Our (future) 'period' bathroom won't involve any of the usual suspects, but it will have a Talavera sink which is a beautiful old Spanish Colonial style that is regionally appropriate. Cabinetry will be rather simple and rustic, and here in the house we found an old vertical rectangular oak mirror, very simple in design, that will go above the sink. The flooring is a big question mark. I think there is oak flooring under the dumpy linoleum that's in there now, and I'd like to keep it but I'm concerned about the moisture a bathroom will have. The bathroom walls, about 10' high, are currently plaster, and that's also a dilemma-??? We bought the sink already, but it's stored away, as the bathroom project is further down the line a bit. I am excited to get started, but it scares me every time I think of diving in on it because we'll have to take down a wall between the existing bathroom and an adjoining closet in order to create a bathroom that is of realistic proportions. But the current ghetto bathroom situation we have now is getting REALLY old.

Your style is gorgeous! I cannot believe you have three children under 10 -- too stunning (and tidy!). Thanks for sharing your pictures.

I'm at the same party. I'm never sure what to call my style, other than eclectic. Our (sort new) 5yo cottage is all very me. I've added a good bit since the tour shots were taken (linked below). It's not a house, but a home. I love contrast (light walls, stained doors/windows/trim), textures (wicker, painted pieces, antlers, old leather). Been bringing in lots of old, soft wood (yes, wood can be soft!), leather, interesting objects - not to fill a space, but because my body craves interesting objects. I don't bring anything I don't absolutely love home. I shop local antique stores, antique stores when I travel and etsy. Etsy be bad, and bad is good in this case! lol Our great room may seem "formal" to some, but it is relaxed to us. We actually used the den and living room in our last house daily, and that living was way more formal (camelback sofa, wing chair, etc). I have a thing about antique architectural etchings. They are everywhere. Even the bathrooms. Many of them have bridges/water. I'm a Cancer, and I have a thing about water (and about "home" in general). Guess that's why I ended back up on a lake! lol Great thread! Here is a link that might be useful: my home

Great thread idea, circuspeanut, and interesting thoughts all. On Mad Men, we watched several epis (with great anticipation) and never went back, we didn't care for the acting, the writing or the whole misogynistic tone, yech. Being baby boomer/gen x cusp types, I do remember some of the iconic design stuff (appliances, lighting), but thankfully I grew up in the boonies, so the whole suburb thing is lost on me. The razor blade disposal doesn't bother me at all, in fact, I prefer that to the plastic and gel encased blade pods you can buy (for a small forture!) and not recycle. And WRT town dumps, I am again showing my rube status, but our town has one, and most everyone uses it, there is no curbside pickup by our town or county, those who do have curbside contract with private companies. Finally, the initial question, I think it transitions into set design when, well, props are used extensively and pretend to be authentically used items. Consider the old fashioned mixer with mint green bowl on the counter (when the brand new Viking is in the cab, or worse yet, no actual mixer is ever used cuz no actual cooking is ever done), that feels inauthentic to me, but having a collection of old fashioned graters on the wall as a decorative feature feels OK, probably cuz they are decorative pure and simple and not trying to get anyone to think they really use the old Mixmaster. I appreciate retro design, but I would never want it to be "just like grannie's", and I don't think most folks would either. ITA that the appliances are a dead giveaway, but other factors can be the number of windows, lighting, ceiling height, etc. I am not a purist tho, and happily mix antiques with vintage and new stuff and don't worry about it, maybe purists need it to be seamless. Great discussion and pics, all. sandyponder