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Tag: vintage
Easy Peasy Vintage Valentine Wreath
Happy Valentine’s Day, sweeties! I’ve teamed up with Treetopia to make this cute and colorful vintage valentine wreath and I think you’ll love it.
All you need is a wreath in the color of your choice (I used Treetopia’s Pretty in Pink wreath) and a few vintage valentines. If you don’t have any true vintage valentines, you can find images of some to print online.
Just use some double sided tape to stick them directly onto the wreath. Add a bow and voila! Easy peasy.
Speaking of Treetopia, they’re having a giveaway where contestants can get a chance to win a $100 gift certificate from Treetopia. Visit their Facebook page or Instagram to find out how to enter!
DIY Mid-Century Inspired Felt No-Sew Tree Skirt
One of my favorite things to do each year is make new no-sew felt tree skirts. They’re super easy and fun to make and don’t require any skills except being able to use scissors and glue.
You can see past tutorials with measurements and instructions here and here, and my latest space age themed one here.
For my main tree (the pink tree) I wanted to bring in colorful shapes based on a vintage Christmas cards I fell in love with. 
I used the images to create templates and then used my Cricut to cut out the shapes, but you can totally use scissors!
And there it is! Go ahead and play with sizing and adding some other little embellishments to make it your own design!
Be sure to tag @melodrama or #krysmasgram on Instagram to show me what you made!
How I Fixed Up My 1950s Refrigerator
A couple of months ago I found a busted down vintage GE refrigerator freezer combination with original ice tray online for about $100. The owner told me it didn’t work but that it should be an easy fix, so I took the risk and drove a couple of hours to San Diego to pick it up. It was in muchhhh filthier condition than the pictures lead on, and had some old wires sticking out of the back, but I figured I’d already invested the time and money to rent a pickup truck and drive out, I might as well just lug it home and see if I could bring it back to life. It’s hard to find the right sized vintage appliances to fit apartment kitchens, and this one was the PERFECT size for mine so I didn’t want to give up. I should note I also drove to Newport Beach, another couple of hours from San Diego, on the same day to pick up a 1950s gas stove that didn’t end up fitting my kitchen. More on that later, but I was extra determined to make the fridge work after that defeat.
Here’s what I was working with.
Rust, scratches, dirt, grime, and slightly corroded chrome. Not terrible.
But inside was much worse. Rust, mildew, a weird smell, so much grime. What did I get myself into?
Since this was going to be the place I stored our food I wanted to be cautious about what I used to clean the inside. I didn’t want to use anything that would leave a lingering chemical smell or residue so I turned to the following products and methods, and used A LOT of elbow grease.
First, I removed all of the shelves and drawers and soaked them in my sink and scrubbed the hell out of them. Then I did a whole general scrub down with Simply Green and let it air out with the doors open. I did this a total of four or five times until it was clean enough to move on to the rust and mildew.
For the mildew and rust I used a mixture of good old baking soda and vinegar, a Scrub Daddy sponge, and a toothbrush. The gaskets were still supple and the seal on the doors were good (test with a sheet of paper, if it slides out get new gaskets), so I just I applied the baking soda and vinegar paste and scrubbed over and over until the mildew was completely gone. Some of the rust spots corroded the paint, but I was able to use extra-fine sandpaper to buff it smooth and applied appliance touchup paint over the smaller chipped spots as needed. On the bottom the rust was too extreme so I used a couple of coats of white automotive spray paint. I wouldn’t recommend painting the whole thing that way, but it worked for this small part.
Now onto the outside! The original paint was mostly in ok condition, so I just wanted to fill in a couple of scratches and bring some lustre and shine back to it. For this I used automotive detailing supplies. I applied several layers of a buffing cream and car wax with an electric orbital buffer. Just as you would detail an old car. I used a chrome polish and superfine steel wool to bring as much shine to the chrome as possible. 
