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Some Odds And Ends That We Forgot To Share…

Mel and I are always on the hunt for cool things and sometimes we forget to share our finds with our readers. We wanted to take a quick minute to share some items that I don’t think we have ever shared before. The first item is this marvelous Moss lamp that we found in a Las Vegas antique store.

Please ignore the upside down lampshade

We had never seen this style Moss lamp before. Moss made radio lamps, clock lamps, aquarium lamps and so many other fantastic kinds of lamps. Though the lamps shade is not original it works for now. I love that aqua and gold figure, so art deco!

When we finally got back from Vegas we consulted our Schiffer “Moss Lamps Lighting The 50’s” reference book. We couldn’t find it in the book! I think that is a good thing, maybe a one off?

While in Vegas we also snagged this guy. This is a working 50’s Kenmore fan and I love the grey and aqua color scheme on it.

Next is this atomic pink fiberglass lamp with hanging planter!

We parked this lamp next to our pink frieze butterfly chair.

I found this little gem in an antique shop in San Jose California. It was hidden behind a bunch of vintage linens. When I pulled the linens back I was pleasantly surprised to find this pink 1950’s Motorola model 56L3A portable tube radio.

I found these 1940’s glass coasters on Etsy. Though they may not be politically correct they are still cool.

We have had our Grand Server for a while now and I wanted to stock the bar inside of it. I came across one of these Arrow decanters online and loved the imagery. I researched them and saw they made a few different styles. Here are some photos of the front and back of the six we acquired…


Now comes the fun part, going out and buying all the liquor to fill them.

Melody and I were at the Alameda Antique Fair in the bay and we ran into our friend Petra. We din’t manage to find a lot that day. While talking to Petra she mentioned that she had come into possession of some really cool Capri lamp shades she wanted to sell. She showed us some photos and we said YES!!!

These shades are pretty large and so cool.

These take our 1951 Regular bullfighter lamps to a whole new level!

 These shades help transform our room with warm light and unique styling.

Melody and I have had this Paul Frankl floor lamp for a long time now, but we couldn’t remember if we ever shared it with you. This thing is over the top atomic. When I look at it I think of a cool cat wearing a zoot suit. We have two matching table lamps as well but I think we blogged about them already, here they are anyway.

Well, I think that is all for now. I hope you enjoyed it!

Vornado Floor Fan Model M-B38P1-1

Vornado Floor Fan Model M-B38P1-1
This is probably one of the coolest advertisements of all time! Could it be anymore atomic than this?!

I used this ad in an earlier post but I can’t help myself!  This is probably one of the coolest advertisements of all time!  Could it be anymore atomic than this?!

With summer quickly approaching we were on the hunt for a cool, nu pun intended, fan.  We have always loved the style of the vintage Vornado line of fans.  For you readers that have followed us for a long time you might remember the Vornado box fan I restored before.  I sold that fan and have regretted it ever since, so I am glad to have picked this up.

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The thing that draws me to these fans in the way the body of the fan looks like a nacelle of an aircraft engine.

7661009298_3a775be0ebVornado kept in step with the demand for spaceage design.  Here is an example of how the body of the fan looks like the engine nacelle of an aircraft.

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We found this fan at an antique shop in Chico last weekend.  These can run a pretty penny, but this one was priced well so we jumped on it.

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This fan works perfectly.  It has three speeds and really moves the air.  I love this profile.

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I don’t know the last time this fan was serviced, so I need to pick up some S.A.E. 20 oil.

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As you can see, this is not in restored condition and I don’t plan on restoring it.  Cosmetically, there isn’t a lot wrong with it.  I actually love the patina.  Also, the one I restored before was a nightmare because of the supports that connect the fan motor to the outside fan body.  I’ve already cleaned it and waxed it to bring out some of the original shine.  I had to really scrub to remove the years of built up grease and oil.

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These fans are built like tanks and are bulletproof!  We really dig this fan and hope to be able to use it for a long time.  We’ll have this cranked during the home tour because I am sure June will be a scorcher.

1960’s Kenmore Roll-A-Matic Fan

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Mel and I were out and about antiquing when I came across this fantastic fan. It is pretty large and it looked like it had some unique controls. I loved the fact that it was attached to a roller stand.

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It’s great that it can be wheeled around so easily.

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This fan has a manual vertical adjustment. The above photo shows the fan all the way down and the photo below is raised. The great knobs on the side allow you to adjust the angle in any direction.

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This unit has some control options I am not familiar with.

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It has a simple control panel, but the one thing I noticed was that rectangular light on the top. I figure it has something to do with the thermostat this fan has. This was my first experience with a fan that has a thermostat. Another great thing about this fan is that it blows and sucks air. I imagine it was a great feature when by an open window.

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I am still trying to figure out the thermostat portion of the fan.

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When the Comfort Control Knob is adjusted…..

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This indicator light illuminates. I will have to play with it, but I am sure I will figure it out. I wish I had some literature on this fan. I am sure this was a high end fan for the time.

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What I also dig about this fan is how accessible everything is. Both back covers pop off easily for cleaning.

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This fan has a large motor and it has a lifetime lubrication warranty!

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With tempatures around 105 degrees lately, this fan will get a lot of use!

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Emerson Seebreeze fan and Gaffers & Sattler Bon-Aire Mark 1 Swamp Cooler

Hello all,

With the dog days of summer quickly approaching I thought it would be a great idea to put some retro cooling in the house.

I was out with the misses antiquing in the bay and we came across this Emerson Seebreeze fan that was rusty & dirty and I knew if I got my hands on it I could make it a cool addition to the pad.

After a day of prep which included sanding and cleaning I applied a coat of primer. I prefer Valspar gray primer (sold at Lowes). I gave it a good and even coat and let it cure over night. The next morning I began to paint with Valspar gloss medium gray and Mediterranean. I then let is sit another day so the paint would be set up for re-assembly. I think it looks great! It is amazing what paint and elbow grease will do.

Click Images to Enlarge

Here is another retro cooling appliance I restored that I found on Craigslist. I totally love the pointy edges on the top of the unit, it makes it look very atomic. This portable swamp cooler was made by Gaffers & Sattler model Bon-Aire Mark 1. Swamp coolers were used in place of air conditioners if a house did not have AC. It works by adding water to a holding tank. A fan sucks up the water and turns it into a mist. With the mist and the fan blowing it cools a localized area. This was a pretty straight forward restoration. It had some rust on the bottom that I sanded off. I then primered and painted the whole piece. Lowe’s carried a filter that I cut to fit and I was also able to find a spray on sealant to re-seal the water holding tank. This unit works well and was completed just in time to keep things cool.

We also have another swamp cooler from the same time period with a stand. I’ll try to restore that one and get pictures up as soon as I can. It’s really cool too, no pun intended :).

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