British Christmas Tree

The other day, my daughter and I were riding our bike in the neighborhood and we decided to stop by and visit our favorite friends and neighbors, The Kanes.
Tasha just loves Christmas decorations so we popped in to see their tree.
This year they created this amazing Christmas homage to the UK. Our friends families are from English descent, I believe. Recently our friend Bret has traveled to the UK for work. He has a super exciting job. He is a decorator for the Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios Fl. His job is to travel to the UK to shop for all things Potter to decorate the theme park. What an awesome job!
I think this year England has made their Christmas holiday extra jolly.
Their tree is a huge silver tree adorned with red white and blue ornaments, lights, Union Jacks and Buckingham Palace soldier guardsmen. I suggested they throw in a little blue TARDIS. We shall see...

 

 

Bloody brilliant tree

If you have an unusual or unconventional tree, feel free to email me a pic. I would love to post it on my blog. Happy Holidays!

1950s ranch house Christmas Lights

Even though we live in sunny Orlando Fl, its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
My husband and kids have been busy little elves decorating our 1950s ranch house with some Holiday Cheer. My husband Brian used to be a set decorator and he has done the Christmas decorations at Walt Disney World and Universal Studios.
He loves decorating for the holidays and so do our kiddos.
He decorated the roofline with the big multi-colored retro bulbs.
Stringed smaller multi-colored lights around the windows.
Spread the weblike lights on the hedges.
We have 2 inflatables featuring Santa riding a polar bear and Santa riding a rocket ship.
We have a festive wreath made of Christmas balls
Through our big picture window you can see our vintage aluminum tree.

More lights Dad

our happy home during the Holidays

You spin me round like a Lazy Susan

My mid century modern pick of the week is...
The lazy Susan! Does anyone remember these?
I found this 1970s mod vintage Rubbermaid lazy Susan this week.
My 2 year old daughter thinks its so much fun to spin it round and round.
She puts her trucks on it and even spins her bottle on it. She likes it stirred not shaken, I guess.

My son thinks it looks like slices of an orange, I think it looks like a pizza.
What ever it is, its a lot of fun and looks snazzy on our mid century tulip table.

Disney Pixar Cars Hotel - Art of Animation

This weekend, as part of my extended Birthday celebration, our family went to The Art of Animation Resort at Walt Disney World. It is a resort hotel devoted to some of the best animation Disney and Pixar have to offer. It features The Lion King, Finding Nemo and Cars!

Our son Grayson started getting into Cars when he was around 2 years old, now he's 5 and still loves them. Our daughter Tasha is 2 and she loves both the Cars movies and loves to play with her brother's Cars toys. We plan to get her some Cars of her own for Christmas.

The Cars hotel was really well done! The architecture looked just like Radiator Springs even down to the landscaping. They used beach grasses and gravel to transform Florida into the Western US. The Cozy Cone Motel was the adult "quiet pool". The cones were relaxing poolside cabanas.

 All of our favorite Cars were there. Lightning McQueen, Sally, Mater, Flo, Ramone, Doc Hudson and the rest of the gang. Their scale was just smaller than real life automobiles. Perfect size for the kids to pose for photo ops.

We stayed in the Luigi's Casa Della Tires building with Guido and Luigi and the leaning tower of tires out front.

Our room was amazing! We got the suite which included 2 rooms. All the furniture was custom made for a Cars theme. The dining table folded down to reveal a Mater murphy bed. My son really liked that. He now wants a murphy bed for his room at home.

The living room had a convertible sofa decked out in cadillac style upholstery. The kidney shaped coffee table had a map of Radiator Springs on it. The tv and kitchen looked like tool chests clad in red, black and chrome.
The 3 tiered pole lamp had road cones as shades.

The master bedroom had a comfy bed with Cars style headboard. Even the art in the room was well thought out. The master bedroom featured Sally and McQueen on their romantic drive.

The two bathrooms were designed to look like a car wash.

My kids loved the Finding Nemo pool. The huge pool featured all the fish friends from the movie. The water in the pool and splash pad was heated. The water was warmer than the air on a November day in Florida. The pool had a 0 entry so you could just walk right in and out of the water. The pool had speakers underwater. My son said he could hear the music underwater!
The splash pad was just adorable. Nemo and Marlin were bigger than life. The fish quirted water at the little ones as they ran around and played. It was so cute!

We had a great time at the hotel. I'd definitely like to stay there again. Wow!

Philip Johnson's Glass House Hurricane Sandy Damage

A few years ago for my birthday my husband took me to visit The Glass House by architect Philip Johnson. It was such a beautiful, serene experience. Its not just about touring the house, the land, forest, buildings and art galleries are just amazing. It was one of my favorite birthdays ever!

The Glass House property in New Canaan CT was damaged by hurricane Sandy.
Luckily,  The Glass House along with the other structures and sculptures all seem to be in tact but the gorgeous, pristine forest lost over 20 trees and there is a lot of debris.  The Art Galleries have several leaks.

Check out photos on The Glass House website to see the damage. The property is without power and they are still assessing the damage. If you would like to donate to The Glass House, you can do so on their website. I hope they are able to restore it so more people can visit and enjoy it as much as I did.