And there it is! The only thing was it still had a lingering smell. Not a horrible smell, just that general old freezer smell. The only thing that worked was these miracle Arm and Hammer Fridge-n-Freezer Packs. They’re super cheap so we replaced them every couple days until the smell was completely gone. That took about a week and now we replace it as needed.
The last thing I needed to tackle was the mechanics. After all of that cleaning the damn thing didn’t work. I consulted a few vintage message boards, and spoke to a repair shop, and was confident it just needed a new relay. The problem is the replacement relay for this model is long gone so I had to rewire it with a new universal relay. This was way easier than it sounds, you literally just follow the directions on the package. Definitely consult with a repair shop or the manufacturer if you have questions though.
As soon as I plugged it in the compressor kicked on and I jumped up and down and ran around in circles because WOW WHAT A PAY OFF! IT WORKS!
I know old refrigerators have a reputation of being energy suckers, but our bill and usage hasn’t gone up at all compared to our modern fridge. From my understanding the high energy consumption comes from older models that incorporate an automatic defrost system. This model needs to be defrosted every couple of months, but I simply use a blow dryer and old towel and it takes me about 15 minutes. Another issue of concern for some people is size. It is smaller inside than a modern refrigerator, but we don’t store very much food at once, so that hasn’t been a problem for us.
Here it is living happily in our kitchen! Perfect fit. I love it.
Mid-Century Inspired Custom Dyed Dining Room Accessories| Rit’s 100 Year Celebration
If you’ve been following the blog over the years you will know that I LOOOOVE to use dye to transform home decor. I’ve dyed curtains, rugs, bedding, and even my sofa! My go-to dye has always been Rit because it’s inexpensive and easily accessible. Luckily Rit heard about what a fan I am and asked me to be one of this year’s brand ambassadors so stay tuned for more projects!
This year is special because it’s Rit’s 100 year anniversary! To celebrate we teamed up to recreate one of their adorable vintage ads from 1962. This project was especially fun for me since I’m obsessed with mid-century advertisements and even keep a collection of them for inspiration.
I picked this one because the dining room set up reminded me a lot of my own, particularly the top right corner version. I already planned on dyeing curtains to match my artwork, so I went all-in and dyed a tablecloth and cloth napkins as well. 
For the vibrant pink tablecloth and curtain I used a 50/50 mix of Rose Quartz and Petal Pink, and for the orange napkins I used a 50/50 mixture of Tangerine and Golden Yellow. 
I just mixed those up with hot water and a little dish soap right in my sink basin. I then soaked them in Rit’s dye fixative and rinsed with cold water. Easy peasy!
I love how everything ties together with the artwork and my vintage Burke chair pads. Now I just need to throw a little dinner party with a Jell-o salad and few cocktails ;).
How to Restore Vintage Brass Fixtures
Have you ever found a vintage piece and hesitated to buy it because the brass or metal looks scratched, discolored, or tarnished? We all have! But don’t hesitate. Cleaning vintage metals is actually fairly easy, and totally worth it. In fact, you can save a lot of money by buying the more junky pieces and restoring them yourself at home.
I’ve seen some people just take a can of spray paint to pieces, and that’s fine if your metal is beyond repair but you still cant live without it, but most of the time that isn’t the case. Besides, you’ll never get a true shine like you would with real metal. Instead of reaching for the spray paint, reach for a rag and some polish and see what you reveal.
I got this set of 50s drawer pulls on Etsy for a really great price. At first glance they’re junk, but if you’ve ever restored metals you’d see the treasure underneath that tarnish and “scratches” immediately.
What you need is a metal polish product, like Brasso, and an old rag or two. Oh and some gloves.
Cover the brass in metal polish and rub into the metal.
Then use a soft cloth to buff and massage the metal, you’ll notice black and green residue coming off on your cloth. That’s the tarnish! Keep going.
Keep polishing until there is no more residue coming off on to your cloth and the metal is sparkling new. Reapply more product if needed. This can take awhile depending on how tarnished your pieces are, but be patient.
Once all the tarnish is removed, give it a nice little polish with a clean cloth to remove any remaining residue or product.
