the 2005 version, staged
There’s been no time to crystallize deep thoughts, so here’s a silly list with lots of photos.
- Rose was curious about our pink and green bathroom. The above photo shows how it looked when we first saw the house staged for sale in 2005. The house dates to 1926. The former, quite elderly owners lived here 35 years, changing very little, except the kitchen. It’s hard to describe the very weird features of that circa 1970s kitchen remodel. I have photos — that will be another post. We knew we needed to do something about the kitchen, at the very least, but then I had a dream about the spirit of the house. The spirit wasn’t keen on the idea of too many changes. I’m not much of a dream interpreter, or spiritualist (or particularly religious), but in deference to the house spirit, we decided to make minimal changes. Hence the bathroom remains mostly as it was, including the green tile indent near the toilet where Victorian folding style tissue was once dispensed. We replaced the sink and toilet: both American Standard retro pieces. Much research ensued regarding the question of how to update this little bathro0m without losing any of the period charm. Then, voila, a wallpaper Coup d’état — a company that prints vintage wallpaper had paper exactly matching the pink and green tiles. The paper is perfect, but the green line juxtaposed with the pink tile suggests something more — we think Deco. Builders in the late 1920s were including Deco touches. As an homage, we added the reproduction Deco light fixture.
this paper is for 1920s bathrooms
repro retro deco fixture
- A very nice young woman at Sephora showed me how to add a little color to my eyebrows. I didn’t realize how much I missed my fuller, darker brows of yore.
- A tissue fitting of Vogue V8634 size 14 (medium) indicated the need to alter the pattern to fit my broad, high round back, two shape issues that explain why Ready-To-Wear clothes almost never fit correctly. I usually buy a size larger to fit the back, then live unhappily with the too-large, baggy or boxy looking front. Here is the bodice without collar, seams pinned to the 5/8 inch seam allowance, with an extra 1/2 inch added to each of the two seams where the back sleeve seam meets the back of the bodice. I think I need the extra inch back there. The top fits too snugly at the hips, in part because I’ve not yet made the short waist adjustment. Overall, I think the fit is too tight. Stretch knits fit snugly, I know, but I wish I’d added a graded 1/2 inch to the side seams. I love the fabric though and will definitely wear this shirt as is. Such is life on the edge, between Vogue size 14 and 16 (Large).
fabric fitting of Vogue V8634 -- bodice seams pinned without collar
it looks better on her, because she's not yet adjusted to my dimensions
- I meant to remove the empire line — Kristin of K-Line told me how to do it — but in my exuberance to cut, I completely forgot! Next time.
- The top is going to look great with these shoes.
- Spring is here!
- Happy Birthday Martin! Too bad you have to teach till 10pm on your birthday :-(.
- Things are a little nuts with business clients at the moment, so that’s all for now. Have a beautiful week!
Update: Here’s the scary back and front close shots up for Kristin. Yikes! I’m freaking out about the breadth of my back. That’s not actually where my weight goes either. You can pinch my back skin and not get much. The weight is at the back of my butt and in my front gut. This is a seriously challenging shape folks. I inherited the broad back from my Dad’s Mom — my grandmother Dorothy. Late in life she complained endlessly about the challenges of a broad back, and she was a beautiful woman. I also inherited the extremely short waist and post-menopause gut girth of my Mom’s mother Nellie.
whoa -- linebacker!
talk about an H shape -- OMG!
hallelujah!
arms pulled forward
then there's the front issues - sigh!
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Susan, When I first saw the colors in your post title I thought: Hmm – Susan’s writing about New Orlean’s Mardi Gras?
Love the bathroom wallpaper. And it’s interesting how much the room is improved simply by substituting light colors for the original dark green curtains and towels.
Am really impressed with your sewing workmanship on that stretchy material, a fabric I’ve been too chicken to mess with.
Really envy you those daffodils. With these March winds on top of all our past snow, NY REALLY could use some flowers.
Hi Pat, those dark green towels really are awful. I wonder what the stager could have been thinking.
We’ll see how it goes with the top. I still need to learn how to use my serger.
Martin gets the credit for the daffodils. He’s the gardener.
I love the idea of keeping the spirit of the house intact. The green and pink tile reminds me of the house we lived in during my high school years; it had been built in the early 1950′s, and the bathrooms had that wonderful colored tile: mint green with dark green trim and pink with maroon trim. My mother hated the pink tile, called it “Pepto-Bismol pink” but as the house was rented we didn’t do much redecorating. The shower doors also had etched designs, I only remember one which was a water bird that looked like an egret. Very 50′s.
The colors in your blouse really suit you. I hope you’ll be able to get the design where you want it.
