Late to the Retro Party

[crabofdoom]

Between packing up a TARDIS-like townhouse and moving its contents across state lines, I've completely missed out on contributing to GoS' Retro 20th Centry theme. This bums me, but does not prevent me from making things on my own, of course. I was hoping to come up with things that were more based throughout the 1910s, 20s, 30s and early 40s.

Why I'm posting about this here is I'd like some suggestions from other interested parties on what sort of things would make a room look appropriate for any of the above mentioned periods for you. Clocks? Radios? Vases? Essential furniture? If you know of a picture of what you have in mind, that'd be great, too. But yeah, looking for suggestions. I found a couple weeks ago that lileks.com has a whole section of the site dedicated to commercial artwork and photos from the 30s, so I've been trying to glean inspiration from that.

My strengths, such as they are, lie with deco objects and simple furniture, maybe head accessories - hairs and clothing are out of my league. I can't guarantee that I'll make every suggestion or give an ETA on when it'll get done, but I definitely want to make up for the lost month. Some of the things I've already been considering are some manner of Hoosier cabinet, top-motor refrigerators, older stoves, that kind of thing, so if you either want to elaborate on these or suggest other objects from the first forty-five years, please feel free!

Comments

[sims_by_izza]

older stoves are a great idea (there are never enough of such)... also, record players were quite big in that time period... when i think of that era, i think of my grandmother's house (which i swear she hadn't changed in deco since that period)... vases and knick knacks made of colored glass (blue glass was quite popular)... crocheted covers on sofa pillows... decoration-wise, swans were really huge.... umm... clocks, most certainly... wicker furniture... anyway, i hope i've given you some inspiration in there somewhere :D

[(Anonymous)]

This Sears catalog (http://www.lileks.com/30s/sears1934/90.html) from 1934 might give you some ideas. Most of the 30s Sims furniture out there goes to extremes with the art deco style, which is cool but often a little too much. It'd be nice to see some stuff that a regular Depression-era family might have in their home.

That said, some Art (http://z.about.com/d/queens/1/0/-/6/art-deco-facade.jpg) Deco (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/76/173019740_d12ab16ba1.jpg) ornamentation for the outside of buildings would be awesome. Would it be possible to do windows that simulate the look of these rounded corners with awnings? (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Marlin_Hotel_Art_Deco.jpg) (http://www.therealgalveston.com/Pics-Architecture/Art-Deco8.jpg) ()

[(Anonymous)]

Oof, didn't know my HTML wouldn't work. Sorry!

[crabofdoom]

I haven't attempted to make new windows yet, but I'd think it's entirely possible to make a rounded deco awning like that that would fit over a diagonal corner. Not exactly the same thing, but close. Damn - I can completely envision how to mesh new windows with the awnings attached that would form a curve as they go around, but I know nothing of wall masks yet to make it work >:|

And I agree about much of the art deco furniture being pretty but a little unrealistic for the everyday house. I find that happens a lot in other sim aspects, too: runway clothes, celebrity ball hairstyles, etc. That's exactly what I'm interested in, is more commonplace things of the eras. That octagon endtable on the Likeks link is really pretty, and just what any home could've had in it.

[crabofdoom]

Quite a lot, actually! I certainly appreciate hearing from someone who's seen the decor first-hand. I hadn't thought of the swans or crochet, and I'd love to try something with the blue glass. The crochet especially gives me a couple ideas, but I'll be thinking about the rest, too. Thanks very much!