ORC by the Numbers
Let’s run the numbers on the Spring 2019 One Room Challenge project. What did it take to do this Guest Room Refresh?
I’ve spent the last week reflecting on this first One Room Challenge experience, and I have to say: it was a lot of work, but it was totally worth it!
I sat down to look at everything in total this week, though, and here’s a final accounting:
Spring 2019 ORC By the Numbers
14 DIY project posts
6 weekly updates
2 twin beds
12 hairpin legs
10 photo mats
1 roll of wrapping paper
8 new pulls
2 window treatments
1 lamp rewired
2 vintage pieces of luggage
$942 spent
1 Guest Room Refreshed
Yep! That’s a total of 20 posts just related to the ORC including 14 DIY tutorials! And I lost count of the number of photos I took and edited — well over 4,000. Yikes! The Week 6 reveal post includes details on the budget break down, too. I’m pleased to note that if we had done the painting ourselves we would have been under budget!
I gathered everything together on one page — links to each post and each tutorial as well as a few photo highlights, so if you missed a bit, it is all in one place. Take a peek — and enjoy!
Don’t miss a single update: sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #bhgorc on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me, too!
@midmodernmama
Week Six | May 9 | The Big Reveal
Week Six | May 9 | The Big Reveal!
The Big Reveal! I’ll show you the entire room finished and ready for guests. We will also talk budget — how much did we spend and where did the money go?
The Big Reveal! I’ll show you the entire room finished and ready for guests. We will also talk budget — how much did we spend and where did the money go?
Our house is so personal. It is a reflection of who we are, and how we live, our values, our ideas. It is the place where we nest, where we are at our most authentic, and where we are our most vulnerable. When I started blogging twelve years ago I didn’t start out writing about our home; it felt too personal. I wrote about travel: my outwardly-facing self. But life changes, and I can’t travel as much with a family. So here we are, and as I write my stomach is in knots — nervous, scared, and excited all at once to show you our finished Guest Room Refresh — a very personal creation.
It all started with a map. The map, created by Joseph Feher, shows Hawai’i’s beauties and treasures, drawn for United Airlines in 1950. We found this vintage copy in the attic of the last home we renovated.
Map of Hawai’i created by Joseph Feher for United Airlines
Click the photo to see the BEFORE
The room’s colors came from the map. And our Atomic Ranch, built in 1958, begged for period details. So the room evolved into a nostalgic homage to travel, family, and the comforts of home.
I also couldn’t afford to shop my way through this project, and I didn’t have sponsors. More than 65% of the budget went toward three projects: painting, new legs, and new pulls. That money went fast. But we are creative, resourceful people who have always lived on a tight budget. We made or refreshed or repurposed almost everything in this room, and I have tutorials for each project — more than a dozen in all! These are easy things anyone can do for very little money and a lot of elbow grease. But for now let’s step back and take a look at the whole room.
At long last, here’s my first One Room Challenge Room: The Guest Room Refresh.
Two twin beds make a guest room more flexible for groups of guests.
A silk scarf from Italy drapes over a vintage chair with faux cane legs
Vintage fabric from the 1950s gives this Mid Century dressing table stool a fresh look.
Thoughtfully-chosen accessories turned an under-utilized built-in into a corner of hospitality for all ages.
The vintage map inspiration piece hangs just inside the door over a newly-created bench, perfect for holding suitcases.
The Furniture
The room before was boring and devoid of character and color. But we had a few key pieces of furniture to repurpose including a dresser, two twin beds, a table, a chair, and a dressing table bench. The beds were from Ikea. Everything else is vintage and had been collected over the years. The mirror over the dresser — one of my first finds — was free on the FB Marketplace.
The refreshed vintage table and a refinished bench
A vintage dresser with new knobs and a free mirror which matches beautifully.
I changed out the knobs on both the dresser and the small table. And all of the wood furniture got a thorough cleaning with my favorite wood refresh: Method’s Wood for Good followed by all-natural beeswax.
The vintage table serves both as bedside table and as a dressing table. The faux cane legs are charmingly bent, and it shows its age, but after a good cleaning and some wax, it looks amazing! I paired it with a vintage dressing table bench I bought long ago. We sanded this mid century piece to a buttery, silky finish and gave it new life with several coats of boiled linseed oil. I then reupholstered the seat with a piece of vintage fabric — a 1950s botanical print reminiscent of Hawai’i.
New legs and a spot of paint give the bed frames from Ikea more height and a bit of a retro look.
My husband and son painted the bed frames, and with a great little Ikea hack, we added hairpin legs to the beds which gives them a retro look AND raises them higher off the ground creating space for suitcases under each bed.
We also built a Mid Century-inspired headboard from the closet doors we removed. It hangs on the wall from a French cleat and boasts small shelves on each side — perfect for a little lamp, a pair of glasses, and a book.
The headboard, created from two closet doors, cost just $10 total.
I had planned to use two of my Danish Mid Century chairs in this room, but at the last minute I found a vintage chair with faux cane legs which complimented the small table. So we ended up with one of each type of chair.
I found this chair with faux cane legs on the FB Marketplace — a last-minute addition to the room.
My great aunt bought these chairs and a table to match in Scandinavia in the early 1960s.
I also put hairpin legs on a scrap of butcher block counter top to create a bench for suitcases. This gives our guests another option for making themselves comfortable in the room during their stay.
This easy bench creates a landing place for at least one suitcase, and the hot pink legs add a touch of whimsy.
Lighting & Windows
This room started with a horrid boob-fixture (seriously once you see it…) and a few mismatched lamps. I sold the fixture and all of the lamps, and scoured Craigslist, thrift stores, and the FB Marketplace for new or new-to-me lighting.
The ceiling fixture came out of a restaurant that closed, but it is from Rejuvenation — one of my favorite lighting sources. Buying it on the FB Marketplace saved me hundreds of dollars, and the milk glass shade ties together with my milk glass collection which just seemed to find its way into this room.
The retro-inspired ceiling fixture with a milk glass shade fits perfectly in this 1958 home.
I found this turquoise Mid Century lamp in need of new wiring and a shade on Craigslist. I rewired it myself, and I had a shade that wasn’t really working in my living room but is absolutely perfect on this vintage beauty.
A Craigslist find, this Mid Century lamp just needed new wiring and a shade. The color is perfect in the room.
These lamps — one by each bed — were under $10 each at Target. The big selling feature: they look like coconuts!
Inexpensive lamps from Target flank each bed.
I hunted high and low for something that was just right on the dresser. I found it in our living room. Now I need another lamp over the piano, but this chinoiserie lamp fits perfectly on the dresser.
A turquoise porcelain lamp with a classic shade works well on the antique dresser.