Pseu, I’ve seen lots of circa 1950s pink-and-green bathrooms but rarely, if ever, have I seen one like ours. The pink is actually not pink at all, but beige. It looks pink to the eye but when we held one of the tiles up to paint palettes, it didn’t match any hue in the red section. It matched a very light brown or beige. Weird, huh? It’s like a nude color.
I may have to remake the blouse in size 16. We’ll see.
Hi Susan,
You did great with the bathroom. The eyebrows, they cannot be more perfect. Yeah for Sephora! The sewing, I don’t even know what a bodice is but lovely work and will go great with those sandals…Happy birthday to Martin too! As always it is a sunny day when you visit us! xoxoxo
Hi Mona, I am so glad you like our little old bathroom. The eye brows make me happy. Like I see my old self there.
A bodice is just the pieces that make up the front and back, without the sleeves or collar, or in the case of a dress, the skirt.
I’ll pass on the birthday greetings to Martin. xoxo
Your bathroom is sooooo pretty! I adore the wallpaper. Your home seems so lovely.
Hannah, I am glad you like the bathroom. It’s kind of cozy, like the whole house.
Susan: Can you get Martin to take a photo of the back. It’s hard to tell what’s going on in that shot cuz it’s blurry. And since we can’t see the back, we can’t get a sense of what’s what.
Hi Kristin, okey dokey. He’s teaching till 10p then tomorrow is busy, but I’ll try to catch him tomorrow afternoon if not sooner.
I really like the bathroom. I’ve never seen pink/green together like that. It makes sense that it’s a 1920s-era thing. Most of the baths in our area are 1950s vintage and they did them slightly differently. Re-doing your house is not only expensive but it’s stressful; if the bath does what it’s supposed to and is clean then why change it? It’s much more unique than anything new (that didn’t require the sacrifice of your firstborn).
Do you read Gertie’s Blog for Better Sewing? She’s always offering tips on various alterations for perfect fit.
Hi Rose, yes, it’s 1920s, and as I noted in reply to Pseu, the pink is not really pink but beige, so that gives it a different look — lighter.
You are SO right about remodels being stressful. One thing someone told us at the time, 2005, is to be careful about changing something that’s old, because whatever you replace it with will be new, and part of the charm of old things is that they’re, well, old.
I want to read Gertie’s Blog for Better Sewing. Kristin of K-Line recommends it highly. I am just a bit blog overwhelmed at the moment trying to keep up with the bloggers I already read.
Hmmm, and all our bathrooms right now really are in that 70′s mode; somehow that isnt as cool as 20′s….
Kudos to you for the sewing project–especially this time of year!
Jealous of the daffodils–altho I shouldnt be–just got back from FL.
Hi Paula, I’ve been tracking your colorful Florida outfits, just not commenting — BUSY. You always look great.
You ought to do a post on the 1970s use of color. You know? It might be fun to consider what worked and didn’t, and why.
I love your pink bathroom! I had a 1920s house and I loved it so much – there was a spirit within it too. The bathroom, when we bought it, wasn’t original, sadly. Maybe it was pink at one time!
Hi Jennifer, thank you!
What is it about older houses? There’s some kind of wonderful peacefulness that’s hard to describe but I think comes down to the love of crafts persons for their work. Mostly carpentry. We call it the spirit of the house and are so glad we didn’t change the house very much. Also that we were fortunate to inherit it from the previous owners with minimal changes.
The neighborhood is historic — there are many homes in it that were designed by famous architects (not our home). The overall neighborhood bears the unmistakable mark of San Francisco Golden Gate Park designer John McClaren.
Ours is actually the smallest house in this neighborhood! In fact, due to a change in by-laws, no one can ever build on such a small lot ever again.
We like living in the teeniest house amid much preciousness.
Yay for daffodils!
Yes, Yay!
:-).
xoxo
The bathroom is fabulous! I love how you have kept its spirit but brought it from fusty to bright and lively.
And I adore my eyebrow powder and brush. Even when I am home and not wearing any makeup I still put on eyebrows. I too didn’t realize how much I had missed them until I learned how to put them back.
Thank you Mardel, I meant to reply earlier but the bluehost server was down!
I had no idea how much the thinning, lightening of my eyebrows was affecting the appearance of my face until I added the color. Voila!
I’ve been in that bathroom. I know that man. I have seen that garden! And I love the eyebrows. Gorgeous!xo
Hi Tracey, our bathroom and that man and my eyebrows send hugs and kisses! xoxo
I do believe you look positively lovely. Perhaps the time has come to give your blog a much more glamorous name, befitting your beautiful self and pretty house.
Angie, thank you! That’s an interesting idea, to rename the blog. I’m certainly feeling far less scrambled :-).