Aqua Laminate

The laminate countertop samples from Abet Laminati came in yesterday and we have a winner! We ended up selecting 486 in the SEI finish. (Their samples are totally free by the way!) It's almost a perfect match for vintage aqua appliances. Though it still may be awhile before we can get to this project, it's good to know we finally found a place that sells what we need!

Vintage Coldspot Fridge

We finally got the fridge out of the truck and into the garage, so I took a few more pictures. We are going to clean it up first, which works out because we can't turn it on for a few days since we had it on its side for awhile. Then we'll move it to the kitchen!

To read my post about energy costs, click here. 

Dreams of A Vintage Kitchen

Someone in my area is selling this beautiful, mid century kitchen (below) that I would absolutely die for. Wish I could just take the whole thing and put it in my house as-is!







Anyway, feels aside, I started thinking again about our countertops. Eventually, I'd like to redo them and wrap around to the stove area. But the minty laminate we have now with the gold speckles (though amazing) isn't made anymore. I'd love to go aqua like the kitchen above, but none of the major stores sell anything in remotely the right hue. They have one kind of cool Boomerang print, but it's a desaturated pale blue, and just doesn't work for me. Formica was still selling an aqua boomerang until just a few years ago when they discontinued it. I asked them about custom orders, but unfortunately I never heard back.



I think Retro Renovation is an amazing resource, but since some of the older posts can be a little out-of-date, I wanted to put it out there that the site Abet Laminati still exists and sells tons of great colors. I just ordered samples of 846, 486, 857 and 482, and I'll post an update on the colors when they come in. Fingers crossed that we can find a good aqua in there!

Isle of Dogs Review

I am a big Wes Anderson fan. So naturally, I had to see Isle of Dogs. It has Anderson's usual whimsy, awkwardness and thoughtful detail in every frame. Unfortunately, I did sense something was missing though, and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but I’m hoping a second viewing can help with that. Mainly, I think it has to do with being slow at times and not quite as funny as I expected. 

Let me go ahead and get what I don’t like about the film out of the way first. One of the biggest issues I have is that he didn't utilize his amazing cast, which was really played up in the trailers. Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton—are all background characters with very few lines. Their group, introduced in the beginning, led me to believe they would have a much bigger role. And though they did have some funny lines, they just didn't bring enough to the film. 

I think the slow pace also might be a turn-off for a lot of people—especially the first third of the movie. That's the biggest critique that I've been hearing so far. Personally, I don’t mind slow starts as long as they're used for world and character development and pick up the pace as the story moves along. And in my opinion, that was the case here. 

Lastly, I was pretty perplexed by some of the set designs. The story is placed 20 years in the future, but televisions look like they're from the 1960s, complete with black and white screens. There's also a scene where Mayor Kobayashi has a television interview in a room that looks straight out of 1970s America. It has no place in futuristic Japan. I understand that Anderson has a love for American retro, but he could have at least been inspired by something that would make more sense, like retrofuturism. Personally, I would have loved to see how he would blend that with Japanese style. 

That aside, I did really enjoy a lot about this movie. As usual, every frame is a work of art: bold, beautifully composed, usually with some form of symmetry and an atmosphere that really immerses you in the world. The stop motion is fantastic (I especially love how when they fight, they turn into giant cotton balls with arms and legs sticking out in all directions). And it’s really interesting that television broadcasts are in 2D, in contrast with the events happening in the real world. Setting the story in Japan also gives Anderson a new palette of artwork, culture and architecture to pull from. He makes whimsical references to Hokusai, and features an amazing triptych painting in the intro that looks like it's probably based on art from the Azuchi-Momoyama period. 

Even though there were some characters that I thought were under appreciated, they did do a great job developing the main character, Chief. There's a particular moment (that I won’t spoil for you) that made me tear up, and it’s interesting how the characters don’t dwell too much on it or that Anderson doesn’t force feelings from his audience. He portrays it matter-of-factly and allows you to appreciate its beauty for exactly what it is. 

I also thought it was an interesting choice not to translate a good majority of the Japanese dialogue. My guess is that it would make the (mainly American) audience relate more to the dogs, and have the humans feel alien. But as far as things that weren't "foreign", there was an American exchange student and, yes, she was really annoying at times, but I interpreted that as a tongue-in-cheek reference to how the rest of the world sees us. And she did end up playing a pretty important role. 

Overall, I really did enjoy the movie, but personally, I wouldn't put this at the very top of my Wes Anderson favorites list. If you're going to see it to get immersed in the retro world, quirky humor and whimsical story, you’ll definitely get your Wes Anderson fix though. So I say give it a watch and see what you think!

Kitchen Coincidence

The other day, I was watching the Sandlot, absorbed in nostalgia, and loving their adorable house. I mean how cute is this?



But when it came to the black eye scene, I had to do a double take because by complete coincidence, I have almost the same things in my kitchen! Must be some old subconscious memories influencing my purchasing decisions 😅

Vintage Coldspot Fridge

So excited! I just bought this amazing vintage Coldspot refrigerator for my birthday. We have to wait for some friends to help us get this thing out of the truck because DANG, it's heavy. But it's really in great condition and really spacious compared to some of the other older fridges that I saw.

