Remodeling, decor and home improvement for old homes
David asked the other day:
We’re planning our basement finishing project and looking at VCT tiling options in the basement. Does anyone know where to find design ideas for Vinyl tiles? I’m seeing a lot for ceramic, but not many for VCT.
You ask, I deliver: Here are scans from 1950s Armstrong and Kentile catalogs. Heck yeah there is more →
More photos from the weekend’s fabulous time capsule house estate sale — today focusing on floors and walls. To start — this typical 50s slate porch or foyer flooring. I adore this type of flooring, and it is still available today at a reasonable cost, because it’s so old-fashioned. Heck yeah there is more →
I have been reading everyone’s suggestions for updates to the blog – many thanks! – and keep them coming.
I already was on course to add many more photo galleries – and I get my fancy gallery tool and tutorial later today.
Meanwhile, I could not hold off from showing this delicious 1961 eye candy – photos from Kentile and Congoleum Nairn ads during the year.
Aren’t these so…70s? It is SO INTERESTING, when you start wading through periodicals, that so many trends were foreshadowed a good 8-10 years before they were adopted by the masses and entered our collective memories now active today. I swear, our 1971 split level had features just like those here. I could be wrong. I need to study the 60s and 70s more. That’s coming, too.
FABULOUS!
Click through to see these side-by-side in a gallery. Heck yeah there is more →
These 50s Kentile flooring samples were recently on ebay. I bid on them all, but won just one set. Alas, I have been trying to cut back on building the “Museum of Pittsfield” collection, as my oh-so-patient husband calls it. I’ll tell you, I already have quite an exhibit ready to send cross-country.
Aren’t these incredible? It is so sad that pickin’s are so thin in terms of replicating them today. But — possibilities ARE out there, so if you are in the market, be sure to click here to check out the Flooring category for the variety of choices still available. Please also note: Old flooring can contain asbestos – consult with a professional if you have this in your house so that you can make informed decisions about how to handle it.
I am so excited – I have not one… not two…but 39 postwar brochures, magazines, pamphlets and more in hand and will be featuring lots of great new material for the blog in coming weeks.
How’s this for a start? An utterly groovy 1956 basement for lounging all weekend long. The decor is just spectacularly done – the regency blue and gold combination couldn’t be nicer!
The design is by Ken-Tile, one of the major names in vinyl composition tile. To be sure, the use of this tile was very creative in the 50s – and photos like this can teach us a lot about how to use an inexpensive material to great effect. There are some excellent choices in particular still available from Armstrong Imperial Excelon.
Sorry – no accordian. But our two girls really seem to dig the guitar playing guy, don’t ya think?
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