Mini Mad Men Style Guide

Season 4 of Mad Men kicks off tonight and in its honor I thought I'd share a collection of links to various articles, photo galleries, etc. that might appeal to anyone who appreciates the style and attention to detail that the talented Mad Men set designer Amy Wells and production designer Dan Bishop bring to each episode. 

Interviews with Amy Wells:
- Inside Mad Men - Set and Production Design Video Interview with Amy Welles & Dan Bishop at AMC 
- Q&A with Amy Wells at AMC 
- NPR Interview with Amy Wells 
- Interior Design Interview with Amy Wells



Photo Galleries & How To Guides:
- Roundup of Mad Men Style Articles from Apartment Therapy 
- Mad Men Style: The Best of the 1960s from House Beautiful 
- Mad Men set decorator Amy Wells on the hunt in HomeGoods from the L.A. Times 
- Decorating Ideas to Steal From Season Three of Mad Men at CasaSugar 
- Mad Men: An Office and a Gentlemen from Entertainment Weekly 
- Great 1960 Interiors on Season 2 of Mad Men at Retro Renovation 
- How To Recreate Betty Draper's Knotty Pine Kitchen also at Retro Renovation 
- The Knotty Pine Interior Group at Flickr

Paint & Progress

We're making progress but it's slow going. In order to save money we're determined to do most of the work on the house ourselves but between jobs, life, etc. it's going to take us awhile.

The room I plan to use for my office had to be completely re-wired since we had electricity problems and when we removed the crown molding we found an inch wide gap between the ceiling and the walls that had to be repaired. The ceiling was lowered a little when they installed air-conditioning into the place in the '90s and the work was poorly done so it's causing problems throughout our house. But with a lot of the hard work done we decided to finally start painting and hanging some new lights so I thought I'd share our progress.

Since our 1954 ranch house was based on an Eichler design & floorplan we've decided to use the original Eichler colors (and their variations) as a basis for painting our home. Thankfully Benjamin Moore still produces similar colors that were used by Eichler owners in the '50s. I wanted orange in my office so I decided to use "Pumpkin Cream" for my accent wall. The color is usually seen on Eichler exteriors (doors, trim, etc.) but I like breaking the rules a little and after living in rented apartments with white or beige walls for more than 25 years (that I was never allowed to paint!), I'm dying to have more color in my life.

I love Johnathan Adler's designs and when Lumens had a big sale earlier this year I used the opportunity to purchase a wall lamp that I had my eye on. The playful retro design works well in the room and I think it will work well with my future plans for the space. But before I show you my progress, here's a look back at what we started with.

And now the changes...

But we still have lots to do...

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend! I thought it would be fun to share a couple of ads from 1949 & 1950 that feature 4th of July recipes in case anyone is looking for ideas for their own 4th of July menu. Neither of them looks very appetizing but it's interesting to see what a housewife may have cooked up for her family back then to celebrate the holiday. Just click on the images to see them full size.

Happy 4th of July!