Inspiration in the form of a 1960's Television Witch

   Yesterday, after watching Betwitched for the first time in probably twenty years, I threw myself into a bit of a tailspin, totally fixated and in love with the interior design and fashion on that show. It's an era I don't think much about (mid to late sixties), in movies from that era and movies about that era I tend to focus on plot and/or the relevance of the historical event being represented. But when plot is a little thin and silly (as in Betwitched) I can detach myself and just view the design glory that was the set and costumes of that show. I'm not going to bore you or myself and dive into a deep examination of the design of the era, I'm just going to share some of the beautiful retro goodness resources that I have learned of recently. I've chosen to focus a bit of my search on the mid to late sixties, as it reminds me of family photos of my mom as a young adult as well as the decor of the interior of my grandparent's home. It's not rocket science, what I'm doing, just decent searches with lots of "" and + and relevant words thrown in. I do seem to have a bit of the eye for skimming past the sites that might not be "perfect" for me. 
   I just keep looking and looking and looking at this episode. The plot is cute and everyone's fantastic but OH MY GOODNESS THE BUTTONS ON the real Samantha's coat @ 1:45!! That green dress! That aqua chair @ 4:38! Total swoon. 

  Now with the rising popularity of Mad Men this particular aesthetic is starting to creep back into popularity (though it's always had its stalwarts). It's mid-century modern but the later edge of it (correct me if I'm wrong, design expert who might be reading this), less atomic and more 2001: A Space Odyssey (but a bit less "mod"). 
2001: A Space Oddysey Interior Set Design


Here's the "Best of the Sixties/House Beautiful. 
House Beautiful


Modern Dig, a site with rare and collectible Mid-Century Modern Design books and objects.
(I actually have this beauty)

TV Party! Classic television shows for those who obsess. 


Twenty Five pieces of Retro Design Inspiration from Vectroave. 
(courtesy Vectroave)


Retrospace, a well put together retro gamut blog (mainly 70's, but some 60's, too). 


Ultraswank - Talks about old and new influence of sixties design here. 
(Ultraswank - JFK Terminal by Eero Saarinens)


If you're looking for a more polished and professional inspiration source, The Mid Century Modernist is a sleek place to start. If you're just wanting to breeze casually through the era, and float onto green Astro-turf to your white wicker laced veranda, go to flickr and search "sixties" + "vintage" + "interior design" and you'll be treated to image collections from design lovers all over the world. 

Design Like Honey

Quick Note: I've added another link to the Reference Library that you might enjoy if you enjoy old photos: The Library of Congress' Photostream. Enjoy!


I had an arsenal of favorited websites on my workplace pc, and before I resigned I printed them all out with intentions to share them with a riveted audience (you). Now admittedly, some of these websites, when I view them with an emancipated eye? Dry as week old bread.  I suppose if you're fully immersed in the world of design on more than a casual level they're possibly the shiny gossamer fancy new thing you've been looking for - so I'm going to share a few of my favorites with you. Not all, though, not yet! Mustn't share all my secrets in one day.  

• Dezeen: This is a pretty, popular young thing that focuses on all facets of design, as well as employment and internships. They dig up some unique, innovative things, too - like this Ice Cube Chair made from recycled Pet plastic:
• Archi-Ninja: For architects and architecture students I'm sure this is a grail, for me it was a good source of daily industry news (along with Archdaily.com), contests, interviews with up and comers...It's one of those "dry" ones to me now sadly. I'd rather look at...
• Inhabitat: Probably my favorite among the design blogs, it's THE BEST "Green" Design blog out there. More humor than Treehugger, more interesting and "pretty" articles for the non-designer, I still visit it at least once a week. Their "Inhabitots" page is particularly worth scrolling through (eco-friendly design and products for kids) and their Link Roundups are always interesting, too:                 (Devo and Summer Dolls)
• A Daily Dose of Architecture: I don't even look at the articles on this one, and I'm sure they're well-written and informative. I'm not an architect, though so I simply enjoy the collection of links in his blogroll. It's the Colossus of a blogroll! It's keeps going and going and going all down the length of the page. Most are design related, some are arts related, most of them are just really good, solid sites. I tip my hat to you, Daily Dose of Architecture dude. 
• Design Dust: Probably the simplest (like a mid-century modern lamp) out of my favorites, it actually was the first design site I looked at regularly. It introduced me to the big ones, like Design Sponge, Design Mom, Apartment Therapy, Black Eiffel, It's Nice That, and others. 
• David Garcia Studio: This is by far my favorite design house I came across during my work-related browsing (I had to do a "daily update" with interesting links strewn about once a day...). Their body of work, from playgrounds to an Architectural Map of Antarctica is the very definition of innovation (and execution).

Read More About this Bad Boy Here. They also hold Educational Workshops all over the world. And look at this cool installation, oh how I love installations:

(Installations Page) 

And I've got more, oh how I have more! I'll post more of these lovelies and build up the database here in the hours and days to come.