better it seems to be working already though our gas bills will be the real test.

The old furnace.

The new, clean furnace. No more groping around in the dank, dark corner trying to get a 3' x 4' door off just to change a filter. The new little sliding door is front and center! The furnace guys even scrubbed down the floor so they definitely get bonus points.

 

The old ac.

 

The new monster ac with heat pump.

 

The one thing I was sad about losing was my vintage controller. They wouldn't even let me keep it. I thought the guy was going to have a heart attack talking about the mercury thermometer inside. Gesh, I'm glad I didn't mention my old cooking thermometers which are in the drawer right below. Really I didn't need this lying around in my vintage decor hoard so it was a good excuse to tell it goodbye.

 

Ugh, this is what I get to look at now. It is nice because it is programmable but I'm not used to what looks to be some kind of NASA control panel on my wall. It also glows a bright green just in case I am fortunate to forget its presence for a moment.

New Furnace Time! Part I

I need to have a blogging marathon and since I am holed up in my room due to chilliness and contractors wandering around downstairs, today might be the day! (pending baby nap time) I think I will have to go backwards on my time line though because I didn't even post my b-day giftings or my last garage sale weekend find. Gesh! Is there a "most disorganized blogger" award out there? I think I would win it.

Back to why I am hanging out in the bedroom today. Last week the pilot light went out in the furnace. I grew up with a father who was (is) an electrical engineer and decided electric was the way to go so he installed electric everything and even had the gas lines removed. This idea of a pilot light freaks me out, Mark is also a weanie when it comes to this so I had my brother check it out. We opened the furnace up to discover gas was still spewing out which is supposed to stop when the pilot goes out, isn't it?? We turned off the gas to the furnace, examined it further to find one of the little safety buttons was not popping closed. I called the heating place to see if it was worth fixing. The guy came over to check out the problem along with a general check over and found the heat exchange (er, something like that) was cracked. Whew, not that I wanted to put money into a new furnace BUT we did buy the house knowing this day would come so I was kind of scared the repair would be only moderately expensive and I really didn't want to put money into the old furnace.

The huge old furnace. I'm just glad the original asbestos octopus was long gone.

Adding on the central AC in 1981 involved sticking a bunch of random wires all over the outside of the furnace.

 

Here is the above mentioned central air from 1981. It was still plugging along last summer but we decided we may as well get it replaced too since at 31 years of age, with little to no maintenance from the previous owner, it has to be on its last legs.

 

I thought they had all of the furnace out when I shot this but I saw them loading another big chunk onto the truck later. It seriously looked like a rusty plane part fell out of the sky and landed in our yard.

 

I snuck downstairs during their lunch break hoping to find a huge empty spot to photograph though I was also pleased to see they had already set up the new furnace!

 

So far so good. Hopefully everything will be 100% set up tomorrow with everyone gone because I get so antsy when strange people are wandering around my house. Not that I like to walk around naked or anything (especially with no heat) but I just feel awkward and uncomfortable!  

Free Friday

Once a month our salvage store has a "Free Friday" at the beginning of the month. It's been sparse the past couple of months but this month I did come home with some cra...er, useful treasures.

A very awkward shot on the porch but it works.

 

I've been looking for a "new" coffee table, preferably a Lane Acclaim to match my side tables but this blends with my Lane Perception dining room so it works. It has a model stamp but no brand name. I believe the legs and decorative middle would all be one piece if it was from any of the major furniture makers so it is probably just from a random furniture company. It is much sturdier than my current table (I believe it could hold up to a small dance party on top) and hey, it was free so it will do and I can hold out until I find that Acclaim table at a decent price - remember my $20 limit, though I may splurge and pay $50 for one if it is in good shape...

 

The old time-y light will replace the broken 1980's fixture above the garage door and I have no clue what to do with the pendant light in my 100 yr old house but I thought it was pretty cool for free so it will be added to my collection of possible future basement lighting.  

Happy Halloween!

Growing up it seems like all of the holiday decor had its own place so when we pulled it out of the box we knew exactly where it went. I haven't gotten to that point with my decorations yet but it seems to get closer every year.

My mantle is still a work in progress but I do like how my bats turned out so they will be coming out again next year. They are a result of my Pinterest browsing and the pattern is here from Country Living.

My goal is to someday have enough kooky Halloween records to fill my frames but alas some tacky dollar store pictures will have to do for now.

Obviously I have a Halloween black cat obsession and this was a new acquisition which I actually won last weekend at a luncheon my mom brings me to every fall (I am bribed with the promise of country club food).

Another birthday gift this year was this witchy owl who may stay out a little past Halloween. I'm sure Mark will inform me I forgot to take down a decoration though he may be too distracted by my Christmas reindeer who will be making an appearance shortly.

I also had the grand idea of framing some of my vintage paper decor. I started painting some ugly frames but that is about all the further I got! This candy bag fit perfectly in this frame which was already somewhat beat up and Halloween looking so I did get one done!

25 Cents?

My parents and I were out doing our usual Saturday morning rounds. We walked up to one estate sale and saw furniture labeled 25. We didn't think much of it as $25 furniture is reasonable for decent estate furniture until I got up to the Duncan Phyfe table, complete with leafs, clearly labeled $1.00. Wait? is this furniture .25?? I'll take that credenza over there! Said I without giving it a second look since I desperately need one for the tv upstairs.

It has an ugly antiqued finish but nothing a little paint won't fix. I figured it was one of those fiberboard-y pieces since I didn't really look at it but when we actually went to move it, my mom and I couldn't even help lift it! Now it sits on the porch since I can't decide whether to paint or refinish it to its former glory.

