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