Add some old school vintage decor to your space–it’s easy as 1-2-3.

Take a trip to any antique store, thrift shop, or estate sale and you are likely to find A+ school-themed vintage decor finds that are just calling out for your vintage space. From old textbooks to school desks, these vintage finds can be used to add retro charm to your home or even repurposed with new uses in mind.

Retro classroom finds are ripe for the picking for any vintage overachiever looking to ace the test or to create a vintage decor home that looks like it’s the next set of a Wes Anderson film. You can go literal with your look or referential, either way there’s a world of old vintage educational finds out there just waiting for you and your space.

Vintage Decor Classroom Finds

1. 1954 American Standard Clock via EmpireAntiqueCo

Anyone over a certain age will remember when school buildings had clocks like these, and maybe a few school buildings even still feature them. If you are going for that institutional look, by all means, add this beauty to your wall.

2. Vintage School Desk via oldgoatnadhorse

Add an old school desk to an empty corner crying out for some vintage. Use it as a nook to store old books, plants, or knick knacks. This desk, from a Catholic School in Ohio, is adult-sized and could even be used as a place to work on your laptop.

3. Vintage Lockers via DustysRustyLockers

Turn old school lockers into functional storage and add some vintage educational charm to an entryway or hallway. Keep them institutional green or paint them to match your own decor.

4. Pull-down Maps via JeLiDee

Old pull-down maps make for great vintage wall art or can be used to decoupage furniture or as wallpaper. Cover the world or stick to a continent or a hemisphere, whatever your taste may be.

5. Vintage Charts via moovi

By the same token, old school charts can serve the same purposes as maps, and the range of topics depicted varies greatly to suit your interests.

6. Remington Typewriter via FabLovesVintage

Back in the day, school kids used to take typing courses in high school. Crazy, right? Add a pretty vintage typewriter to your home office as a conversation piece, or even to play around with by typing actual snail mail letters!

7. Glass Beakers via forgottenPLUM

If you can find them, old glass beakers are useful for everything from holding flowers or pens and can even be used as mixology glasses!

Top Image via BetsuHome

Related on EcoSalon

7 Quirky Ideas for Repurposing Vintage Home Decor Goods
Vintage Furniture Ideas for Every Room in the House
5 DIY Home Decor Project for the Vintage Junkie: Repurpose Thrift Store Finds

The post 7 Funky Old School Vintage Decor Finds Strangely Endearing (and No Homework!) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Polka dots. You either love them or you hate them.

We happen to love them and we aren’t the only ones. 2015 has been the year of the dots–especially on the spring and summer fashion runways.

If you too love the polka dot, read on for some tips on how wear them and how to add them to your home.

Polka Dots Fashion and Home Decor Tips

Image: West Elm

1. Mix and Match

One of our favorite ways to incorporate the polka dot into you wardrobe or your home decor is to mix and match them with other patterns. Polka dots can add a bit of whimsy to stripes, gingham, plaid, damask, houndstooth, Greek Key, or really any pattern out there. The key is to match the scale or make a point to exaggerate the difference in scale between your patterns.

Image: Umberto Fratini / Indigitalimages.com

2. Go Big

For those who don’t really care for the polka dot, one solution is to choose patterns with larger dots and with more space between them. This look is more retro and less precious.

Image: Anthropologie

3. Go Small

On the other end of the size spectrum, choosing smaller dots can come off a little more polished. Small scale polka dots when seen from far away are almost invisible, it’s only when you get up close that you can see them. It works just like a small pinstripe pattern work.  Smaller dots are definitely more appropriate for more conservative settings, like the office.

Image: Pottery Barn

4. Accents

Any pattern can be just too darn much if overdone, that’s never truer than with polka dots. Instead of decking yourself, or your space, in head to toe dots, use the pattern as an accent. A scarf, a throw, gloves, or a rug would all work to give a little pop of dots!

Image: HAUSOFPROSE

5. Be Unexpected

Instead of wearing or decorating with polka dots in expected ways, like wearing a polka-dotted blouse or throwing some throw pillows on the sofa, get creative with your looks. Try polka-dotted pumps or a statement wall art piece instead, just don’t be predictable!

Image: starsandspirals

6. Own It

Do not be afraid to go all in with polka dots. If you love them, who cares if others don’t! Wear polka dots from your head to your toes and wear them proud.

Related on EcoSalon

How To Wear It: Polka Dots

7 Deceptively Simple DIY Black and White Decorating Ideas

Fearless Home Decor: Mix and Match Patterns

Image: OhongsDesignStudio

The post 6 Ways to Rock Polka Dots for You and Your Home appeared first on EcoSalon.

