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The Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio: Historic mid century homes to visit

Posted by: • August 19, 2010
Fourth in our continuing series of mid century historic home museums open to the public.

During my recent visit with Aunt Pam she took me to a historic home just a mile from her house – The Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio. Located in Lenox, Mass., this estate features features the home built by George Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen in 1941-2, which is attached to the studio that George built before they were married, in 1930. Together, these spaces comprise a gorgeous example of International Style — and the first “modern” home built in New England.   Heck yeah there is more →

Vintage Youngstown metal kitchen cabinets – a picture perfect 1950s kitchen

Posted by: • August 18, 2010

Hot item! Just yesterday, Cody sent in this great kitchen from craigslist — Burlington, Vermont. He wrote:

Hi Pam I just ran across this on Craigslist and thought it was quite a find! It’s a time capsule kitchen and they are selling the pieces off (sad) … it looks to be in great shape. Thought you may like to share it with your readers and maybe find a good home for this kitchen!

Heck yeah there is more →

Hillwood Estate: Historic Homes with Mid-Century Flair

Posted by: • August 17, 2010

Next in our series of mid century historic homes that you can visit: Hillwood Estate, with some mid mod surprises inside — like a 1950s pink bathroom to beat all pink bathrooms.

The Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, an historic home in Washington, D.C., may be one of my personal favorites. Thanks to Reader Tina, who gave us the heads up on the place, with this note to Aunt Pam:

During the weekend, on a quest to visit a tourist destination I hadn’t yet seen in my own home town of Washington, DC, we went to Hillwood Mansion, the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post, the heiress to the Post cereal fortune. Her will stipulated that her home be opened to the public and house her fabulous collection of Russian and European decorative arts, including hundreds of pieces of porcelain. She bought and updated Hillwood in 1955 and it is beautiful. But of course, as a Mid-Century Classic myself, I fell in love with the kitchen, the pantry and… the pink bathroom! Heck yeah there is more →

The Louis Armstrong House Museum: Historic Mid Century Homes To Visit

Posted by: • August 16, 2010

Second in a special series of stories spotlighting historic mid century homes across America that are open to visitors.
Louis Armstrong’s home — with an interior that combines both “modern” and “modest” — is now open to visitors and looks to be well worth a visit.   The house, built by Thomas Daly in 1910, is located in North Corona in Queens, New York.  In 1943, Lucille Armstrong bought the house for her husband as a surprise – at an excellent price of $3500. Although Lucille got a bargain on the house, she and Louis had big $ ideas for the house. First, she bought the home next door and tore it down  so she could create a her giant Japanese garden. Louis had his own ideas as well, like the outdoor bar & grill that is still there today. Heck yeah there is more →

The 1950 House at the Shelburne Museum: Historic Mid Century Homes to Visit

Posted by: • August 15, 2010
First in a series of posts spotlighting mid-century house museums
“The 1950 House” is a complete, original mid century home moved onto grounds of the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, and now open to the public.  Frank and Helen LaFlume, the original owners, included the latest technology when building their new, 1000 sq. ft. home in 1949. Like millions of other couples after World War II, they were final able to purchase a home — and buying this prefabricated model was easier than bringing construction materials to their 200 acre farm and building from scratch. They chose a ranch style house, with an attached garage for their 1939 Chevrolet — which is also part of the exhibit. Heck yeah there is more →

Retro Renovation Reader Roundup

Posted by: • August 14, 2010

Here goes my second reader roundup, keep sending us your home photos, finds or dilemmas — the email address is at the bottom of this post. Katy told us all about the work she’s got going on lately and shared her great weekend find:

I enjoy your website/blog very much!  I have a retro 1960′s home that was even featured on HGTV’s National Open House.  I’m a Mom/yoga teacher/Tupperware consultant (I’ve got some terrific vintage Tupperware!) who enjoys finding gems fit for our home. I’m in the process of having two large pieces of Ranch Oak furniture reupholstered so it’s been fun searching for just the right fabric. But I thought I’d send you a picture of my favorite weekend find – a phone in a box! $10 deal – it works – it’s hooked up… now we just wait for someone to call…. the ring is pure & true!” Heck yeah there is more →

Retro Renovation Reader Roundup

Posted by: • July 31, 2010

Here’s a new Saturday feature for the blog: A weekly roundup of its and bits that readers send our way. Matthew will edit the weekly roundup, and provide commentary. – Pam

Jason emailed Pam about this amazing find — a mint-in-box GE “Drape-o-matic”. Here is what he said:

Thought I’d show you a couple of recent Ebay finds that I purchased for my home project when I get home next month…. Heck yeah there is more →

A Hidden-Treasures Time Capsule Home

Posted by: • July 27, 2010

Matthew writes today: I found this article while doing some research a few months back and forgot all about it. After all the work I’ve been doing with Retro Renovation for Aunt Pam, it came back to mind. Here’s the jist: A man buys a big old house in Alabama, takes it off its foundation, moves it 10 miles across town, then discovers a complete room full of priceless treasures — not a single piece disturbed since 1938 and nothing broken in the move, either. I grew up on a farm in Kentucky. When I was little, one of my favorite things to do was go into old barns and abandoned structures to see what cool stuff I could find. As I got older, I still love the feeling of discovering items meant to never be seen again… I guess that’s why I’m studying archeology. Still, I can’t  imagine the exhilaration this guy would be feeling. I’m so going to buy a time capsule home for myself. Click here or on the screen shot (left) to read the article.

Aunt Pam adds: Speaking of hidden treasures, when Matthew was here last week, he and I made an impromptu trek to Gotham (aka New York City) to see the King Tut exhibit before everything heads back to Egypt permanently. We had a BLAST. Matthew is insane for Egyptology, and I have to say that seeing it all through his eyes, I have a newfound appreciation for mummies and cartouches and shabti and the like. Now, he is taking to this blogging thing like a fish to water. I think we really truly are related and share some decisively similar genetic material.

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