How Can I Decorate My Home in Retro Fifties Style?

Lais Williams - Want your house to look really retro? Try out a design book that was published during the era of the aesthetic you're trying to achieve. I found this 1955 Home Decorator and How-to-Paint Book, published by Sherwin-Williams, on Etsy. 

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How Can I Bring Nature Indoors (for Brown Thumbs)?

Caroline Wolfe Papocchia - In the dead of winter, there's one thing we all crave: a simple touch of nature. Against a white backdrop, the smallest sprig of leafy green can immeasurably lift the spirits and transport us to a different place and time. It’s no wonder, then, that the practices of crafting terrariums are alive and well in their modern renaissance – and with environmentally-friendly updates as well.

First created (accidentally) by Nathaniel Ward in the mid-1800s, terrariums became incredibly popular in the Victorian era as an opportunity for folly, experimentation, craft, and art. Ward’s original terrariums were closed ecological systems, enlivened with constant cycles of evaporation and watering. The delicate balance of the closed system was suited to the delicate design of Wardian terrarium cases, which look like glass-enclosed birdhouses.

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