Remember Maribeth and her Brady Bunch kitchen? After I featured her renovation in November, I asked her if I could pitch the story to her local newspaper. Maribeth was game, and it turns out, so was the Knoxville News. Reporter Allison Rupp and I talked for more than an hour, then she went out to visit Maribeth and her family and their home. Meanwhile, photographer Saul Young looks like he had a blast with the photographs. The result: A great story about a 70s retro renovation with a fabulous photo gallery to boot. And — did you know that HGTV is in Knoxville? I bet they will see this, too, including mention of the pink Cinderella bathtub. Thanks, again, Maribeth, for opening up your home to the world all in the cause of preserving and cherishing our mid mod heritage. Thanks, too, to Allison and Saul for treating this story with such empathy and respect. Readers — if you would like to see your completed projects featured in your local newspaper, contact me and we’ll see if we can make it happen. 
Photo: Courtesy the Knoxville News / Saul Young.
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Congrats to Pam and the Kestens for a great article! I think one of the most interesting aspects about it is the comment section at the bottom. What a mix of praise and venom in response to a retro renovation!
Yes, Jen — “venom” is a good word. Oh my. Why.
How cool! A great article and really nice tips there at the bottom. Such a beautiful, inspiring home. Pam, thanks for getting the word out on what’s going on in the retro renovation world and Maribeth, thanks for letting us into your home. These things make me even happier to live in a well loved ranch.
I saw the negative comments too. I’ve noticed that the majority of articles in the online section of newspapers get nasty, mean comments. It always boggles me when they are on a nice, feel-good article too. I think that some people live for leaving mean comments. Plus, those comments are easier to leave when you can be anonymous. We can’t let them bother us.
I didn’t read the comments in the article until I read the comments here, then went back. Pam’s question is perfect – “Why”. People are interesting to say the least…
I have to comment…
The Kesten home is lovingly assembled, well executed and immaculate! (really immaculate) I think it is beautiful and truly represents a happy family having some FUN in their surroundings.
The comments, however- really cause me to wonder how our society has become so intentionally mean and nasty.
Kesten’s…thank you for inviting us over and sharing your home….and its nice to see a livingroom built for conversation and NOT for television.
Congrats on a great article, Pam and the Kesten family! So heartening to see serious and sensitive media coverage on the things we love and the people who love them. As for those who don’t share our love, you are fine with me, also. That’s why Howard Johnson made 28 flavors of ice cream: not all of us like the same thing. I would only ask for a little
“r-e-s-p-e-c-t” concerning my style choices.
I registered on the Knoxville site and praised this article.
I think it’s a wonderful article about a family that loves their home and has been able to decorate it within their budget with items they like. I surely understand that some people just don’t “get it”. When I tell people what I do they tilt their heads with a vacant look and say ” You collect TILES? Like on the floor?”
I don’t understand haters though. I think the old adage that “People are basically good” needs to change to “People are basically good when you stand over them, make them look you in the eye and force them to be good”. Without that its Lord of the Flies.
Thank you Pam for standing over us!
Hey…wait a minute…I’m from Knoxville! And yes, we unfortunately have more than our share of unpleasant, ignorant folks. (Y’all should see if the paper has a faith or politics article. Those comments are comedy gold.)
So, Maribeth, I’m in South Knox, near UT, and I am about 5 years behind you, progress wise! Have you been in Vintage Living, in Seymour? I love that place.
Also, Maribeth, if someone breaks into your house and steals your living room furniture, I had nothing to do with it. ; )
to most of America Ignorance is bliss. People dont like what they dont understand. I say their loss, more sweet mid mod stuff for those of us that dont want to live in the now. I guess some people are happier living their live like every one else does.
I’ve lived in both Sevierville and outside Knoxville and am thrilled to see such a rockin home getting press. Congrats to the owners of this home and shame on negativity.
Welcome, This Thrifted Life. Right on!
Great article and such a beautiful home, I just love it! You did a great job too Pam.
The one commenter was right, most midcentury style is a mix of previous eras, nobody’s home even now has all completely new up to the decade stuff in it. My parents, grandparents, inlaws etc were all like that.
I don’t understand why there is this thing with people online now, seems to be worse with younger people, but see it with all ages, that they just seem to go from place to place just to write something horrible and mean, why?
I have a co-worker who claims that every person is a character or mix of characters from Winnie the Pooh. If she’s right, these are some of the Eyore types.
Playground bullies and types with other various feelings of inadequacy tended to sling verbal trash in Jr. High and High School. Some never grow out of it.
And…the adage of “If you can’t say anything nice, say nothing” has gone the way of “Each to his Own”.
In truth, tho…there are two sides here. In the MC boom years, there were surely many folk who looked askance at the tract homes of yesteryear just as we do those of today…like in the song ‘Little Boxes’.
Really…I do not understand the phenom of commentary on news stories, sort of tossed out in the air to strangers. Don’t these people have anyone to talk to, or anyone of like interests? No water cooler? No one at home to look at the paper with? (I lived on a boat once with a cat who really tried to appreciate Wooden Boat magazine, or at least pretend to!)
I must be growing old in a hurry, as I find the more I understand people the less I understand the world I live in! Sigh…
Dave
A few comments from a fellow journalist:
- All newspaper comments seem to be of the nasty variety. We know that if a story is great, 1 in 10,000 readers will let us know. If they don’t like something, 1 in 10 readers will let us know – often with words not suitable for print. But they’re keeping us on life support for now, so we smile and take it.
