David and Kristin have the eye for mid century modern decorating, and, it turns out that Dave is one handy guy. A
fter I declared that orange is the Retro Renovation color of the year, he sent me photos of his living room of his 1959 split level house, with all the gorgeous orange accents. Of course, I also noticed the fantastic mid century modern panelled, or latticed, wall in the room. It turns out that he designed and installed the wall himself — for only $250 — and it’s 24 feet long! Today, he tells us how to make a panelled wall like this one.. and gives us peek inside his and Kristin’s lovely home.
now
Of course, I asked Dave to start us out by explaining his “Retro Renovation story.” He writes:
My wife and I searched for a house for about a year, going to open houses every Sunday. My requirements were brick, 2 car garage, a driveway that we didn’t have to move cars around to get in and out. We hadn’t seen anything that met our needs for the right price until we saw this house for sale by owner.
It is a trilevel built in 1959, and has a pink bathroom in perfect condition that we both fell in love with. I am sure most buyers were scared away because the house needed “updating” but we just fell in love with it. We put in a contingency offer, hurriedly got our house on the market, and sold it in less than a month.
We started loading up on design magazines and quickly discovered that mid century design fit our house to a tee! Items have been purchased for the house from 2 great mid century shops and several different antique shops in town.
We have been here for over 4 years now and continue to take on new projects, one room at a time. I found your blog early on in our renovation and read it every day for ideas and inspiration.
I thought you might like to see pictures of our living room. Our accent color is orange and it is my favorite room in our house.
I did the wall myself. It is just strips of MDF. It was a time consuming, low cost project. I have about $250 in the whole project (including renting a paint sprayer). The wall project evolved from a picture in the now defunct Metropolitan Home magazine. My wife brought it to my attention and asked if I could replicate it. I kind of took it on as a personal challenge. I spent two days laying out the lines on the wall. The wall starts in the living room and continues into the dining room approximately 8′ tall by 24′ long. The next step was cutting 1 sheet of 3/4 MDF (medium density fiberboard) into 3/4 x 3/8 strips on the table saw. Yep, only in 4×8 sheet ! I set up a miter saw outside the front door and cut pieces to length, one at a time, using my lines on the wall to mark the strips (not a tape measure) because that was more accurate. I then adhered each piece using powergrab adhesive and pin nails. I only worked on it about 2 hours a day, maybe 3 days a week.
After about 5 weeks, and about 6 hours of caulking, it was ready for paint. I rented a HVLP (high velocity low pressure) sprayer from a local rental store for the weekend, primed first, then added 2 coats of latex paint. It has been done for about 2 years now and it still makes me smile every time I walk in the house! Note: the tone-on-tone curtains are from Penneys and were $30 a panel and fit PERFECTLY with NO alterations. What a lucky break! — Dave and Kris
That is so impressive, Dave — like I like to say, “some therapy.” You now move ahead in our overachiever of the year award, ahead of Uncle Atom, who has not actually finished his tiki totem pole, and TroySF, who is resting on his 2010 laurels (so far.) Thank you so much for sharing, the house is really truly stunning. I love the living room — with its mix of white walls, light gray upholstered furniture, the blonde Heywook Wakefield and the puches of orange. You two really know what you are doing — in your next career, you need to be a decorating team, truly!
Malena makes glamorous black lacquer wall panels out of Acurio Lattice “Circles” 
Dave makes a George Nelson-style platform bench using Matthew Burak legs 
50s living room: A wonderful modern interior with the perfect colonial touch 
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Dave and Kristin, What a lovely house, thank you for sharing your projects! I have saved the instructions and pics for the accent wall in my ‘idea file’ for our 1963 Cape Cod. Is that copper colored grasscloth wallpaper in the bedroom? It looks great with the light colored bedroom furniture.
Thanks Mariah ! The wallpaper is a bamboo/grasscloth and is actually more of a chocolate brown.
What a wonderful place!! Thanks for sharing…
W O W – that is one of the prettiest homes I have seen on this site. It is perfectly balanced from the amount of decor, to the size and scale of furniture, to the color palette.
Beautiful!
It’s GREAT!
The colors, the furniture placement and proportions-everything.
