By the Book: 1968 BH&G Technicolor Livingrooms

I'm kind of addicted to vintage decorating & woodworking books. I've amassed quite a collection and am always on the lookout for more. They're not just a look back into the past, they're also full of amazing inspiration for modern decorating, especially if your taste leans towards retro modern or MCM like mine. Just look at the cover to the left...nix the green carpeting (and the green paneling if you're so inclined) and you've got a gorgeous modern room.

Since I can't possibly use all these awesome ideas in my apartment, I've decided to stop being selfish and share them with you! Every week I'll post some of my favorite pictures from a one of my books. Currently, I'm stuck on the Better Homes & Gardens Decorating Book from 1968 so don't be surprised if all the pictures come from here the next few weeks! Out of all the books I have, this one has the largest amount of great pictures. It was a birthday present from Leilani of the Thriftaholic blog. It's nice to have awesome vintage-loving friends who will buy you retro goodies :)

All images via Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, 1968

I like the geometric prints on the rug and wall tapestry. I wish I could see what is in the lower right corner. Looks like some kind of platter with a tribal print.

This is one of my favorite rooms. The multi-colored pillows, blue rug, worn wood floors, and art on the walls are amazing. Oh, and look at those colorful bowls on the coffee table. I'm not a fan of the arm or rocking chairs, but other than that I'll take it!

Till next week...

New In the Shop: Family Fun

This week's shop updates are all about kids and family. From durable furniture built to withstand family dinners and cozy movie nights to toys that inspire the imagination to notebooks that bring out the kid in us all.

Don't forget, blog readers get 10% off their first order using the handy dandy code you see in the sidebar. Just enter BLOG10 at checkout.

And as always, there's tons more handmade and vintage on the website and even more available in our Chicago studio.

1. Fence art by iamhome (various colors and sizes available); 2. 3-String Guitars by Loog (3 styles); 3. Custom Mid Century Coffee Table (available in 5 colors); 4. Plastic Vintage Insects; 5. Buckstaff Library Chairs, Set of 4; 6. Creatures by Mr. Sogs (many colors and style available); 7. Blank Notebooks by My Zoetrope; 8. Jalopies by Tree Hopper Toys (3 styles); 9. Metal Storage Cabinet from Swell Machine (2 sizes)

Introducting: Sublet

We love scouting far and wide to find the perfect handmade artisans and vintage wares to add to Apartment 528's inventory of colorful, quirky, and affordable products. But like you, we love a range of styles and are constantly editing ourselves to make sure our look is cohesive. So for the past 2.5 years, whenever we fall in love with something that doesn't fit the overall aesthetic, style, or pricing of Apt528, we put it into a special file, taking a peek every so often to drool over its awesomeness.

Plastic horse from the Talisman collection

But we finally got tired of just looking. We want to continually bring you new, fresh design no matter the style. So today we're launching a new monthly series called Sublet. Each month, we'll introduce a new product line from our favorite artists, designers, and vintage collectors whose style showcases our ever-expanding taste. You'll only have a month to snag these collections before they're gone so move quickly our you'll miss out!

Our first Sublet: Talisman, a selection of object d'art from artist Christophe Gauspohl.

>>>SHOP SUBLET

Busy Week Recap Part 1 - Friday

Phew, what a busy week we've had! I started off this post planning to recap all the things we did this past week, but then I realized there were so many pictures to share from Friday alone that there was no way I could write about all our adventures in one post. So today I'm just going to write about last Friday.

It all started with a trip to an Oak Park estate sale with the amazing Leilani of the blog Thriftaholic. She's the only person I know who wouldn't kill me for texting her at 5:30am to coordinate our schedule! After arriving at the estate sale an extra 2 hours early and getting our names on the list, we headed out to explore the neighborhood, which was also home to the Frank Lloyd Wright studio. There were so many gorgeous houses I want to go back when I have the time to take even more pictures.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Studio

More of his studio

The house I think my mom should move in to. It's so HER!

 

Leilani (pictured) and I found this awesome 50's apartment complex. It was the coolest thing I ever saw! If only this was in Chicago, I would happily move in :)

When we finally went into the sale, the first room we walked into was this 70's cool YELLOW KITCHEN!!!!! Yellow is my FAVORITE color so seeing this kitchen in all of it's glory was like living out a fantasy.

