Hollywood Regency time capsule ranch house in Burbank, Calif.

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Snaps to reader Shaun, who spotted this 1950 time capsule ranch home in Burbank. It looks like it got some Hollywood Regency style updating in the 60s — very groovy. I love the living room – a long, open-concept space properly anchored by a lovely L-shaped sofa. This layout — with the couch facing the window flanked by two chairs — is so typical, inviting, and livable. Lots of great stuff in this house. Like, I want that poker table with the tufted guy chairs in avocado naugahyde (left).  One thing I would do differently in the living room if this were my house: Take the pinch pleats and valence all the way to the ceiling to maximize the impression of height. Heck yeah there is more →

Who are the original owners of your home? Averyl’s story.

mid-century houseReader Averyl is a new owner of a mid-century home. She recently wrote to share how she had researched — then met – the home’s original owners. I asked her to tell us more… Read on for Averyl’s wonderful story. Heck yeah there is more →

Yearbook Yourself – 2009 edition

yearbook-yourselfFollowing yesterday’s Mad Men Yourself, I went to check whether Yearbook Yourself was back online yet – and it is, relaunched just last week. Yearbook Yourself lets you upload a photo (old or new) then lets you fiddle with it to fit into prototypical yearbook looks over 40 continuous years … from 1950 to 1990. Above is 2008 me yearbooked into 1952, 1960 and 1964. Oh my goodness, this one is guaranteed to waste lots and lots of time. YearbookYourself.com

Mad Men Yourself

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That’s me, drinking coffee with with Betty Draper in her knotty pine kitchen. You can create your own Mad Men character via this cool little site. It’s really quite fun. Thanks to LA Leslie for spotting this one for us.

The vintage grill is open

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chocolate chip pancakeI’ve had visitors for a week – my brother David (shown here multitasking) and his three kids, all in from Kentucky. Of course, vacation means big breakfasts — and we had three griddles going yesterday morning. There were blueberry pancakes, bacon, eggs and at left, David’s special chocolate chip pancakes with a heart flourish on top. The plate: Vintage blue heaven.

Mid-century Midland, Michigan – congrats to Retro Ruth and her newspaper feature

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Reader Retro Ruth and her husband Tom were recently featured in their local newspaper, The Midland (Mich.) Daily News. Home Editor Lori Qualls did a fabulous job capturing their retro renovation story. I helped Ruth reach out to the newspaper. I think this story is a hot one with lots of potential today … So, readers, if you think you have a good story to tell your local newspaper about why postwar homes are worth preserving and are willing to have you and your house featured, let me know and I’d be happy to help with the initial contact for you, too. Interested? Email me at retrorenovation [at] gmail [dot] com. Meanwhile, read Ruth’s story here – it’s terrific. And congrats, Ruth, you are rockin’.

18 rare vintage Hall-Mack bathroom accessories

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This week’s vintage Hall-Mack miniseries concludes with 18 special accessories found in my 1962 catalog. Above: The Tow’lescope (I have two MIB)  and the even more rare Extendo-Bar, which I have never seen in real life. Heck yeah there is more →

Retro bathroom accessories from Hall-Mack — the Metropolitan budget line

1962-hall-mack-metropolitan-bathroom-fixtuesThis is the last of the three Hall-Mack 1962 bathroom accessories lines: The Metropolitan. This was the budget line – and I think that it was also very very popular. Click on the image once, it opens in a new window, then once again from there – it will get quite large so that you can see the detail. Sorry I can’t do a longer post today — family is visiting so it’s a three-ring circus.