I made upholstered valances for each window covered in this Alexander Henry butterfly print. Behind each valance: a black-out rolling shade for light control and privacy for my guests.
These easy, DIY valances were made from scrap lumber and fabric specifically chosen for this room.
Bedding
When my grandmother died last summer, I acquired a large box full of vintage linens. I was able to dress the beds in beautiful, hand-embroidered pillow shams with hand-made lace trim which may have been part of my grandmother’s trousseau.
Pillows both practical and pretty! The vintage shams were yellowed with age, but careful cleaning restored them to their crisp whiteness.
The handwork on my grandmother’s vintage shams is absolutely gorgeous.
In my stash were also several card table-sized tablecloths. I turned a cheery apple-print tablecloth into two over-sized shams for guests who want to read in bed. The colors are perfect!
An oversized pillow sham made from a vintage tablecloth.
More butterflies compliment the gingham duvet covers — simple, tailored pillowcases made from leftover fabric. I started with the small check duvet cover — a left-over from my son’s room. I couldn’t find another small check, but I found the larger check, took them both apart, and then recombined them to create two matching duvets. With all of those patterns, the rest of the bedding is simple and white, and we sleep Scandinavian-style, so making the beds is very easy.
Making the beds proved very inexpensive because I used what we had — a combination of older items and vintage linens — and did a lot of sewing!
Guest Room Accessories
The back of the Hospitality Cupboard is papered in inexpensive wrapping paper.
The Hospitality Cupboard
Because this is a guest room, and we live in a tourist destination, I focused on creating a room that is welcoming for guests from near and far. The built-in bookcase took on its own identity: the Hospitality Cupboard. I lined the back of the cupboard with wrapping paper and filled the shelves with items both practical and evocative.
I created a lending library of books about Colorado, and I created a sticker inviting our guests to use the books but also reminding them to return them.
Travelers often need reading material on the road, so we now have a Little Free Library — books which our guests can take with them and pass along when they are done. These books are also marked as such.
And because children frequently visit us, I included a selection of children’s books for our youngest guests.
The shelves are accessorized with personal pieces from my travel collection including a carved marble capital from Rome, a watercolor of a Norwegian Stave Kirke, my milk glass collection, and a Florentine box.
I also installed a set of hooks on the wall next to the Hospitality Cupboard for guests to hang clothes, towels, or purses. These hooks were installed low enough for children to use as well.
Labels help guests to know which books we would like to keep and which are free to go.
A Mid Century alarm clock from West Germany
Books for travelers to take with them on their journeys
Minnesota artist, Victor Gilbertson, painted this watercolor as a wedding gift for us. The cup is vintage — a pattern commemorating the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936.
Books for our younger guests and a marble capital from Rome
Labels help guests to know which books we would like to keep and which are free to go.
The Dressing Table
The table between the two beds is designed to function in multiple ways, but it was particularly important for me that it be a useful dressing table for guests needed a good grooming space. I picked up this vintage frame at an antiques fair. My husband created a stand for it, and I had a mirror cut. It can stand both horizontally or vertically as needed. And this vintage tray with ballerinas is a great place for jewelry or wallets. It’s important for guests to have places to corral those little items so they don’t get lost, and I have provided several spots around the room just for this purpose.
This mirror was made from a $9 frame found at a flea market.
A vintage Worcester Ware Tray
A photograph of my family in Hawai’i
The Dresser
Everything on the dresser is chosen with the traveler in mind. Even the practicalities — the wifi password, tissues, and a calendar — are easy-to-find but beautiful with a Mid Century aesthetic. The dresser scarf is another piece from my grandmother’s trousseau: a monogrammed towel which I hemmed and refreshed and now fits perfectly on the dresser top.
The dresser has a large mirror and is situated to reflect light from both windows brightening the room.
A vintage towel, hand monogrammed, became the dresser scarf.
Colorado’s tourism office sent me information for our guests to enjoy including a map and an updated visitors guide. And our guests can take these with them; I just have to request another copy to replenish my supply.
In a stroke of timing luck, the Denver Art Museum just opened Serious Play, a new exhibit of Mid Century Design. At the press preview I picked up two pieces from their branded exhibit swag. I added some lettering to a blank book, and voila! A guest book! And a pink orchid found a happy home in a coffee mug — the perfect pot for this room!
Your local tourism bureau will supply free materials for your visitors.
A blank book became a guest book with the help of my Cricut.
And for our colorful room — some vintage-inspired Colorado postcards for our guests to mail home.
Guests can send snail mail any time.
Another artifact from my grandparents’ home: their vintage suitcase now topped with a vintage globe and some reading material.
A midcentury alphabet book? Yes, please! Perfect atop my grandfather’s suitcase.
The Toiletries Train Case
I filled a vintage train case with all those items a guest may have forgotten: toothbrush, toothpaste, suncreen (so important at altitude), soap, earplugs, shampoo, mints, travel tissues — even slippers. I have collected these items for years, but they have always been tucked away in a cupboard. Now they can be out, and guests can help themselves as they need.
This vintage train case was in beautiful condition.
Properly dusted and filled, it has new life again.
The Art Work
I land somewhere squarely between Minimalist and Maximalist. Does that make me a Middlemalist? Whatever it is, I don’t like blank walls! But I also love art that is personal and meaningful, so I chose pieces for this room that are all about travel without being trite.
Amongst my grandmother’s effects I found a vintage handkerchief from Australia which I matted and framed.
I stitched the vintage handkerchief to a piece of unbleached linen for stability and added a mat to keep the vintage cloth from touching the glass.
Over each bed I framed four photographs from my own travels — images of water and of great domes in places including Venice, San Francisco, Ireland, Hawaii, and, of course, Rome.
The frames are simple Ikea frames which I refreshed with several layers of paint.
And I added a layer of card stock to change the matting from cream to white.
And here it is: the inspiration piece! I found the perfect frame for it on the FB Marketplace and had a new mat cut. I absolutely love it against the wall color!
The inspiration piece — matted and framed in a place of honor.
These hooks include a small shelf on which I placed some vintage books, a porcelain origami crane, and a Japanese doll which my grandparents brought me from Japan when I was a child.
Treasures both from my childhood and from my travels.
My great uncle brought this kimono home from Japan after WWII.
This pillow is the perfect size and shape for this vintage chair.
On the hooks I hung a vintage kimono from post-war Japan as well as a vintage obi which I purchased on my first visit to Japan. And just for fun: a pair of my toe shoes from my long-ago dancing days.
The Japanese accessories remind me of one of my favorite places to travel and bring an elegant beauty to a room full of color and pattern.