 Maybe it’s the TV show Mad Men, which wrapped up season 6 this summer, or maybe it’s because it’s back-to-school time again, but it seems like we are seeing vintage office supplies everywhere. From typewriters to Moleskine notebooks, paper and office supply geeks know that vintage office supplies are in. That means whether you are looking to trick out your  home office with a little vintage panache or you just want to add a little bit of retro pizazz to your cubicle at work, we’ve got some ideas and inspiration for you.

Bring a little bit of retro into your everyday with vintage office supplies.

Vintage Office Supplies

Poking around Etsy revealed a smorgasbord of vintage-inspired and genuinely vintage office supplies. Stuff like real ink pens, rotating rubber stamp holders, crank pencil sharpeners and wire In and Out boxes. Here are just some of the fun highlights from out search.

Typewriter

Image: Thread and Brush Studio

Love this teal Olivetti Studio 44 Portable Manual Typewriter with its original case and in working condition. Whether for show or to channel your inner Hemingway, this is a stylish piece. Using one of these bad boys for a bit would really make one appreciate word processors and laptops as well.

Office Supplies and Stationery Tin Box

Image: Inklinks

What a clever find this kit is. It’s filled with vintage office supplies and stationery from 1950s-1980s ready for your next letter writing (gasp, snail mail?) session. It’s filled  with all kinds of usable ephemera like a marble-covered notebook, Staedtler erasers, floppy disk labels, old tags, and Owl paper clips, among other goodies.

Fountain Pen

Image: zandbroz

While you might think they are messy, fountain pens are actually a much more sustainable choice over disposable pens. And this restored 1946 Parker Vacumatic Jet Black Fountain Pen is more than better for the planet, it’s also super cool. Leave the iPad back in the office and show up with this for notetaking at your next meeting.

Rubber Stamp

Image: unqueDuJour

Hand stamp your own letters and memos or even create your own stationery using this vintage “Important Message” rubber stamp. Even though we live in the digital age, it’s possible to have some retro fun when sending your paper-based communications.

Rolodex

Image: collectiblesatoz

Even though some of us have phones that “bump” to exchange info and others have business card apps on our iPhones, we still always end up with business cards and addresses written on scraps of paper. That’s why the Rolodex will never go out of style. This one is from the 1980s.

Labels

Image: juliecollings

Instead of reaching for those generic Avery labels from the big box store for your next labeling project, consider using these vintage Dennison labels instead. Form and function together in one.

Carbon Paper

Image: TheInspiredTrader

And for a bit of nostalgic fun, how about some carbon paper? Carbon paper was the original copy and paste! This package of Solvent Carbon Paper by Burroughs Corporation dates from the 1960s.

Pencils

Image: pastoria

And for the back-to-school crowd, how about these vintage Cascade C120 Soft. No.2 pencils—they still use pencils in school, don’t they? These are from the 1980s.

Top Image: Matteo Paciotti | Photography

Related on Ecosalon:

10 Stunning Statement Chandeliers to Inspire: From Modern to Gorgeous Vintage

5 Green Home Office Supplies We Love

The post Mad Men Your Workspace: Vintage Office Supplies appeared first on EcoSalon.

Would you pay 42 cents for this 1977 version of egg nests?

A 42 cent lunch would be nice! However, I’m not quite sure I’d even fork over that amount, measly it may be, for the above egg nest featured in a March 1977 publication of Homemakers. From the looks of the recipe, there’s nothing in the dish but the elements to a satisfying breakfast! The picture is what gets me. The egg yolk looks raw and the egg white puff looks like some sort of mold overgrowth – not the best thing to imagine on a sensitive morning stomach.

My modern adaptation of an egg nest breakfast uses similar ingredients to those in this retro recipe, but the result looks a lot less worse for wear. I use the egg whites to coat the bread and seal in the moisture, form a nest for the egg yolk, and then give the dish a hint of sweetness with honey and a touch of light earthiness with the fresh mint.

French Toast Egg Nests

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon milk or cream
• Dash of sea salt
• Dash of black pepper
• 2 slices of a thick, fluffy bread
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• A few mint leaves for garnish

Directions:

Separate the egg white from the egg yolk. Reserve the egg yolks for later, keeping them whole.

In a small bowl that has the width (or greater) of the length of the bread slices, whisk together the egg whites, cream, salt, and pepper.

