Mid-Century Metal Lawn Chairs -- SWOON!

 

I may not have always been sold on the mid-century look (I lived it baby!) But through my entire antiquing career I never failed to be in love with the old metal lawn chairs.  You know, the kind that used to sit in front of roadside motels.  I have bought and sold DOZENS.  But I have also managed to keep about a dozen.  

And out of those I am only donating one to the newest AirBNB.  The double glider.  It still glides like a breeze.  While I do love the two-tone chippy paint, not everyone is convinced that they want to sit on rust.  So I revved up my palm sander and smoothed down all of the rough spots.  

Here it is after the first coat of orange.

I sprayed all the "bare" or rusty spots with a Rustoleum primer (because I happened to have a can). But I don't think this step was necessary with the quality of spray paint Rustoleum makes.  I decided to do the chairs in the firepit area in citrus colors. The glider is Rustic Orange.  

On the same day I started working on the glider, I found four matching mid-century (folding!) metal lawn chairs on Facebook Marketplace for $150.  They will eventually be gold and white. We have a fantastic area for a firepit, and these chairs will be surrounding the firepit.

How Do You Feel About Wallpapering?

 

What sane person would wake up in the morning and think -- "YIPPEE, wallpapering day!"  I personally am excited about the day AFTER wallpapering, when I can just sit back and admire the finished product.  Both my husband and I dread wallpapering.  But, it had to be done. The four strips of wallpaper we hung on the entry wall about killed us.  (Don't worry, the seams weren't dry yet when I took the photo.)

We prepared the wall carefully, which was a previous post. This particular wallpaper did not have glue on the back.  So we purchased glue, sponge, and a wallpapering supply kit from Home Depot.  The total amount came to $50. We purchased two rolls of wallpaper for $60 from Facebook Marketplace.  Love it, reminds me of Costco footstool we had when I was a kid. 

Not something that I would choose to do again..... but I do love the end result.

(I got the coat rack off of Etsy, I think it was about $75)

Finished Painting The Walls In The Living Room

 

It has taken me exactly a week to finish this step.  

Tearing out baseboard.  Caulking.  Several cut-in coats with a brush. And two coats of rolling.

Get ready for the plantar fasciitis!

I still have to touch up the white trim before I can say that the living room is completely painted.  Then there is wallpapering the entry wall, replacing the ceiling fan with a light fixture, putting up curtains and hanging coat hooks.  But progress is being made!

New Gravel Driveway And A Bonus

 

Our driveway is just below the peak of a hill -- hard to see if cars are coming from that direction.  So we decided we definitely needed a pull-though drive.  My husband called for a gravel quote on Wednesday, and the guy was there on Thursday morning to give us an estimate.  WITH his John Deere tractor.  

Yes, we wanted him to do the driveway.  Then OK, he will just take out a bush that is in the way while he is here.  And what about those two bushes?  Yep, he took those out with his JD too.  And stuck all three of them all in the back of his flatbed and drove them away.  (It was going to take us 1-2 days to get rid of those bushes!)

He said he would be back here at 7:15 Friday morning with the gravel, and finish the job.  

Why aren't all home improvement businesses like that?

Local Nature Photography Wall Art

 

We live within the borders of a conservation area.

Our new AirBNB house is just outside of the conservation area.

Between the two properties we will own over 10 acres,

and we love being in the midst of such a beautiful area.

We both enjoy dabbling in photography.

So it shouldn't be surprising that the majority of art for the new house will be

nature photography from our area.

These are some of the photographs that we have taken that will

end up on the walls of the newest AirBNB.

The black & white filter gives them a stark, modern look

that exactly suits the mid-century vibe we are looking for.

And ordering inexpensive prints of our own photographs is pretty cheap,

which is definitely what we are looking for. 

All will have black frames, to add a sense of continuity.

We bought six 11"x14" frames from Hobby Lobby, for a total of $40.

The photography prints were just $55 for all of them.

Some of the smaller photos will probably land in thrift store frames.

We are adding black frames and local nature photography to

running list of themes.  It may seem strange the wall art was the topic of so many of our posts,

but art is very important to us.  And it sets the tone for the rest of the house design.

Local Junk Store Finds With A Faux Mid-Century Look

We have a junk store that calls itself a "flea market" in our little town.  I visited it once, and one look was enough.  But my husband said that they had crocheted afghans and I should check them out.  I didn't get any afghans but I did find:

Triangular Glass Coffee Table -- $25.  Faux mid-century, but after pricing a few this looked marvelous.

Used in living room, fits great.

