Retro CoMO

I have been so lax about posting to this blog for the past few weeks!  Here are a few posts from local Craigslists this week.

Barber Chairs!  You were just rewatching The Man Who Wasn’t There, and you were thinking of opening a retro barber shop.  Here are your chairs!  Vintage 1964, in great shape, super expensive, and they probably weigh three tons each.  So the fact that they’ll deliver within 100 miles of Rolla is a big deal.

$475 each (yikes) in Rolla.  Here’s the link: Barber’s Chairs.

Coffee Table.  This is almost certainly a reproduction, but it’s a classic mid-century design by Isamu Noguchi and would look pretty cool in a lot of modern homes.  More info about the design/designer here.

$100 in SW Columbia.  Here’s the link: Coffee Table.

Vending Machine.  I hesitate to post this because it’s missing the coin mechanism and the key lock, but it does get cold and the lights work, so hmm.  It seems expensive (and heavy) to get something like this if you can’t hit the button and have the soda drop out, but maybe it sounds good to you!

$250 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Vintage Pepsi Vending Machine.

I am playing catch-up this week after a few weeks of illness and malaise and recuperation.  Sorry for the absence, though I have done a few searches in the meantime and I haven’t seen that we’ve missed much.  But look what is still available down in Osage Beach!  Why is this still waiting around when it should be all loved up in a new somebody’s house?  Lemon yellow vinyl, folks!  I don’t want to see this one posted again.  It makes me sad because it’s too gorgeous for words.  Go buy it.

Retro Kitchen Dinette Set (Lake of the Ozarks Craigslist).  I love lemon yellow vinyl from the 1960s.

You know what?  I’ll decorate your entire sunroom for you.  Buy this and that fantastic lemon yellow bar down at Funtiques in Springfield, and you’ve got yourself a room.  Then you have to invite me over.  I will wear a beehive and a muumuu and frosted pink lipstick and we will drink lemonade (or, ooh, let’s have Tom Collinses) together while we ignore our children and smoke skinny cigarettes.  And that is a crazy fantasy because I don’t have any kids and I don’t smoke.  But if you bought all this for your house, I would rent a child to ignore with you, and then I would pretend to smoke skinny cigarettes.  We would have a great time, you and me, in your sunroom.

Here is the bar you need:

Ooh, buy that TV too.  We can watch soap operas on it.  I don’t like soap operas, but we can’t not watch soap operas on that TV in this fictional room at your house.  (Like how this is all happening at your house?)  Anything else would be wrong and ridiculous.

And here is a swag lamp that you can hang up in there:

Vintage Swag Lamp (Columbia Craigslist).

This is making me ache for summer!  And I even love winter, so I don’t know what that’s about.  Lemonade and swimming pools and white plastic sunglasses.  I swear, you and I will be best friends because I will want to hang out in your lemon yellow sunroom all the time.

How’s it coming?  Bought this stuff yet?  Let me know the minute you do.

I would blame all of this on lingering effects of the flu, but honestly this is just how I get around lemon yellow vintage 60s stuff.  It makes me giddy with delight.

It might be bitterly cold through Saturday, but temperatures on Sunday should rise to a balmy high in the mid-20s.  What should you do with such a warm weekend day?  You should drive to St. Louis and pick up your new gold sofa!

Gold Sofa.  Okay, so $800.  But it’s gold.  And you have always wanted a gold sofa.

$800 in St. Louis.  Here’s the link: Retro Sofa.

Storage Unit/End Table.  They suggest that it could be used as a TV stand, but that would depend on the size and age of your current TV, I think.  Make sure it can support it, especially if you have other equipment too.  But it’s cute and I like the detail.

$50 in the Warrenton/O’Fallon/Wentzville area.  Here’s the link: 1950s Vintage Wood TV Stand.

Matching Loveseats.  Kidney shaped in orange velour.  What are you waiting for?  Honestly, these look pretty comfortable.  I’m not sure I understand the best way to arrange them, but it looks like the other piece is a corner piece.  The price seems high, but if the fabric is in good shape, it might be worth it.  It costs a lot to get a couch reupholstered (and I speak from experience).

$300 in O’Fallon.  Here’s the link: Mid century modern love seats.

Dresser.  This looks smaller in the picture than I think it is in real life (the seller lists the height at 42″) and I love the detail despite the fact that the veneer is a little beat-up.