- Few people know how to pitch a story to get it quickly picked up by a newspaper. With Pam’s background, she knows how, so I really believe she can get almost anyone covered by their local paper. Midcentury style is a trend, so Pam offers a trendy story, with a local tie, easy photos and an expert to interview. This is newspaper heaven.
Thanks, Julie, for that clarification — I really appreciate it. Also, thanks for that vote of confidence regarding getting stories on other readers — I agree that this is a great story for local newspapers! Did I even mention that in the mid-90s I wrote freelance cover stories for the Ann Arbor News’ Sunday At Home section? Yes – this is a great topic for home sections, I would have jumped on it!
And as per atomicbowlerdave’s comment — yes, I agree we all can and should understand that vintage home design is not everyone’s cup of tea. And to be sure, there were extremes, some of it is easier to take that others. This is a journey we are on to understand it better including what is worth keeping and what is worth letting go. We should all take the high road — me included — when it comes to folks who don’t quite get our interest — yet.
Wow, the comments to the newspaper article make me feel glad that Pam has a “nice comments only” policy!
The message here isn’t really about a particular style so much as it is about loving your life and creating a home environment that you and your family love to be in. When I read the newspaper article, I thought, wow, they moved their little daughter all the way from Maine to Tennessee, which had to be a big adjustment. But she found a Cinderella bathtub waiting for her, and she got to help Mom and Dad decorate their cool castle. They look so content in the family photo — that’s the best part.
Great Job Pam! I have been trying to get the Drive-In In our Local Wichita Falls Tx paper FOREVER. But… when a 15- 19 yr old kid walks in and says “I own The Worlds Smallest Drive-In theater, and a 1940′s/50′s house to match” im generally laughed out of the building… Love your tactic interview! Work some magic for me! : )
i’ll email you, mick.
Funny- I actually am a director of programming for HGTV, and saw this on facebook while on a business trip. Yey! More midcentury fans in Knox Vegas! Echoing some of the previous comments: Maribeth and family, don’t pay any attention to the “unenlightened.” We retro enthusiasts decorate our homes because we love the aesthetics of vintage pieces, and the way they make us feel… happy! I have done precious few updates to my 50s rancher in North Knox, and when I do, they will be in keeping with the home’s period look. Bravo to you for mixing and matching decades for a truly fun, funky and liveable home! (other great places to find vintage pieces- Nostalgia in Bearden, and the Dutch Valley Antique Mall.)
Woah, Mich B – welcome. Are you a regular reader? We want HGTV to stop gutting pink bathrooms. Can you carry the message???? http://SaveThePinkBathrooms.com
I do agree with the comments over there that this ISN’T a 70s renovation. But for that fab kitchen, their stuff is solidly 50s, maybe some 60s thrown in.
I can’t blame them, the 50s were fab, after all!
And mid-century modern is generally more appealing than 60s & 70s decor to people these days.
Not only that, it makes sense, the way they’ve done it, because most people buying their first home aren’t able to afford all new stuff, so they’re likely to inherit older cast-offs from family, resulting in furniture being older and sometimes in discord with the style/architecture of the house.
You know, I personally think the key is: Anything that is ‘permanent’ — aim to make it sympathetic to the home’s original design intent in order for it to make long-term sense. Kitchens / bathrooms — those are expensive and often need serious work, serious money and therefore, serious consideration for how to approach. That said, “sympathetic” is not an exacting word – there’s a continuum here – from exacting reproduction/restoration….to lighthearted reference. Homeowner’s choice.
Stuff like furniture, draperies, decor: Well, that’s not really renovation $$$, that’s decorating, and that’s easy to change / mix up / have fun with.
Finally, Importantly: I have never ever said that this is a site about exacting period restorations; I am not a purist, there is no “right way”, it’s your house. I just offer up period-appropriate alternatives, if that’s the route you wanna take.
I can’t get over those reader’s snarky comments about
the house. I’d love to have a house like it–it is bright & airy,
looks brand new, and has that cool retro look in the decor. It isn’t
as though the homeowners have run amok with kitch or ugliness.
Again, the key thing…
Maribeth and her family have put a lot of soul into their home, and it pleases them. They didn’t do it to please anyone else, and they shouldn’t have. We are fortunate to belong to this little community of like-minded people where we can share in it and be pleased, too.
While surely any older structure will take on a vibe of what has passed before–not being soulless per se–it’s the love and energy of the folks who put it together into something theywant to live in that give it life. These people have certainly done that, and in the process have given enjoyment to many others by sharing it here and (thanks to the love, enthusiasm and time-generosity of our own Pam K.) in their hometown newspaper…so that others can be entertained, educated, inspired.
Many thanks to Maribeth and her family and to Pam.
As to the inevitable critics, I gotta take my own advice there.
Dave
Many thanks to all of you here at retrorenovation, and to Pam especially, for your kind comments. I actually didn’t know there were negative comments on the online section of the Knoxville news! So I went back to read it. I really did get a laugh, though. I know most people around here would definitely NOT get this, but I only really care about the few that do. I don’t fit in around here myself, so my house might as well not fit in either. Oh, just wait until the neighbors see my tiki fountain! Pam, you did a great job on the interview. So professional! I’m surely glad she qouted you more than me. Wendy in Knoxville, I’m glad to know you’re out there. Maybe I will run into you sometime at Living Vintage.
What a terrific house! The kitchen is fabulous!