The wall ADDS (without stealing) so much interest to the room. Good Job!
Wow, how beautiful! I especially love how the living room retains so many MCM details but manages to still look modern and livable, not kitschy or museum-like. Well done! Also, I am very happy to see another pink bathroom has been preserved.
Great work guys! Had a similar idea but passed it off because of the amount of work and now knowing how it would turn out. Thank you for sharing, now I know it would work!
What an absolutely gorgeous living room! Very inspirational too!
Dave, I also love the large artwork on the long wall behind the sofa. Can you tell me about it? Also, what color white did you use for paint?
The picture above the couch is a digital revision of Louisville’s 14th street railroad bridge by a local artist named Pat Sheehan. We bought it from Artxp, a local company, and I fabricated a simple black frame for it.
Love it!
The color on the walls is Ralph Lauren Oatmeal, eggshell on the walls, semi gloss on the trim. It only took us about 15 trys to find a color we liked !
GORGEOUS!!!
Wow! Your house is AWESOME! Nice work!
Dave and Kristin, Your house is FAB! I love, love, love the living room! Where did you find the sofa and matching chairs?
The couch and matching chairs are made by Younger Furniture, made in the USA, and we bought them from Scout, a great locally owned shop.
Hi Dave, I don’t know if you’re still checking this, but i’m considering purchasing that Younger couch from a local Chicago store. My concern was that the cushion was a bit…stiff. Are you finding it comfortable? Has it broken in any since you purchased it?
Your house is awesome and inspiring!
beth
Hey Beth, the couch has held up well, but honestly, we watch TV in another room and don’t use it that much. I have noticed it “breaks in” a little and doesn’t feel nearly as stiff as it did when we first bought it. Sorry I couldn’t be more help. Good luck !
thanks very much!
That living room is absolutely gorgeous! It has perfect furniture arrangement and amount of texture / color / accents. The wall treatment really completes the look in a subtle way. The room wouldn’t look the same without it. I love the lamps. Where did you find them? The room looks like it was featured in a period magazine, yet very current. I love the artwork, too. Excellent job!
The lamps are from 2023, a great little mid century shop here in Louisville. The credenza/buffet is from The Deal, another must-go-to store in our town for mid century modern finds.
When I first logged on this morning, I thought the opening picture was from a magazine! Wow – Dave and Kristin, you two nailed the perfect mid-century look in your loving room. Would love to see more pictures of your house! Beautiful job!
I just showed this post to my love and asked him if he could do this to our living room. Seeing the expression on his face, which was a mixture of awe and incredulity, I think the answer is “no”. Love it, though!
Wow, very cool wall. I graciously relinquish the title of overachiever! Pam, I just started training for the California AIDS/Lifecycle ride – 545 miles, 7 days in June, SF to LA on a bicycle. It’s a fundraiser for HIV/AIDS. Much of my spare time over the next few months will be spent in the saddle, so I won’t be kicking off any new house projects for a while. But I’ll be back, I promise!
Just gorgeous.
Just stunning. That wall is the living end! Love your colors, furniture styles, art….all of it.
That trio of felines on the bath wall is a knockout. (I have the cat on the left…a recent Salvation Army find.)
LOVE the front of the house!
Gorgeous!!
Just perfect! You guys did an incredible job. I agree with the others, send more pics!
Dave,
I’ll add to the chorus of accolades–your living room is awesome and I am blown away by what you have done to enhance your living space. The wall covering is fantastic and you are clearly someone who “gets it” in terms of furniture. The playful arrangement of color, materials, styles and textures is inspirational. Refreshing. I mean, how many times have we retreated in disappointment from otherwise lovely mid-century homes because of the yukky furniture or wrong colors? By the way, it appears that your bedroom–another model of mid-century influenced style–has grasscloth wallpaper. Did you install it, and if so, where did you buy it and how difficult was the job?
Thank you so much Lawrence Bill, we did not install the wallpaper ourselves and I am glad we didn’t. The wallpaper installers gave us a price and then it took them about 4 hours longer than they thought it would. They had to cut the paper with heavy duty scissors because the bamboo strips were so thick. We loved the end result and gave him a little extra for taking the time to do such a quality job
WOW! I want to see more pictures!!