Tada!! Good as new. Now put down the paint and pick up the polish!
Checking In: Hotel Valley Ho – Scottsdale, Arizona
Warning: This is a very image heavy post, but I just can’t help myself.
Last month we had the pleasure of staying at Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was the first stop on our three week long road trip to Florida and boy oh boy was it a good way to start off the trip.
Hotel Valley Ho has a very interesting history, so let me lay some on you real quick.
Designed by Edward L. Varney (a student of Frank Lloyd Wright), Valley Ho opened its doors in 1956 and was an impressive example of what we now know as mid-century modern architecture and design. Upon opening it quickly gained popularity with numerous celebrities and trendsetters of the time. Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood even celebrated their wedding reception at the hotel in 1957.Unfortunately, during the 70s the hotel was bought and was stripped of its design and fell into disrepair until it finally closed in 2001. Plans to demolish the structure were considered until architecture and history enthusiasts rallied to save it. Thanks to those efforts it’s now a registered historic landmark.
In 2002, the hotel was bought by Westroc Hotels & Resorts and underwent renovations by Allen+Philp, an architecture and interior design group from Phoenix. In 1958, Edward L. Varney proposed building a tower above the lobby, but it never came to fruition, until 2002 when it was built under Westroc’s owenership. The years long renovations were a success and stayed true to the spirit of the original style and era, and thus the Valley Ho we know today opened in 2005 on December 20th, exactly 49 years after its grand opening.
The lobby immediately feels like a time warp with its glass walls, cast and poured concrete details, and natural stone walls. All perfect examples of mid-century desert style. 
Retro style furnishings, including large curved sectionals, shag carpet, and woven textiles surround a space-age fireplace.
The high glass walls flood the room with light and give you a sense of being within the desert landscape.
This is a great place to grab drink by the bar, or just hang out and mingle with other guests if you want to escape your room for a bit. Rumor has it that sometimes late at night Jimmy Durante would play the piano in the lounge for the other sleepless guests.
We had the pleasure of staying in a King Tower Suite for the night. 
The suite is definitely impressive and features a living space, adjacent bedroom, expansive bathroom equipped with a washer and dryer, a large patio over looking the pool, and a fully stocked kitchen. It’s decked out with mid-century modern furniture and plenty of modern conveniences.
The bedroom area has a comfortable king sized bed, chaise lounge, and a light fixture that gets honorable mention because I need it in my life ASAP.
Did I mention the hotel is also extremely dog friendly? Well it is! Pandora definitely enjoyed it.
The expansive bathroom is a little on the dim side, but is equipped with a walk in closet, laundry, double sinks, and an amaaaazing shower. 
The room overlooks the main pool area and has gorgeous views of the sunset which you can watch while lounging on the patio furniture.
Outside, the lush property is nothing short of break taking. 
The property features two pools – The “OHasis” Pool, a relaxing lap pool.
And the OH Pool – the more lively hot spot with private cabanas, a hot tub, cocktail bar, and live music.
Can we talk about all of this color?? Serious heart eyes.
The hotel also features delicious on-site dining at Zuzu. 
Here you’ll find seasonal American food and stylish mid-century design including a curved diner-style counter, stone walls, globe lights, and round booths. 
We had dinner there and were not left disappointed. I wish I was able to take pictures, but it was dark and I didn’t want to be the annoying person photographing all of their food. 
We dined in a cozy booth and I can honestly tell you that everything we ordered was great, especially the drinks. Our server, MJ, was very helpful with his suggestions and helping us navigate the menu. We started off with the roasted tomato and goat cheese casserole and a round of their seasonal cocktails. For our meal, I had the seared salmon in a tomato broth and my husband had the short ribs that came with the most amazing green chile grits. I stole them. Delish.
The next morning we ate breakfast on the patio at Zuzu before hitting the road and it hit the spotttt! We shared stuffed french toast (yessss), eggs, bacon, the works. They even brought out eggies and a water bowl for the dogs. Two thumbs way up.
