This is a vintage Chambers gas range. I am seriously in love with it, and want it so much that I could burst. For now, though, it is staying in the time capsule house. I am guessing — 60s. Any experts out there who can tell me for sure?

This is the built-in, pop-up griddle. And yes, folks, those are stainless steel (or aluminum?) 4″ tiles behind the stove.

This is the control panel. I am so seriously in love with this stove I cannot stand it.

Here is the vintage Chambers range upstairs. I am dating it 1952 — because that is when the kitchen went in.

Here is the porcelain cover folded down over the burners.

And here is the built-in stove. It’s all so wonderful, and there is still more to come from this house, I’ve barely made a dent.

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I spent not one — but two — days this weekend at a fabulous estate sale in Adams, Mass. I’m really busy with work right now, so don’t have a lot of time to post, but I wanted to start getting photos from the house (and my finds) online. This is a 1952 Geneva kitchen. It was the second, upstairs kitchen in the house. As far as I could tell, it was virtually unused – absolutely pristine.

This is a shot from the dining room, looking through the butler’s pantry toward the downstairs kitchen. You can see Geneva’s also in the butler’s pantry. But the downstairs kitchen was renovated in the 70s, so there were melamine cabinets there…plain white, nothing eye-popping. However, look at this fabulous vinyl-tile floor. Seriously wonderful.

Gold metallic-Asian inspired 70s wallpaper in the (Victorian) dining room. You know I love this paper. Beyond words.

The downstairs master bathroom / dressing room was expansive — a dream bathroom. . Notice the tiled-in nooks just above the vanity top – a very nice feature. That’s a big mirror looking at the closet opposite. The sinks are avocado. The floors are a small multicolored mosaic of white, avocado and harvest gold tiles. This bathroom was incredible.

On the walls were 4×4 harvest gold American Olean tiles, each designed to look like three smaller, longer, rectangular tiles (see image below, as well). Interestingly, I have about 5 big boxes of this very same tile that I picked up at the Re-Store last year. There were Hall-Mack Towelscopes on both ends of the vanity.  Just beyond the door on the right is the separate toilet — that’s a Danish Modern light fixture on the wall, I have some close ups coming. Oh, and to the left of the Towelscope … look up… and you can see the can lights kind of sticking out of the ceiling about an inch… satin chrome or maybe brushed aluminum finish. It was a wonderful detail. Oh yeah – wallpapered ceiling. If you have a house built after, say, 1965, I’d say you must think seriously about wallpapering your ceilings.

Oh — a gorgeous vintage Frigidaire in the upstairs kitchen.

It is going to take me like, five days, to get through all the photos from this house. And then I will start on WHAT I BOUGHT. I was so enthralled, I spent 3 hours at the house on Saturday, then I drove back on Sunday to go through it again. The house was an inspiration.

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MARY DELUXE of Welcome to DeluxeVille get the weekend super retro recon award for the photos of the wonderful time capsule open house. Dig this deep pink — salmon? coral? — bathroom with its original folding tub enclosure shower door and octagon-and-dot floor tile. And, oh my, yes, we LOVE the metallic wallpaper. Repeat after me: Yes, we do! Click over to Mary’s blog, and you’ll see that the vintage wallpaper — very 60s — covers the ceiling, too. And, there’s more on her blog, including another bathroom and vintage steel cabinets that have been stripped down to the metal for a stainless steel finish, something that we have not discussed or seen yet. Thank you, MaryDeluxe, for sharing, and for RetroRoadmap for sending the link to me on Twitter. Oh my, we are so socially networked.

