Soda Pop Home

The St. Francis Fountain is one of San Francisco's most charming diners. Actually it's one of San Francisco's only diners - which is a problem - but at least we have the Fountain.

I love sneaking into the Fountain before 10am, when my hipster neighbors haven't yet swarmed the place. It's also damn lovely in the evenings, when a tuna melt and a beer are in order.

The Fountain claims to be the oldest ice cream parlor in San Francisco. I believe them.

The inside is super cute, from the 1950s inspired menus to the packed candy case. So cute it got me thinking about how to bring the happy diner aesthetic into my own abode. Let's call it Soda Pop Home, with inspiration from the St. Francis Fountain.

Here's what I'd do to make my home a Soda Pop Home. First the easy (and cheap) parlor pick-ups:




Definitely snap up a diner clock for the kitchen. My sister has this one in green. It's a cheerful clock.






Then, fill this kitschy ketchup (or mustard if yellow is your thing) dispenser with dish soap and leave it on the counter by my sink. Dish soap is pretty ugly. It looks so much better in red or yellow.




I found this ice cream holder at Goodwill in Omaha. It looks really good with biggish flowers that I cut short, like chrysanthemums or peonies. Daisies are just too precious.

I don't think they're too hard to come by. I searched on EBay under "ice cream dish" and some pretty fab options came up.

So Soda Pop!