I can’t get over what a great experience we had during our stay here. From check-in to check-out everything was exceptional. One night definitely wasn’t enough and I hope to go back again soon. If you’re planning a visit to the Scottsdale/Phoenix area, I highly recommend paying a visit to Hotel Valley Ho. Especially if you’re a fan of mid-century architecture and design. It’s well worth it!
Big thanks to Hotel Valley Ho for a wonderful stay.
DIY: Tropical Retro Inspired Decoupage Easter Eggs
Home Decor: Colorful Vintage Illustration Gallery Wall // DIY Gallery Wall Tips
I’m always changing things up in this small, little apartment of mine. I was craving a little more color on my living room walls, so I planned on ditching the large abstract canvas and doing a gallery wall instead.
I’d been thinking about doing a gallery wall for awhile but art, even prints in the quantity I needed, were turning out to be too expensive for my project’s budget. I’m a big fan of vintage illustrations like the kind you’d find in The Saturday Evening Post, so when I came across a bunch from the 1950s, I ran to get frames immediately. Ok, more like power walked.
Gallery walls can be scary! Whether you’re doing a random pattern or lining them up strategically, putting that first hole in the wall is scary business when you’re not sure if you’re going to like how it’s all laid out once it’s up there. I hate patching nail holes more than anything, and I don’t even know where the touchup paint is, so I had to get this right the first time.
One of my favorite tips for creating gallery walls is to cut pieces of paper to the size and shape of your wall decor. Mark where all of the nails should go, and tape the paper pieces up on the wall to get a better idea of where everything will go. I rearranged my pieces at least 4 times until I got a spacing I was happy with. Measuring is fine, but I like to actually see everything up on the wall before I start making holes. Once I was happy with it, all I needed to do was hammer the nails into the pre-marked paper.
I hung every picture up and used a level to make sure they were all straight and in line, because when one is out of place everything looks wacky. That’s something I’ll probably have to go back and do every once in awhile but it’s SO WORTH IT. If you have a problem with your pictures staying straight, try using a little piece of gum tack on the back corners of the frame.
The illustrations add a lot of fun color and fun vintage character into the room. I’m definitely happy with it.
Checking In: A Glam Getaway At Viceroy Palm Springs
One of the things I love most about Palm Springs is the vintage feel and Viceroy Palm Springs is a perfect place to experience the Hollywood Regency vibe of the area’s glory days. The hotel was designed by Kelly Wearstler, one of my favorite designers.
This spanish style property opened in 1933 as a bungalow retreat, but in 2001 hotelier Brad Korzen (Kelly Wearstler’s husband) turned it into the Viceroy we know today.
The mountain views make a picturesque backdrop and the property is walking distance from downtown’s shops and restaurants, making it the prime spot to experience what Palm Springs has to offer. But once you’re there, it’s hard to want to leave.
The grounds are classically decorated with black, white, and pops of vibrant lemon yellow.
The boutique style resort has 67 rooms, suites, and villas nestled around three pools and manicured courtyards. The pools are open 24 hours, which I LOVE. Major bonus points from me. Night swimming in Palm Springs is like no other. Pool floaties are included and are perfect for both soaking up the sun and star gazing. Or even keeping you afloat when you’ve had too much to drink.
When we pulled up we were greeted by the very friendly valet and escorted to the front desk. We arrived at the hotel a bit early so we had to wait for our room to be ready. That was a mistake on such a hot day, especially with dogs, but the hotel offered us sparkling wine and water, and directed us to the areas where we could lounge and wait. They even brought out water for our pups in a cute bowl.
The property offers a full-service spa and exceptional dining at Citron. I did not partake in any spa services but I did partake in some tasty crab cakes at Citron while we waited for our room.
Citron has an indoor dining room, a bar, and an outdoor seating area.
White tufted leather booths and bergére chairs with mirrored and yellow striped walls make this a really glamorous yet fun space. The pet-friendly outdoor area overlooks the main pool for prime people watching.
