Inspiration: Mary Richards and her Amazing Bachelorette Pad (Oh yes, and the advancement of women)

[Part of what I would like to do on this blog is share some things that inspire me both in my crafting and in general. Here is the first installment.]

I realize what I am about to talk about is hardly unchartered blog territory but its my blog so just deal with it. 

When I was in high school I was obsessed with The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I was a very geeky, uncool kid and Mary Richards was pretty much my idol. She was stylish and independent but still sweet and charming, AND she had the most amazing living quarters I had seen that far in my life. I had daydreams of moving to the city and having a great studio like hers, with those unique architectural elements (great Victorian windows looking out on snow covered Minneapolis, exposed brick wall in back of an old timey wood burning stove, floor to ceiling wainscoting, built in bookcase in the stair leading to the sunken living room). Of course I didn't think of it that way at the time, I just thought it looked cool, I don't even think I REALLY knew why.

Here's Mary with her neighbor Phyllis. Her bathroom, we were to believe, was reached through the closet although we never actually saw it:

Okay, that sofa is pretty awful, but that really wasn't what was great about it (plus it was also her bed, Mary was so perfect that she somehow managed to fold up her bed every morning when she woke up! If it were me, there would just permanently be an unmade bed folded out into my living room, probably coated in cat hair and maybe wine stains. Mary would never do that.). 

Whut? Is that an Eero Saarinen side table we see in the background? As practical a gal that Mare (that's what her friends called her) was, I'm sure its not a knock-off since they probably weren't $1000 in 1970. And have I MENTIONED the built-in bookcase stair?!? Oh I did, didn't I...

This wall was always interesting to me. My friend Lisa was also a Mary fan and she managed to find a little cabinet like the one under the "M" at a flea market. We called it a "Mary house" for some reason I don't recall. I also like that she had a typewriter before they became strictly decorative items that you see on the front page of Etsy everyday. And speaking of the famous "M", large decorative letters like that have been a trend for several years now, I am pretty sure Mary was the originator.

Mare shared many meals and conversations with her best friend, Rhoda (whose own apartment is quite popular among those who like interesting tv/film interiors. I always preferred Mary's myself) at her dining table next to her amazing old fashioned wood stove.

Mary redecorated after a couple seasons much to my dismay, but the great "bones" were still there. Sadly at the beginning of season six she left this apartment for a high rise that was no where near as special, but she was a successful tv producer by then, so it was time to move.

I really could go on for days about this (seriously, I really could), but aside from the apartment, The Mary Tyler Moore Show really was a great moment in tv that covered some new ground in its portrayal of a single, career woman. So check it out, the first three seasons are available on Hulu.