Say Whaaaaaaat!?

I've been a HUGE fan of Retrograde LA for some time now and I just can't help but to salivate onto my keyboard every time I peruse their site. I'm telling you, it's love at first click. Their pre-owned furniture selection is the best of the litter...and without the big-ticket price tags. 

Oh, what's that you say? Show me the goods? Well, get ready for a Friday love affair.

An almost identical Eames Lounge Chair for a fraction of the price. I'm talking shelling out only 13/50ths of the original price. Hit. Run. Score.

I'm glued to the little barneby below. It'd be perfect in our family room especially since we have yet to fill-in every corner of the room.

[microphone? check. Two turn tables? unchecked.]

What's better than a 3 piece suit? A trio table set, of course!

Sadly, furniture shopping is not on this weekend's agenda...but, throwing a baby shower is! A full recap next week. Promise.

The Lego Project

Ahhhh the Lego project. It has been talked about for months, but never seen. You know, it occurs to me that this lego project actually has a lot in common with the mythical sasquatch Bigfoot. Both are shrouded in mystery...and both appear blurry in all known photos. (clear shots below).

With all this build up, I can't help but to think that this will end up being a bit of a let down for some readers. After several months I'd be expecting no less than a 1/2 scale model of Mount Rushmore or the Statue of Liberty. But no...all you get is this lowly bench/coffee table. 

It all started about six ago when I became obsessed with the George Nelson Platform Bench by Herman Miller.

I just had to build one. I don't know why, but I did. Like a pregnant teenager on her tenth month, or a gentleman with irritable bowel syndrome after a 12 course Mexican dinner; this thing was in me...and it was coming out!

So what's a fellow with no discernible woodworking skills and no tools to do? Turn to Legos of course.

Actually, first I turned to my good friend Terry. He was able to help me out by granting me access to his childhood stash. After I had become familiar withe the little plastic rascals, it was time to start designing. 

Using sketchup I would eventually settle on a design. A few re-designs later, reality set in; this project was NOT going to be cheap. You see…when you buy legos individually, they are about a 10 to 26 cents per brick…and this bench is just a few bricks shy of a small fortune.

Still, I wouldn’t take it back. It’s cheaper than the real thing (though admittedly, a lot less useful)…but who cares. It goes in the boring room that nobody sits in anyway. It’s an art piece…it will make an impression (weather good or bad) on all who see it. It’s a conversation piece…and it’s an idea that has come to reality. If that’s not worth a couple hundred bucks, then I don’t know what is.

-Chris

All pictures taken by Chris and Rosemary of Ro Ro Ro Your Blog. 
(except for the one obviously stock photo of the real bench)

Thanks again...the checks in the mail.

Hey BUDdy

I've been dying to post the following news since last Friday, but I managed to refrain until I had received the prized earnings... and of course, the post wouldn't have been as good without a couple of snapshots.

I won my very first bloggers giveaway prize from deedee9:14! It was not a lone, not a duo... but a trio of Vintage Orange Mid-Century Japanesse Bud Vases.

As any giveaway winner, I couldn't wait for the day when I would see that little brown package lonesomely sitting on my porch, screaming my name. And that day was today!

Originally I planned on displaying them in my dinning room bookcase, in front of our caramelized orange wall, but I may move them out to the family room and set them on one of the white lacquer shelves we plan on mounting to the granite colored wall. It would be a great pop of color for the room.

Until then, they will rest on our bookcase which I refer to as the perfect "I Spy" picture book game. 

Many thanks to Dee for the amazing New Year's Day giveaway! 

Shut The Door and Have A Seat

Two oh oh nine was a whirlwind of a year. Feels like only yesterday I was daydreaming about all the yummy Thanksgiving fixings and the extra gym hours needed to recuperate. Now here I am hunting down 50% off sales on after-Christmas decor and guessing as to how people will refer to the next year ..."two thousand and ten...or...twenty-ten"? Nerd alert indeed.

Ok, ok, back to the home decor affair. Remember the sneak pic peek from last week's post? Well my blogging friends, I am super excited to share our wonderful early Christmas gift.

Bona fide Herman Miller Charles and Ray Eames molded plywood chairs. (!!!) The mid-century modernist in us jumped out with excitement and we were all smiles for days. Chris and I literally could not stop looking at its intriguing design, stroking the smooth wood with our cold hands, or placing Uncle Kitty on them only to watch her slide down to the signature 'bendy tailbone'. 