Best birthday ever!

Populuxe Books pic of the week

I've been super busy these days with 2 kids but I've decided to start blogging again. I would like to at least post a Populuxe books pic each week, meaning something mid century that I have come across that I would like to share.

I was shopping at Target today with my family and I spotted a side table which looks a lot like the metal side table by Warren Platner. It is only $48 on clearance! Wow!

 

 

 

 

 

$48 find at Target

The real deal can be found at All Modern for around $1000

Knoll Warren Platner side table

Pretty similar, right?

Mid Century Modern for the birds

I was browsing Overstock.com today and I came across this amazing chicken coop! It definitely has that mid century modern look with its sloping roof and large windows. Growing one's own food is becoming more and more popular these days. I think your chickens would definitely like this Mac Mod style rather than the Old Mac Donald.

chicken coop with a view 

 

 

 

 

The Scottsdale from 180 Affordable Home Plans

Mid Century Modern Landscaping Design Books

Hiya! If you are new to my blog I just wanted to let you know that not only do I like to blog about mid century modern design, I also sell mid century modern design books. My name is Vanessa Cain and I'm the mod maiden at www.Populuxebooks.com.

I sell all kinds of books from the 1940s to 1980s featuring mid century interior design, art, architecture, jewelry making, furniture design, gardening and landscaping, etc.

Lately we have been sprucing up the yard of our 1957 Florida Ranch home. I've been in a landscaping kind of mood.

our grass is getting green!

I posted some really great landscaping design books on ebay today. They can be found on my website as well. I hope they serve to inspire your yard as well. Please check them out!

from 1963 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS LANDSCAPE PLANNING

a great pool from 1955 GARDENS ARE FOR PEOPLE BY THOMAS CHURCH

amazing concrete from 1973 WALKS WALLS AND PATIO FLOORS

Orange Obsession at Mod-Central

A few months ago I had a brilliant idea to expand our mid century modern book business by selling on Etsy.com. I thought I could offer my books on jewelry making, sculpture design, mosaics as well as interior design books to fellow artists out there. So far, so good. I've met a lot of people who appreciate mid century modern design.

Recently I met a woman named Carin Brown who is the mod mama at Mod-Central. She loves mod design just like I do and we also share a passion, or should I say obsession with the color orange!

Wow! What a collection!

I just had to interview her for my blog. Carin was kind enough to answer a few questions and share her modtastic collection of art and other items from the 60s.

Populuxe: How did you get into selling on ebay and etsy?

Orange dream kitchen

Carin: My husband pushed me to start selling my paintings on ebay. After leaving a employer I had loved working for I was looking for something that would drive a passion I have for art and design. I had just designed our new home and wanted to start saving for building it. So I figured worse case I would be a flop and we would have great art for the new house.

Populuxe: Do you work out of your home like I do? How do you organize and store your items you sell?

she's so organized

cool clock

Carin: I love working from home, as I am sure you do too. For me organizing has always been a piece of cake. I invested in great shelving for the garage and never over buy. I think most sellers of Mid- Century to Retro Era's over purchase and often have items sit for long periods of time unsold. I believe in focusing of what your passion is and only selling top quality items.

cute kitties

Populuxe: Do you find it hard to let go of some of the items you find? I sure do.

 Carin: Oh yes, I am as weak as they get. My husband often says "keeping or selling"? when I find an amazing piece. But I have found after you have it around for a bit, it tends to be easy to let go.

Populuxe: Whats the coolest thing you've found? Did you sell it or keep it?

Carin: I have several pieces that we have kept over the years. That most amazing item would be a set of matching wall murals made during the 1950's in Austin Texas. They were only 11 know murals made in this style and while at a local Goodwill I ran across two. I found those and six sets of Jaru animal sculptures. That is what I call a very good hunting day.

cool finds

Populuxe: Is there a holy grail item you are still looking for?

Carin: Funny thing is I have found most of my dream pieces, including my husband. Maybe one more egg chair would be nice. A orange one would be ideal, but I could always add different fabric if I needed too.

Populuxe: Tell me about your home and the items you collect. What sparked your love of the color orange?

Carin: Wow where to start? I have a passion for orange I love it, it is age less and modern. I collect everything from the 1950's to the 1970's. If it draws me I buy it, every item I purchase for my home I have a spot picked for it. Orange items are it for me. I love the idea of how orange items in your home make your home feel like it's sun shining everyday. No matter how bad my day goes, I walk in to my home and smile. Everyone is drawn to certain designs or colors that make them feel like everything is all right and naturally we purchase those designs or colors.

orange makes for an energizing bath

Populuxe: Do you have any advice for sellers or buyers/collectors?

Carin: For sellers I would say live what you sell and you will be a better seller for it. For buyers and or collectors ask questions and research. My biggest advice I could give to everyone be passionate about what you buy, you are working with items that are quickly disappearing. Love them and enjoy the beauty.

a divine place to dine

Populuxe: Thank you Carin at Mod-Central for sharing your amazing collection with us. I really dig your style! Best of luck with your business and the House of Sunshine.