$125 in Fenton.  Here’s the link: Retro Dresser.

Sofa Set.  I love this type of set- it’s so cute.  The seller has repaired some of the cat scratch damage.

$200 in St. Louis City.  Here’s the link: Mid-Century Long and Low Sofa and Loveseat Set.

Danish Modern Sofa.  I love this, too.  The upholstery is in nice shape and I like that striped blue color that is typical of this era.  Nice.

$225 in Illinois (suburbs, I assume).  Here’s the link: Retro Danish Sofa.

Welcome to 2010!

I found a few odd items on Craigslist this week that I thought I would share.  Maybe you are in dire need of something like this!

Something like a Detecto Baby Scale!  Maybe you have a plethora of babies that you need to weigh on a regular basis.  I don’t know your life.  It has a 30-lb capacity, so maybe you could weigh small dogs and cats and random household objects.  I just like that it’s blue and kind of stylish and has the name “Detecto”.

$50 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Detecto Baby Scale.

Hutch.  This looks like a nice piece with the glass and the tapered legs, and a bottle of Restor-A-Finish would probably clean up most of the dings and scratches without too much trouble.  And these don’t come up that often in this area, though the price still seems a little high.  But I am not a dealer.

$300 in Eldon.  Here’s the link: Hutch.

Drainboard and Sink.  I recently saw something like this installed in a beautiful new kitchen.  It was integrated seamlessly into the countertops and cabinetry, and looked really cool.  There’s a lot to be said about a nice sink like this with the drainboard.  We had one growing up, and there was never any fear of water ruining the countertops around the sink.  Something to think about!  (And if you buy this and put it in your vintage house, you better send me the pictures.)

$125 in Jefferson City.  Here’s the link: Antique Vintage Drainboard Kitchen Sink.

Waterfall Bedroom Set.  I have a love for the cheap waterfall bedroom sets of the 1930s & 1940s, mostly because I have a set in my own house (some of the first furniture I ever bought for myself when I was in college).  This stuff is hard to refinish because of the veneer, but mine cleaned up beautifully with Restor-A-Finish.  Included in the set is a highboy dresser, a vanity with seat, and a full size bed.

$450 in Hannibal.  Here’s the link: 30’s/40’s Curved Front Bedroom Set.

End Table.  Tiered, with veneer and tapered legs, but I like the hourglass shape to the supports on the top.  Nice!

$10 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Vintage End Table.

Things are pretty slow on Craigslist this week, and I’m not sure your priorities out there are to go out and grab up vintage furniture this weekend!  I myself fell in love with a silver aluminum Christmas tree (complete with pompoms, rotating stand, and color wheel) last week, but it was gone before I could grab it up.

So I made you a Christmas present.  I put together a few Flickr pictures of vintage Christmas trees and ornaments into a Gallery.  Take a look and see what I found!

Click on the image above to see my Retro Christmas Gallery, made just for you!  This picture above is from my house, with some of my vintage furniture and a very not-vintage silver fiber-optic tree.

I hope you have a great holiday weekend, and I look forward to the new year, when everyone will clean out their closets and put a lot of great vintage stuff on Craigslist for us.

Jeannette Carnival Egg Nog Bowl.  You were going to swig the eggnog directly from the cardboard carton, I know, but this is much more festive.  Complete with bowl and six cups.

$20 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Jeannette Carnival Egg Nog Set.

Desk.  Looks like an industrial style with tapered legs, and not too huge.

$30 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Desk.

File Cabinet.  Heavy duty, perfect for craft supplies.

$10 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: File Cabinet.

Orange Sleeper Sofa!  It looks like it’s missing a couple of buttons in the tufted section on the back, but otherwise the vinyl is in good condition.

$45 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Awesome Orange Couch.

I visited Funtiques, a new antiques store in Springfield, Missouri, in October.  It was a Friday and we were headed to Branson, Missouri, for a family reunion weekend.  I loved the store so much that I requested we make another stop there when we made our return trip home on Sunday.

If you are into retro furniture and you live anywhere near Springfield, you need to make a trip to this store!  I don’t go to Springfield very often, but I will make more of an effort now that I know that this store is there.

Funtiques is focused on furniture and accessories from the 1940s through the 1970s.  From the moment you walk in the door, it is evident that you’re in the hands of someone who loves retro style.

