Posts in Category: Design

A Fungus Among Us

Ever since I posted the mushroom quiche recipe, I’ve been a little obsessed with mushrooms.  Specifically, images of mushrooms in vintage (and modern!) design.  To honor my new-found obsession, I created an Etsy Treasury dedicated to fungi everywhere!  Click on the link to visit the Treasury!!

Vintage Tablescape Thursday

After wishing and hoping last week for some fondue photos, I decided to take matters into my own hands and find some tablescapes featuring FONDUE!

The first photo has some pretty fantastic fondue plates, complete with dividers, which is good since there’s raw beef next to the various dipping sauces.

I love the fondue pot in this second photo.  Even better, when someone loses a piece of bread, they have to kiss someone!  Who knew fondue parties were so…interesting!

This week’s photos come from Betty Crocker’s Dinner in a Dish and the Hostess Cookbook!

Vintage Tablescape Thursday

Today’s vintage tablescape comes from Sunset Magazine‘s article on throwing a “Nothing-to-it Big Party” from April 1969.  Guests hover around food stations, with each station providing a different course.

The article suggests either renting wine-glasses or using plastic ‘nested’ glasses for easy cleanup.   Soup is served in paper cups without spoons.

Instead of a traditional salad, guests dip vegetables in ranch dip

Sandwich-makings serve as the main course and apple-slices with cheese for dessert.  I’m sad there’s no fondue for dessert, quite honestly.  I definitely think this party needs fondue!

Vintage Tablescape Thursday!

This week’s vintage tablescapes come from New Creative Home Decorating, published in 1954.  Each of these tablescapes feature furniture from the Heywood Wakefield company, one of the most famous makers of 1950s ‘blonde’ furniture.  The first image features Heywood Wakefield’s ‘dogbone’ dining chairs, buffet, and other furniture, along with some tropical flowers for the table.

The second photo shows Heywood Wakefield’s ‘wish-bone’ dining table and buffet.  I think it’s interesting that part of the table is unextended and that the centerpiece is shown off-center.

I saved my favorite of the three for last.  Mostly because I have the darker-wood version of the buffet in my own dining room!  And because of the lovely fiestaware.  Not too sure about the brick wallpaper though!

Vintage Tablescapes

I enjoy researching and writing about old recipes, but I also love collecting and selling vintage housewares.  One of my biggest design inspirations is the ‘Danish modern’ style–so here are some of my favorite examples from my collection of vintage cookbooks!

First up is an image from Betty Crocker’s Guide to Easy Entertaining from 1959.  It’s a lovely Hollywood-Regency inspired tea cart with some bright aqua cookware by Dansk.  This line of enamelware, called Kobenstyle, is some of the most recognizable cookware from the 1950s and 1960s.  It came in many colors, but I think the cheery aqua is my favorite.  (I’ll actually be listing some of this cookware in my Etsy shop later this week, so stay tuned!)

Next are a series of photographs from the Sunset Dinner Party Cookbook, published in 1962.  This is a great cookbook for design-lovers as well as cooks as the illustrations and photographs are beautiful.  Unlike many cookbooks of the era, this one features people in most of the photographs, which I love.  I imagine that this photo was taken on a sunny Southern California day in an Eichler-inspired house (look at those exposed beams!).

The next photo shows a tablescape from the same cookbook.  A lot of vintage food photography seems cluttered, but the images from the Dinner Party Cookbook use simple table decorations that are timeless instead of being silly and dated.  The candelabra reminds me of a Laur Jensen design.

Finally, the last photo of the bunch features a wonderful kidney-shaped tray and some rockin’ candle-sticks.