Ashtrays as Art?

Now, I can't take credit for this idea, as it was really my friend Ashley who inspired me on this one. She has a retro/mid century kind of vibe to her decorating style, and when I went to her house for the first time, I was intrigued by some of the cool objects d'art she had decorating her place. They were being held up by plate holders and displayed like decorative plates...could they be?- yep, they were ashtrays. While I was (I must admit) a little disgusted at first, I realized that they were actually really cool and kinda, well, pretty! Many of them had all kinds of neat colors and glazes, and were really designed to be shown off in the fashionable mid century home. After I opened up to the idea, I started to see attractive ashtrays during my treasure hunting. What really cemented ashtray collecting with me, however, was the one we were given by Marc's grandmother (who is forever trying to give us things), which says "The Perchers" and had graced her home for over 40 years. Now I've got a small collection that I, like my good friend, display on plate holders in my house.

Our family heirloom ashtray

A great score: it's orange, it's fiestaware, and it's radioactive!

I swear the aqua things just find me now

I'm not sure this one is an ashtray, but it's pretty nontheless. It's made by Jacquin and has beautifuly jewel-toned crackeled glass along the rim.

A row of funky-shaped ashtrays graces our wine glass rack in the dining room.

My Atomic Color Palette, Color 1: Aqua

Walk into my living room and something will become readily apparent- this girl likes blue! But not just any blue- aqua blue, THE iconic mid century/Atomic Era color. One of my first aqua finds is probably my coolest, and in fact it plays a large role in my blog banner: my little aqua microscope. I picked it up a few years ago in the Salvation Army in San Leandro, CA (RIP), and it even came in it's own cool wooden box with some microscope slides and vials of questionable cleanliness. Now it has a place of honor as a bookend on my nifty room divider in the living room (a $30 estate sale score), and has served to inspire the room's color palette: aqua with pops of orange. More on orange in later posts!

Room Divider with open shelving, creates a bit of a foyer when you walk in the front door

Little aqua microscope finds a home

Perhaps our only "new" purchase from a furniture store- Our couch from Sphere Designs Furniture in San Francisco. The cool lamp came from a local consignment store.

Lane Acclaim side table in perfect shape- thank you estate sales! Check out that dove-tailed action on top...I'll devote a post to this line later- this is only the tip of the iceberg...

More Lane Acclaim- this time a side cabinet, and an estate steal at $5!!!

More cool dovetails...it's a signature of this line.

Knock-off RAR Eames Rocker with a cool eyeball chrome lamp. Check out those groovy I Dream of Jeannie lamps on the mantle

My husband's crowning acheivement- built-ins and a great mantle! I helped design it and do the finishing work, but he did all the heavy lifting.

Next project: Replace the beige marble fireplace surround with more mid century-esque white stacked stone.