David and Kristin have the eye for mid century modern decorating, and, it turns out that Dave is one handy guy. After 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.
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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!
Nancy C. says
Just perfect! You guys did an incredible job. I agree with the others, send more pics!
75Heather says
Gorgeous!!
Rebecca Prichard says
LOVE the front of the house!
Annie B. says
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.)
Tami says
Just gorgeous.
troysf says
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! 😉
Jenny says
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!
Janice says
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!
Jeanne says
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!
Dave Bramblette says
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.
Puzzy says
Dave and Kristin, Your house is FAB! I love, love, love the living room! Where did you find the sofa and matching chairs?
Dave Bramblette says
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.
beth says
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
Dave says
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 !
beth says
thanks very much!