The woman I bought it from was really nice and had it running for a few days before we came to pick it up. Everything was still working really well. It also passed the paper test. (If it falls out of the door when it's closed, you know the seal is bad and unless you really know what you're doing, it's not worth it.)

























I know what you're thinking. It's going to be a waste of energy. But after doing some research, it seems that refrigerators between 1960 and 1980 are the worst because that was when automatic defrosters were invented, but before laws were put in place to ensure efficiency. Prior to the 60's many refrigerators, like this one, didn't have an auto defrost. So that means I'm going to have to clean out my freezer every once in awhile, but that doesn't seem too bad.

I assume though, that despite the lack of auto defrost it's still going to take more energy than our 90's fridge that we currently have, so I bought a Kill-A-Watt meter to test it, and I'll post an update when we have a result! I'm really interested about what we find...for better or for worse!

UPDATE: To read my more recent post about energy costs, click here.

Mad Women

If you loved Mad Men, you will really appreciate this book.

I just finished it; it's a pretty quick read. A fellow graphic designer recommended it. The author is Jane Maas, and she is basically a real-life Peggy Olson. She worked her way up the food chain on Madison Avenue in the 60s and 70s. In it, she gives her account of the way things were and answers questions about the accuracy of the show. I thought it was really inspiring, and it was fun to get immersed in the Mad Men culture again.

In honor of the book, I thought I would share some of my favorite ads I have from old LIFE magazines. The hand drawn illustrations blow me away every time, and I can always appreciate a good pun. On top of that, I think these ads in particular have great layouts. Without further ado, enjoy!

Mad Men Makeover Pt. 2

I redecorated my "Mad Men" inspired bedroom a little bit recently. The walls are still based on Joan's apartment, but I changed up the comforter and curtains, added a Philodendron (that we named Dapper Dan) and found this amazing accent pillow at Walmart that matched the wall color.

I really love our Broyhill Brasilia set. We have a night stand, bed frame and dresser. Recently, I saw a single night stand for sale at Brasilia Connection for about $600 😳 which is insane, but apparently they are very rare. I'm lucky to have the pieces I have!

Both the photos I pictured are of my mom's parents; one on their wedding day and one a couple decades later. They have always been one of my favorite couples!

I still have to figure out what I'm going to do for the other night stand and I hope Dapper Dan grows more so I can set him on the floor and not on a chair, but other than that I'm pretty happy with the way things are coming along! I think Joan would be proud 😉

Happy to be Lost in Space

As a kid, I have fond memories of waking up in the early morning before school with my younger brother and rubbing our eyes in front of the TV to watch the day's Lost in Space episode. My dad grew up with the show and as soon as he introduced us, we were hooked. The low budget didn't matter; we just wanted to laugh at Dr. Smith and the robot having an insult match or fear for Will as a "terrifying" plank of wood with a face drawn on it threatened his life. It was super campy, but we loved it. It had a lot of heart and imagination.

I was admittedly a little worried about the new show, because more often than not, remakes tend to cop out, thinking they just can rip off the name and assume the fans will follow. (Yeah, I'm talking to you Reboot: Guardian Code. And as far as I'm concerned, the 1998 Lost in Space movie never happened.) But I was thoroughly impressed. This was definitely my kind of show. No longer campy, this was a realistic portrayal, from the family problems they had to face to the mental effects of stress on its characters. I loved what they did with the costumes, environments, the chariot and the theme song. Definitely worthy of the name. And there were some laughs too, like Debbie the chicken. 😂😂🐓

I could go on about what I liked and didn't like about the show, but I know there will be a lot of other opinions out there, and I figured since my blog focuses more on retro that I'd talk a little bit about something I really enjoyed from the original: the intro animation. I loved it so much that I had taped it on VHS just so I could pause it on each character and draw them out on a piece of paper. Here's the sketch from my childhood archives 😆

Before I started this post, I tried to do some research on the artist but unfortunately couldn't find anything. What I can tell you is that it is based on a style made very popular during the time by a Graphic Designer named Saul Bass (pronounced 'bass' like the fish). Some of Bass' most popular pieces were done for big names like Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick. He created iconic posters and intro animations for movies such as The Shining, The Man with the Golden Arm and Vertigo.



Prior to that, titles in intro sequences were static. But Bass wanted the sequences to give the viewer a feel for the movie that was about to come. Stylistically, he is remembered most for the look of his cut paper elements. 

It really changed the game, and inspired television and movies throughout the 1960s. You can definitely see how he inspired Lost in Space. As a Graphic Designer myself, I am a big fan of his too. At a time when it's so easy to craft everything using technology, it can be a lot of fun to get hands-on with some construction paper, and make some unique shapes that you just can't get with a computer.

Anyway, back to the show. I definitely recommend giving it a watch! You don't need to know anything about the old series to enjoy it, but there are a lot of references in there that the fans can appreciate. Definitely a fun ride!

Target's Mid-Century Style

I am obsessed with Target's Project 62 brand. So mid century! And SO much more affordable than brands like West Elm or Room & Board. I just read that it got the name from the year 1962, when modernist design really became popular, and the year that Target was born. I think it definitely captures that mid-century vibe with a little bit of a twist that is just perfect. Here are a few of my favorites!