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WHY DID SOFAS GET SO BIG? I do not know. But you have to admit these supersized sofas are statement-makers. And that’s before we even get to — upholstery. This 1972 wonder belongs to Lynne’s Lens, a flickr friend. She bought it 10 years ago from a house with purple shag carpet and Peter Max wallpaper. It had two more pieces that made it *too big* for her house and she gave them to a friend. Mr. Retro Renovation loves this sofa. Read on — you’ll like the next one, too, I promise…

Reader Cindy D sends this great find – Elvis’ Honeymoon Cottage, with a built-in circular sofa that is 64′ long. Yes: sixty-four feet. Maybe “conversation pits and built-in sofas came out Frank Lloyd Wright-esque design, where he built the furniture right into the house? This photo was featured on the Eastside Real Estate Buzz blog. Elvis’ and Priscilla’s honeymoon hideway is in Palm Springs. It was designed by William Krisel for developer Robert Alexander and his wife Helene, and it’s comprised of four perfect circles. (See a link about the house’s design here, thanks to reader Frank.) You can rent the house for events and such – check it out here. Hey: Another Retro Renovation Clubhouse site. After the MacArthur Foundation gives us one of those gazillion dollar grants.

Of course we’ve seen some other supersized sofas before, as part of conversation pits. Remember Leslie’s kitschy dreamboat time capsule? Hi Leslie, how are you doing! Buy any Moss lamps lately? Hmmm. I guess this isn’t an entire sofa, but you’re on the homepage again anyway because this is so in the spirit.

And remember this time capsule from Des Moines. Another super popular post, with a supersized conversation pit and much, much more in this utterly swoonable house — one of our very best time capsules ever.

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SOCK IT TO ME baby: Thanks to Frank for sending us this 1965 time capsule in Palm Springs. All the furniture comes with the house, which is for sale for $796,000. For more photos and link to the listing with 15 photos in all–>

The more I do this blog, which started with a fondness for 50s and early 60s interiors…the more I slide oh so easily right into the 70s…which seems to have been born in 1965. In. This. House.
<–Let’s share it with the world — Digg it!

Here’s the appropriately sauve prose from the listing:

Smashing, Splendid, Brave, Daring and Unspoiled describes this masterpiece of seventies decor – Plus Offered Turnkey Furnished! Visually stunning custom velvet walls with vibrant colors of reds, pinks, fuschias and oranges.A unique and wholly functional residence in impeccable condition set up for full time living but with all the enchantment, allure and fantasy of a Moroccan palace. Bedrooms are canopied, swagged, with gold vein mirrored walls, ceiling to floor drapes creating an exotic and opulent atmosphere. The furnishings are custom in matching materials and colors,the pool is gorgeous, the grounds are impeccable, and the piece de resistence, a Pink Princess telephone in the master bedroom!….

Thanks, too, to real estate agent Diane Flaherty for giving me permission to feature a few photos. See the listing including 11 more eye-popping photos and Diane’s contact info — click right here, you’ll be glad you did.

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THE 1964 SPLIT-LEVEL TIME CAPSULE first shown yesterday also had two great bathrooms. The full bath upstairs is a beautiful robin’s egg blue, all 4×4″ field tiles, with cheerful flowery liner tiles. There is a separate bathtub and the shower. The shower door is a true classic, and notice the terrazzo floor pan, the light, and the tile on the diagonal on the ceiling.

And there’s more: A laundry chute built into a storage cubby… and the fold-down Hall-Mack scale holder below. The laminate countertop on the dual vanity is surely GE Textolite, from the “Twilight” series . And, the owner’s daughter told me that the Nutone exhaust fan/light also had a built-humidistat that turned the fan on and off automatically when the room became too humid. Finally, there was a hidden door to the master suite, along with a door to the hall. This might have been the best bathroom ever in this history of the retro-universe. Again – not pretentious, but so well considered and well built. Click through for the slide show – 15 images in all.