No room is complete without plants. And while this room doesn’t have huge windows, it does get decent morning sun, so I chose a few orchids: the perfect bloom for this semi-tropical escape!
Orchids are not as hard to grow as you may think!
When I described my vision for a retro-inspired room with a red and turquoise color scheme, my husband immediately said, “Oh, it will look like a Susie Cakes bag!” What do you think? Hopefully our Guest Room Refresh is as sweet as the treats at our favorite San Francisco bakery!
The Budget & Sources
I started with $800 which I saved from selling unused furniture, clothing, and accessories — culled from our KonMari efforts. My goal: to do everything in the room for $800 or less. The only thing we didn’t DIY was painting the room which ate up 25% of our budget, but because we were having guests in the middle of this process, it was money well spent!
The Budget:
Paint: $100
Painter: $200
Ceiling Fixture: $50
MCM Lamp: $28
Lamp Kit: $15
2 coconut lamps: $20
Curtains for closet: $22
Duvet Cover (Pottery Barn Kids): $43
2 Mats for Frames: $82
12 Hairpin Legs (bed and bench): $145
Fabric: $36
Vintage botanical fabric: $12
Faux cane chair: $48
Knobs: $76
Accessories: $65
Total: $942
The Sources:
Coconut Lamps: Target
Organic Checked Duvet Cover: Pottery Barn Kids
Guest Book & Mug: Denver Art Museum gift shop
Teal Curtains for closet: Target
Hooks: Project 62 at Target
Planter/Trash Can: Target (currently unavailable)
Hairpin Legs: DIY Hairpin Legs
Paint: Kelly Moore
Walls: Aqua Oasis (KM5060-1)
Accent: Hawaiian Vacation (KM5062-2)
Peacock Blue Pillow: Crate and Barrel
White Marble Knobs: HooksKnobsHardware
Teal Ceramic Knobs: Knobpologie
Butterfly Fabric: El Tiempo de Mariposa by Alexander Henry
Sixty-five percent of the budget went toward three things: painting, hairpin legs, and new pulls. I found some amazing deals on the FB Marketplace, Craigslist, Instagram, and while thrifting. Everything else came from shopping our home and repurposing items we already owned. That’s one of the great benefits of using the KonMari Method! Not only did I find all kinds of things to sell to fund this project, but I also found beautiful items to use to make this room personal and special.
I didn’t quite make my budget, but I actually was able to sell a few more items than I intended, so I came very close to breaking even. And I would have been under budget had we painted the room ourselves, but time was not on our side, so that was money well-spent.
Phew! Well, now it is done! And our Guest Room is open for visitors! To Linda Weinstein, the creator of the One Room Challenge, I offer my most sincere thanks. Thank you for offering this kind of opportunity and for opening it up to anyone. And to Better Homes and Gardens, the ORC media sponsor: thank you for making this possible! And to all of the other ORC participants: I’ll be sure to stop by to admire your work! It has been fun to do this with you!
And to my husband, Romano, and our sweet Bambino: thank you, loves! I love doing projects with you guys.
I have created tutorials for each project along the way — 12 project tutorials in all. You can find links to each project as well as the weekly round-ups, and my guide to Creating a Welcoming Guest Room on the DIY Guest Room Refresh landing page. I hope you will check it out!
Thanks for following along! And thank you for your support!
XOXO
Angela
Pin it!
Don’t miss a single update: sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #bhgorc on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me, too!
@MidModernMama
Week Five | May 2 | Be Our Guest!
Week Five | May 2 | Be Our Guest!
The Guest Room isn’t just a lovely place to fold laundry — it is a haven for people who come to visit us. But how do you help your guests feel comfortable and enjoy their stay? I’ll give you some easy hospitality ideas to turn your guest room into a cozy sanctuary that anyone will enjoy.
Our Guest Room isn’t just a lovely place to fold laundry — it is a haven for people who come to visit us. But how do you help your guests feel comfortable and enjoy their stay? I’ll give you some easy hospitality ideas to turn your guest room into a cozy sanctuary that anyone will enjoy.
Week Five Gallery
Here we are! The penultimate week of the One Room Challenge! Penultimate is one of my favorite words, and Bambino uses it all the time. I’m so proud!
Anyway, with one week to go, I’ve been focused on details this week — all of those details that make a guest room cozy, hospitable, and fabulous. This means lots of projects big and small — and I have details and tutorials for you!
Hospitality
Twin beds make for a functional and flexible guest room.
I was raised in Texas where Southern hospitality is a competitive art form. Graciousness is next to godliness, so I learned from some of the best. But I have experienced elegant and gracious hospitality all over the world — from the guest room at my mom’s house to home stays in Japan and charming bed and breakfasts in Ireland. Opening your home to others is a gift, and I’ve soaked up as many ideas and tips as I can so I can reciprocate that gift.
As I designed the Guest Room Refresh, I had hospitality and functionality at the forefront. It doesn’t matter if the room is cute if it isn’t comfortable for our guests. So, as I have said before, one of the first choices we made was to use two twin beds in our Guest Room. This allows for all kinds of people to stay with us in many configurations. We also designed the room’s floor plan to maximize floor space so our guests won’t feel crowded. We raised the beds on taller-than-normal legs, so there is storage space underneath for suitcases and bags. Additionally, we built a bench which will hold suitcases as well.
But hospitality goes beyond furniture. And the details that go into creating gracious guest room decor work together to make a relaxing guest room experience. And remember: we did all of this on a pretty small budget. None of these ideas are expensive. They just require intentionality.
Here’s my favorite new hospitality idea…
The Toiletries Train Case
I bought this vintage train case at the Denver Market Beautiful a few months ago, and I filled it with sample sizes of all the toiletries my guests may have forgotten: toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, face soap, even slippers. Most of these items have been collected at hotels over the years (no, I don’t take handfuls… but I do take what I don’t use if it is good stuff). I used to keep it all in a cupboard, but my guests never knew it was there, and who goes rummaging around someone else’s cupboard? So now it is all together, out in the room, and ready for company. The best part: I can just close the lid between guests, and nothing gets dusty!
For less than $20 I found an antique train case and filled it with sample-sized essentials for my guests.
For a full list of the train case’s contents, check out my post: How to Create a Welcoming Guest Room.
I put together an entire post about creating a welcoming guest room which includes downloadable checklists — both for assessing your guest room and for preparing for guests as well as free printables for all kinds of guest room projects. You can check it all out at this link:
The Guest Room Hospitality Cupboard
Books about local attractions.
A vintage alarm clock and milk glass vases
Children’s books for our guests to borrow.
