Authentic Mid-Century Travel Brochures in Paris

My wife and I took a trip to Paris recently. I'm not going to make you sit through an internet slideshow of our vacation, but there are definitely a few things that American fans of mid-century should see. The first of which is this set of authentic mid-century travel brochures. They had some of the best travel graphics I have ever seen. And you'll notice, behind these brochures are two big bins full of mid-century travel brochures. These were at the Marché aux puces de Saint-Ouen, the largest flea market in Europe. It's a place that every mid-century design fan should visit if they're in Paris.

Extended Cable's Intro Guide to MCM

We were cord cutters before there was even a phrase for it, so I don't watch a whole lot of home shows. I've always found mid-century blogs more relevant and helpful anyways.

We've taken a few vacations lately and ended up somewhere with cable a few times. I binged on home and home improvement shows and it seems they all have same similar themes: contemporary suburban (young couple moving out of the city to start a family) or modern down-sizers (empty nesters moving back into the city and not totally comfortable with it). But, on the few occasions they do talk about mid-century or mid-century modern design, the shows seem to get it more right than wrong these days. Which isn't too surprising, it is much more fashionable than the last time I had cable.

HGTV has a decent intro-level guide for adding mid-century modern style to your home. The only thing they really got wrong is the wall colors (suggesting white). Gray is the way to if you want simple, clean mid-century interior colors.

Mid-Century Modern Color Palette Inspiration from Movies

You already know how to paint your home like a Wes Anderson film, but now you can broaden your cinematic color palette inspiration with Movies in Color. The site takes a still from a movie and creates a light, medium and dark color palette out of it. If you ever wanted to live in Amelie (and you wouldn't be alone in that wish), now you can.

Brown Vintage Screen Door on a Mid-Century Home

I gambled on an estate sale this weekend, and lost. The only thing worth seeing was the vintage screen door I walked in and out of.

That said, it is one of the best authentic mid-century screen doors I've seen. Simple, but with a great esthetic, well built and well designed. Those bars across the inside make sure kids (and unobservant adults) don't put their hand through the screen as they're pushing the door open.

Vintage Moe Honeycomb Pendant Light Chandelier

I was randomly searching through some lights on ebay and happened upon this Moe Honeycomb pendant light chandelier. The full Moe Honeycomb light brochure doesn't have anything like this chandelier in it, so it's obviously a homemade hodgepodge, but it still has some charm. 

It has all of the Moe Honeycomb colors: One emerald-blue

One tangerine-gold

And one cranberry-pink.

As much as I love a collection of Moe Honeycomb lights, I probably would have pieced this out so each pendant color go to stand beautifully by itself. (Or I would have if the asking price wasn't so high.)

Mid-Century Austin Homes Tour: Austin 1964

Preservation Austin is putting it's 22nd annual homes tour on April 5. From 10am-4pm, you'll be able to wonder around five mid-century Austin homes, and probably steal a few ideas for your own home. Austin 1964 promises to pay homage to the city’s modernist roots while honoring some of Austin’s mid-century architects.

You can get a sneak peek at the homes here, but there are no photos allowed on the tour so those will probably be the only photos you see. If you want to see more, you'll have to hit the Austin 1964 mid-century homes tour.

Mid-Century Art: Eric Tan Muppets

I've mentioned Eric Tan before for his near perfect mid-century modern travel posters. Now his travel art is even closer to perfect because it includes Muppets. 

Eric Tan has done a set of postcard art for the new Muppets movie. Each card has a musical instrument in it (sometimes hidden) and a distinct location because Muppets Most Wanted is a musical journey around the globe. That makes these worldly postcards perfect miniature travel art for any travel-themed nursery.

Mid-Century Modern Kids' Book: Maps

If travel nurseries had coffee tables Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski would be the perfect book to sit on that coffee table.

It's a book of maps, but it's so much more than a collection of simple roadmaps. The illustrations are amazing and fun for kids. and every page contains animals, plants, places of interest, interesting facts  and more. It's perfect for instilling wanderlust early.

Mid-Century Modern Voting Poster

Today was election day in Texas. I got my "I Voted" sticker. I also happened upon this poster by Cory Loven today. It reminds me of a Keep Britain Tidy poster mixed with Schoolhouse Rock! So I love it.