Over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Soak both sides of each piece of bread in the egg white mixture so that both faces’ areas are covered, and place in the saucepan.

Let the bread sit over the head for 1 minute, or until slightly browned, before flipping. Once you rotate the bread, delicately pull apart the center of each slice to create a small nest. Fill each nest with the reserved whole egg yolks, one for each bread.

Pour any remaining egg white mixture in the nests as well, equally distributing it among the two. Don’t worry about the egg whites leaking outside of the nests. Embrace the rustic look!

Immediately transfer the entire saucepan into the oven. Broil on high until the egg yolk cooks to your liking – approximately 2 minutes.

Remove from oven and present the dish in the center of the breakfast table while the toast is still in the saucepan. However, not before drizzling with honey and garnishing with mint.

Enjoy!

There is nothing quite like flipping through the pages of grandmother’s faded cookbooks in all their imperfect glory — the worn edges, the rampant sauce stains and the cluttered pencil marks. With their casseroles, ham dishes and affinity for elaborate presentation, the Betty Crockers and the Joy of Cookings provide a glimpse of food before it all became so much more complicated. At EcoSalon, we love good vintage inspiration, even when it comes to food. Welcome to Vintage Revamp, where we take old and classic recipes and refresh them with a modern-day twist.

Image: JBCurio, Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Vintage Recipe Revamp: Egg Nests With Fresh Mint and Honey appeared first on EcoSalon.

Revamping American classics.

This recipe is taking you back to the early 1950s, a November 1952 advertisement in Woman’s Day to be exact. The ad glorifies Del Monte peaches by providing readers with a recipe for Peach Kringle, which is essentially canned peach slices baked into cinnamon and sugar-coated biscuits. I’m not going to argue with that combo – it sounds delicious! My challenge in making this recipe modern is to give it a healthier twist.

Canned peaches are peaches sliced and poached in sugar water. One cup of it is nearly 200 calories, near 40 grams of sugar and under 5 grams of fiber. In order to enjoy this for breakfast, it’d be nice to up the ante on fiber and keep the sugar coming exclusively from the peach itself, not from add-ins.

This 2012 version of the Del Monte classic addresses all of these concerns. Using simple and makeshift whole-wheat biscuits and fresh, unadulterated peaches, this Peach Kringle deserves an ad of its own for both its taste and sight. Enjoy!

Peach Kringle

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, chilled
• 3/4 cup almond, rice, or soy milk + 1/4 cup
• 2 large peaches
• Drizzle of honey (optional)
• Dash of cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine the whole-wheat flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until evenly combined. Add the butter, breaking it up with a fork or your fingers with the flour. Pour in the milk and use your hands to form a ball.

Break the dough into 6 pieces. Roll them into biscuit-sized balls and place them equal distance apart in a glass baking dish. Core and slice the peaches into wedges. Disperse them throughout the baking dish and in the crevices between the dough balls. Pour about 1/4 cup of milk into the bottom of the pan – I find that this helps keep the biscuits most while cooking and steams the peaches.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the biscuits brown. Drizzle with honey and give it a dash of cinnamon. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

There is nothing quite like flipping through the pages of grandmother’s faded cookbooks in all their imperfect glory — the worn edges, the rampant sauce stains and the cluttered pencil marks. With their casseroles, ham dishes and affinity for elaborate presentation, the Betty Crockers and the Joy of Cookings provide a glimpse of food before it all became so much more complicated. At EcoSalon, we love good vintage inspiration, even when it comes to food. Welcome to Vintage Revamp, where we take old and classic recipes and refresh them with a modern-day twist.

Images: JB Curio, Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Vintage Recipe Revamp: Del Monte’s Peach Kringle appeared first on EcoSalon.

When I grow up, I want to be a retronaut; Chris Wild already is and he is generously sharing his portal with the world. Mr. Wild’s intriguing website (and it is intriguing) is a place in time dancing with whimsy. How to be a Retronaut is a website where you can scroll and click with wild abandon and pure wonder, “If the past is a foreign country, this is your passport.”

A retronaut is someone who travels through time using just perception. How to be a Retronaut is a charismatic playground within a timeline that invites you to be a retronaut. The appeal of the website is in variety and unexpected entertainment. Where else can you find Eiffel Tower blueprints, a blooper reel from the 1930s, and a 5000 year old piece of chewing gum?! There are roots to modern chromatics, like this Crayola color chart graphically depicting the evolution from 8 crayon colors to 120 colors in 97 years (image above). For a dash of Parisian history, devour the details of this flat (who doesn’t want this ostrich?!).