If you follow me on Instagram you know that a few weeks ago I gave the little bookshelf alcove in this room a wrapping paper makeover. While the room is painted this lovely aqua, the alcove was white. It needed a little color and life, so I toyed with several ideas before deciding I wanted to put a pattern back there. Rather than spending $50 or more for a roll of wallpaper when I only needed 4’ of material, I papered the back of the shelves with wrapping paper at the tidy sum of $10 total. There is a full tutorial on this process as well.
After the cupboard was papered, I wanted to fill it. Again I focused on hospitality: what would my guests need while they stayed in our home? So our guest room cupboard contains:
A Little Free Library: books guests can take with them and set free in the world when they are done (marked by stickers I created for this purpose)
A Lending Library: books about Colorado which our guests can use while they are with us (marked as such by stickers I also created)
Children’s books: we often have children who come to stay with us. We chose a few books for them to enjoy while they are at our home.
There are more details about the Guest Room Hospitality Cupboard in my guide to creating a welcoming guest room. Check it out!
The Guest Room Hospitality Cupboard, ready for guests of all ages.
Photo Frame Makeover
Finally, this room is full of color and travel-accessories, but I also wanted to infuse it with a few of my own travel photographs from places I love to visit. We have had a box full of Ikea frames — brand new, unopened — for eight years. They have been moved four times. And in every house I thought, “I need to use those frames…” and then we moved again.
They are finally hanging on the wall!
But not before I remade them. First I painted them, and then I updated their yellowed mat. The end result is crisp and clean.
I have tutorials for both the painting technique and the mat updates. I hope you will check them out!
So here we are: one week to go. The big work is done. Now it is down to the final details: one more sewing project, one more item to find… and a lot of photographs to take for the big reveal next week. Eek! I hope you will stop by and check out the other ORC participants. I LOVE seeing what everyone else is doing! So inspirational and really interesting!
Have a great week! Don’t forget to watch Instagram for updates throughout the week. And I’ll see you next Thursday for The Big Reveal!
XOXO
Angela
Don’t miss a single update: sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #bhgorc on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me, too!
@MidModernMama
Week Four | April 25 | Bedding & Vintage Linens
Week Four | April 25 | Bedding & Vintage Linens
One of the inspirations for the Guest Room Refresh came from a collection of vintage linens I got from my grandmother. They weren’t in great shape, though, so I’ll show you how to care for and clean vintage linens, and how to use them to dress a cute bed — and make a room extra special.
One of the inspirations for the Guest Room Refresh came from a collection of vintage linens I got from my grandmother. They weren’t in great shape, though, so I’ll show you how to care for and clean vintage linens, and how to use them to dress a cute bed — and make a room extra special.
This week was all about the beds, bedding, and a lot of time with my sewing machine. I don’t mind any of that, though!
As I have said before, we chose two twin beds for the Guest Room Refresh. This is the best configuration for a guest room if your room is large enough. We find we can accommodate more groupings of guests comfortably with twin beds, and hopefully our guests feel at home.
Before we began, I had white fitted sheets, pillowcases, and one twin duvet cover. I also had a pile of vintage linens from my grandmother’s house which I wanted to use. So I set to work creating a cohesive look out of a disparate pile of linens.
Trying out different pillow and linen combinations
The Duvet Covers
We sleep Scandinavian-style in our house. This means no top sheets — just a cozy duvet in a cover and a bottom sheet. Seriously, this is the best thing ever and saved our marriage early on… but I digress. For the One Room Challenge, I had one duvet cover — red gingham from Pottery Barn Kids several years ago. I needed a second one, but PBK has moved to a bigger check in more recent years. So I bought a big check duvet cover in red.
Now I had two that were similar… but not the same.
Solution? I took them apart and sewed them back together. One side is now small check and the other is the big check on each. They work either way, and they match!
My mother thinks we are crazy for sleeping Scandinavian-style, because she thinks changing duvet covers is really difficult. However, long ago I learned a fabulous trick which makes putting a duvet cover on sooooo easy! I made a video this week showing how it is done, and it works for any size duvet cover.
I also created some instructions for making your own duvet cover out of flat sheets. When you go Scandi-style, suddenly you have all of these flat sheets laying around, but they are the perfect raw material for duvet covers which are crazy-easy to make. And if you want to know more about the hygge practice of sleeping Scandinavian-style, I have you covered there, too. Without getting too personal… it is the best way to sleep with any partner and actually get good sleep!
Pillows, Pillows, and more Pillows
These pillows have an easy bow closure.
The button closure on this accent pillow is hidden.
Pillow sham made from half of a vintage tablecloth
The butterfly pillows have a more tailored look.
With the duvets covered, it was time to move on to the pillows. As I have said before, I have a lovely pile of vintage linens from my grandmother. Amongst them were several sets of embroidered and embellished pillowcases. I didn’t want to subject these beautiful pieces to the hazards of drool and sleep. But I wanted to use them, so I devised two different ways to turn these darling pillowcases into throw pillows. Both are simple projects requiring a minimum of sewing and could easily be done by hand. And they look so cute! One set of pillows is embroidered and the other has a vintage handkerchief appliqued on the front.
In addition, I am using a beautiful set of shams, also from my grandmother, embellished with handmade lace. I didn’t have to do anything to these other than gently wash and press them. I don’t know anything about them, but I wonder if this beautiful set was part of her trousseau.
I love sitting up in bed at night reading, and I wanted my guests to have a comfortable pillow for reading, too. I took a vintage tablecloth with red apples and a vintage flat sheet. Putting them together, I created an extra-large pillow sham for each bed. The shams actually hold two pillows for sitting up comfortably in bed.
And finally, I wanted to tie that beautiful butterfly print into the beds as well, so I made new pillowcases for some older throw pillows that I had. Since there are a lot of fussy details in some of the other bedding, I went for simple and tailored, letting the fabric’s pattern do all of the work.
I put together instructions for making all three throw pillows, and two of them can easily be made without a sewing machine:
Other Vintage Linens
Not only am I using vintage linens on the bed, but I have used a few other items around the room. On the dresser top, I repurposed an embroidered towel as a short runner. The edges were ragged and the embroidery isn’t perfectly centered, but I hemmed the two long sides, and created the perfect piece atop the antique dresser.
Hand-embroidered monogram on the towel-now-dresser scarf.
Amongst the items from my grandmother, I also found a vintage handkerchief from Australia. Given the room’s travel and map influences, this needed to find a place in the room. So, I matted and framed it using the same technique I used a few months ago to frame some vintage baby clothes. This is a really simple and easy way to make an impact in a room, and I absolutely love how it looks!
I also created instructions for this project. It was surprisingly simple, and I have ideas for so many more framed treasures!
The next two weeks are all about the finishing touches and making this room a place of rest and peace for my guests. I’m excited to be close to the end, and I can’t wait to show you the finished room. Frankly, I can’t wait to see it myself!
