She sends out a monthly email newsletter called The Shoestr, which she jokingly says is so short that she couldn't justify calling it a complete shoestring when she came up with the title. She asked me to be a guest contributor for the September issue.
Thanks for the opportunity to share my love of vintage modern furnishings with your readers, Marilyn!
Brilliant article! I love it. Great tips. I know what you mean about finding out which style you prefer.
ReplyDeleteSometimes one can get in a decorating rut, and all it takes is for someone with a fresh eye to give you a new perspective. What a clever idea Decorating on a Shoestring is.
Glad you enjoyed the article. I agree that Decorating on a Shoestring is a fabulous idea. Sometimes we have great pieces, but they're not arranged to best advantage. Just moving something out of one room and into another can make a world of difference.
DeleteGreat article Dana.
ReplyDeleteI started out Lucy, but slowly (as our budget allows) I'm becoming more Audrey.
I still love Lucy though, and like you, will always have a few kitschy bits and pieces in the house because they make me smile x
I started out as a Lucy too, but as I've learned more and more about the period that I didn't know before starting the blog, my taste has changed. Like you, though, I'll never give up all my fun pieces.
DeleteWhat fun! Great tips too...I'm hoping to grow up into an Audrey! x
DeleteAudrey is quite the role model, I think. :)
DeleteDear Dana,
ReplyDeletefirst of all congrates to the article in 360 West and to this wonderful one. I love Audrey since "Breakfirst at Tiffany". I´m not only a fan of her style in fashion ( a little black one is a must have for every woman...) but of her whole lifestyle. As a student I was the only lady with a black capri and ballerinas and a striped shirt and Aqua di Parma. The "fashionistas" thought, that I´m a little bit old fashioned. I thought I´m "classic".
As older as I get I try to reduce our home more and more to design classics.
I´m not shy to invest in good reproductions, if the originals are not available or affordable for us.
Kitschy pieces add a little bit more personality to make a house to a home, so I will reduce but not give up them at all!
I consider Audrey's fashion style to be timeless and classic too. She was one beautiful lady who knew how to dress! When I moved to my small apartment, I really had to downsize, and I found myself keeping more of my classic modern pieces and less of the "Lucy" pieces, but I won't ever give up all of them either.
Delete"Decorating on a Shoestring" is a great name, that is exactly what I do. Not having thousands of dollars to blow on decor is a real test of creativity and resourcefulness. How do I come up with a tasteful yet affordable ensemble without the instant "ooh, beautiful piece, I'll order it now" at my disposal.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I think your well-written and effortless article speaks to many out there who are like me. Although I don't think I'd fit either as a Lucy or Audrey. I like minimalism (just because there's a white wall, it doesn't mean it's crying for decor!), I opt not be constricted by a singular theme, and I use some mid century retro-tech as conversation pieces (e.g., Olivetti). Like you, I also feel that my style has evolved, I am finding myself getting more drawn to Danish mod (Audrey?)... and I am exploring how to do that on a shoestring!
Like you, I don't have thousands of dollars to spend on furnishings, so I try to buy wisely. I found my Jens Risom credenza on Craigslist years ago for $195, and I think I paid considerably less than that for my Danish coffee table...also a Craigslist find. My dropfront desk was a $50 purchase from a local auction. I buy all my pottery off eBay or Craigslist, and I usually wait till new items go on sale before making my purchases. Some people think I'm joking when I say that my SIL says he's in the business to sell furniture, not to decorate our homes, but he's very serious about that, so very few of my things have come from the store.
DeleteAnd, yes, if you find yourself drawn to Danish Modern, I'd say you have some Hepburn genes. :)
"Some people think I'm joking when I say that my SIL says he's in the business to sell furniture, not to decorate our homes..."
DeleteAlas.
And a double dose of alack! You don't know how hard it is sometimes to watch people buy things I'm dying to own but can't afford.
DeleteWell done Dana! I was a Lucy until we downsized. I had to stop going to thrift stores because my Lucy was getting way out of control. My Dux credenza is my prize possession and when we build our house...someday, I will design everything around it. I want to be an Audrey when I grow up.
ReplyDeleteI think Lucy does have a tendency to get out of control sometimes, while Audrey always shows restraint. :) I don't blame you for wanting to design your home around that Dux credenza. Those beautiful round pulls are amazing, and the purchase price will go down in the record books as one of the epic bargains of the century.
DeleteGreat article, Dana! You make collecting mid-century or even having a few pieces in your home so fun and do-able.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm an Audrey. I love a little black dress and classic styles that always look fresh and modern. I love seeing other people do the "kitsch" thing and really having fun with it... but I just watch. I'm very grateful that we've been collecting for as long as we have and found some amazing pieces at prices we could afford. The other stuff comes in waves as my pocket book can afford. Because sometimes a girl needs an Eames office chair! (wink ;-)
I hope some of the people who read the newsletter will discover that they already have some mid-century items in their homes or that they don't have to marry themselves to any particular style. The most important thing is to enjoy your surroundings.
DeleteYes, sometimes those chairs just won't stop calling our names. My Kofod-Larsen chair was relentless! :)
Hi Dana!!! Well isn't that fun? Luv it! When my bathrooms got posted in Apartment Therapy I was honestly surprised that so many comments decreed our bathrooms not of the fifties when in fact, I took pains to make sure there were some authentic nods, although they are not retro by any stretch of the imagination. I appreciated when you stepped into the commenting and explained that there are several styles to all this good stuff. Yes, I do enjoy classic mid-century elegance. But I am addicted to brightly colored glass and pottery. And frankly, can't afford a house full of vintage pieces. Last comment on what is now becoming a diatribe... I posted a Cliff May house recently and someone commented on how the pavers driveway is not authentic and it should have been concrete. Well, concrete in Southern California is a PITA because the ground moves so much (earthquakes) and where this house was in Long Beach, probably had a sand base. Pavers was more practical. As my husband reminds me when I moan about changes that I made to the house that were not "authentic"... these houses were thrown up in five minutes to meet demand for the post WWII boom. Many of them (including ours) were super cheaply constructed ... I could go on and on. Love the house you are in. That is what I say!
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I love glass and pottery too, and I'm not giving up my bullet planter or my monkeys or my birds. As much as I love Danish design, it's pretty serious stuff, and I like a little whimsy mixed in. I think it's a mix of things that that we value or enjoy that makes a home interesting and gives it individuality. With all due respect to the people who think we shouldn't change a thing when we move into a mid-century home, I disagree. I'm not a pink kind of gal, so I would immediately replace pink tile in a bathroom. Also, I live in Texas where the temperatures in the summer are over 100 for days on end. I can almost guarantee you that my house didn't have central air conditioning when it was built in 1950, because most homes didn't when I was growing up here in the 50s and 60s, but you aren't going to see me give up my central a/c just because it isn't authentic to the period.
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