Look at these cabinets! And that built-in!

The knobs and pulls are rad.

I've never seen knife storage like this! We wanted to buy it for ourselves but they wouldn't sell it :(

While at the sale I scored an awesome kitchen table, in yellow of course.  My other yellow find, this metal bookcase...the perfect store solution for our files at the studio. Major score. The owners of the house were both doctors and had TONS of vintage office equipment. I wanted to grab more!

I've been lazy and haven't photographed all of my other purchases yet but they'll be up in the store soon. In the meantime, head over to Thriftaholic to see more pictures including some of Leilani's finds. This weekend we're going on a buying trip to get the store stocked with new vintage for the upcoming Randolph Market. Afterwards, I'll be back with more pictures from our super busy week.

What are YOUR weekend plans?

Estate Sale Finds

Sorry for being away so long. My laptop's been in the shop for two weeks now and won't be back for awhile. In the meantime, I've been working on a bare-bones loaner laptop that doesn't have any of my files and programs :(  Technology definitely sucks sometimes!

Oh well. The good thing is that it feels like summer outside, we grilled burgers in MARCH, and I went to an AWESOME estate sale in Indiana today where I scored some fantastic new vintage wares for the store.

 

Gorgeous chairs perfect for your dining room. Set of 6.

 

IN LOVE with the coffee/tea/flour canisters. Thinking I should keep them...

 Found a BUNCH of playing cards. Aren't the owl ones adorable?!

 

New glasses. The "coffee" mug is actually from a thrifting adventure on Monday.

 

Books for the kiddos. I also got several fun toys too. Excited to finally start offering kid stuff!

Hopefully I'll be able to pull myself in from the warm weather to clean and photograph everything this weekend for the website.

What about you? What are YOUR weekend plans?

28Day Giveaway!

It's time for our monthly 28Day Giveaway!!  This month one lucky winner will get a set of 2 vintage pedestal mugs AND a set of "DRINK" coasters by Diffraction Fiber, just in time for winter!  Plus two runners up will get a $5 gift certificate to the Apartment 528 Store!

Go to the Apt528 shop and find five "buttons" (pictured below) that we've hidden in various places.  Come back here to the blog and leave a comment telling us where you found the buttons.  All comments will be hidden until the end of the day so there's no cheating!!

For EXTRA points:

• leave a comment on our facebook page and let us know your favorite Apt528 product.  You may only enter this way ONE time, however it counts as TWO entries!!
• sign up for our monthly mailing list for news on secret discounts, new products, and more.  This counts as THREE entries!

The giveaway closes at 5:28p tonight (10/28, central) and the winners will be announced tomorrow morning.

Good luck :)

Used Friday: Garage Salin'

Katherine from Back Garage (and Vintage Bazaar co-genius) is having a garage sale this weekend!  If you've seen her online shop, you know she'll have a bunch of awesome treasures in store.  We both live in Humboldt Park which means you better get there before me if you want the good stuff.  The flyer mentions something about grilling...could it get any better?!

If you want more vintage goodies, Back Garage and Cushion Chicago are having a warehouse sale.  I currently want everything in the picture!

Happy garage sales!

Used Friday: The Salvation Army

I've been searching long and hard for a good thrift store since we moved to Chicago.  Yes, people have recommended stores like The Ark and Village Thrift, but none of them matches the low prices that I'm used to back in Boston or Ohio.  I want REAL thrift store deals!  Unfortunately, it's been hard to find them here in the Windy City.  I blame it on the hipsters, but that's another story.

Just when I was about to give up on my thrift store search, I stumbled upon the Salvation Army on North Ave (Humboldt Park).  It's a huge building with three floors of hidden treasures.  Major score!  There's no train that goes out there, but you can easily hop on the bus or drive down...I always find street parking on the block.

The first thing I do when I go to the Salvation Army is hit the basement.  It's FULL of furniture.  There are 2 main rooms each with a second room off of them.  When you walk down the stairs, the first thing you notice is the smell.  It's definitely not a pleasant one.  Don't get discouraged, just push on because there are goodies ahead!