I hope you will check out all of the project posts for this week, and enjoy a few more peeks into the room. Until this week I was beginning to wonder if the room would ever truly be done. Now I can see the end, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
My tasks for the coming week: making this room truly hospitable for guests. More on that next week!
XOXO
A
Bedding & Framing Costs
Duvet Cover (Pottery Barn Kids): $43
Mat for Frame: $32
Total: $75
Pin it!
A Guest Room Refresh on a budget with all the details for a retro-inspired renovation. This week’s projects include: DIY accent pillows, repurposing vintage pillowcases, framing vintage clothing, and DIY duvet covers. Easy sewing projects and no-sew options.
Don’t miss a single update: sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #bhgorc on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me, too!
@MidModernMama
Week Three | April 18 | Lighting & Windows
Week Three | April 18 | Lighting & Windows
Let there be light! The Guest Room is at garden level — a fancy way of saying it is basically a basement. The windows are at ground level, so I have brought in lots of light and window treatments that take advantage of the sunlight, too.
Let there be light! The Guest Room windows are at ground level, so I have brought in lots of light and window treatments that take advantage of the sun, too.
Week Three! More than halfway done, and I am inspired every single day by all of the One Room Challenge projects. There are more than 300 of them, and every room of the house is well-represented. It’s really fun!
Now that the wall color is up and the furniture is in place, I’m focused on smaller details. This week: light. As I have mentioned before, the Guest Room is at “garden level” — a fancy way of saying it is in the basement. The windows themselves are at ground level, and they are relatively big windows. However, because they are so close to the ground, the light in this room fades early in the day, and the house next door casts a shadow into the room by afternoon most of the year. So even during the day lamps are important.
Guest rooms are also all-purpose rooms, so lighting needs to be good as well as flexible for all kinds of guests and configurations. Guests may retreat for a rest and reading during the day. They may be suffering from jet lag and need good lighting in the evening or early morning. Guest rooms often have multiple purposes, too. I fold clothes frequently in this room, because it is across from the laundry. And it is where I do a lot of ironing, too. Additionally, on the hottest days this room is the coolest in our house, and sometimes our family sleeps down here when we need to escape the heat. So not only does the lighting need to suit my guests, it also needs to meet our family’s needs.
To cover all of that, I considered three light sources: the windows, the light fixture, and lamps.
The Inspiration Board: Guest Room Refresh
Easy DIY window valances allow the maximum amount of light and conceal shades for privacy.
Windows
This room is 11’ x 14’ with a small jog on one wall. Because I prefer two twin beds in a guest room for flexibility, the beds are clustered around the windows which makes curtains impractical. So I needed window treatments that are simple and yet allow for light control and privacy. I turned to an easy and inexpensive window treatment option that I have used before: upholstered valances with roller shades.
The valances are an easy DIY project that can be done with just a drill if you have the wood precut at the lumber yard. The only trick: getting your measurements just right! I chose this beautiful Alexander Henry fabric for the valances. Called El Tiempo de Mariposa, the print recalls vintage book illustrations and pulls together many of the same colors that appear in our vintage map inspiration piece.
Coincidentally, last week The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute posted photos of this Elsa Schiaparelli dress from 1937 in a gorgeous print that must have been a touchstone for El Tiempo de Mariposa. Art, history, travel, and design… all meeting in my little guest room!
In the past I have used a heavier upholstery fabric for this kind of valance. But I fell in love with this print, so I just made it work, and they are beautiful!
Behind the valances we installed Ikea’s Tupplur blackout roller shades. I must note: I don’t recommend these shades. They are very inexpensive ($25 per window), but the rolling mechanism is imprecise at best. Since we don’t use this room that often, replacing them will be low on the list, but we won’t be installing them anywhere else in the house.
I put together instructions for making upholstered window valances including photographs of them installed in our other homes. They are an easy and inexpensive way to dress your windows.
Window Treatment Costs:
Fabric: $30 (3 yards at $10 per yard)
Batting: $5 (I used 1/4 of a $20 bag)
Shades: $50 (2 shades at $25 each)
Total: $85
Before: the boob light
After: a retro-inspired Marketplace find
Light Fixture
This room is wired for one overhead light — centered in the room. The existing fixture was an inexpensive and characterless “boob” fixture (seriously, once you see it… you can’t unsee it!). Lighting can be very expensive, but I always check Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and vintage shops for fixtures. A few weeks ago I scored this retro-inspired fixture from Rejuvenation on the Marketplace for $50, and at last check, the seller, Industrial Lane, still had two of them left.
I have paid full price for Rejuvenation fixtures before (ouch!). We used them in both the kitchen and the living room of the 1948 Subdivision Sweetheart. I absolutely love their vintage vibe, and they are beautifully made, so I was thrilled to find this fixture pulled from a restaurant. It has a milk glass shade which coordinates with my milk glass collection — one of the inspiration pieces for the room. After cleaning it up, I installed it, and it looks great — a little 1950s diner vibe.
I thought these would work… but alas. It was not to be.
Our new MCM lamp from Craigslist with a shade stolen from the living room.
We have had this lamp for a looooong time, but it has never looked better!
Lamps
No comfortable room is complete without lamps, and I was also on the hunt for vintage beauties. A few months ago I found a pair of vintage iridescent blue lamps on Etsy, and I was just sure they were going to be perfect on the bedside table. However, as the design evolved, it became clear that they weren't right in the room, so I have tucked them away for another project — maybe my office.
Last week I found a tall, teal ceramic lamp without a shade on Craigslist for $28. It is a vintage Mid Century Modern lamp. The wiring was original and showed signs of wear, so I rewired it at a grand cost of $15 — lamp kits rock and are super-easy to use! Then I had to find a shade which took me as far as the living room. One of our lamps has had an ill-fitting shade for more than a year. Now that lamp is naked, because that shade is perfect on our new vintage lamp!
I also repurposed a turquoise Chinoiserie lamp from the living room which clearly belongs on the dresser in this guest room and looks far better here than on top of the piano. So, I am now on the hunt for another lamp and a shade for our suddenly-dark living room, but that seems to be the story of my life! #shopyourhouse
Finally, while on a Target run, I encountered the most miraculous find: these cute little lamps that look to me a lot like… coconuts! They are the perfect size for the bedside shelves on the headboard. And they were only $10 each!
Check out these cute $10 coconut lamps! Aloha!
So, that’s it for this week’s roundup. Next week it is all about bedding. I have a lot of sewing ahead of me! Be sure to check out the how-to post for the window treatments, and check in on Instagram where I have peeks into other parts of this Guest Room Refresh.
Aloha!