I love the nostalgic photographs hidden throughout the website. These images of a Brooklyn gang in 1959 are completely captivating.

These Parisian glimpses (in color!) are from the WWII era.

And let’s not forget the birth of Twitter (70 years earlier than you think).

Now click over and explore!

(All images from How to be a Retronaut.)

The post How to Be a Retronaut appeared first on EcoSalon.

In the 1950s, Airstream trailers were the pinnacle of luxurious travel: roomy, comfortable and futuristic, resembling nothing more than a Jetsons-like flying vehicle ready to take to the skies. Today, Airstream aficionados drool over the rounded aluminum bodies and mid-century modern interiors. While many still function as campers, others have been transformed into homes, studios, traveling boutiques and even bowling alleys. These 10 Airstreams and other tiny mobile dwellings prove that small can be stylish and surprisingly multi-functional.

Kristina Spaulding’s Dreamy Curves

Can this Airstream get any dreamier? Pale birch, linen and chrome adorn the curvilinear interior of Kristina Spaulding’s 1967 Tradewind. Spaulding wanted the inside to have the same feel as the iconic exterior, cutting many of the curved shapes herself with a jigsaw. The postcard-covered kitchen counter is a nod to the many journeys Spaulding has made in her traveling home.

Masculine Wood MObi

Modern minimalists who still crave organic textures will love MObi, a restored Airstream with lots of wood and white. Packed with a surprisingly large kitchen, a sleek bathroom and a flat screen television with surround sound, this more masculine version of the tricked-out classic camper has all the necessities and more.

Tiny Modern Airstream Abode

Imagine waking up every day in a bright and cozy Airstream trailer that serves as your home, and then heading to work – in the converted cargo trailer that’s towed behind your truck. That’s reality for architect Andreas Stavropoulos, who has converted both from run-of-the-mill prefab boxes into comfortable, livable spaces.

Sarah’s Airstream Studio

Of course, Airstreams aren’t just for livin’ on the road. They make ridiculously adorable work studios, as proven by this extreme makeover by crafter Sarah of 26 Letters. Sarah’s eye for design is obvious, with carefully chosen modern furniture and accessories and pops of color against a bright white ‘canvas’.

Airstream, or Bowling Alley?

Of all the wacky things you might come across in Vegas, would you ever expect a bowling alley in an Airstream? The trailer – located at the Silverton Casino – seems to have been widened to accommodate two lanes of fun.

Adelante Boutique’s Airstream ‘Curb Service’

Austin, Texas boutique Adelante has repurposed an Airstream into the chicest little mobile boutique you ever saw. The customized 1976 model will roll up to any curb for private parties including bridal showers, with partygoers sipping on “streamtinis” while perusing racks of clothing, shoes and accessories.

Eye-Popping Airstreams at Grand Daddy Hotel

Need someplace to stay while traveling in South Africa? It would be hard to find a more unique experience than the curious gaggle of rentable Airstreams at the Grand Daddy Hotel. This one, designed by Sarah Pratt, was inspired by the blue dress of a certain heroine in The Wizard of Oz.

Contemporary Prairie Schooner

A young couple named Libby Reinish and Tristan Chambers made this ‘contemporary prairie schooner’ in a span of just a few months and now live in it while traveling cross-country. Inspired by gypsy wagons, this tiny portable home packs in plenty of creature comforts, but perhaps none quite as unexpected as the little caged lookout for their cat.

Woodie Love Bug Custom Trailer

The small and shiny ‘Woodie Love Bug’ is like a homemade cross between an Airstream and a teardrop trailer. Custom-made by Dayton Taylor and Vintage Trailer Crazy, these trailers are 12-feet-long fully customizable mobile homes crafted from oak, birch and metal.

Protostoga: 21st Century Wagon

Another project taking a cue from the shiny metal of Airstream exteriors is the ‘Protostoga‘, built as an extension for the owners’ more traditional-looking – but still highly unusual – tiny house. “It will function as a flex space,” creator Ann Holley told Tiny House Blog. “It can be a guesthouse, vacation cottage, dining room, mobile studio, escape pod, reading room and much more.”

Main image: Grand Daddy Hotel

The post 10 Cool Airstreams and Other Alternative Mobile Housing appeared first on EcoSalon.

In light of the recent survey finding many of us secure a better night’s sleep in separate cocoons, it might pay to return to the days of twins. You know, lie back and watch a show, roll over for fun, head home to your crib for a snooze so you can get up for work. Just like dating!