I wanted to take this couch home so bad and reupholster it but alas, our apartment is full to capacity!

The first room has books, couches and  lamps with a side room showcasing suitcases, large toys, and more.  Keep going and you'll be in the main furniture room which features isle upon isle of furniture stacked on top of each other.  Need a chair?  They've got plenty.  The whole back of the room is packed with every type of chair you can imagine.  There's even a second side room with baby furniture, bed frames and such.

Cabinets, desks, dressers, hutches, tables...whatever you want, they've got it.

So many chairs!

These theatre seats have been here for awhile.  I wish I had a use for them.  Maybe someone with a home theatre setup will take them.

Such a great selection of mirrors.  Just remove the dresser attachments from the one on top and you've got the perfect mirror.

These tables are SO adorable but we don't have any room.

DISCLAIMER: I'm pretty sure there's a serial killer living in the basement.  This isn't based on anything other than the fact that I have an irrational fear of dark spaces and always assume someone's out to get me.  I keep my basement trips short if I'm by myself and I stay out of the side rooms altogether...the basement is usually kind of deserted and every time I go there alone, I have this feeling I'm going to be dragged off to some dark corner.  Still, the furniture selection's so good, it's worth it :)

The main floor is loaded with clothes.  I'm not the most patient person so I rarely buy thrift store clothes...the time it takes to sift through the racks is dizzying to me.  Still, if it's your thing then you'll be happy to know there are enough clothes here to keep you searching for hours!

Multiply this space by 3 and that's how many racks of clothes they have here.  I wish I was patient enough to look through them.

The top floor is my favorite place.  Here they keep all the housewares and electronics.  It's not the largest bric-a-brac section I've seen, but they always have something good, like the vintage Pyrex bowl set I got this week.  I still can't decide whether to keep them or add them to the store.  We'll see!  Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the upstairs...I'm afraid of falling through the floor so taking pictures is the last thing on my mind.  I get in, and get out!

DISCLAIMER 2: I have a panic attack every time I go to the second floor.  Literally.  I'm terrified of heights and greatly distrust physics and man-made structures.  The slightest slant or weak floor board has me going nuts.  While the rational side of me is sure the Salvation Army will be around for years to come, I still have a serious fear that the sloping, creaking floors that move under your feet are going to come crashing down any day now.  There are ALWAYS kids running around upstairs, scaring me half to death each time I take a step.  This just goes to show you how much I love the finds there...I'm willing to risk my life just for a few minutes of browsing around!

What are your plans this weekend?  Any thrifting or garage sales?

Salvation Army
4141 West North Avenue 
Chicago, IL 60639

We're going to the Vintage Bazaar! With Furniture!!

I have exciting news to share today.  Apartment 528 will be making its Chicago debut as a vendor at The Vintage Bazaar May 14th!  The bazaar is the brainchild of Katherine and Libby, two of the awesomest vintage seekers you'll ever meet.  I heard about The Vintage Bazaar last year while living in Boston and was a volunteer for the August bazaar right after our move to Chicago.  Now I'm super thrilled to be a vendor.

The bazaar is host to dozens of vintage shops peddling everything from retro garb to funky home pieces.  To keep your stomach full while you dig through vintage goodness, Goose Island will be providing the adult beverages and Bleeding Heart Bakery will bring the cavity-inducing treats.

Last year's bazaar.  They're expecting a few thousand people again so be there early to get all the good stuff.

What will Apartment 528 have at the bazaar?  Well, in addition to the great vintage items already available in the Apartment 528 Store, you'll also finds tons of stuff I've been holding back. 

More importantly, you'll also get to see our new furniture line.  That's right, Apartment 528's getting into the furniture business, just one of many exciting new ventures coming in the next few months!!!  As we get closer to the date of the bazaar, I'll post more pictures of the vintage finds you'll be able to purchase at the bazaar.  Keep your eyes peeled!

