UPDATE: In a wave of making my life simpler, I discontinued Knotty is Nice in 2019 — the site has been taking down. I’ll leave this story up, though, in honor of the knotty — and you can leave your knotty pine memories in comments here if you like.
Crikey, I’ve gone and done it: I’ve started a third blog,Knotty is Nice — a big bear hug aimed at respecting, preserving, maintaining and defending the knotty pine paneling and cabinetry that was phenomenally popular in midcentury homes. Above: That’s Mod Betty of Retro Roadmap‘s father having a swell time in a knotty pine living room, circa 1962.
Alas, knotty pine seems to get little respect in today’s design world. To me, though, it’s clear: Knotty is nice. I think we are just out of the habit of being able to see so, and to say so.
One of the key things that I *think* I’ve learned from writing RetroRenovation.com for these past five years is that our concepts of “beautiful interior design” are very much a product of the era in which we live. We are not any smarter today than our parents or grandparents about “what’s beautiful” or “what’s tasteful”. The applied decoration of interior design is fashion, and in almost all cases, wall coverings are fashion: Some years, we did painted walls .. other years, trends favored wallpaper… and for many years, it was a landslide of knotty pine. By 1950, according to an industry brochure: “Famed the world over… Knotty pine … has found its way into millions of hearts.”
So, with Knotty is Nice, let’s do the same thing for knotty pine that SaveThePinkBathrooms.com has done for vintage pink bathrooms: Let’s convince homeowners — and the rest of the design world maybe even — that knotty pine is beautiful, worthy of our respect, and worth saving.
Over on Knotty is Nice, I will talk about why knotty paneling is Just Fine as a decorative choice within midcentury homes. I spotlight readers and their knotty pine kitchens, basements, sunporches — we even have a knotty pine bathroom. I also plan to further develop a solid list of knotty pine resources — where to get it, how to refinish it, how to maintain it, how to decorate with it. And, one of my favorite stories is about the “why” of knotty pine — why it was so popular. I have some theories — from the fact that it was a common, durable, affordable, traditional material … to the idea that its midcentury popularity also was an embrace of the more casual, California-esque lifestyle.
What do you think, readers?
Can we reach out to our parents, aunts & uncles, grandmas and grandpas — and ask them, “Why All the Knotty Pine?”
What do they remember?
Mod Betty / RetroRoadmap.com says
So cool to see that happy smiling dad of mine, sandwiched between two gals, in a cozy Knotty Pine living room!
I’m going to share this photo with my cousins and see if anyone remembers who these folks are – and if they have any fond Knotty Pine memories!
nina462 says
When I saw the knotty pine basement/bar in my ’65 ranch, it was love at first sight & knew this was the home for me. I’ve even got matching knotty pine furniture (ok, I have to reupholster from the 80’s fabric). Am so glad you’ve started this section of your website –
Stacy says
Yea!!! I am so motivated now to really invest some time in out knotty pine den. As soon as we can move the kids playroom down to the basement, I plan to reclaim my den and go crazy (or cozy). Maybe I can work through the guilt of not keeping my pink tile bathroom by giving my knotty pine some extra love. Looking forward to some great decorating ideas, and of course lots of fun thrifting.
Tasha says
What a great idea, good luck with the blog and converting new lovers to knotty pine. If only we had some in our house!
Incidentally my FIL just bought a 50s house with pink fixtures in the bathroom and is willing to give them to us (! not sure what we’d do with them) when he updates the bathroom. Although I keep trying to send him to SaveThePinkBathrooms.com!
Marta says
Love the owls, love the owls, love the owls! Will get pictures of my MIL’s kitchen cabinets as soon as DD gets home with a camera (and loads for me, lol).
pam kueber says
🙂
JohnnyBerry™ says
Thank you for the new blog and all that you do for mid-century goodness!
Dependent on a job offer, we are pondering a move from Florida to Philadelphia – Southern New Jersey area in July or August.
We have started looking at houses on Realtor.com and amazed at the number of knotty pine kitchens, basement rumpus rooms, dens and even attic build-outs!
What makes the search much easier, is that when we read “updated kitchen” in the description, we just skip the listing entirely.
As a result, we have been doing random searches in other areas for homes 51+ years old to see if there are photos of knotty pine (or even maple) kitchens.
Jeanne says
Love the name of the blog! I promise to got photos of all my knotty pine wonderfulness at my home. I think it’s a nice representation of the times. And the “California-esque” Big Sur photo mural is unique.
Jeanne says
*get photos* (I hate seeing typos after I hit “submit”)
Olivia says
This is wonderful! One of my first comments when I saw our 1951 home was how beautiful the wall of knotty pine in the living room is. It’s never been painted and I hope future owners of this home appreciate the beauty.
ChrisH says
I’m looking forward to reading about sources for NP.
wendy says
I *love* the logo and the name of the new blog!