Once we arrived to our room we were not disappointed! A nice and helpful staff member carried our bags and showed us to our one bedroom Dorrington Villa located in the fountain courtyard. I loved this area of the resort. It was so quiet and secluded. I wish I could live there. For a second I considered becoming a squatter, but quickly realized that would probably be a bad idea.
The spanish tile roofs and vibrantly colored front doors made me so happy. The villas are set apart from the main hotel and are private with no shared walls between them. These villas are the real stars of this Viceroy.
Let’s go on a little tour. 
Love at first sight. Look at that door with its amazing color, knocker, and KICKPLATE. I can’t resist a door with a knocker and kickplate. I wanted to hug it. The front patio area had two chairs, a table, and a privacy curtain.
And then I fell even more in love. The room opens up to a bright, open living room. It’s a perfect blend of classic vintage and modern. The black, white, and yellow color scheme obviously continues in here. The gas fireplace is perfectly framed by ceramic ginger jars, crystal sconces, and modern abstract art. The glass filler inside of the fireplace is so much better than faux logs.
These yellow chairs are the only pop of bright color in the room. The mirrored handles on the cabinet and the mirror-topped octagonal table add a nice reflectiveness and shine to the space. That along with the symmetrical furniture placement is very indicative of Hollywood Regency style.
On the other side there is a black and white gingham sleeper sofa. Behind that is the dining room.
I love the wallpapering in this room. It continues up across the ceiling and seemingly makes the room feel larger. Oh look, more white leather on the curved back dining chairs. Attached to the dining room is the full kitchen. It’s a standard vintage galley kitchen but has every thing you need if you choose to cook and dine in. The painted tile floor continues throughout the entire villa. I love the idea of painting over an existing terra cotta floor.
There’s a stove, microwave, and a goodie stocked refrigerator. The doors were removed from the upper cabinets and mirrors were inserted in the backs. I think that makes the space feel more open.
Not only does the villa have a patio area up front, it also has a completely private one in the back.
Back inside, opposite the dining and living area, there is a bedroom and bathroom. The bathroom has two entrances, one through the vanity area off of the living room, and one through the bedroom.
I adore a vanity area. The window above the mirror gives off a nice natural light for applying makeup and there’s enough drawer and cabinet space to store all your goodies. This bathroom is so classic and beautiful. I love that there’s a window. I love the arched shower. I love it all. It has everything you need. A stylish pedestal sink, a great light fixture, and a bath deep enough for a good soak. The shower also had the most amazing water pressure. All bath products are by Neil George.
The bedroom is serene in all white. I thought the king sized bed was plush and comfortable. The hanging lamps are a nice touch. By the way all of the lights are on dimmers, which is almost unheard of in hotel rooms, but something I definitely appreciate. The white curtains have a stylish Greek key design and wrap around the entire room. Another unique design element I love is the placement of the medallion above the bed. There is also an armoir and television inside of the room. There is no dresser but there’s a large closet with stylish bamboo luggage racks. There are also slippers and robes!
My only concerns with the hotel and its rooms is that with the use of so much white, special attention needs to be paid to housekeeping and maintenance. There is inevitably going to be more visible wear and tear on light colored walls and upholstery. The furnishings are due for a good steam cleaning and leather reconditioning. The rooms and the hotel were clean, yes, but in need of a little TLC.
Also, be aware that summer heat pushes bugs indoors, especially with the drought California is currently experiencing. I was alarmed to find a big bug crawl out of the fireplace one evening, though I’m sure the hotel does their best with pest control. They even leave a bedside note to warn you and ask you to give them a ring should you find any “unwanted guests” in your room.
Besides those concerns I loved staying here. At 470 square feet this villa is actually smaller than my current apartment, but because of the layout it felt much larger. If I could find an apartment or home similar to this I would probably live in it forever.
All in all we loved it and will stay there again. And soon I hope!
Special thanks to Viceroy Palm Springs for a lovely stay.
Viceroy Palm Springs
415 S Belardo Rd
Palm Springs, CA 92262
(760) 320-4117
Melodrama 