Post #202857 by Tikilicious on Tue, Dec 13, 2005 8:16 AM

Very interesting question you pose. I oftentimes wonder this myself. I am currently working on redecorating my apartment, and while people who come over really seem to love it, I can tell that many seem to think its a bit strange and extreme as well. In a fun way, but in a "weird" way.

I will allow everyone a tiny glimpse into my past and my personal life: Once a year, I really got to be a kid and have a great time! And have fun! It was every July, on our family vacation. We would find really great vintage motels to stay in, filled with furniture and decor that hadn't been renovated since the 1950s. We would hunt down ice cream stands along the road, housed in buildings that looked like actual ice cream cones! And would always pull over to see ridiculous and amazing roadside attractions. My father was (and still is) really into Easter Island, and dabbles in tiki. He doesnt know the name of this mug or that mug, but he will enjoy a great tiki drink at The Mai Kai with the best of them! And he has been to Easter Island, and has great stories to tell and photos and souveniers to show. So on these family vacations, he loved looking for the local tiki bar for us to dive into, and he would get me a virgin drink, with extra cherries in it. And a paper umbrella.

The point of my babbling is this: For me, I feel as if the quest for escapism that I seek, is a quest for reliving the summers of my childhood. The childhood that I only truly got to enjoy to the fullest every July of each year. Now, as an adult, I want to enjoy life to its fullest! So my home, my artwork, the things I love... they tend to remind me of this time in my life. This is why I love to collect these things. Photos and postcards of old vintage motels. I love rooms that LOOK like motels from inside... decorated like an old motel from the 50s. I love roadside attractions. Buildings that look like ice cream cones. Old diners that remind me of the ones we would stop into for lunch, to drink lemonade and iced tea from massively big mason jars. I love Wanda Jackson, because dad would play that on the radio as we drove along. I love to wear flowers in my hair, because on our family trips, mom would frequently tuck a flower into her hair and giggle a lot, watching dad and I race in the water while she would lay out to tan by the motel pool. Then we would splash her, and all burst out laughing, go in, shower, get dressed, and go out to another vintage diner for dinner. Another drive in movie. Another 1950s bowling alley. And even though it was the late seventies and early eighties, come July and our family summer vacations, it was always the 50s to me.

Anyhoo, I suspect we all have our own personal reasons for needing the escape. And why we are drawn to this as our own personal favorite means of it. I just unveiled mine. I dont know if its "right" or "wrong" of me to not be content with a furniture set from "Rooms To Go" or the like, all modern and matchy-matchy. I dont know if its really healthy or not that my walls have to be painted retro hues that remind me of the colors of old vintage beachside motels, and that my walls have tiki masks wearing fezzes all over them. Or that I cannot be content with a new flat-screen expensive fancy hang-on-the-wall tv like my "normal" neighbors have, because I like my old clunky one that I upolstered in zebra-print fabric. But it is what it is. And when I worried that it was a huge problem, that something might be WRONG with me... I told my therapist and she laughed. And then she told me about her lust for boomerang-themed furniture, and her collection of Elvis-on-velvet paintings. True story. lol! :wink:

[ Edited by: Tikilicious 2005-12-13 09:23 ]