These two beauties were gifts from my father-in-law's cousins. They simply had no room for the Eames chairs in their home and since they knew Chris and I were mid-century modern furniture enthusiasts, it was a perfect match! We are so grateful for their generosity and we would like to thank them again, 'Thank You, Ross & Barbara! From the bottom of our hearts.'

After receiving these two bad larrys, I was crossing my fingers (and all my limbs), hoping that my Christmas gift to Chris would be a "mini-me" of the aforementioned Eames chairs. I had ordered two miniature designer chairs on Poketo.com and unfortunately ordering the mini chairs is a crapshoot unless you order the entire series. 

No dice but it was worth it.

Today I stumbled upon another embodiment of the tiny little chairs.

I will take the one of the far left, please.

Happy Monday!

Full Nelson

It's official, we've moved into the Family Room.  

Now that the television has promptly found its new homebase, we've been resting our behinds on our lovely new sectional daily (pretty much glued to it this past weekend). As predicted, cat hair sticks to the fabric and illuminates like a neon sign. So far conditioning Uncle Kitty to take her kitty naps elsewhere has been relatively progressive.

And so our quest for a coffee table has commenced. Ideally an authentic Herman Miller Platform Nelson Bench would be sublime but as you know Herman Miller furniture has quite the price tag.

::google sketchup::

Room and Board is just ending their 15% off all Herman Miller furniture sale. Chris and I toyed with the idea but I just couldn't make the leap, even with the discounted price.

Oh, it's such a beauty.

We could go for an "inspired" Nelson bench such as this little number below. I've been eying it for a few weeks now anticipating a price drop over at Retrograde LA.

So it's missing the finger joints and the 'plant pot' legs...is it still worth it? I guess it really doesn't matter since I just noticed the SOLD label next to it as I was linking the url site to the humble ablog.

BUT, I was shell shocked when I saw this on Sears' website. Really? Sears? My "go-to for-large-appliances" Sears? If the picture is as true as their actual product, I'm surprised Herman Miller hasn't sued their copy-cat designing butts.

Any Herman Miller owner's out there? Should we splurge or save? 

Frugal Fridays: DIY Refinished Tanker Desk

Earlier this week, we took a look as some sleek refinished Tanker Desks that were a tad too much for our wallets. As luck would have it, we found a slightly bruised Tanker Desk on craigslist... and to our advantage just one city from our home.

It definitely needed A LOT of work. Luckily the seller had not 1, not 2, but 3 desks for sale; I guess you can say we got the pick of the litter (though admittedly, all were kind of the runt). Ready for the price? $60 buckaroos! Plus, we threw in an extra $15 and the seller transported the heavy metal mayhem back to our place and safely in our garage.


When we brought her home, the tanker was a "lovely" band-aid tan color; which helped to perfectly highlight the faux wood laminate top...oh, it was an eye soar, complete with several dings and dents. Chris was anxious to start disassembling. After the dissection, we were left with 2 side drawer compartments, a middle back panel, a stack of drawers and last but not least, the aforementioned "wood" top.

If we were to completely restore a desk, I think we would have wanted to start off with a better example; instead, our goal was to go for "respectable". It took some 409 cleaner, a sander, primer, plus 2 colors of spray paint (very limited color selection at Lowes), elbow grease and a lot of waiting for paint to dry. Once the parts were ready for reassembly, Chris and his trusted bff, Chris (#1 baby boy name of the early 1980s) helped out.

And without further adieu...

We topped it off with a custom made piece of glass.

Wealthy Wednesday: Refinished Tanker Desk

::Twenty Gauge::

Ah, the tanker desk. An iconic American vintage piece. During the 40's and 50's, the Tanker Desk was a staple in many schools, military offices and police stations. The fire proof all-steel material topped with either a soft laminate or tough Formica surface, has recently been rebirthed by many refurbishers and DIY-ers. Unfortunately, a refurbished piece can get SUPER pricey. Most company's will not list their prices directly on their websites, but I've seen prices range between $800-$2,000!

::Retro Office::

Chris has the luxury of working with and around a field of tanker desks at the University. When Chris and I began inquiring with some refurbishers, we learned of a local company based in my hometown of Santa Fe Springs!! Before we had a chance to visit, we came across a doozy on craigslist! I still want to check them out though.


Stay tuned!