Think of the fun of sneaking into the resting chamber of your better half for a “hello stranger” kinda session, while saving all kinds of bucks on the bedding ’cause twin sets are so much cheaper than kings.

Many hotels in Europe feature twins with headboards pushed together to form one chic unit, dressing them in matching finery. I’ve slept best in a twin since summer camp and think in some ways, we were meant to have a compact cot with a narrow margin to feel safe and secure as we garner our much needed zzz’s.

So what are the most stylish ways to produce twins in your own home? Probably the best source for a cool pair is vintage. If you’re more contemporary, you can always customize upholstered headboards or beds with eco fabrics. But that’s another story!

Subtle Vintage Pairings

ebay is undoubtedly the wealthiest source for matching twins, such as these woven Scandinavian beauties from Antique Bedrooms with tapered, capped legs. $1500.

I’m a total sucker for caned furniture, and in fact picked up a set of beds for my daughters at auction when they were small. These precious French guys were harvested by French Finds.

Man, you could have fun with these circa 1970s rattan vintage twin headboards with a decorative diamond insert. Order good green mattresses on frames sans the chemicals and geometric organic bedding. From Objects in the Loft at 1st Dibs.

Pair of curvaceous, French Oak Louis twins, $990 at Abba Antiques.

Main Image: Posh Living

Image one: Rhymehatcher

Image Two: Coco+Kelley

The post Grown Up Twin Beds for the Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em Set appeared first on EcoSalon.

My partner in Sixties vintage couture crime, artist Joan Davis, called me the other day and said I had to check out Torso Vintages, an ultra cool used couture outlet in San Francisco’s Union Square.

In town just a few days to pedal her flower-powered paintings, Joan had immediately sensed where to dig up archaeological relics of Pucci and Gucci – the way my pug can sniff a German Shepherd or hamburger a mile away.

I jotted down the name to this source for  shifts and clutches. Sure, there are ample consignment shops around in  chic towns like ours, but few sell what connoisseurs consider three dimensional art, i.e. something Jacky O. or Lily Pulitzer would have worn to lunch at Harry’s Bar with the girls. You have to weed through lots of synthetic yardage and depleted, tired boas to find the real gems.

As it turns out, the source she told me about is among the vendors strutting their fabulous stuff on the hottest new online boutique for the real McCoys of vintage fashion style.

Yes, hopeless fashion romantics such as Joan and I are the types 1st Dibs is banking on to do for Geoffrey Beene A-line cloaks and YSL Jockey Hats (above)  what the Web site did for haute  furnishings: Gather the best offerings from dealers around the world to sell for a range of prices.

That range at 1st Dibs cuts a wide swath:

From the doable after a glass of wine with lunch: Whimsical Pierre Cardin sunglasses from the 1960s. $250.

To the the pretty pricey: 1960s Pucci shift, $400, and Ungaro dress, $650.

To the investment statement: M. Haskell 1940’s Multicolored Fringed Bib Necklace USA, 1940’s. $3,250.

To a taste of  Samantha Jones at Versailles: Hermes Birkin of Matte Black Porosus Crocodile. $65,000.

John Hadeed, owner of Torso Vintages, finds 1st Dibs is helping to put him and others in his stylish field on the map in a big way.

“We’ve had calls and emails from all over the country and the world,” the collector told SF Gate.  “We’re dealing with people who really love clothes.”

Michael Bruno, the clever founder of 1st Dibs, hired vintage couture expert Clair Watson (above) to supervise the fashion site and locate the first dealers. They include seasoned second-hand harvesters with a penchant for Hermes, such as Createurs de Luxe, and the owner of the Way We Wore in Los Angeles, a dealer named Doris Watson who is offering her most precious and rare works of art to the website.

The good news is vintage is on a roll because of the recession and our renewed appreciation for classics over buying new junk made abroad.

Check out the site and see if there is anything you can afford (that’s bigger than a size 2 or 4) to add to your wardrobe. All you do is click on the era that suits you (from Deco to Contemporary).

What’s the best deal you can score on the site? Perhaps an undesirable Chado Ralph Rucci evening bag for $175. This is not the place to pluck the deal of the century.

Main Image: 1st Dibs

Image two: Vintage Shopping Guide

The post 1st Dibs on Camelot Chic But Hardly Deal of the Century appeared first on EcoSalon.