A
Lighting Costs:
Ceiling Fixture: $50
MCM Lamp: $28
Lamp Kit: $15
2 coconut lamps: $20
Total: $113
Sources
Pin it!
El Tiempo de Mariposa
from the Alexander Henry Folklorico collection
Threshold
Faux Wood Table Lamp Brown
Don’t miss a single update: sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #bhgorc on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me, too!
@MidModernMama
Week Two | April 11 | Repurposing Old Furniture
Week Two | April 11 | Furniture
We are repurposing some old furniture, making a few new pieces, and scouring the Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for the rest. Come see everything I’ve found — and how I’m making old things new again.
We are repurposing some old furniture, making a few new pieces, and scouring the Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for the rest. Come see everything I’ve found — and how I’m making old things new again.
Whew! What a week! I have been so busy around here, and the changes are exhilarating. I’m excited to show you what we have accomplished so far! This week has been about furniture: cleaning it up, building, and installing. Wait until you see our $10 headboards!
Read on…
Kelly-Moore Aqua Ocean (KM5060-1)
Mid Century Wall Color Choices
First things first: the wall color. Confession: we had the room painted a few weeks ago. We were having a house full of company, and I just didn’t want to get hung up on that little/big detail in the whole process, so it is done.
I chose Kelly-Moore Aqua Ocean (KM5060-1) for the walls. It is the perfect aqua-turquoise goodness, and it sets off that amazing vintage map of Hawaii perfectly!
For an accent on several projects we are also using paint two shades darker: Kelly-Moore Hawaiian Vacation (KM5062-2). Using two colors in the same family but two or three shades apart is a great decor trick! With the lighter color on the walls and the darker shade as an accent, we have created a gradient in the room without literally painting a gradient on the wall or furniture.
Not only do these colors evoke Hawaii, but they are also perfect Mid Century turquoises. When the wall color first went up, it felt a little 50s diner to me. Now with more wood in the room, it is reading quite Atomic Ranch.
As I have said many times, we aren’t restoring a historic home. This isn’t going to be a museum. I’m not doing Mid Century for Mid Century’s sake. I’m doing what I love, but what is also appropriate to this 1958 home. This color is one of my favorites, AND it is historically appropriate, too.
With the wall color up, it was time to tackle the furniture.
Old Furniture Gets a New Life
Last week I showed you the existing pieces with which we have to work: two twin Espevar beds from Ikea, an antique dresser, a Mid Century bench, and a small, possibly- vintage table with faux bamboo legs. Because I am working on a budget, I am using what we have as much as possible. But I wouldn’t go out and buy all new furniture for this room even if I had all the money in the world! Buying vintage pieces when possible is the most economically and ecologically responsible way to go. When shopping vintage I am almost always supporting a small business or a family. Big businesses have their place, don’t get me wrong, but when I can I look to shop locally and shop small. And I’m reusing wood that has been cut and energy that has been expended rather than consuming more.
So thrifty, eco-friendly, and creative? Yep! Let’s get started!
The $10 Headboard
I bought headboards for this room nearly a year ago. But over time I realized that they just weren’t right. I never even put them on the beds, and I sold them — part of the funds for this project! So we needed headboards, and I wanted them to be as cheap as possible. One day inspiration struck: closet doors. Our closets all have horrid sliding doors that are completely dysfunctional. So we used two of them to create one long, sleek headboard tying both beds together.
All told, we spent $10 on the headboard, using stuff we already had around the house. That gave me money to spend on the beds themselves. I ditched the Ikea legs, and we ordered hairpin legs for each bed. My husband devised a clever way to attach them to the bed bases, and he and Bambino painted the beds in the deeper accent color (Hawaiian Vacation).
I put together detailed instructions for making the headboard and hacking the Ikea Espevar foundation which include all of our steps and the materials we used. This method for making could easily be adapted for an upholstered headboard and beds of any size. I even show you how to make a French cleat which will hang anything securely on a wall! I hope you’ll check them out!
DIY Mid Century Suitcase Rack
We weren’t done with hairpin legs yet! I wanted a place for guests to keep suitcases, and I can’t stand those folding suitcase racks. They are horrid! So we ordered another set of hairpin legs — this time in hot pink and 18” tall! We had a scrap of butcher block countertop in the wood studio which made the perfect suitcase bench. The legs just attach with four screws. Voila!
The hot pink legs are just cheeky enough against the aqua walls!
Cleaning & Loving Vintage Furniture
Small vintage table with faux bamboo legs
Same table. New knobs!
The Table
Both the table and the dresser got my favorite furniture cleaning-refresh treatment. First, clean it well with a damp cloth and a tiny bit of dish soap. Then rub the whole piece down with a clean damp cloth. Dry. Then spray with Method’s Wood for Good and wipe down. Finally apply real beeswax. Rub it in. Let it sit. Then wipe it off.
Beeswax is great for almost all wood surfaces, but try it in a small spot first. It is amazing! This is how we have always cared for wood countertops (which we put into both the 1948 Subdivision Sweetheart and the 1980s Cabin in the City). It brings out all of the beautiful colors in the wood.
I also replaced the knobs on the table. I ordered these porcelain knobs from Etsy. They have a crackled glaze that is so beautiful, and the color is amazing!
The Dresser
Before
There is nothing Mid Century about this piece, which is fine. It is lovely! But it doesn’t really go in the room as is. So, I took off the glove box top which wasn’t even attached any more. The glove box was once glued on and the wood underneath isn’t finished, so someday I may refinish the entire piece. But for now, I’m searching for just the right runner to drape over the top which will hide the damage and also pop with color.
I removed the pulls to clean them — the maple leaves collect a LOT of dust. I’m still on the fence about the pulls — I may just replace them and tuck these hand-carved pulls into a closet for another day. For now it has no pulls while I decide.
But I also scored this HUGE, beveled mirror to hang above the dresser for… wait for it… FREE on the Facebook Marketplace!
After with free mirror!
The Bench
In pieces as I write. It needs to be glued and screwed together again, then sanded and… I am not sure what finish I will apply yet. And I haven’t quite found the right fabric for the seat. That’s a fun hunt, though.
Mid Century dressing table bench
So here we are at the end of the first full week. The furniture is nearly done. I have a gigantic bruise on my calf — acquired while taking photos for this post. But I also scored this amazing Mid Century lamp this week, and I’m excited to show you that and the rest of the lighting and window treatments for the room next week! I am on a bit of turquoise overload. It is time for some other colors in that room, too!
I’m off to keep working! Be sure to check out the two how-to posts from this week. And stop by to see some of the amazing transformations happening with the other #OneRoomChallenge participants. I am inspired. Every. Single. Day.
