Everything I want to own seems to be American, most of my favourite clothes, homewares etc are indeed from this great land, and in fact ALL the music. I love visiting to stock up my closet and buy some fabulous new things for my home and since I started Notorious Kitsch, all our money has gone into the business and we haven't been able to visit this fabulous land! This makes me miss it all the more, in my spare time I taunt myself with US ebay, all stuff I can neither afford or they'll even ship if I could!
I'm sure many of you feel the same, I think if you have a love for either the 40's or 50's and probably the 30's too that whole golden era in America is fabulous. Not that I don't have great British stuff, clothes and furniture but if I had a choice.....
Actually my dream one day is to have a little house out there that I can furnish and visit regularly, and buy lots of stuff, of course that's a dream right now but I will do my damndest to make it happen ha ha! My town of choice Pasadena CA, not the cheapest place on earth, but hey why not aim high. There is a lot I love about Pasadena, it's one of those places that we both feel at home in, I can't say why, it's just one of those places, we were lucky enough to spend 3 months there once, we rented an apartment, and that time was BLISS! Now all we can think about is getting back there!
In the meantime I continue to trawl ebay, and so I thought I'd share some of the things I want but couldn't afford to ever ship in to the UK! Well unless I won the lottery, now there's a fantasy!
Because it was such a lovely day yesterday here in the UK, I ended up in the evening looking these I want them so bad!
Oh and this too!
Then of course my real love, lamps! This pair is stunning!
Then of course I would love a mid century sofa, oh and all the rest thank you very much!
Or something like this, which is a repro, but a darned good one!
And it's about time I started recommending blogs that I read that I love, and yes it is connected. I found Welcome to Deluxeville a while ago now, not only is Mary a lovely girl, but I can't wait to see what her latest finds or projects are! She seems to find all the things I wish I could, so I have extreme possession envy! Read her blog, it's fantastic, below is a pic of the lovely lady in her enviable home, I am green with envy!!
And just to balance things out, I do have some lovely things, so I really can't complain! I took some pics yesterday for Notorious Kitsch as we have some fabulous new Vintage design tablecloths in and I thought they would look great on our diner set, I'm right, they do! See below!
I do think though it's about time I started saving and planning my next trip to the US, it won't be til next year, but I'm not sure I can wait much longer than that without having severe withdrawal symptoms!
16 comments:
I would love to have a proper sofa. :-/
What pleases me about America is that it never fails to deliver when it comes to kitsch. When I was 15 I went to Florida and stayed in Treasure Island in St Petersburg. Before going there I joked to a friend, "I bet there's a huge pirate with a sign saying 'Welcome to Treasure Island'" and of course... there was! Hahahaha... oh fantastic! You just wouldn't have that here. Probably just a rather boring municipal town sign with the local council's very boring logo printed on it. But America? They have PIRATES!!!
I live near enough to Pasadena. =)
But there are "pockets" of mid-century homes and such all around southern CA (mine being one of them).
And I want that orange sofa!
The bad thing about southern CA is, because of the transitory nature of this part of the state, you can't find much good stuff at yard sales any more. It's all newer junk. =( The few Antique Malls that have booths with 40's-50's stuff is very expensive. Better to buy on eBay.
oh wow do you? Do you mind me asking where? Love some of the houses in the area, and they don't seem too expensive to us as real estate is expensive in the UK anyway.
Yeah I agree, the stuff you find isn't cheap usually, however you can still find it, even for us going into Antique Malls and seeing the stuff is awesome for us, particularly like our visits to Ventura!
I love Mary Deluxe too. :)
And I have some vintage pieces of furniture mixed in with my IKEA. A lot of it is stuff I've inherited or "nicked" from my grandparents.
It feels good to have some items that have a history.
America is definitely kitschy!! :) I love it here.
Awwww, thanks for the blog love Doll! Just let me know when you plan to visit the east coast and I'll fix ya right up! After all, I know where all the drool worthy spots are!
xoxo,
MaryD
no problem hon, I drool with envy at the pieces you pick up! If I visit the east coast I'll definately let you know, I tend to be a California gal but hey we should mix it up a bit!
How funny! I'm totally in love with England and would do anything to live there. Unfortunately, all of my family is here in Oregon. It is great here for many reasons, but I fell in love with England and I feel homesick when I think about it.
I like the kitschy stuff too and was thrilled yesterday when I was able to get rid of a crappy old futon so I had room for my grandma's yellow formica table.
Cindee
Yes you can't go past the USA for a wealth of design riches- here in Australia we just don't see the amount and range of vintage stuff you find in the states- thank god for ebay to scratch an itch! However one of the things I like is what you can find in your own hometown. Here we have ceramics that you dont find anywhere else- we had mid century funiture makers who just made locally for the jewish community and local jewellers who made danish style modern silver and pewter jewellery. But damn it we just didnt get the kookiness and range of bakelite jewelry, lucite handbags are few and far between and the vintage clothing just doesnt take your breath away like american threads! Ok american envy over momentarily.. Fiona what local, UK or european vintage stuff inspires or intrigues you?
ah Cindee I can see why people would fall in love with England there's a lot to fall in love with, just the other evening I was driving through London and I drove past the Tower of London, all lit up, and it took my breathe away!
I do like some english stuff, but most of it is stuff based on US design of the time. There is nothing particularly I like about the UK, though there are some fabulous pieces I've picked up and have been surprised they are British!
First off, I love your style and your furnishings in the photo are wonderful!
I would love to be able to fill my home with coolness. Though it's only a small 1BR apartment. I have visions of some cool retro stylings in a house one day before I'm old and grayer. I love those metal patio chairs. I remember them from my youth-Grandma had them in white.
Following you from 1950's Atomic Ranch House blog roll.
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Welcome Ally and thanks!
It's tough when you only have 1br apartment, but there are always great accessories, it's never too early to get all the small stuff so that when you have your lovely house you'll already have cool accessories!
Oooh, I love those sofas, we need a new sofa, but I expect we'll end up with something squishier!
I like the look of those table cloths too.
you can afford it! my area (mckinney texas) is all 1940s and 1950s houses. US$140,000 will get you a beautiful smaller bungalow. Even cheaper will get you a fixer upper!
ah I'd love to but we couldn't live their legally either! Maybe we'll set up our business on that side of the pond too!
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