Yes You CAN! Beer Can Home Decor

You may have noticed that canned beer is making a comeback. Many of the craftiest breweries are now selling their product in cans. There are myriad reasons some consider cans superior to bottles, but I'll bet those folks hadn't factored in the home decorating possibilities associated with canned beer. Those cans can be the basis for home decor items that are sure to be real conversation pieces. Here are a few retro ideas from 1976's Better Homes and Gardens Treasures from Throwaways. You may not ever be able to view a glass-topped table in the same way again!

I love the fact that this project calls for 147 cans collected "over a period of time." Some folks could accomplish that in a week! I also enjoy the fact that they specifically call for cans without dents. If you think this table is unique, just imagine it with a few dented cans!

"Tin cans have never looked so good!" You'll have to cut the tops out of these, but you have plenty of time before the 4th of July rolls around. Stars and stripes forever! 

Okay, you have a little less lead time for this striking Christmas tree, so you'd better get busy drinking that beer if you want to have this one ready for Christmas 2017. You know what they say about the struggle...

So sip (or swill - we don't judge!) that canned beer and set those cans aside for future use. It's positively green! Fred Sanford would approve.

Kitschy Kitchens!

Have you ever stood in a boring, modern kitchen and wondered, even for just a moment, what it would be like to cook in a kitchen of Brady Bunch-era splendor (or am I the only one who's ever done that)? If so, the booklets from the Doubleday Home Decorating Program are just what you need to provide the inspiration to slap up a little wallpaper or maybe hunt down an avocado or harvest gold stove! The Doubleday Home Decorating Program was a subscription service which mailed subscribers, "once a month, a whole packet of decorating guidance and ideas" in the form of "a colorful new Handbook (prepared exclusively for our members) that gives you concentrated, in-depth treatment of a specific part of your home."

I wonder what would happen if I mailed this in now?

If you value kitschy, fun, vintage late-'60s-early-'70s decor, these books will blow your mind! Here are just a few of the kitchens I found in this amazing series:

Here's a resplendent gold kitchen for the space-challenged, with a laundry area to the left. Is that toy truck in a portable sandbox?! That's really making the most of apartment living!

This one is a little dark for my taste, but I admire their complete commitment to paisley. And that avocado and paisley range - wow!

So many seating choices here: love seat, cushioned chairs, tasseled bar stools. You could throw a party in this kitchen!

The striped wallpaper in this kitchen makes me nostalgic for my mother-in-law's house, although her striped kitchen wallpaper was brown. 

There are so many patterns and styles going on here that it's tough to know where to begin! I think my favorite part is the canisters that match the wallpaper. Why waste extra wallpaper?!

Call them tacky, call them horrible, but I love these kitchens! My personal tastes run a little more mid-century modern, but I adore the fact that these designers weren't worried about fitting in or being tasteful. Our homes should be fun, not a showcase for conformity! If you love it, it belongs in your home!

Vintage Recipes for September!

I just added new (to the site, anyway) vintage recipes to our website, this time with a disco flair! Click here to check them out. Get those boogie shoes out of storage - it's time to dance (and drink. A lot.)!

Time to boogie-oogie-oogie 'til you just can't boogie no more!