Pink Shag Rug -- $13.  Yes, I had actually been looking for a small one. Used in den reading nook. Starburst mirror wall decor -- $14. Decorating bathroom wall.  I am still looking for a vintage sunburst clock (how many of those did I sell in my time?!!)  Furry top stool -- $18. Used in den reading nook.

Green & White Vases -- $19 altogether.  One more green vase and I will have completed my collection of pottery for the MCM house. Didn't end up using green one, donated it to thrift store.

We Discovered A Mid-Century Shop!

 

(This beauty is on our wish list.)

Constantly trolling through Facebook Marketplace has paid off in a variety of ways.  One is discovering a mecca of retro.  Hakaar's Bazaar in Springfield, MO -- purveyors of mid-century wares.  Furniture, artwork, macrame, lighting, kitchenware, decor galore.  A very dangerous place to visit if you are trying to fill an entire house.  On our first visit we came away with:  

A blonde corner desk & chair (chair not shown) -- hard to envision anything cooler than this, but there actually were more max extreme cool stuff in the store -- we just couldn't afford them.  And my husband didn't manage to take pics of them. (I bought the brass table lamp at my thrift store for $5 after my sister reminded me that we had a "table lamp" in the 1970s.)

THEEE most awesome swag light.  I have been looking for a swag light to hang in the entryway.  Something great for the wow factor.  And this was it. Update:  really wanted the light hanging in the front entry.  but it was too long, and the entry was too short.  so the light ended up in the den. Lastly a blonde cabinet, I can think of about three places to put it.  I am not going to tell you how much we paid for these, because the price tag doesn't fit our "Mid-Century On A Budget" mantra.  

Picking Up A Huge Load Of Facebook Marketplace Loot

 

"Huge lot of household items. All in great condition, just downsizing. Priced to sell, first come first serve. $30 for all." Used all throw pillows except the round one. Would have been worth it just for the pillows.

That is what the ad said, and I don't even know why I looked at it. But there were several things that caught my eye -- what I thought was a faux fur throw (which I have been pricing and decided I just couldn't afford) and it turned out to be a comforter. I donated the faux fur comforter to the thrift store. but kept the pillow shams that matched and used them to cover throw pillows.

Five decorative vases. Used the middle three in primary bedroom.

Donated the outside two.

Two sculptural orb thingies, which I love. Used both.

And what I thought were a couple light fixtures -- hard to tell from her photos. They turned out to be candleholders, which I do like. Used one, donated one. Definitely everything together was well worth the $30.

Besides these items that I could use for the new AirBNB there was: a girl's bike, blankets, a desk that needed assembly, Christmas items, a George Foreman grill, clothes, and an air purifier. (Postscript: The air purifier sold on ebay for way more than the $30 given for the lot.) The air purifier will go on ebay, but the rest will be donated to my thrift store. I am anxious to get my hands dirty doing some renovation. Closing is a week from today.

Naming The New Property

 

It is important to have good "branding" for an AirBNB.  A name for the property is a good start.  My husband usually beats me to the punch on all naming.  He christened this new property "Hillside Haven".  It is on the top of a hill with a beautiful view.  And we hope it will be a haven for many.  

Then he used his artistic skills to create a sign for the front of the house.  (BTW that quart of paint was $28 from Home Depot.  That is why we are going with $17 a gallon paint from Habitat Restore.)  Eight days to closing ....  Update: Hung this sign by the front door.  Also painted a large "Hillside" sign on the side of the well house.

Authentic Mid-Century Barkcloth Curtains Get Patched

 

I think I mentioned that I bought and sold antiques for 30 years.  Not much of it was mid-century.  And when I got out of the biz a couple of years ago, I liquidated my inventory.  Looking around our house,  there just wasn't any mid-century stuff to steal for the new AirBNB.

EXCEPT.  My husband was the first to "see" them.  I had stapled them under the work bench in the garage to hide junk during my vintage sales at my house -- several yards of mid-century barkcloth curtains.  I have no idea where I originally picked them up or how long I have had them. They had been hanging there in the garage for so many years that I just failed to notice them anymore. 

In addition to being delightfully dirty, they had holes.  Hmmm.  No sewing machine.  No budget for anyone else to do the sewing. Time to be creative....I ordered a $6 (60") roll of black iron-on patching from Walmart.  

I cut rounded triangles out of it to replicate the pattern on the curtains.  

After I covered all of the holes with triangles, I went back and added more triangles to fill in the blank spaces.  I am pretty happy with the result. I ended up with four 31"x43" panels. There is only one window in the den, and there will possibly be one in the exterior door we are replacing. So I will have some fabric leftover to cover pillows as well.  

