Thought you might be interested in the bouncy chairs available for sale from Plow & Hearth. I’ve been looking for awhile, and these are the cheapest ones I’ve found at only $29! And they have some in red!!

Today was a gorgeous day in Corvallis. I think it might officially be the time of year that lasts 6 months and keeps us here the not-so-great other 6 months.

Tige and Ellie came over to pick up some rock. We’re somewhat amazed at how easy it has been to unload our “materials”. Does anyone want the basketball hoop that is cemented into the ground?? I wish.



And, Eric continued work on the side path. He needs to dig 8 inches deep and then we’ll have Trevor over to lay the gravel and set the path in cobblestone or brick.

As you’ll recall, we had a vote on the outside lights for our house. Light number two won with 42% of the vote:


Eric and I will be heading up to Portland in two weeks to pick up the lights from Schoolhouse Electric. We’ll most likely get the base in chrome, since I’m a huge chrome fan. Nothing could be more 50’s. We’ll be getting two lights, since that’s the total number of lights on the front of the house. However, we’ll probably add one light a year for a total of three more. Oh, and I haven’t told Eric yet, but I also want him to put lights beside the two other french doors on the back of the house. I’ll wait to tell him in the Fall, after he’s done with all the yard work and stripping the Mahogany on the house (seriously, he doesn’t read the blog).

It’s true. I don’t like pink. The idea of pink bathrooms and toilets scares me. I have, for the most part, avoided popular colors of the 50’s for the renovation of our ranch. However, I thought it might be useful to make a list of resources for 1950’s enthusiasts who want to maintain the original integrity of their home. And besides, I thought I might find something I like! I still have a few rooms to go, and when I’m done with them, I can start all over!

Sadly, after searching the web for quite some time, I turned up NOTHING! But, I happen to know of one resource: A color palette brochure available at Sherwin Williams called Suburb Modern. This collection has some interesting choices. I’m sure the colors are accurate, since there are a few homes in our neighborhood that have not seen a new coat of paint since the 50’s, and the homes definitely go with the colors supplied in the Suburb Modern selection.

If you know of any resources (physical or web) that discuss the popular paint colors of the 50’s, please post them here. Or, if you were around in the 50’s, or have a parent/aunt/gramma with original 50’s colors, let me know. I’m sure a lot of people would appreciate it.

I recently received this question on a post:

“Has anyone heard of the Palo Alto architect Marcus Steadman? He designed our home and apparently many other, Eichler-type homes in the Bay Area?”

The sum of my knowedge is that Cliff May and Eichler were major designers for “mid-century modern” homes, while Frank Lloyd Wright influenced “prairie style” ranch homes (ours leans a bit toward prairie style and is definitely not mid-century modern). I’m wondering what readers might be able to share about their knowledge? Does anyone know about Marcus Steadman? More information on Cliff May or Eichler? What are all the different styles of ranch homes? What were some other “major” architects? I’d love to have answers to all these questions…so please share if you have information!