Mapping the Fix-up

Here's my photoshopped rendition of my dining alcove goal. I still want a smallish Danish modern china hutch, but the ones I find are huge and expensive, so I guess I'll have to make do with my mom's corner cabinet for a while longer. She "antiqued" it green. (I know. I know. And long before the chalk-paint craze, too.) I'm going to strip and refinish it, and make new doors, for more sleek, modern look.

The credenza I designed is too wide for the space, so if I do build one, it will be smaller, to fit under the window.

My nice wood dining table is from the 1970s, I think, but not really modern, and it's also too big for the space, so I drew a little minimalist table in the illustration above of a style/size that I'll be on the lookout for in resale shops and on Craigslist.

The clock is just one mid-century design I'm considering. There are numerous others.

The wonderfully nostalgic, kitschy mod/atomic curtains will be a lucky find, if I manage to find them. Like these. (The ones in this image are what I photoshopped into my dining alcove image.)

You come across them on e-bay sometimes, but they're outrageously expensive. My first choice would be shiny fiberglass like this. And this. My second choice would be barkcloth. But if I can't find what I'm looking for, I'll design an abstract atomic motif, stencil it onto a painter's dropcloth (all the rage in decorating now) and make some pinch-pleated drapes myself. I may even have a couple of traverse rods around here somewhere.

My chair

I just found out my Danish modern dining chairs I bought several years ago ($25 for all four) were made by Stanley.  Stanley is located in North Carolina. They are SOUTHERN Danish modern chairs! The finish is in sad shape, and the armchair needs the joins reglued, and I would reupholster the seats -- in either black or bone vinyl, or a vintage-type wool boucle...

Here are a couple of images online showing how gorgeous they are when they're refinished...

Stanley chairs 1

Stanley chairs 2

Stanley chairs 3

Alas, I don't have any atomic table china to display in the corner cabinet.  But I do have my mom's Syracuse "Old Ivory -- Nimbus" china (that she bought with S&H Green Stamps) which is very minimalist, will look great in a mid-century modern-ish dining alcove...  Photos don't do it justice. It's actually beautiful...

The rice paper light fixture is temporary, until I can find one of these I can afford (except I want all-brass). E-bay sellers want outrageous sums form them:

So, okay, I have sort of a blueprint. I have a habit of changing my mind, as new options present themselves, but this is good for a start. 

First stop -- Lowe's, to buy paint stripper for the corner cabinet.