So-fa Pricey

How much would you pay for a sofa?

Better Homes and Balet

If you're into mid century modern, chances are you've probably come across this splendiferous magazine cover:

source: The Ward-O-Matic

The cover is from the September 1958 issue of Better Homes and Gardens and was illustrated by Jan Balet. I would love to have a copy of this cover hanging on my wall. I am particularly in love with the typically midcentury trees. To take in more of the details, a larger image can be seen here.

I am so jealous of the lucky people who have the opportunity to live in houses like these (you know who you are!). I have been keeping an eye out for houses built in the 50s and 60s in my area (and beyond) in a hopes to find just some of the features these houses have.

Hallo Halloween

It's times like this I wish I lived in America.

I don't know if it's my imagination, but there seems to be a bit more of a Halloween build up this year. More than I've noticed before anyway.

Halloween is such a cool time. Despite the weather getting colder, looking at Halloween images somehow have a way of making me feel warmer. Perhaps it's because they include a lot of orange.

I found these vintage advertisements on I-Mockery. There are a lot more there - go and check them out. These are my favourites:

Paddington Bear Coat

10engines

The Last Scout

Paddington Bear Shop

Quirky Silver

Stylish Slushie

Came across this stunning slushie maker today.
I quite like slushies and I LOVE the 50s diner look of this machine. However, I'm not really sure that's enough reason for someone who has precious little kitchen worktop space to begin with (and even less cupboard space to store it instead).
If you're lucky enough to have a bigger kitchen than me (and I imagine most people do), you can get one for about £50 on firebox.

Tiki-tastic!

If you're not a fan of tiki then I suggest you look away now.

Whilst catching up on twitter this evening I noticed a tweet from Lushpad about whether modernism and tiki could live together in harmony. I followed the link and the photo that appeared was of a spectacular tiki lounge in someone's home. I literally gasped and immediately envisioned myself here kicking back with a cocktail enjoying the sounds of exotica.

It turns out the home belongs to the authors of Tiki Quest which I had mentioned on this blog some time ago now (still not managed to get my hands on a copy yet). Check out the mug collection!

To see more photos of their amazing home (including the more 'modern' parts) visit Apartment Therapy.

Beatle It

Anyone else play this? The Beatles Rock Band game is the first time their music has been allowed to be used in a game. It's still not even downloadable from itunes.
We bought this as an impulse purchase when friends were coming around one night. It had just been released and I figured you couldn't go wrong with the Beatles.
It was lots of fun trying to do the harmonies (3 people can sing at the same time) and I'd never really thought about how much their voices altered from each others until I tried matching them.

As I generally prefer the early Beatles collection, I most enjoy 'performing' at the Cavern and appearing on the 'Ed Sullivan Show' during their famous American tour in 1964. Speaking of the Cavern, I'll post some of my photos from my Liverpool trip as soon as I can rescue them from my hard drive. They feature an evening in the world famous 'Cavern' where we were entertained by the Hungarian Beatles who were FAB!

Wall Art

My friend's neighbour has two of what I believe to be this (see pic on left) metal wall art hung on the outer wall of their house. The black metal which has weathered due to its exposure, looks fantastic against the pale bricks. I admire them every time I walk past and am really happy to have found a source. I came across it whilst searching for more examples of modernist wall art.

My grandparents had a copper piece which I remember hung against a wooden wall. He was a bit of a 'big wheel' in the copper mining industry and it was given to him when he retired. My parents have salvaged it for me and I look forward to seeing it again but I am reminded of it everytime I see the wall art in Sterling's office on Mad Men. The only picture I've been able to find of this can be seen on the right (source: jezebel.com).

I came across some more modern looking wall art in my friend's next catalogue which has inspired me to look further.



Here are some of my favourites so far:

next

Return to the Planet of the Apes

Wow! It's been so long. I feel like I'm meeting with an old friend again.

Not only has work been time consuming but my computer is also broken. I am currently stuck with a slow, aging laptop but at least it's better than nothing. It does however make blogging quite tricky so although I'm back, I probably still won't be posting as often as I had been.

The first exciting thing I encountered on my return to the blogosphere is one of Jenn Ski's new prints. I love it - it's available from her shop on etsy.

There is also a similar version in blue but this one is my favourite. It's modern, warm and I love the textured feel. The red would fit in brilliantly with my home.

I know a lot of my followers are already very aware of the talented Jenn Ski and her brilliant modern-inspired work. She was actually the reason I got into blogging in the first place as I had never been that interested in blogs until I came across hers. So, if this is the first you've heard of Jenn Ski get yourself over to her blog and studio website now.