Saint-Gobain Miralite Bathroom Mirrors

Somewhere early 2017 the Man came home with a pile of standard sized 60 x 40 cm sized mirrors. There were six or maybe more. The kind I have in my social rental apartment. Normally not expensive, I just looked them up and found the cheapest just under €12. But the brand Saint-Gobain promises a way higher quality. Just can't find my size on their website anymore. Problem was some were slightly chipped on the sides.

I had just listed them when my friend from down the street came by and asked if she could have them. To line the lower part of the wall in her hallway. Something to do with cats stopping to scratch wallpaper. Of course she could after all the stuff her guy Freek gave me to sell!

Seventies Stuff

Well, we have very bad weather alert so I’m staying inside. Looking through old photo’s that I hadn’t published yet I found this:

I picked it up because it’s in perfect condition and I liked the shape.  As you may know I like a touch of the Seventies here and there in my house, but that colour is somewhat overwhelming and doesn’t fit in my lounge. So it landed beside my bed as a night table.

Not sure if that’s what it was made for! With only one drawer it could be a wall telephone table too.

It was a bit in the way though, so I thought someone might just love it. It wouldn’t sell. After changing things around in my bedroom it’s back by my bed and now actually useful, but not catching the eye too much.

In the same file I found the old ceramic pot. I had it in my bathroom as a décor piece, but it was catching dirt too quickly. Didn’t do anything on line, even with the wineglasses offered for free. I took it to the pop-up indoor market project where on the very last day of the six month period it finally went.

I made more changes in my bathroom. Will write an update soon.

A Late Fifties Mirror Set

I found this mirror set about a year ago at only fifty yards from my apartment, at the corner of our block. I date it late fifties early sixties. The shape of the triptych mirror panels is still quite romantic, but the formica covered tablet with its plastic gold coloured lining definitely taste early modernism. Then the back support of the mirrors and the mini compartment below are solid wood. Only the knob of the flap is modern again. It’s a wonderful mixture of two style ages and I did not have to ask myself twice if I wanted to take this piece home!

What it was designed for is I think a mini dressing table for a tiny bedroom (so common still these days in my town, Amsterdam) or a as a hallway piece for a quick check up of the face and hair. The tiny compartment could have held a comb and brush, powder box and lipstick placed on the tablet. Which would have been handy to lay a pair of gloves on as wall.

I would have loved to keep it but the problem is I have a fairly roomy bathroom with a wash stand and a wide mirror with a tablet over it. And in my bedroom I already have a pretty large circle shaped triptych mirror. Then my hallway is so narrow I feared my tall BF or visitors would have bumped into the set constantly. So…

After having used the piece to photograph my felted make-up bowls on I decided to take it to the craft fairs as a display. Threatening to get sold of course. Not the first time, but that was in June when sales were low anyway. But last Sunday within a few hours one lady already inquired if it was for sale. She told me it was for a baby bedroom, an idea I didn’t like too much so I held her off saying she could pick it up at the end of the day. I didn’t really expect her back so when later a young woman was totally in love with the mirror I sold it to her immediately at the same price I had asked the first lady, 15 Euros. With the fading silver, hang-up hooks removed and rusty hinges I thought that was a fair price for a still quite unique piece. Not bad for rescued trash, isn’t it?

My Seventies Bathroom

The Seventies are back in many ways. Aren’t we crafters terribly into crocheting granny squares and such? Bell bottoms and block soles have been back and gone again but are not yet totally ridiculous. Or some arty underground fashionable people stick to them deliberately. Yet it’s the design period everybody says to hate. Those horrible colour combo’s, the giant wavy and floral motifs, free-form clothing designs… They’re absolutely not done anymore. I agree.

Yet I’m glad the cold black and whites of the Eighties have past as well. The Nineties brought colour back in, but still with too much modern straightness and chrome to my taste.

I like to mix up all styles and these days it’s absolutely allowed. Carefully dosed elements of styles we wouldn’t want to have full-on can add a fun quirky touch to your home. For me some of the Seventies ideas are absolutely the ones I love to hate. And the curbs provide me with a wide choice of style and design of all ages.

It all started in 2005 when my artist friend wowed at seeing a photograph of my mom in her home with her curtains in the back. They are a wavy motif in dark brown, beige and white and she still has them by the way. Then I knew what I wanted with my new bathroom in my freshly renovated apartment.

I remembered I still had a large piece of a curtain sample from my mom in the same style. Digging it up I found she had even already sewed the tunnel and bottom seam in. I really forgot what she had used it for, or planned to but maybe never did. So all I had to do was hang it up. The ceiling high window needed something long and narrow and this just fitted!

The egg yellow and terra brown are not colours of my first choice, but they make sense. Coming from my living room in natural wood, cream white, pale beige, wine red, soft orange and some black (Eighties leftovers of my own) you turn a corner to my half open kitchen which is in a soft yellow, cream and the same pale beige. Then at the end of this area in neutral colours comes my bathroom. Following the scheme the more pronounced yellows and browns are a welcome contrast with the reds in the living room. And I don’t live there you know, I just go there to do what I have to do.

Leaving the cold white tiles and dull granite floor intact the curbs provided me with just the additional elements to add to the colour and style.

First I found a handcrafted TP and magazine holder. I just love it how this is clearly a hobbyist's or craft class product, it must be totally unique! The brown and yellow match perfectly with the curtain, the orange makes a link with the orange (doors) in my living room.

Same counts for the giant artificial flowers. My curtains in the living are in the same red.

I keep some smaller shower supplies out of the way and organized in this hilarious soup terrine.

Then to finish it off I found a yellow lamp shade. The fixture I still had laying about from another find or second hand buy. The simple iron model is timeless and it may not be so old, but it's just the right colour.

Talking about lamps, to end I want to say something about lighting. A befriended eco-blog suggested followers to write a post about cutting down on lighting at home. The idea was to start using fewer Watts and shutting off lights where you don’t need them, but I think it’s even better to switch to CFL (energy saving) bulbs on top of that. Now I have used those for at least twenty years already. That’s how long they have been around!!!

I never use any of the strong 100W (or the CFL equivalents of those) bulbs anyway. I really hate how they flood the room with sharp light. When I need extra light for e.g. crafting I prefer to use a desk or table lamp locally. Main lamps in living room or kitchen are the CFL equivalents of 60W of the old incandescent bulbs, places where you need even less like hallway or bedroom I have no more than 40W. Actually in my yellow bathroom lamp there’s only the equivalent of a 20W. What more do you need there? For make-up I have a local extra light by the mirror.

Apart from the energy they save I love it that you only have to change CFL’s once every 6-10 years. Isn’t that extremely convenient?

But on top think this: a CFL of ‘60W’ actually uses only 11, ‘40W’equals 8!! Only please remember, once died out you can’t throw them in the bin, they contain mercury so you have to bring them to the recycling depot or a shop or collection point near you.