Buying All Of Our Paint From Habitat Restore

 

I purchased (what I hope will be) all of the paint that we will need for our Mid-Century AirBNB today.  Eight Gallons from Habitat Restore.  First of all we saved money. $17 A GALLON instead of $40+ at Lowe's.  I bought it all today -- because the company ships it in "batches".  All of the paint in this batch will probably match, no guarantee that the next batch matches this batch.  Better to buy it all at once.  Eight gallons for $126!! And no tax at the ReStore.  No tax on $126 -- yippee!  If I could go back in time, this would be my main do-over.  I ended up having to do SEVERAL coats on every surface.  I should have just sprung for Behr paint, and saved myself six months of plantar fasciitis from going up and down ladders.

If you are doing the math, it may not come out quite right.  That is because I found a "shamrock" today and got an additional discount.

The "Green Sheen" paint is eco friendly.  I agree with their philosophy. So while we are saving money, we are also supporting Habitat Restore and GreenSheen Paint.

Why is GreenSheen Paint So Inexpensive?

As a latex paint recycling company, GreenSheen Paint is paid to accept paint for recycling. While other paint manufacturers pay for the raw materials to make their product, GreenSheen uses the millions of gallons of unwanted paint that we collect through statewide recycling programs. We use our proprietary latex paint processing technology to purify and refine the paint that we collect, turning it back into premium latex paint. 

Thrift Store Purchases This Past Week

We love our thrift store.  It is more reasonable than any other thrift store in the area.  And all of the money goes toward a good cause.  Win - win.  We definitely will be making frequent visits over the next couple of months.

Tin Cake Keeper -- $2.  I am categorizing this under mid-century kitchen stuff.  I am not really actively looking for it yet, but if something is cheap and jumps out at me then I am going to get it. Ended up decorating the top of the coffee cabinet in the kitchen.

Footstool -- $4.  I thought it was ugly black vinyl, but in the light of my garage I see that it is an ugly brown vinyl.  It won't matter after I throw a little piece of faux fur over the top of it.  I am picturing a little reading nook in the den.  With this footstool available to peruse the bookcase.  Which is exactly where it ended up!  Even down to the faux fur top.

5'x8' Rug -- $38 (half off of the $75 it was marked.)  This is another purchase for the den.  And our second rug purchase.  Now we already have all the rugs we want for the new AirBNB.  Ended up LOVING this for the den.

Looking For The Next Perfect AirBNB Rental

 

     We currently have a cute little AirBNB on our property.  When I say little -- 480 sq ft.  Since it is so close to the house it is easy to clean or help out a guest. We have had it open for over two years now and business has been good.  So good, that we have been looking for a place to open a second AirBNB.

 

     We have been looking for about a year.  That has given us time to really narrow down what we were looking for.  #1  Close to our house.  We didn't want a long drive when someone needed extra towels.  #2  Not a huge house.  Two bedroom, one or two bath. I didn't want to spend all of my time cleaning..  #3  Preferably in the country.  No neighbors to complain about living next door to an AirBNB, and the guests can't complain about the neighbors shooting guns.  (Yep, this is rural Missouri).  #4  An old house with history and character that we could bring back to life. #5 A house well below our budget so that we could have plenty of money left for remodeling and furnishings.

 

     When this property met every one of the first three of our criteria, I still wasn't convinced.  Where was my 1910 farmhouse that I was meant to transform? I have sold primitives and farmhouse vintage for 30 years -- that is what I know. What was I to do with a plain jane1972 ranch style house?  And it was at the top of our budget -- which meant no splashy makeovers.  

The bottom line -- two miles from our house was just too good to ignore.  Time to make lemonade.  Time to embrace mid-century.  Not just any mid-century -- but something that would have fit into the southwest Missouri mid-century.  Not too over the top.  Not too radical.  Not neon.  But still unmistakably MCM.  We had a contract on the property at the end of the first day it came on the market.

That was two weeks ago.  Two more weeks to go until we close on it.

What have we been doing, and what will we be doing until closing is

something I am very good at -- hunting and gathering.  Looking for the very cheapest Mid-Century or Mid-Century knock off items that would tick off the boxes for what we need in the way of furnishing, decorating and remodeling.  

When I am not doing that, I am looking for cheap MCM decorating ideas, 

and googling things like how to tie-dye sheets.  I am dreaming of lava lights, shag carpeting (just a smidge) and boomerang barkcloth curtains.  We can do this thing.