Very, very nice. Can I ask where the rug came from? Its what we’ve been looking for!
The living room rug came from The Cherry House furniture store. The back of the rug reads: Surya Carpet Inc -collection: Mystique-style: M85-color: brown-size: 8×11. I hope that helps.
WOW! I think this is the best looking space around! I would pay you to design my home if I had the money. Great Job!
Absolutely STUNNING! I love every inch of this room !
Bravo!
Gosh, that is one sweet home. Well done Dave and Kris.
Wow, I adore every inch of this inside and out (OK, not every inch–Susie Safety does not like the look of those stairs with no railing). Congratulations! It must feel amazing to come home to this place every day! This absolutely looks professionally designed and executed. Kudos to both of you.
I would love to know the brand and name of the sculpted rug in the living room. Thanks so much for letting us see your stunning home!
Lovely! Simply lovely!
I meant to add earlier:
The Supreme line of draperies from Penney’s are a perfect choice.
Simple, appropriate and a bargain to boot!
Unfortunately, the JC Penney’s Supreme drapery line has been discontinued. I was told they are looking for a similar replacement, but as of right now, we’re out of luck.
I am seeing JCP Supreme online…. 1/2 price right now, actually…. ?
They may still have some in stock, but I ordered 2 different pair and they sent me an email saying that they were no longer available. I checked at my local store (Illinois) in the drapery dept. and they said the company folded.
drats.
Ohmigosh! The living room is so warm and inviting, the bedroom so sexy and glamorous. Beautifully done. Can we see the kitchen?
NOT THE KITCHEN!!! It is sooooo bad. 1980′s laminate job. The sad thing is I build cabinetry and furniture for a living and my kitchen is awful. It will be the biggest and most expensive job, so we are saving up for it.
Dave,
Could you please share your kitchen when you are ready to remodel?
I just purchased an 1980s mobile home and everything looks intack in the kitchen except the appliances and some doors missing to cabinets, but I’m not sure what to do with it. I am married to an architect and he’s ready to divorce me on this mobil home thing. I bought it for the location and was not allowed to see the inside. Oh what a nightmare. but I was able to get it clean enough before my husband saw it. My marriage may be saved yet.
Hey Cindy, I will be happy to post my kitchen when it is done. It might be a while, we are working on our den 1st. It sounds like you have a challenging project. Best of luck !
We loved Dave’s work on the wall so much that we had him make a sales counter in our shop just like it. He painted it in high gloss red and it is killer. He does the most beautiful work and his home is evidence of it. Kris and Dave both have great ideas for their home.
Outstanding! Dave and Kris, your home is beautiful – it must be so enjoyable to come home to. I love your orange accents especially! I actually had a similar idea (your interlocking squares) for over our fireplace. Don’t know if we’ll get to it, but we had to rework the fireplace and it means we’ll be looking for a solution. Your home just looks so comfortable. Great work!
Great house and FANTASTIC wall! The 1956 split-level we just purchased last week is begging for a similar treatment, and I have been going over in my mind for weeks exactly how I was going to approach the project of a textured wallscape… and here you come with a complete how-to article! Great tips, MDF never crossed my mind but it does make the most sense. ( I was actually thinking of using drywall! imagine that nightmare!)
Oddly enough, I have almost the same set of grey chairs and sofa… a Canadian made set though with steel legs.
Just can’t say enough, WOW! and Thanks!
I thought about this beautiful living room all day and revisited the photo.
I missed it the first time around, but honestly…get ready Pam…The absence of a big black TV screen brings a very different tone to this room.
yes, i noticed that, too. our living room has no tv. we have the tv in the cherry panelled family room downstairs…
Dave, Kristin, congrats on such a superb space- square within square motifs are a favorite of mine, especially in wall treatments, wallpaper, and concrete block.
Your sense of proportion and placement is a superb fit.
Glad too that Pam has announced orange as this year’s color,- your three-tier end table is lyrical!
Have several orange lacquered pieces myself, which are near and dear, and really punctuate a space.
Wondering about a source for the armchair and matching ottoman? Lovely, lovely home!