XOXO
A
Don’t miss a single update: sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #bhgorc on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me, too!
@MidModernMama
Pin it!
Week One | April 4 | The Before Tour
Week One | April 4 | The “Before” Tour
Where did we start with this guest room? And what are the plans? I’ll show you my inspiration board, the furniture we started with, and the guiding principles I’m using as the room evolves.
Where to start? And what are the plans? I’ll show you my inspiration board, the furniture we already have, and the guiding principles I’m using as the room evolves.
Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! I’m so happy you have stopped by for the first installation in the Spring 2019 One Room Challenge! This is my first time to participate in the challenge, but I am crazy-excited! It’s so good to have a goal — first of all — to finish one room in six weeks. And I’m delighted to connect with all of the other ORC participants who are doing inspirational work on their own rooms.
I have taken on a Guest Room Refresh for this One Room Challenge. We have lots of work to do on our home, but redoing the guest room is like picking the low-hanging fruit — no walls to move, no plumbing or electrical work — and we are doing it all on a budget of $800. My husband, an architect and guy with mad power-tool skills, helps me with all of the heavy work, but we will be doing the entire project ourselves, so this is a great DIY challenge.
We aren’t new to renovation, however. We have completely redone two other homes: a 1980s Cabin in the City and our 1948 Subdivision Sweetheart.
“Why an $800 budget? Well, I’ve been using the KonMari Method in our house, and I have made almost $800 selling things we don’t need or that don’t spark joy! So now I have a budget for the Guest Room Refresh.”
Our current home was built in 1958. It is a split-level home in a whole neighborhood of Mid Century Modern houses. However, the last sixty years have not been kind to this house, and it needs a lot of love. But that’s what we do! We have always purchased the worst house in the best neighborhood — and then worked our magic a bit at a time.
So, where are we starting? In our very basic and boring Guest Room. Located on the lower level of our home, the guest room is in 1950s-speak at “garden level.” That means the windows are at ground level — and all of the outlets are in the middle of the wall because everything below the window is cement block.
Dimensions: 11’ x 14” | 154 sq. feet
My office: a carbon copy of the guest room
The Guest Room taken from the corner between the two windows
The room is grey with white trim. In fact, all of the rooms in our house are the same color. That first photo — it’s not actually the guest room. It is my office. But they look almost exactly the same, so I didn’t even notice at first. The only difference: the guest room does not have painted paneling like my office does. And the window is slightly smaller. I don’t seem to have a photo of the room from that angle, but trust me — they are exactly the same. Both rooms even have the same “boob” ceiling fixture (seriously, once you see it that way, you’ll never not see it).
The Furniture
With an $800 budget, I don’t have money to go out and buy a bunch of furniture. And, honestly, what we have will work very well with a little creativity.
Two Espevar foundations stacked on top of each other as work begins.
Beds
We have two Espevar foundations from IKEA plus mattresses. In our last home, these were in the guest room and Bambino’s room. We bought him a new bed recently, so we now have two twins for the guest room. I prefer twins to any other size in a guest room because they accommodate a variety of sleeping configurations depending on who comes to visit.
The Espevar foundations are relatively inexpensive, and you can buy covers for them. But you’ll see that we have other ideas.
I found this table with faux bamboo legs on the Facebook Marketplace.
Table
I bought this table for $25 on the Facebook Marketplace when we lived in Dallas a few years ago. I love the faux bamboo legs — both a touch MCM and a little Asian/Hawaiian-influence. It will work well as the bedside table between the two beds.
This antique dresser was a big splurge at the Oronoco Gold Rush Days.
Dresser
We have owned this dresser for twenty years. I bought it for $50 at a flea market in our starving-teacher-years which was a huge splurge for us at that point in our lives. It is old and lovely and in pretty good shape. So we will just spruce it up a bit, and it will serve well.
My $5 bench used to sit at my dressing table. Now it will find another home.
Bench
I bought this Mid Century dressing table stool for $5 at a garage sale when I started my first teaching job. I was fresh out of graduate school and poor as a church mouse. But it has served me well. It was damaged in one of our moves — thus the blue strapping holding it together. But I plan to take it apart and repair it. Then a little paint or stain (not sure which) and a newly upholstered seat, and this will be a great bench for holding luggage.
We are going to make a few pieces and change up some of these to outfit the room fully.
The Inspiration Board
Before Bambino was born, I traveled. A lot. I have written several travel books, and I wrote about, dreamed about, and thought about little other than travel. Having a child and a husband who has to travel a lot for work changed that a little — but wanderlust is still a reality in my life.
A piece of our last renovation serves as the primary inspiration for the Guest Room Refresh. When we were gutting the 1948 Subdivision Sweetheart, workers in the attic found several artifacts which clearly had been up there for a long time — one of which was this vintage map of Hawaii from 1950. The prior owners didn’t want it, so I have been just waiting for the right place to use it — and now I have found it.
I’ll be framing this map, and it will hang near the door. But the map — and our own travels — inspired the entire color scheme — turquoise, sea foam green, and hints of red. And while this isn’t a themed room, it will certainly have a vintage feel and provenance.
But it wasn’t just the map that inspired the room. As we discussed color schemes, my husband suddenly turned to me and said, “Oh, you mean this room will be like SusieCakes?” And it clicked! Yes, indeed, our favorite bakery from San Francisco — the bakery where we got Bambino’s first birthday cake — their retro-infused, colorful stores are another inspiration point for our Guest Room Refresh. Sweet!
Coupled with the vintage map and our favorite bakery inspiration, I will also be using a range of vintage pillowcases which I inherited from my grandmother last summer as well as my small collection of milk glass. We live in a home of a certain era, and we enjoy Mid Century design, so while we aren’t creating a museum or doing a historical restoration, I am keenly aware of the era, and I strive to incorporate as many era-appropriate elements as possible all while living firmly in the 21st century. Plus using what we already have in a new way is a great way to save money, so I will be shopping my house.
Over the next five weeks, I'll be showing the progress as we transform this room from Basic and Boring to Beautiful. And since this is a Guest Room, I’m focused on imbuing the room with gracious touches which will make our guests feel at home, too.
Here’s my schedule for the coming weeks:
Week 2 | April 11 | Repurposing Old Furniture
Week 3 | April 18 | Lighting and Windows
Week 4 | April 25 | Vintage Linens
Week 5 | May 2 | Be Our Guest!
Week 6 | May 9 | The Big Reveal
I’ll be sharing the how-to for all of our projects along the way including our headboards for less than $10 and really cute window treatments that let in all of the sunlight (so important in the winter) as well as my favorite shopping sources for all things vintage and new.
And don’t forget — we are doing all of this on a budget of $800 or less!
