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French provincial time capsule estate sale, Canton, Ohio

Posted by: • October 31, 2010
Wow, here is an amazing 1960s era time capsule, full of French Provincial furniture. You know me, I love almost all design styles — especially when they are done done with heart, soul and vision. And: This home is indeed a vision! Snaps to Jocelyn, who spotted this one and sent it in. She wrote:
Dear Pam,
I just got an email about this estate sale from estatesales.net. I’m not usually into French Provincial, but this house is just amazing. You can tell from the room sizes that it must be a big house…and the unity of the furniture style, in combination with the matching rugs and wallpaper, is really something. I so wish I could go to this one! I want that yellow/green patio furniture especially.
I noticed violins in a few places in the pictures, and the sale description says “hundreds of dance costumes.” This is a person I wish I could have known.
Sincerely, Jocelyn

The Garage Sale to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

Posted by: • October 29, 2010

The attic needs more insulation. And the crush of excess belongings — including tons of stuff accumulated for the last house and tons of stuff “rescued” from local estate sales — is causing serious feng shui energy constipation. Hey, I can’t make it to Washington, D.C. for the real deal Rally with Jon Stewart and i-luv-Stephen Colbert, hence: The Garage Sale to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Saturday, Oct. 30. My house.

Geraniums: What’s in a name?

Posted by: • October 29, 2010

vintage 1940s kitchen with three red geraniumsHere’s the third & final story in our geranium mini-series, written by reader-writer-gardener Marybeth. She writes:

Geraniums are geraniums, right? They come in lipstick hues and bloom like fools all summer. Think again, dear reader, you partly right. But, the name is the thing! What you know as a geranium is really classed as a pelargonium. But you have the color sense down pat. As you read this, I bet you flash on the range of white through pink to red and orange that these flowers come in: apple blossom pink, siren coral, electric watermelon, ruby red, salmon pink, purple-magenta, and more. And, I raise the ante: these darlings in your mind’s eye are potted in a simple serviceable terra cotta pot or set in threes in a white window box. Heck yeah there is more →

Vintage 30″ Kenmore electric stove at Ron’s

Posted by: • October 28, 2010

vintage 30 inch kenmore stove1960s-kenmore-electric-stoveI stopped quick by my friend Ron’s store today and spotted this scrumptious 30″ Kenmore electric range for sale. It looked to us to be a late 1960s or into the 1970s piece, and it seemed to be in terrific shape. Note the stainless steel stovetop, drawer on the bottom and the tall back shelf. And the googie glass! Goodness, if it had been 40″ I would have swapped it out for my 1959 GE Pushbutton in a heartbeat. I know there are readers out there looking for a 30″ vintage range. If you’re interested in this one, which is located in Pittsfield, Mass., contact Berkshire County Used Furniture. Tell Ron or Becky I sent you!

Geranium fabrics make great cafe curtains for the kitchen

Posted by: • October 28, 2010

vintage fabric with pots of geraniumsMarybeth is back today with her second in a three-part series on geraniums — that quintessential mid century flower. She writes:

Fabrics in a geranium print are a great way to bring your plants in for the winter.  Genius!  Especially for those whose plants succumbed to frost or you did not have geraniums this year to bring in. Here are my “winter” curtains in the sunny kitchen window.  This fabric came from my grandmother’s stash.  Unhemmed after all these years, this fabric still hangs in my one kitchen window.  I switch out the other curtains, using these instant curtain clippies: 1 inch cafe curtain rings. Heck yeah there is more →

Overwintering geranium plants

Posted by: • October 27, 2010

red-geraniums-in-a-window-boxThe first of three posts about geraniums — that most iconic midcentury flower — from Marybeth, a writer and avid gardener:

Hurry! Do you still have potted summer geraniums? If you have not had a heavy frost in your area, you can bring these half-hardy perennials inside to overwinter.  That is what our Mid Century Modest forebears would have done.  Overwintering geraniums is easy.  You have two options: (1) dormant style, in which your sleeping beauties are set out to be kissed into bloom next summer; and (2) houseplant style, with some winter bloom depending on your light conditions but always, the fat, padded, escalloped leaves to enjoy.  In either case, you will have plants for next year’s white window box or terra cotta porch pot. Heck yeah there is more →

Retro Renovation turns 3

Posted by: • October 26, 2010

pam's 1963 kitchen in old house interiors magazineToday is the 3rd anniversary of RetroRenovation.com. To mark the date, I thought I’d tell the story of exactly how the blog got started. Heck yeah there is more →

James and Robi’s 1949 ranch house with 1964 St. Charles kitchen cabinets

Posted by: • October 25, 2010

1949 ranch houseRetro Renovation readers James and RobiJames and Robi recently became the third owners of this 7,400 s.f. (woah!) ranch home near Fort Worth, Texas. As you would imagine, this was built by some folks with some dough re mi — it includes an indoor pool and a fabulous 1964 St. Charles steel kitchen has all the bells and whistles. Moreover, the kitchen is interesting, because we can see what vintage metal kitchen cabinets look like when they are finished with granite countertops — which were added by the previous owners. Robi writes:

Hi Pam,
I have been enjoying the Retro Renovation site and am so happy to know that there are others who love and appreciate their postwar homes. I was extremely fortunate to purchase my dream home a few months ago, and want to share some photos. The short version of a long story: The house was built in 1949 in a small college town an hour southwest of Fort Worth, Texas. The second owner purchased it in 1954, and cared for it meticulously for 50 years. The original owners’ son bought it five years ago, but decided to downsize. Now it belongs to my partner, two cats, and me, and it’s home!
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