PAppel, We bought the chair and ottoman at a consignment shop and the sales tag said it was Brown Saltman. I haven’t been able to find an actual label on the furniture to confirm that. We had it recovered about 2 years ago.
I swear we have the same couch as you, ordered through Urban Outfitters, either way its a beautiful couch!
Looks great!
Well done and so creative! Dave & Kristin have a beautiful home.
Love the pics of your home, looks very warm and inviting. Think you did a terrific job and I know how rewarding it is to finish a project an then step back an say “Whew”.
Wow..that’s all I can say is wow. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful home with us. (and giving the rest of us ideas and the resources to make them happen).
Hi Dave and Kristin,
I am a newbie to mid-century modern and I must say, truly relishing the style. My hubby and I are looking to purchase a very modest 1957″ dump” and renovating it. It has the original blue and yellow bathroom! When the time comes I will post before and after pics! I am so inspired by you. Thanks for posting and i love love love the wall.
Dave & Kris, I absolutely LOVE your home!! It looks so classy and classic and so pleasing to the eye! Congrats on all you have done!! It looks to be one of my favorites!!!! Hope you send in more pictures!!!!
Thanks for sharing, too!!
That house looks like something straight out of Mad Men! You all did an amazing job and have a great eye for all things Mid-century. Thank you for sharing with us!
FABULOUS! I love the furniture, I love the rug, I love the lamps, I love the orange accents, I love the pink tile in the bathroom, and I love love LOVE the latticed wall treatment! Thanks for sharing!
I have dresser just like the one in the first photo with the 2 lamps on it except mine is made of mahogany. What can you tell me about these?
My parents built a perfect mid-century modern home on the Lakefront in New Orleans in 1957. It was “of its day” from the outside in–had the long roman bricks on the outside, the large living room door with the huge round door handle smack dab in the middle of the door, a built-in half wall planter between the living room & dining room, terrazo floors, blue bathroom tile, grasscloth wallpaper in the guest room, sliding glass doors (with fiberglass curtains) between the living room & sunroom. I don’t know when gas logs were invented, but we had them in this home. Your home reminds me so much of the one I grew up in. I inherited a bunch of my parents’ furniture & items: a Stiffel table lamp, Heywood Wakefield furniture, Higgins glass, Russel Wright dishes, Baker “Chinese modern” living/dining suites. Wish I had the means to design a house around this stuff! Thanks for the walk down “memory lane”!
Nice work!
I live in Louisville, what are these “2 great mid century shops” called? I’d love to check them out.
Hey Joel, Check out “The Deal” on Baxter Ave and “2023″ on Frankfort Ave. They both have great mid century items.
Thanks, Dave!
I have been pouring over this site for two weeks now since my discovery of it…And of allllllll the pics I have seen both here and elsewhere on the internet, this is definitely one of my all time favorite rooms. This would fit my 1959 Ranch perfectly and it also looks warm and comfy. Something that is sometimes hard to do with modern…VERY well done and a GREAT inspriation to all us newbies out here!
I have been watching your site for a while now and Love everything you have done – very retro but today – which is hard to do without it turning out kitchy or matchy matchy. One thing I want to point out is the missing stair railing – looks a little dangerous ( not to code ). Are you planing to put one in ? We have been working on our home for over 20 yrs. I hope it doesn’t take you that long . Get some good advice from a good kitchen designer when you want to start on the kitchen.Make sure they are a REAL kitchen designer and not just a sales person. They can save you a lot of grief and keep you on budget. My advice is to stay current for the kitchen style and add your retro with accessories. I look forward to seeing the rest.—- A fan from Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Gorgeous living room! This is exactly the type of room I have trouble finding in magazines, online, etc., and trouble “explaining” to others (who assume 50s or retro means Happy Days diner or Austin Powers pop art). This house represents exactly the style I aspire to — 50s/60s-inspired with a calm, soothing vibe (neutrals with just pops of color), low scale, abstract art, and… my love of blonde furniture (Heywood Wakefield). Think Rat Pack in Palm Springs, or Doris Day/Rock Hudson movies, is the best way I can explain. Any suggestions, other resources greatly appreciated!