 

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THE ESTATE SALE ON FRIDAY was a jackpot — the 1964, single-owner split level house was in gorgeous condition. What I really liked about it was that it was a very middle class, unpretentious house – but it had features that were clearly chosen for their high quality and craftsmanship. It was timeless in the true sense that everything about the house can endure. Oh lordy, I hope that the new owners understand what they have in hand! Today, two slide shows: The first of an awesome midcentury mailbox, recessed into the roman marble brick of the exterior. I know lots of readers will be so envious of this feature, I’ve never seen anything like it yet. And second, a fabulous time capsule kitchen — it includes two-tone cabinetry, a great little breakfast counter with original stools, and yellow GE appliances with gorgeous design features. One of my new favorites ever — like this house. 27 photos in all.

To start: Here’s the mailbox. Fabulous! Click on the first image to enlarge, then proceed through the slide show.

 

 

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The recent Hollywood Regency style estate sale was such a treasure trove of strange and wonderful mid century details that here are some more photos to scrutize. For example, this may be the only blog in the world to feature Drano in its lead post – but look at the vintage “Dor-File” mounted to the inside of the yellow St. Charles sink cabinet. I love it, I want it! Click through here for a total of 24 more photos from this fabulous time capsule!

 

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You just never know whether an estate sale will be out of this world – or a dud. This past weekend, I was fortunate to hit a real a jackpot. A Victorian-industrial-company-town townhouse in a northern Berkshires “hilltown” that appeared to have been redecorated to the hilt in 1961 or so. All what you call “Hollywood Regency” – a very foofy gilded Italianate style so named because it copied the Regency Hotel in Hollywood. Also, think “Rat Pack Viva Las Vegas.” The home was simply amazing as in eyes-popping-out-of-your-head amazing.

Among many other features, I really loved the valences in several rooms: Vintage woven wood blinds. But these are not the ‘all natural back to the forest’ kind you see today. They are the old-fashioned kind with big thick yarn threads woven through them (in the case of the orange valence at the top) or (as in the pink valence just above) with un-natural colors and lots of tassels and gimp. Yowza. I think you may still be able to get valences and shades designed to this extreme – but I need to do more research. Meanwhile, if you buy a house that has them – know that they are wonderful, I have so decreed!

Okay, so here are some more features of the home. It had a vintage St. Charles kitchen dating back to the 1940s – a very early set, I believe. There was even one cabinet with a built-in, pull-out meat slicer. And look at this incredible round dinette — and in what great shape! The kitchen was yellow with red trim – it also had yellow cabinets with red laminate countertops. A wonderful color combination. Oh – and notice that scalloped edge linoleum (another photo in the gallery) – breathtaking!

I loved this matador plaque.

The dining room furniture was very modern. Notice the delicious crystal chandelier — and I hope you can see the valence over the pinch pleats.

Of course, there was a completely – over-the-top pink bathroom – with marbleized pink laminate on virtually every surface. Wrought-gold mirrors and swans and angels and poddles and…Look at the swag lamp!

I was in heaven, of course. I just kept walking around with my mouth hanging open…. striking up conversations with complete strangers (who turned out to be fabulously interesting themselves)… and mumbling over and over “Unbelievable.” It was a good day.

Click on these gallery images once – then once again – to see them quite large:

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9 "Moe's in a row", I believe

Oh my goodness, some of the features in this 1966 Las Vegas time capsule are just exquisite.

The house is a little older than those I usually feature. But I couldn’t resist. The more immersed I become in designs of the 1946-1966 era (where I draw the lines around “postwar”), the more I also find myself tip-toeing into the late 60s and yes, early 70s. It’s all so much fun.

Love this house!

Love the doors!

Love the door handles!

Love the door bell!

Love love love the bathroom with its metallic wallpaper. I want my hair to go grey…then white…then blue in this bathroom mirror!

And did I mention the pool? Has anyone done definitive research – does Las Vegas have THE GREATEST mid mod houses in the nation?

Uncle Jack LeVine is a realtor who runs the Vintage Las Vegas blog, which I read every day. Yes, Jack, I really do! This is his listing. $495,000. Click here to see the online sales brochure. Thanks, Uncle Jack!

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