When fashion designers go residential, their sense of color and texture don’t always feel quite at home. Especially when it comes to bedding, it can feel – well, a bit sleepy. Not so with never neutral Trina Turk, whose punchy patterns enter a room with the sock-it-to-me frivolity of Joanne Whirley – euphoric, mod, and unabashedly uncorked with personality.

In fact, the shag carpet appeal of the Laugh-In era has come alive in Palm Springs, the new Mid-Century mecca where Trina Turk Residential has opened right next door to her apparel boutique on Palm Canyon Drive. Turk and her husband, photographer Jonathan Skow, own a home in the desert. Along with retrophiles like Jonathan Adler, they are doing their part to restore the resort to its early 60s glamor of Avanti cars, Sinatra and Hope soirées, and low-slung homes.

Turk’s vivid peacock and floral prints fit in the scene like a worn-in golf glove. The best part is that she locates old pieces – mostly vintage patio furniture – that she restores and upholsters in her own florals and geometrics, infusing old goodies with contemporary spark. It’s oh so greener than throwing them out to pasture.

I spoke with the highly successful designer about her vision for home:

Luanne: Why residential?

Trina: We always did color and prints in our apparel line and it seemed like a logical progression. Most of the prints we do are graphic and bold so they lend themselves to larger expanses of fabric. Over the years, we used my prints in my old home and realized the apparel fabrications are not appropriate for upholstery use (laughs). What we wanted was to find someone who could do true indoor-outdoor fabrics that could withstand the sun, getting wet, kids and dogs. That’s how we paired up with F. Schumacher. We did nine patterns and eight of them are ones we have use in the past on apparel.

Luanne: The Schumacher fabrics are stunning but not organic. Have you thought about going in that direction?

Trina: As a brand, we have credibility in the arena of printed fabrics. Anything that can be done makes sense for us. I don’t see us every doing eco furniture and hard items, but with textiles, we could cross over.

Gallery of featured Trina Turk products

Pisces Print

Peacock Print

Super Paradise Print

Luanne: I realize it can be challenging. Many of those toxic chemicals are what coat the fabric to make it last.

Trina: The textile industry is a very polluting industry, so at this point, it is really about making baby steps in the right direction. With our customers, the sad thing is if a jean is organic or non-organic, they will buy the one that makes them look better, the one most flattering to them. If the less flattering one is organic, their organic concerns are overruled by what they look good in. As the textile industry continues to develop fabrications that are eco-friendly and also fashionable – that whole thing will move forward and there won’t be a difference.

Luanne: How do you scout for the furniture in your collection?

Trina: All the furniture in our own home is vintage. We opened a residential store here figuring that in Palm Springs, it’s easy to find vintage patio furniture. Stylistically, it’s more interesting to me than new patio furniture. It’s easy to find vintage Brown Jordan but most of it has webbing, making it hard to upholster. We have located upholstered pieces not by famous designers, except for one set by Bob Alexander, who you might know if you are a decorator or collector. We get a lot of metal pieces and have them painted with a shiny enamel paint finish that is very durable and comes in great colors. It looks like new once the upholstery is on the cushions and should endure outdoors.

Luanne: The desert sun can be grueling. I remember when I was growing up and we owned a home in P.S. We’d store the cushions indoors.

Trina: That’s what got this whole thing going..this idea of we want fabric by the pool but the 100% cotton canvas in the apparel line really fades. The P.S. sun is so strong it fades in one day. The Schumacher fabrics go through a wear test equivalent to sitting up and down 15,000 times (we both laugh). They really test it out that way!

Luanne: They could have just had my kids come over. They’re hyper-active. Who is your decor clientele – who’s interested in procuring the vintage pieces you’re refurbishing?

Trina: Mostly, there are the people who live here who have bought and restored Mid-Century homes. Then, there are the architectural tourists who come to look at the homes. This time of year, there is a new crop every weekend because of all the local events. The Palm Springs Modernism Show just happened.

Luanne: Were you involved? Did it get around that you have the new home store?

Trina: Yes, we did a thing called the Trina Turk Guide to Palm Springs, an extended postcard listing all of the Mid-century shops.

Luanne: It seems you are branching out beyond Palm Springs, opening a new store in Burlingame, Calif. and other cities.

Trina: In Burlingame, we will sell mostly apparel but also carry some items from our home collection, pillows and home accessory items like scented candles. We see a lot of possibilities for things we can do in that area. The prints could be applied to wallpaper, rugs, many different things.

Photos: courtesy John Ellis

The post Trina Turk Talks Textiles for the Home appeared first on EcoSalon.