Empty Basement

Now that my brother is (for the most part) moved out I have all of this space in my basement again.

This is the before: I want to remember this since this corner of my basement seriously looked like an episode of Hoarders.

After: Only a moderate hoard is left. Now I have space to organize my stuff. Will I? That is the question.

Friday Outing (Escape)

The past few days I have been itching to add to my Pyrex collection. It takes me (us) a while to get ready to venture out of the house so luckily I haven't been motivated to leave because the only place I would have gone was the antique mall and I know the Pyrex would be expensive. Well, I could be buying pricier things but I should say expensive for easy to find Pyrex. My garage sale ventures have also been limited meaning if baby wakes me up at a good time I can get out to a couple before Mark leaves for work. Today was such a day as she woke up at 6:45 so that gave us enough time to eat and check out the ads. I spied a church sale which is always good for some Pyrex and sure enough:

 $1.50 later I had my fix (cheaper than an antique mall!)

Though I am ashamed to admit that was not my favorite find. 

This $1 toilet lid clock was (unfortunately?) the highlight of my shopping excursion. 

But it matches my yellow walls perfectly and umm, compliments my 1915 clothes chute door nicely? Which reminds me, I don't think I ever posted pictures of my mostly finished bathroom!! Hmm, another blog post which has been at the back of my mind. Anyways, I'm sure Mark will be pleasantly surprised when he comes home and sees this lovely item hanging on the wall. I'm all over the classy decor with this one!

It's a Miracle!

It finally happened, nearly 8 months after an original closing date Frankie FINALLY was able to close on a house! Last January we found this really neat house seen here. That find was too easy so random unforeseen drama ensued which you can read about here. No one was ever able to track her down. The agent finally got a hold of her son who only said "I don't know anything about it." Hmm, despite being the 3rd party I can sense the family tension. There were so many neat pieces of furniture and features in that house it makes me sad to think about it still sitting there and falling into disrepair fast as the roof was showing its age.
Anyways, last May we came across a lovely Victorian which I wanted to buy, Mark said no so I talked Frankie into making an offer. He made a ridiculously low offer, they accepted and we have been patiently? waiting through several pushed back closing dates (it was a short sale) to get inside, scrub it down and move his Lego and G.I.Joe hoard out of my basement. I plan on helping him decorate (to my taste) and then when he is tired of it I will buy it from him and it will be all ready for me to move my stuff in. Mwahaha. Fortunately we seem to have about the same taste so he'll never realize whats happening...except I told him my plan already.

(assessor's website photo which is why it's tagged 2006)

Thanks to the addition off the back the garage is attached! Plus there is a cute little (what I envision as) a potting shed bumped off the side. He plans on painting the house something other than white which will bring out all of the different trim details.

I will start the tour with the  front door/entry.

The entry still has fancy crown molding. (The other ceilings have been lowered so we are unsure if the other rooms had/still have it)

The house has plenty of fancy light fixtures to satisfy my obsession and it begins in the entry. (You'll have to click to enlarge it and I'll have to see if I can get a better photo).

Fancy hat hooks also adorn the wall.

We went through the house to clear the clutter the previous owners left behind and this was the result (except for the baby and diaper bag). They also left all of their old cleaning supplies so that was nice along with a new door for the garage and tile for the upstairs bathroom.

A lot of it is going to the donation pile but there were a lot of fun crafty items my mom and I are going to divide. 

Ha! I don't know why he makes me laugh. I'm taking him if Frankie doesn't need him! 

The dining room and fixture in the living room are probably from the 50's when the house was renovated/added onto but I still think they are nifty. Note the cameo on the porcelain.

There are lots of antique wall sconces throughout. 

 Most of the doors have these spectacular Victorian door knobs.

The kitchen is/will be fantastic. The cupboards need some sprucing up but are nice, vintage and there are lots of them (there are more on other walls.)

 

I came across reproduction versions of these at Rejuvenation  and they were titled Whale Tales. Which apparently has another meaning involving something you see frequently on People of Walmart.

 

More cupboard space! This used to be the pantry? maid's room? but now it is a shortcut hallway to the "new" bathroom. I know I would be removing the doors and putting all of my vintage kitchen knick knacks on display in here.  

Another fancy fixture. Maybe the original dining room light which got moved to the smaller room due to the fact it only has 2 bulbs? It seems kind of big to be crammed back in this little room.

This is part of the remainder of the original back stair case. It was flipped with the basement stairs (you can see the original shadow on the wall to the left) so unfortunately it would be a pain to restore. It makes for 2 nice closets though.

Moving upstairs. This picture doesn't do these justice as they are about 4 ft wide. 

Original pedestal sink, medicine cabinet and claw foot tub.

AND he got an original toilet darn it!

The Art Deco fixture above the sink.

Cute linen area. The ceiling has been lowered so much that another cupboard is hiding over the ceiling tiles (the door is in the basement.)

Not only does he have one kitchen with nice retro cabinets but since the house used to be apartments, the upstairs kitchen also remains.

The countertops are a little dusty but look to be in good shape.

The upstairs half of the original back staircase.

And last but not least. Not only does he get a completely original 1910 bathroom, but since the house was added onto in the 50's, it also has a pink bathroom in the addition! The best of both eras!

We can't leave out the matching tub.All are in great shape - the tub just needs a good scrubbing. We found a new white toilet and pedestal sink in the basement so I think we just barely saved this bathroom from a generic fate.