Paramount Mid-Century X-Mas Tree Topper

Back when we were making our final decision on our mid-century modern tree topper, one of the star tree toppers that I loved was the white and red Paramount Tree-Top Star. I could never find one to actually buy, so it was never a serious contender.

Well, it must be Christmas in July because I found one at the last estate sale I went to. It's not in perfect condition, so it probably won't make it to the top of the tree, but it'll look good hanging in the front window.

Vintage Christmas Ornaments from an Estate Sale

I did a little estate sale-ing this weekend and had a little luck. That luck came in form of a big bag full of  vintage ornaments. Most of them were your standard color orbs with the shine taken off by age, but there were three teardrop gems in the bag as well. For $1, I couldn't pass them up. After some digging, I found a few other ones worth keeping: a matte, translucent orb (which I've never seen before), a few string-covered balls and a single, shiny blue drop. They'll all be on the front of the tree this year.

Mid-Century Art: Antoine Corbineau

Antoine Corbineau is an international artist, having lived in Strasbourg, London, New York and Paris.

You can see his wanderlust and love of travel in all of his artwork, from illustrations of counties to stylized maps of city centers.

It makes them the perfect thing to hang in a travel-themed nursery, a guest room for weary travelers or anywhere in your mid-century home.

Everyone in Austin Loves Mid-Century Modern

I was catching up on my weekly reading and came across this piece in the Austin Chronicle about how popular mid-century modern is in Austin these days. Nothing new there, but it's worth the read while you have your morning coffee. Rave On Vintage gets a name drop and Windsor Park gets a shout out. (Windsor Park the newest up-and-coming mid-century neighborhood in Austin.)

Answers about Baxton Studio Furniture

Three years ago I wrote about Baxton Studio and their inexpensive mid-century modern furniture. Sure they're knock offs, but I still believe that not everyone needs to own an original. That said, it does feel a little wrong to buy a knock off (to me), but from what I know about industrial design rights Baxton Studio is totally within their rights.

With knock offs always comes the question of quality. Three years ago, there's wasn't really any reviews of Baxton Studio furniture. Since a few years have passed, there's more info on the internet (mainly on Reddit and Amazon. And the culmination of info seems to be "not bad for the price." You're not getting the quality of designer furniture, but you're getting the look for a lot less and the furniture isn't going to break underneath you.

So, if you're looking for some cheap mid-century modern furniture, Baxton Studio might be worth looking into.

Laser Cut City Maps for a Travel Nursery

I've mentioned woodcut maps that would make a great wall piece for a travel-themed nursery. You can also get a laser cut city map for your travel nursery, but only if you're lucky enough to have a connection to one of five cities/boroughs.

Pop Chart Lab has laser cut city maps of Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Brooklyn and Manhattan.

If you're going to spring for one of these laser cut city maps, you might as well get the deluxe edition with the neighborhood outlines included. It adds a lot to the look of the map.

Mike Mignola Bride of Frankenstein Mondo Poster

I bought my first Mondo poster, the Mike Mignola Bride of Frankenstein poster. I'm a huge movie nerd, especially monster movies, and I have done my best not to fill my house with movie posters, but this one was too perfect to pass up. The flat comic book-style art, the anatomy in the background, the flowers in the foreground, both monsters – if you have only one movie poster in your house, it should probably be this one.

Custom Wood Cut Maps for a Travel Nursery

I just came across these woodcut maps by the aptly named Woodcut Maps. The global map woodcut remind me a bit of the Witco Map of the World.

Any of these woocut maps would be perfect in a travel-themed nursery. And they range in scale from world to country to state/county/etc to city.

At Woodcut Maps, you can even design your own using Google Maps. So you can map your home, your childhood neighborhood, that wonderful place you stayed in Italy or where ever.