Taking its inspiration from the original Playboy Club, located in downtown Chicago, this DIY built music wall is not only a homage to the electronic entertainment wall that was installed at the Chicago club in 1964 but also takes it one step further by enhancing it with modern technology. The designer was determined to have a room to call his own and used his carpentry skills to create something that would look like going back in time, but keeping all modern conveniences and high fidelity.

The original Playboy club featured bunnies serving cocktails and live performances by legendary names such as Sid Ceasar, Ray Charles, Count Basie, Bob Hope and Mel Tormé. This modern version sadly does not come with any bunnies or with crooners. (Via)

Ultra Swank – Your one stop blog for retro living, style and design

Ultra Swank takes you back in time into the kitsch, chic and swank living of the 50s, 60s and the 70s. We mainly focus on the design, architecture and the lifestyle of the happy-go-lucky and space-age-living mentality of that era – but also on the music and movies that takes you back to happier times. Ultra Swank is run by Chris, a Swede born in the wrong decade that currently resides in Barcelona. Read more

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Have you always wanted to jet around the world in a Boeing 747 jumbo jet but don't want to waste hours at check-in, security and to top of it off, lose all your bags? Now you don't have to! Entrepreneur Oscar Diös solved the problem by taking a old jumbo jet, stripping it out and placing it on a strip of land next to the entrance of Arlanda airport in Stockholm, Sweden. Turning the former airplane into a chic and hip hostel that not only will automatically serve as a landmark but also as a time capsule for anyone who is interested in aviation history. Welcome aboard the Jumbo Stay.

– I was getting ready to expand my hostel business in 2006 when I heard about an old wreck of an aircraft for sale at Arlanda. Since I had for a long time wanted to establish my business at Arlanda I didn’t hesitate for a second when this opportunity struck, Oscar Diös explains.

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I had the occasion this past summer to stay in a Motel 6 here in the U.S. for the first time in many years. I was most pleasantly surprised at the new look of the room. It was simple, utilitarian, but perhaps best of all, something new in that it reminded me of mid-century America with a bit of a nod to Deco, 1950s "Space-Age" design and, perhaps, "The Jetsons."

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If you ever wondered how it was like living in the old communist eastern Europe but were unable to do so before the wall fell? Here is your chance. In the heart of the former eastern side of Berlin lies a quite ordinary looking concrete apartment building that once was home to dozens of people, but today houses the quite unusual DDR-designed and inspired hostel (Ostel). Once inside, you have a selection that ranges from tastefully designed single or double rooms that let you travel back in time to relive the style of the 1960s and 1970s in Europe. If you are traveling in a bigger group you can get your own apartment that houses up to six people. Prices start at a very reasonable 9 euros per night and if you are traveling without a set of wheels, the Ostel also offers bicycle renting – and wireless Internet access for all of you who are not quite ready to let go. For more information and bookings, visit the Ostel website.

In the depths of Europe a hidden gem just became exposed. Anyone familiar with the golden age of aviation is most likely also very familiar with the airline Pan Am, who set the standard of modern aviation and swank traveling since the 1930s and onwards. The airline had hubs around the world and the airplane crew obviously needed places to stay when they were not high in the sky so Pan Am obtained apartments which pilots and stewardesses could utilize while they were jet setting around the world awaiting their next flight. One of those places is located in Berlin, Germany in a apartment house close to the Zoologischen Garten.

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