Naugahyde and seek

If you are of a certain age you may have memories of "the chair", that hideous chair or collection of chairs in the school office. You always knew whoever was in that chair was in big trouble or waiting for their mother because they just threw up. It was a Naugahyde chair.

 

 

 

The chair

These indestructible beasts of vinyl were slippery when you wore pants and like duct tape on the backs of of your legs when you wore shorts. It came in a bazillion colors, the most popular of which seemed to be a green representing something associated with a terrible malady.

Who picked THAT color?

Could this stuff ever be cool? Well, maybe.

 Lest you think its all mod see the first photo and this.

Here's my confession: I own a vintage Naugahyde covered chair. It awaits a more grown-up kid before it gets recovered. It came from the US House of Representatives offices and I bought it because it is so rock solid that I can't lift it.

Do you remember Naugahyde fondly?

For the love of vintage-ORC linking participant

Thanks again to Linda for hosting such a fun linking party. Wait where's the champagne?
Moving on...

When the idea of redoing this room was in its infancy (when the college acceptance letter came), I knew I would be incorporating quite a few vintage pieces. Totally budget friendly and perfect to pull together the eclectic looks I am going for.

Here are a few that I already had and others that I bought specifically for the space.

The bamboo chair above is one of my favorite of the bunch.

I scored a cute vintage lamp on Etsy that I still must find a shade for. I have thrifted a few music related books because my son, Mr. DMM is a music business major (and also Mike's Hard lemonade drinker). I cleaned the closet, son. I know you are reading this.

I am a long way from styling the accesories but a few are perched atop this mid-century dresser that belonged to my husband. I will sheepishly admit that I hated it for a long time, not seeing its groovy lines as a good thing but I am thrilled that I kept it and to have it in this room.

I bought this vintage alarm clock for the room as a consolation purchase after seeing antique, handcarved Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee bookends that were waaaaaay out of my budget. Mr, DMM's real name is Jackson Lee, so therein lies the appeal.

Sporting it's new cushion

This vintage stool (cool) came with its original cushion (not cool) and I replaced it but not before a few maddening searches.

Gross old cushion and my toe

Finding the correct size proved challenging.

Grrrr

I found the right cushion at Target and I will provide sources for all of the new items that I have in the room in my final post.

I am also including some vintage art on my gallery wall, most of it was either made by or bought by my grandparents but you will have to wait for the art post in this series to see what I include.Here is what I have accomplished.
To do List:

1. Throw away box of Mike's Hard Lemonade empties in the closet and scrub everything including carpet.
2.Paint walls
3. Source vintage furniture and accessories
4. Move Queen bed in
5. Install new light fixture
6. Trick out the bed with cool pillows
7. Hang curtains
8. Hang art including 2 custom paintings
9. Final zhush

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will continue to follow along as I put together a guest room/ college son's room in my house. If you missed week one the link is below.
WEEK ONE

A new art wish list

A room at the top of my all time favorites list was one of my inspiration photos yesterday for the linking ORC event. It was very well received in the comments too.

The makeover of my son's bedroom is progressing well and I have a nice collection coming together for the gallery wall. I have been on the fence about adding vintage portraits to the mix. I don't want to frighten my overnight guests...or do I?

I have a short wishlist to add to the pieces that I already have for my gallery wall.

HERE

HERE

HERE

HERE

I still haven't decided. I am really trying to keep my project budget friendly which eliminates many possibilities. Avoiding terrifying clowns, axe-murdering grandpa faces and drunk old ladies in the vintage portrait market left me with these four before I lost patience.

Too creepy or just funky enough?

Traveling back in time...for shoes

Last week, I implored my husband to replace his tattered shoes. I have been imploring for a while and "tattered" is sugar coating the description. I knew that the lure of preppy, throwback, goodness would be hard to resist forever. I mentioned a little shoe store in downtown Fredericksburg that had Sebago Docksides and he finally relented.

We made a fun afternoon of it and had lunch at a charming place with awesome food and made our way down the street to Crismond's shoe store, in business since 1911.

Just to the right of center you can see the sign "SHOES"

This is where it got weird. We went in and a very elderly lady greeted us as she swept the floor with a fair bit of difficulty. A younger man (60ish) sat in a chair reading the paper. He was her nephew, we later learned.

Did you wear these in the '70s?

The store fixtures were decidedly vintage and it took me some time to notice, and believe, that the shoes in stock were too.

The "Hush Puppies" or "Earth Shoes" had actually been there since the 70s.

Most of the 30+ year-old shoes were in narrow sizes and $15, which was sported on a yellow square price tag. Remember those?

It was truly sad to see these forgotten bits of fashion in a store that curiously still exists.

I took the photos on my phone and thought I had better ask permission until I realized that the old lady could barely hear and more than likely did not know what a blog was.

This last crazy pair of shoes fell in the category "so ugly they are cool" and I would have shelled out $15 had they not been a size too small. I feel obligated to back for some reason. It was sad but also a sentimental journey into my childhood when sales and selling were more simple and straightforward.

Oddly, they had Sebagos in my husband's size and we bought them because they were only $50. They are $70 and up everywhere else.

He insists on wearing them with socks but at least they are presentable. Now I have to convince him to wear plaid shorts and a pink polo shirt and my work is done!

Yes or no?

HERE

Short post today. Would you use this chair in your home or in designing for a client?

Awesome Baughman or funky and fugly?

Personally, I love the chair but I am having problems with the fabric.

Its a mod, mod, mod, mod world

This room really reminds me of early 1970s mod style. 

There are a few telltale giveaways to see that it is not a vintage room. The technology is one but the wallpaper, room divider, and color scheme make me expect Anita Bryant to step out and offer me a glass of orange juice.

I have been noticing these more lately because I am craving a little more mid-century groove in my mostly traditional house.

What do you call retro, futuristic style, besides a contradiction?

Mod.

Stress= Nostalgia

Coffee tables and sheepskin- think Ikea

After a particularly stressful day, I often long for the good old days.

Really old days if you're me!

I find memories of my family and the places we spent time very soothing.

Most of these interiors are not exactly like the ones I remember but there are some elements that are familiar from memory that resonate with my current sensibilities.

A silver tulip table would be nifty.

David Hicks London 1972

The lacquered walls, the art, the bureau as bar, its all then and now.

Yes, people actually had that carpet in 1972 and the chairs were a common sight. I included it because of the very au courant Tangerine.

I can just see my parents having fondue and a bottle of Lancer's Claret.

I believe this image is from the 1960s but could easily find its way in to a shelter mag today, no?

This is so horrible, but I think we had that TV. The sofa and carpet look sorta familiar too.

In many ways the 1970s visually sucked.

This kitchen is hard to look at but the Moroccan lattice on the cabinets is a familiar current motif.

I would really like an all white kitchen with Cararra marble subway tile backsplash but I'd take this groovy kitchen in a heart beat as long as I don't have to wear the jumpsuit.

For those of you who did not live through the early 1970s and really like some of the mod styling, beware. By the mid 80s we cringed every time we saw any of these things.

Still, they represent to me a simpler time when I was a child.