Roman Holiday

I'm indeed alive! I know it's been a very long time since I've blogged and my only excuse is extreme busy-ness.  The mini-mods have complicated and extensive social lives and it feels like my sole purpose in life right now is that of a gypsy cab driver. By the end of the day, when I used to enjoy my own quiet time for web surfing, blogging, or online shopping, I'm finding myself face down in a pillow crashed out cold.

First things first... recent finds!

2 "House and Home" magazines circa 1952 and 1957

These appear to be geared towards home building companies and contractors. There are ads, articles and stats. I find them fascinating but haven't had a chance to properly read them in full.  Here are quick photos, I will be scanning the better bits soon.

Nu Tone ad

2 pages spread of kitcheny goodness

i can't wait to read this and actually scan it to post.

we have this in the basement! our plumbing & heating guy calls it the "monster".

hnnnnnnng starburst escutcheon.

more gorgeous locksets

and my love of loves ... hall-mack !

Second things second ... I am getting ready to leave for Italy today ~ we are flying into Milan tonight with a trip later on in the week down to Rome. I'll be gone for 10 days. I'm not looking forward to this, as horrible as that sounds. I just feel that I have way too much stuff to do around here to be jetting off to Italy. HOWEVER I did learn that there is a huge outdoor flea market in Rome on Easter Sunday so I'm stoked about that. Fingers crossed that I find very cool smalls to bring home. :)

See everyone in 2 weeks, thereabouts.

Amazing Local Door Sighting

Partner-In-Crime snagged this photo today and sent it to me. Amazing right! I didn't think anyone around here had starburst escutcheons... let alone two. Add in the windows and double it ~ this is one swoon-worthy front door.

What Is That Saying About The Best Laid Plans... ?

What a week! It started with one of my dogs spraining his back and suddenly becoming 70 pounds of immobile (and very sad/confused) pit bull.  His condition was so bad that my partner-in-crime had to postpone his flight for 2 days because the poor dog needed to be carried up and down steps so that he could do his bathroom business. That ended up being rather futile because the steroids that the vet eventually gave him after the anti-inflammatory pills weren't really working caused explosive... mess and stomach issues for the poor dog to the point where we had to lock him up in the kitchen to contain the chaos. P-I-C left for Italy on Wednesday and I promptly came down with a nasty cold that rendered me useless to just about everyone and everything in the house. There went my whole grand plan of house projects!

I couldn't sleep last night so I dug up the architectural plans for the house that we have. There's quite a few of them, and plenty of copies for some reason. I know we have the blueprints as well but I didn't find them. These plans are on huge sheets of paper and have been rolled but then squished under another box. Scanning them just exaggerated all the creases, so I fussed in photoshop a bit to make it look like they're supposed to be kind of ratty. Is anyone crafty enough to know a trick to smoothing out paper? I was thinking of putting a towel over one, and ironing over the towel to see if the paper smoothed out. Some of these are neat in their own way and I would love to frame them.

 

The original plans for the house (not shown) are dated 1959 and are really far-off from the finished product, which is funny. Also the original owner of the house is listed as the designer of it. He was an engineer by trade, and really knew what he wanted in house. A local architecture company drew up the blueprints and plans.

This is the aerial spec of the property, from 1971 when the carport and upper (off-kitchen) deck were constructed.

Sunday Morning Virtual MidMod House Hunting in Montco PA

I did it again last night - stayed up until 4am cruising the real estate listings in the area after driving through a pocket of gorgeous homes nearby; some that were on the market.

Looking at these homes makes me happy-angry. Happy to see the angles, the lines, large windows, a random orange door or something similar. Angry when I click the interior photos and see just horrible renovations, tacky decor or just plain disrepair.  And the abundance of of granite countertops will someday cause me a brain aneurysm, mark my words.

I know I can't fault these people for their decorating choices or for anything that I find aesthetically displeasing. But in general, I'm a very opinionated person with almost zero filter from my brain to my mouth and since I can't make snarky comments to them in person, I will do it here.

So! On with the tour, these are a few of the more notable listings I found. There are 2 pseudo time capsule homes, and if any listings are repeats from the last real estate post I made, I apologize. I'm tired today from the 3 hours of sleep I had between internet scrolling and the estate sale I hit up this morning.

In no random order:

1615 Terwood  CLICK HERE to read about it!

345 Moredon CLICK HERE to check out some amazing pics.

these 3 shots are all from the same house. the listing said that the designer/orginial owner is selling it but not who the designer is specifically. CLICK HERE for the listing.

You will want to check out this listing... specifically the backyard shot - check out the sculpture back there!

technically this is not in MontCo but it's pretty sweet.

And finally, "1701 Hillcrest". Proof Positive that "time capsule" home does not neccessarily mean your jaw will drop in a good way. Ok it's really not my tastes save for the one living room with orange accent colors, but I appreciate it for what it is.

1701 Hillcrest, there are some really odd photos HERE

when your room has a spiral staircase in the middle of it, may as well put grass green shag rug around it to make it more like you're popping out of a rabbit-hole.

after a few drinks in this fake african safari room, I may give my honest opinion of the decor. :)

 There were many more homes that were rather unimpressive inside and out, yet had either one room or one specific detail about it that was interesting.  I got to see that pink bathrooms are alive and well in  NE Pennsylvania, as well as some amazing old kitchens. I will post those vignettes at a later date, just for eye candy. This week was very good for thrifting finds that I want to photograph and post tonight.