Our Free Mid-Century Chairs

There are two mid-century chairs in our house that we got for free. When you live in a college town like Austin, there's a lot of free furniture on the curb at the end of the school year. Most of it is puffy couches from the '80s, but we're incredibly happy with these two finds. Neither of them have any maker's marks or anything to identify them by, but we still love the look of both of them.

This green chair with no arms sits in the corner of our bedroom.

And this white chair sits next to our front door (and weighs about 45 pounds).

My Mid-Century Cufflinks

For the first time in my life I have an actual need for some cufflinks. There is no shortage of cufflink options in this world, but I decided that I wanted a nice set of true mid-century cuff links. So I got these.

I think they'll add a bit of flash to whatever I'm wearing, they're a bit of a conversation starter and since they're mid-century cufflinks there a decent chance they'll start the conversation in a mid-century design direction. So they're the perfect cufflinks.

I got them on Etsy. If you're not checking Etsy's vintage section when you're looking for a mid-century piece, you might be missing out.

Mid-Century Paint Colors from England

If you happen to be in England and looking for mid-century paint colors, Little Greene might just be the place. They've researched and done paint analysis on historic properties from the 1950s to accurately recreate a line of mid-century paint colors.

There are only eight colors, but they're pretty outstanding. They're a little richer and brighter than most of the American mid-century paint colors I've seen.

I really like the Canton and think it would look great in a mid-century modern kitchen.

And if you're in America, it looks like Little Greene has distributors here, but I'm not sure the availability of specific colors. If you like what you see though, it'd be worth a phone call to one of them.

Mid-Century Modern Kids' Books: Warhol Inspired Kids' Book

We have Pop Warhol's Top and it's a fun kids' book with different touch and play pages that walk kids through some staples of the pop art movement. The lid Warhol's Campbell’s Soup Can (Tomato) opens up, mustard on Lichentsein's Mustard on White is sticky, etc. It was the one book that we bought the kid; the library and grandparents have otherwise made sure all the shelves in the nursery are stacked high with books. But it is out of print now and ridiculously expensive, especially for a kids' book.

But another fun Warhol-inspired mid-century modern kids' book is Andy Warhol's Colors. 

The colors are bright and the words are fun to read. And that's about all you can ask from a colors book.

Witco Map of the World

I happened upon what might the most authentic and possibly one of the most expensive pieces you could put in a travel-themed nursery: The Witco world map.

It originally came with a standard Witco tag on the back that read:

Where decor becomes art

Your hand carved Witco original is of select red cedar. The surface is burned and waxed to complement the coarse grain. The continuous use of any household wax will enhance its beauty.

Like all raw woods this product is subject to checking and splitting. We therefore suggest that black liquid shoe polish, india ink or dark stain be used to touch up the checked area. Direct exposure to sunlight will bleach and fade your idol, fountain or bench. We recommend a dark walnut stain be applied where large surfaces are involved to return your Witco Original to its' natural beauty.

For exterior use we recommend 50% Turpentine and boiled Linseed Oil to retain the richness of the color.

The Witco world map was designed by William Westenhaver for Witco Inc, which originally stood for the Western International Trading Company, and it measures 63" by 33" – which means you would need a pretty big travel nursery to hang it.