Products and ideas to remodel your mid century home in authentic vintage style
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postwar homes – “modern” and “modest” alike.
I'm Pam Kueber, your mid mod mad guide. Read more
Heywood Wakefield is so well known for its midcentury champagne finish furniture, it’s easy to forget they were in business way before that, Their colonial revival furniture is all over the place, it’s well made, the prices are often quite good, and it looks great in many of our postwar homes.
I love the size, lines, color and painted gold trim on this hutch, which could fit in so many places in a house. And don’t we all need more shelves to display our collections?
The most popular laminate design in mid century America? Boomerang Formica? Nope, guess again. According to materials expert Grace Jeffers, the most popular design was actually linen. You know what I’m talking about — that kind of tight-to-medium-weave with nubblies stuff. I had it both my bathrooms with vanities. In pistachio green = absolutely iconic. [...]
Where to find speckled gold laminate? Also called “lame” (with an accent on the “e”, as in “lam-ae.”) A typical reader question, like this one: Hello – I really hope you can help me. I have been searching for weeks with no luck. I have an old trailer from the 50′s and need to replace [...]
I have been working on retro laminates lately – and originally thought there were only these big five: Wilsonart, Formica, Pionite, Nevamar and Arborite. But – I’ve now discovered a 6th company – Arpa USA. They have a terrific-looking portfolio — of solids, in particular. Some of the greens come darn close to that famous [...]
Seems like I’m starting the week off with the spotlight on RESOURCES! I was checking out Formica’s site recently – and saw these two new laminates. They both have a nice retro groove, underscored by their names, Atomic Orange and Atomic Turf. Back in the postwar era, there were a number of laminates that had [...]
Another first for the blog and our Retro Renovation journey: Last night I spotted vintage Geneva steel kitchen cabinets in a Target commercial. Don’t they look fantastic! Continue on for the close-up and more play-by-play commentary —> I think the countertop is some variety of solid surface material – a very sleek, modern look. And, I’m guessing that [...]
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50s living room club chairs – this time from Heywood Wakefield – today’s ebay pick 
Palm Springs Stephan recommends this Heywood Wakefield merchant — today’s ebay pick 
Retro dining room furniture – 1959 Heywood Wakefield Danish Modern Contessa line 
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My mom still uses a hutch shaped just like this one (though in a maple finish, not painted) that she got in the early 60s. In fact, she still uses all of the colonial style furniture she got back then — dining table, end tables, coffee table, drum table, etc. My favorite pieces are a deacon’s bench painted black with gold trim, and a maple wall clock with a brass eagle on top. Even though she now lives in a condo, the pieces make it feel like home!
Someday soon I will have to do a post on that colonial eagle! Every midcentury home must have one!
I still see little eagles on the fronts of garages and houses. Were those part of the colonial look of the 50s/60s, or did they come along with the bicentennial in ’76? I can’t remember.
Every mid-century house also needs a lamppost. Mine needs replacing, so, maybe I can find one with an eagle on top!
Hmmm. I don’t know about the eagles. I tend to think they harken back to the 50s. But the bicentennial question is a good one. Regarding lampposts, see the Hanover lighting post in the Lighting Category. I used the Manor light for my lamppost. It is fabulous. I absolutely agree that a lamppost makes all the difference to curb appeal. Post on the list!
This response is wayyyy late to this post, but I just came upon it, so…
I love that hutch! I am in search of something similar, and so far nothing has appeared.
As for the eagles – I have one on top of the lamp post that came with my 1956 house. I am pretty sure the lamp post is as old as the house, but am unsure of the actual eagle. I had noticed that a few other houses here have the same eagle though! The neighborhood was a development called “Parkway Estates” and though over a dozen builders were used, all the houses have similar features.
Anyhow, I would be interested in knowing about the eagles, too
~Lauren