Products and ideas to remodel your mid century home in authentic vintage style
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home design inspiration… thrifty finds… and a generous
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postwar homes – “modern” and “modest” alike.
I'm Pam Kueber, your mid mod mad guide. Read more
I bumped into this 1958 kitchen over on our Forum, which helps readers buy and sell vintage steel kitchen cabinets and other salvage items to remodel their homes in authentic period style. Reader Nicole recently bought this single-owner, Seattle house. Alas, there is water damage to the cabinets. She is replacing them with a like [...]
I have been away. I was at a conference. Then I was at mom’s in Kentucky. Now I am back home. I have running around like a maniac. Alas, I have overdone it. I have a cold & flu, or some such. So today, a simple message of 70s luv. Straight from the guest bedroom [...]
Yikes. Satanic 1970s wallpaper. This is among the strangest things I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure I could keep this in my house, it’s so creepy. But yay on reader Suzanne who will be keeping this … invaluable … original piece of her house. Also see her fab foyer and the school bus yellow vintage Malm Preway [...]
Jon and Trixi — we’ve seen portions of their project under way – have finished remodeling their kitchen, and are mostly done with the bathrooms. And in a twist that I am sure the folks at Rust-Oleum were not anticipating, the epicenter of their “Retro Renovation story” is that they freshened up their kitchen cabinets by [...]
Thanks to reader Terri, who sent in this great story about the “Ashtray House” — a 1960s modern in New Orleans, designed by Albert Ledner, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. Most notable about this house: The exterior is decorated with 1,200 gold ashtrays. You can see their profile pretty well, above. What a great [...]
My heart be still, did you notice the vintage decorative tiles in one of the pink bathrooms at the Leo Carrillo Ranch? I was curious, of course, and asked buddy Bungalow Bill, who right quick answered:
Amy Mescia, the founder of Oscar & Izzy Tiles, is such a creative cutie that you know her house must have a story, too. Yup: She and her husband Dario live in a 1920s Philadelphia rowhouse, which vintage kitchen and pink-and-blue bathroom — and it’s retro perfection. This is one talented couple — Dario also [...]
For the past 10 years, I have been absolutely immersed in researching homes built from 1945 through 1963 — the classic, post-World-War-II baby boom years. And over the past decade — and the past two-to-three years in particular — there is no question that I’ve seen a major transformation in how mainstream media, real estate [...]
“…Eliminates the final telltale sign of laminate – the brown line.” I am a big believer in the idea that the most significant design shifts tend to come from technological breakthroughs. The advance of laminate kitchen countertops — replacing linoleum and wood in most kitchens in the 1950s — came as a result of the [...]
Several readers have asked me how to install the stainless steel countertop edging from New York Metals. In this post, I’ll take you step-by-step through the process that we used to install the metal edging in my kitchen.
I’ve written before about mixing countertop surfaces in your 40s 50s or 60s kitchen. But I recently came across these great photos and thought they would be very helpful. The photos show: How to lower cabinetry to create a place to roll out your pie dough (of course). Put a slab of marble here — [...]
The most popular laminate design in mid century America? Boomerang Formica? Nope, guess again. According to materials expert Grace Jeffers, the most popular design was actually linen. You know what I’m talking about — that kind of tight-to-medium-weave with nubblies stuff. I had it both my bathrooms with vanities. In pistachio green = absolutely iconic. [...]
UPDATE (Oct 2011): Click over to –> this story to get an update on all three sources for boomerang laminate. Where to find a retro Formica countertop for a red, black and white kitchen? Pamela recently wrote to ask: Hi! I bought a home a couple of years ago … it’s a 10-year-old FL ranch, [...]
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