You can follow along on Instagram or like Mid Modern Mama on Facebook for tips, tricks, and sneak peeks along the way, too.
Ok. Gotta get back to work!
Aloha!
Who was the artist?
I did some research into our inspirational piece, and the story of Joseph Feher is fascinating!
Don’t miss a single update!
Sign up and each installment of the One Room Challenge will come directly to your email on Thursdays! And be sure to stop by the One Room Challenge Blog to check out the other creative renovations happening across the country. You can also follow #oneroomchallenge and #bhgorc on Instagram for more inspiration! Be sure to follow me, too!
@MidModernMama
Pin it!
Our Inspiration: Joseph Feher's Map of the Hawaiian Islands
The inspiration for our Guest Room Refresh came from a vintage print of Joseph Feher’s map of the Hawaiian islands produced for the Dole Fruit Company in 1950. As it turns out this poster which we found in the attic of a previous house, has a fascinating history.
That Lucky Find from our Attic
When we renovated our 1948 Subdivision Sweetheart, we found a few items left in the attic from the previous owners. They didn’t want them, so we kept two items which were particularly interesting: a roll of vintage Korean silk and this gorgeous poster of the Hawaiian Islands.
Joseph Feher
We hoard our frequent flyer miles and hotel points, and every two years our family heads to Hawaii for two weeks of bliss: snorkeling, swimming, exploring, and all the pineapple we can eat. So to find this beautiful map of a place we truly love was kismet. And it seemed like the perfect jumping off point for this project.
But as an author and an avid student of art history, I needed to know more about this piece of art, and frankly, the history is fascinating.
This map was created by Joseph Feher, an artist born in Hungary in 1908. When World War I broke out, Feher’s family was torn apart. His father was conscripted into the Army and sent to the Italian front. He was there only two months when he was shot and sent home with shrapnel in his lungs. He died at home leaving his wife with four young children in a country being torn apart by war. “Hungary was under terrible conditions,” he later recalled, “There was no food and everybody was undernourished.”
Not long after his father died, Feher’s eight month-old sister died of starvation, and he and his brothers were sent to live with other relatives in search of better nutrition. Joseph Feher went to his grandmother in Budapest — a grandmother who supported his love of art. His mother and youngest brother eventually emigrated to the United States leaving her two older children in Hungary in the care of relatives for the next seven years. But Joseph was lucky. His grandmother encouraged his artistic talents even in the face of his grandfather who thought “an artist is just not a respectable, responsible person.”
Feher’s grandmother helped him to find an apprenticeship at a museum studio in Budapest to learn furniture design and the making of historical reproductions, but as a young boy, Feher’s job was to stir boiling pots of glue for hours a day. “That smell and the monotony of just stirring all day long, it discouraged me from the career of being a furniture designer.” Cultivating the artist in her young grandson, Feher’s grandmother helped him enroll in art school — keeping it secret from his grandfather.
And then at the age of thirteen he earned a scholarship to an art school in Florence and went off to Italy on his own. “In Italy, I was in Firenze about eighteen months or so, and I learned the language, and I went from museum to museum and church to church mostly every day. I saw two or three churches every day mostly for the artwork, not because of my strong religious feeling.” But after more than eighteen months in Italy — first in Florence and then in Venice — the life of a starving young art student became too much, and Feher went back to Budapest — still only fifteen years old.
In Budapest, Feher became the youngest student at the local art college where he studied drawing and painting techniques until his mother, remarried and settled in Chicago, finally sent for him and his brother. In Chicago he attended the academy at the Art Institute of Chicago, but when he graduated jobs were scarce as “that was right at the time of the big crash, the Depression, and art was the first thing that people cut out… But advertising was still necessary.” So, Feher ended up working in advertising -- primarily freelancing. He painted portraits of Chicago’s wealthy and well-to-do, and took on odd jobs to make ends meet. And ended up with a job at the A. B. Dick Company working on mimeograph machines.
But Feher dreamed of being a fine artist -- not working on office equipment. So in 1934 he and a friend, Don Ruff, hatched a scheme to get to Tahiti where they would be inspired like one of his idols, Gauguin. He sold a subscription series of 30 paintings to be done on his travels and delivered when he returned, and with $800 in his pocket, Feher and Ruff set off for San Francisco. When they arrived they found that they had just missed the monthly freighter to Tahiti, so they boarded a ship to Hawaii instead. Eventually Ruff left for Japan and a trip around the world, but Feher made his $800 last for 14 months during which time he painted and fell in love with Hawaii -- particularly with Kalapana on the island of Hawaii.
Eventually, Feher’s money ran out, and he returned to Chicago where Edison Dick of the A. B. Dick Company made him an unusual offer: a full-time salary for part-time work. In essence, the mimeograph company became his patron. He worked there in the mornings and then went to his studio on North Michigan Avenue where he built up a freelance business doing advertising artwork as well as portraits. He also married and started a family.
And then one day in 1946 United Airlines approached Feher. They were beginning service to Hawaii, and they asked Feher to come on their inaugural voyage to sketch and record their trip to Hawaii. He made ten watercolors which were published as a Christmas gift for the executives at United Airlines. On that trip he visited the Honolulu Academy of Arts who asked if he would return to Hawaii to teach. In 1947 he packed up with his family, and they moved to Hawaii for good. He taught at the Academy in Honolulu and continued his freelance work counting the Chicago Tribune, Abbott Laboratories, and Eli Lilly amongst his clients.
In 1950 he was hired by the Dole Pineapple Company to produce our map -- a pictorial map of the Hawaiian Islands. They printed 300,000 copies of the map and distributed them in conjunction with Pan American Airways.
Feher’s work -- particularly his travel-related work -- was in demand for decades. He produced promotional posters and calendars for United Airlines. He also continued to work for his other corporate clients which, together with his teaching work, “just enabled me to paint on weekends.”
In his later years, Feher embarked upon an ambitious project to illustrate Hawaiian religious stories and chants. He illustrated several books, and worked on large-scale pieces including a cycle of the Hawaiian creation chant in pictures. And he continued to teach at the Academy, a job he loved.
Joseph Feher died in Hawaii on June 8, 1987.
I am delighted that this gorgeous piece by a Hawaiian-loving, Hungarian immigrant finally has a good home. If you are interested in more about Joseph Feher’s life, the University of Hawaii has a transcript of an interview with him done as part of The Watumull Foundation’s Oral History Project on February 15 and March 1, 1986. This interview served as the primary source for this article and is available in its entirety.
Pin it!
Interested in reproductions of Feher’s artwork? The images above will take you to Amazon.com where his artwork has been reproduced in a variety of forms. You can also buy a reproduction of our Hawaiian Islands map.
