living spaces

[renor27]

I am just finishing up a small 300sq ft cottage and shop behind my 1945 home. Am now looking to furnish it in period 1939/1940. Thinking kind of a Hollywood art deco feel . I will be using this space to live in while I restore the house back to how it looked in 1945. Planning to have desk ( whick I am looking for ) for my computer, a single bed ( also looking for that ) and book shelves. One part will be the "kitchen" space with a hot plate and ice box. Have the paint all worked out, any ideas for this project and any photos would be great

[MK]

Here is a room in Bogart's house:

[MK]

Here is a desk:

[MK]

Here is another:

[Zohar]

One thing that has always struck me about living spaces in old movies and pictures is how spartan they are. No clutter to be found anywhere.

[MK]

Oh yeah?

[Zohar]

LOL!

I take that back. Perhaps it's just that Hollywood magic that makes desks so clean.

[havershaw]

You definitely need an old phone. I'm hoping to get a candlestick-style for xmas, so I can hang my hat on it like Marlowe.

My desk looks like FDR's.

OK, it looks worse than that.

Renor27, you might want to grab yourself an old Montgomery Ward catalog on eBay from the era you're going for. My wife and I got a ton of great decorating ideas from the five or six I have.

[renor27]

Hello all
I have found a single bed that will work for my project and now getting it cleaned up then painted.
As for the phone I already have one but that is a good point one really needs a good art deco phone on the desk.
I am still looking for a desk any of you guys in the Bay Area or California know of oneplease drop me a line.
Also have started to look for dishes I am going to go with WW2 military dishware have some forks and spoons from the Navy looking @ plants and bowls from the Army Medical Corps. Thinking for going for a setting for 4 people.
Going to be watching Ebay for the stuff but if any one has any that they want to sell or come across in their travels let me know

[Wild Root]

Well, I would love to ad some info on how you go about finding what you need. Antique shops are always good! You should rent a U-Haul and go to the mid west and hit that up! I hear that there is lots of good old things that go for very cheep! Over here in California, any thing old is marked up way to much! Some of my friend?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s dig through Thrift Shops and find old desks some times for cheep. Lucky I guess. Havershaw is right on the nose about catalogs! I have one 1936 Sears catalog and it is FULL of every thing a family would have had! You can spend days looking through it and see what styles they had and what would work for a home. Look on ebay and you will find one from 1945! In those you will see dishes, glass ware, appliances, flat ware, clothes, house hold items and much more! Some of them even have color charts in the pain section so you can choose what colors you need! Drapes, blinds, home decor, any thing you should need. Remember that wall paper was also very big then! Now, the common mistake I think some of us make is that Art Deco was the main style in the 40's. Yes and no. Most of the Art Deco I have seen is in the 30's. It was big then. Also, mostly office space was decorated with it, wealthy families or single batchers went with this style. The styles of the late war and post war years were more traditional yet, streamlined. I'd get a pre war fridge, hot plate, toaster, radio, and light fixtures. Seeing that it would be very hard to get new any thing during the last year of the war. Most people had things left over from the late 30's and up to 1941.

I can't tell you where you will find a desk, but I can tell you that it's not very hard! They are out there and they are plentiful. Try Estate sells and yard sells! Never know what you may find! It takes time, but it is lots of fun!

All the best in your restoration!

Root.

PS. If you need a radio, or have one that needs to be repaired, I can help!

PPS. What kind of bed is it? Is it wood? Or what? If wood, I would not paint it! Hardly ever done in the 40's!