For more Mod-Central modness check out
Mod-Central on ebay
Mod-Central on etsy

contact Carin Brown mod-central@hotmail.com

for more pics of Carin's Sunshine House check out my Mod-Central set on flickr
 

Ranch Landscaping Bitter Blue Grass

We're at it again! Landscaping our 1950s Florida ranch house. My sweet husband just finished laying sod in our backyard. This time we chose Bitter Blue Grass.

Let me back up a bit. Last summer we planted St Augustine Seville and it died. Got too hot and it grew some kind of funky fungus. Yuck. 

This spring we tried growing our own grass from Rye seed. Everyone told us it was gonna die and it grew in beautifully but it croaked after a month or so. Luckily it only cost us around 40 bucks for a bag of seed.

rye grass

Our backyard has been a royal pain in the butt because it is mainly shaded all day long due to these huge 60 year old oak trees. It is so hard to get any grass to grow back there. After the last batch of grass died I got really sad.

my seedlings oh no!

The landscaping gods must have heard my prayers because not only a day later, Orlando Utilities Commission came over and trimmed back the trees in the back yard. They said they were trimming back the trees in hurricane preparedness. They didn't want tree branches touching the power lines. This is true because almost every time we had a rainstorm or heavy winds, we would hear a big BOOM! Uh oh, another tree branch shorted out the transformer and the power would go out.

bye bye tree branches

The tree trimming allowed around 4 hours of good sunlight in the back yard. From around 4 pm till dark. Hooray! We could plant some more grass! My husband called around and spoke to several landscaping companies about what to plant. We decided on St Augustine Bitter Blue. It wasn't very expensive, around $150. It arrived very plush and healthy looking.

hooray the grass is here

 It is supposed to grow in mainly shaded areas. Brian just put it down and its looking good. I really hope it takes this time. Maybe tonight we will all dance around on it nekkid to appease the Gods of Grass. Grow Baby Grow!

before

 

 

Bitter Blue after

Tiki Fence in a Flash!

This weekend we had to do some emergency fencing! You see our little Tasha has been very curious about the pit bull who lives next door. He would stand on the other side of our chain link fence and just stare into our yard. Totally creeped me out. I knew trouble was going to happen. On Sunday, Tasha got a little too close to our not so neighborly pup and he snapped at our baby girl. Scared the crap out of her and me too. I just couldn't get to her fast enough! Luckily, she is ok.

ugly chain link fence

My husband Brian immediately went to Lowe's to find what ever he could to put a quick barrier between our kids and that dog! He came home with a couple of rolls of Natural Reed fencing. Just roll it out and zip tie to the existing fence. We put it up in about an hour. Cost around $240.

reed fencing from Lowe's

I've been dreaming of doing a really cool mid century modern fence like those featured in one of my favorite vintage Sunset books,  How To Build Fences and Gates.

photo from How to Build Fences and Gates A Sunset book 1966

This reed fencing will do for the meantime. It was cheap and easy to put up. I think it kind of has that tiki look we like so much. Now we just need to dress it up with some tropical landscaping. Readers if you have any ideas, send 'em my way. I would love some landscaping tips and inspiration. email populuxe@populuxebooks.com

Now what to do with landscaping?

Charley Harper Dinnerware and Glassware

I just discovered a line of Charley Harper print dinnerware and glassware. They are designed by Todd Oldham for Fishs Eddy. I want them all!

Charley Harper Dinnerware at Fishs Eddy

Atomic Ranch to Retro Rubble

We drove past our former house today to sadly find a big pile of rubble laying outside on the ground.  No one was home so we pulled up in the driveway to take a closer look. To our shock and dismay we found our boomerang kitchen counter top laying on top of the pile. Underneath was a bunch of broken pieces of green and gray 1950s tile from the bathrooms!

No respect at all!

retro kitchen when it was ours

closeup of Boomerang Formica

exterior when it was ours

You see, this home was so special to us. It was our first home we bought together as a married couple. We put our hearts and souls into this home, restoring it, not tearing it apart. A few years back our home was even featured in Atomic Ranch magazine. It was the perfect retro party pad!

we threw a lot of parties here

We sold our home in 2007 to move to NYC. We got top dollar for it before the market crashed. The person who bought it ended up foreclosing on the house and the new owner got it for a steal. Unfortunately, he or she doesn't appreciate mid century modern design. The kitchen and baths are laying in a pile of rubble in the front yard.

On a happier note, we love our neighborhood of Dover Shores so much that when we moved back to Florida we found an even better Atomic Ranch than before. It is just a few blocks from our old home. This one has 4 bedrooms for our growing family. We have 2 kids now. Over the past year and a half, we have enjoyed restoring this house to her mid century heyday. We restored the original terrazzo floors, knocked down closets and walls to open up the living space. Painted the exterior trim and doors orange. We installed retro modern lighting inside and out. We even gave her Neutra font house numbers. I would like to think our new 1957 house is not only Atomic Ranch worthy but one of the best homes in our neighborhood.

our happy home