This chair & lamp combination greeted us when we came in, along with all those great textiles.

And then you see this:

Holy crap, is that awesome or what?  Look at that gorgeous lemon-yellow bar and matching vinyl stools.  This belongs in a someone’s sunroom, right off the pool, and someone with frosted lipstick should be mixing the drinks.  I love this thing.  I love it!

The whole store has a great feel!  Though it is split into booths, only some of the booths are rented out.  The rest of the store is designed like a series of rooms, filled with furniture and accessories that match.

A little white Hollywood regency here:

Pink dinette there:

And some solid gold sounds of the 70s…

I was pretty impressed with some of the owner’s finds.

I love the chair and the lamp (I’m always a sucker for vintage lampshades), but look at that wonderful room divider behind the chair!  Isn’t that great?

Giant peacock wall hanging!

And this, probably my favorite thing in the whole store (other than the lemon yellow bar and stools):

I love that crazy mirrored shelf thing.  I have seen a few of these from this era, and I even own one myself that I love, but I’ve never seen one like this.  It’s hard to tell from the picture (you should see it in person!), but besides the crazy geometric shapes with the giant points and all the gold and the mirrors, it has many sections with pressed floral and botanical designs.  And it is huge- at least four feet long.  Unbelievable.

A couple of great pictures.  These were also very big- the top one is about 3′ long, and the bottom one is probably 16″x24″,

Lucite table and black vinyl chairs… and don’t forget the great chrome lamp on the table.  I didn’t get a good shot of the room divider that is right behind this table, but you can see some of its geometric wrought iron style here.

The furniture was in beautiful condition, like this Danish modern hutch.  A lot of the furniture was in sets, which I love!  Don’t break up the furniture sets!  And check out these dishes:

I liked this plastic lunch table set.  All the chairs are connected and on wheels, right out of a cafeteria!  It would need a big kitchen for practical use, but it would be a lot of fun.

Lots of wonderful accessories and finds.

‘

I would say the prices were fair.  There were a few deals to be had, and certainly you would find the prices insanely cheap if you live in California or another place where mid-century modern goodness goes for high dollar prices.  For Missouri, the prices are reasonable.

I’m a little confused that I can’t find a listing for Funtiques on Google, but there is a listing for Decade Designs (which is also on their sign).  Funtiques doesn’t have a website, but they do have an Etsy shop (with poodle plates!  and anondized glasses!).

Funtiques is located at 1135 E. Commercial Street in Springfield, Missouri.  I’m not very familiar with Springfield, but Funtiques is right next door to the Majestic Flea Market on the north side of town, just a mile or so off I-44.  There is plenty of parking available.

And you should definitely stop by.  (Did you not see the picture of the lemon yellow bar?  That was so cool!)

End tables available in Columbia.  $20.

Here’s the link: Vintage End Tables.

Here’s a roundup of items from the last few days on Columbia Craigslist!

Vintage Blond Dresser.  Not in great shape, and it looks like the handles are replacements (but they’re from Anthropologie, so they’re bound to be as cute as they look).

$45 in SW Columbia.  Here’s the link: Vintage dresser/chest of drawers.

Set of Black Bentwood Chairs.  I like bentwood designs and this one is a little unusual.  The paint looks a bit uneven, but that can be fixed.  I like the caning too.

$15 each ($60 for the set- don’t break them up!) in SW Columbia.  Here’s the link: Black bentwood chairs.

School Desk.  I like the lines!  Am I crazy, or does it have really cool lines?  I can’t see the base, but it looks like it would go well in a mid-century modern house, especially one with a child.  Or not!  Maybe you need a desk like this for your own art projects.

$20 in Holts Summit.  Here’s the link: Old desk/chalkboard.

End Table.  One sad, lonely end table all by itself.  I like the lines and the handle.  It would be a happier end table with a new coat of paint or at least some Restor-A-Finish.  But you can’t beat the price, especially if you’re already in Jeff city.  It would work in either a bedroom or a living room, too.

$5 in Jefferson City.  Here’s the link: End Table.

Typewriter Table.  I bought one of these for my office a few months ago, and it is perfect for my wireless printer with extra space to store a stock of paper on the side.  I like its vintage industrial style and also its very small footprint.  And if you ever need a tiny table for your laptop, that’s what this was made for.

$15 in Columbia.  Here’s the link: Small Metal Table.