Follow The Vintage Bazaar on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vintagebazaar

Settling in and Getting Tanked

So we found an apartment and got moved in less than a week!  As I mentioned before, we had to be out of our last apartment super quick but were having a hard time finding something that was a good mix of location, space, and price.  Just when we were beginning to give up hope, we found our new apartment just TWO BLOCKS away.  What a short move!  With the new apartment so close, we were able to skip the Uhaul and drive our stuff over in our SUV.  We even walked a few things here...it's just a three minute walk!

The new place is quite small compared to our last apartment (1000sq ft smaller to be exact!) but it's super cute, has vintage charm with modern updates, and is perfect for us!  Downsizing hasn't been easy, lots of our furniture will end up on craigslist, but it feels good to finally be in an apartment that we love and can see ourselves staying in for a couple of years.  To make things extra awesome, the landlord has a panel saw in the garage.  I might live here forever!

The hardest part of the move was getting the 500lbs. vintage tanker desk I so lovingly restored from one apartment to another.  We ended up knocking a whole in the wall trying to get it upstairs.  When I said "up" I meant straight up while Jerome thought I meant forward.  Apparently communication is key when moving large objects!  So is mind power...after knocking the whole in the wall, we realized we could just take the desk out the back door and have only five stairs to deal with.  Oops.

Uh oh!

Though I didn't have time to snap pics of the rest of the house before we moved our stuff in, I did take some quick pics of my prized desk so you could see it before it was covered in junk!

Before: Relatively good condition with minor rust, though the grey painted finish was gone in many spots.

After: I LOVE the color!  The yellow is actually a little deeper in person.

The left cabinet has a pull out typewriter stand that I use for my printer.  Above the three right drawers is a pull out tray.

It took me about two weeks to refinish the desk but it was worth it.  When restoring a tanker desk, they tell you to treat it like a car.  Most people take them to auto body shops and have the desks professionally sandblasted and painted.  Unfortunately that wasn't in my budget which meant a lot of time spent reading car forums, getting materials at Pepboys, and a lot of sanding, painting, and wetsanding down to a perfect finish before waxing and polishing.  Talk about tedious!  I loved the outcome so much I'd happily do it all over!

This weekend, I'll post links to the helpful websites and forums that will guide you through a tanker desk DIY in no time!  Stay tuned :)

Apartment Wanted: Vintage Living

So we're moving.  Again.  I know what you're thinking...three moves in a year, we must be crazy!  First was the big move from Boston go Chicago.  We moved into a gorgeous apartment that I loved!  Then came the disgusting centipede invasion that had us moving out of our first Chicago apartment just 3 weeks after moving in.  That's how we ended up at our current place, which I was just beginning to decorate.  It's huge with all the space we need, but we have a lot of changes coming up this summer which means it's time to move...again!  We're still on the hunt for the perfect place and hope to find it soon...we have to be out in a week!  Craziness, I know!

Our first Chicago apartment.  Absolutely GORGEOUS!  Darn those centipedes!

Our current apartment.  I'll miss the tall ceilings!

I'm so tired of apartment hunting, I thought I'd take a break to share this cute vintage apartment we found.  It's not the right place for us, but it's just SO adorable, I hope a true vintage lover gets it!  It's a 2bed 1bath in Irving Park with  big rooms, a pantry, and enclosed back porch.  It's the only apartment I've ever looked at where they kept so many of the details original to the house.  Someone get it quick!

Gorgeous foyer with the original door and wallpaper.  Score!

One whole wall in the foyer is made up of storage cabinets from floor to ceiling that open up to reveal various shelves and coat hooks.  The cutest storage idea ever.  Wish modern homes had these built-ins!

Living and dining rooms

Looking into the kitchen.  Love the dark wood doors.

The wall tiles have been painted an aqua/turquoise color and the floor tiles are super cute!

The ORIGINAL METAL CABINETS and counters!!!!!!  Oh, and in-unit washer and dryer.

Saved the best for last: they kept the ORIGINAL WALLPAPER in the hallway leading to the kitchen and back bedroom.  You should see how many pictures I took of this wall alone!  I almost cried when I saw this awesomeness.  Vintage wallpaper AND metal cabinets?  I'm pretty sure this is what heaven will be like :)

Interested?  Check out the full details here.

{images 3, 4, 6 via 4Sale Realty}