Feast your retro eyes on the 1939 color harmony guide from Kroehler, one of the largest furniture manufacturers back in the day. That smart devil Missouri Michael found it on ebay — it’s still in its original crinkled cellophane wrapper (!) — won it for $2 with no competition, and posted it on his blog. Drats and double drats. It should have been miiiiiiine. My search terms are failing me. Good news, Michael very graciously gave me permission to show the color chart here, too. Remember my recent post on 1940s decorating style? Colors like the ones above are synonymous with the era: Jewel tones with strong Hollywood-glamour contrasts…As well as sweet and sunny kinda-grayed-out pastels. Also: Notice the cheery prints recommended for window treatments. You can read more about Michael’s find — and also access a larger version of this color chart — over on his wonderful blog, Cul-de-sac Shack. Thank you, Michael!

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Jamie is in the final stage of renovating her 1950 bathroom, which has an *unusual* combination of tile, trim and fixtures: Turquoise tile, burgundy trim, and pink sink, tub and toilet. You can see an unmasked photo of the colors on the jump, but I had to use this one for the lead because: Oh my goodness, haven’t we all been here, amidst CHAOS. Now that the walls are prepped and the vanity and window are stripped of their old layers of paint (I hope you tested for lead and used proper safety/enviro precautions, Jamie), Jamie wants some “okay-now-I-must-really-make-a-final-decision-so-let-me-torture-myself-some-more” advice on what to do with the walls and the vanity to tie everything together. Okay, I am only assume she’s torturing herself — because that’s what I do, no question. Jamie has asked our help. Read on for her complete explanation… see some more photos (great curved ceilings!) and then let’s hear what you have to say, retro renovators. Jamie writes:

The bathroom "before" the wood vanity and window were stripped of old paint, and "before" the walls were prepped. AWESOME gorgeous basics, wouldn't you agree? That turquoise is LUMINOUS.

I was hoping you and the other readers could possibly give me some ideas for my bathroom. I have included a before-picture and a picture of how it looks now. The window frame and cabinets have already been stripped of all paint. When prepping the walls we came to the conclusion that the original paint was a pink that was an almost exact match to the sink, tub, and toilet. We were thinking that the cabinets may have originally been pink too….seems like a lot of PINK! Toying with the idea of staining the window and cabinets, but…not sure. I honestly would just love a fresh opinion…I have poured over the site and books but I am just not having any luck on ideas… I think the problem for me is trying to figure out all the different colors….pink , turquoise, and burgundy.  I look at other bathrooms and haven’t quite found the same color combination…

Thanks so much! Jamie

So, readers, what do you think? What should Jamie do with the walls… and the vanity and window frame… to tie everything together in one sparkly jewel box bathroom package? I am going to hold back and let you readers run today’s show. A few more photos are below — delicious!

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Hi Pam,

Just thought I’d drop you a note. Thanks to inspiration from your site, we just recently, i.e. in the last 24 hours, finished rejuvenating the kitchen in our 1938 house. It didn’t take much, the cabinets were in great shape and the 1958 GE range looks brand new (we’re only the second owners of the house), but the very neutral vinyl floors and formica had to go. We replaced the floor with a medium blue Marmoleum with a dark blue stripe and did the countertops with the same dark blue Marmoleum and the same stainless steel edging you did your countertops with. We finished off with a new Kohler sink with hudee ring.

Dave continues:

We’ve been in the house for right about a year. We outgrew our 900 sq ft 1931 brick house by the time our twin boys turned one and casually started trolling the real estate sites. We knew we wanted another brick house and were fond of the late 20’s through early 40’s architectures. We found this one at about 10 p.m. one night and I promptly drove over that night to check out the neighborhood. This house was about 2 miles west, right in the neighborhood we were most hoping to find something…. We put in a contingent offer and our old house sold the same day it was listed! This house is about 1,700 sq. ft. excluding the unfinished basement.

We bought it from a lady whose dad originally built the house and she had been living in it since she was 12. I even found a copy of the building permit in the basement dated 1939 with her dad’s name on it. We love it when old houses look old and have their original elements so needless to say we instantly fell in love with this house. My wife took a slight bit of convincing since the exterior architecture has a bit less whimsical character than our old house. Being late 30’s, it seemed to be gaining some of the minimalist traditional lines as opposed to the revival era cottage/tudor look of our early 30’s old house.  The house was in impeccable shape. Prior to us moving in, the original owner had just removed red shag carpet covering the red oak hardwoods and douglas fir softwoods (upstairs).

I believe the only real non-original elements were kitchen floors and countertops and the light fixtures save for a fantastic deco chandelier in the dining room. We’ve gone through and replaced the non-original light fixtures with a combination of vintage and reproduction. We also replaced the switch plates and outlet plates with NOS brown bakelite plates, but many of the original brown bakelite tumbler switches are still installed and working. We haven’t taken many pictures of the inside of the house since we moved in, but I posted the staged real estate pics from last year if you would like to see them.

You can tell that the stove desperately needs a big white and chrome Big Chill fridge next to it, I’m still trying to convince my wife of that though…  (Even so,) you’ll see my wife decided to get in on the whole retro thing with an attempt to recreate one of the campy vintage ads

 

If you’re interested, here are the particulars for the rejuve:

• Marmoleum field color: “Sparkling Lake”, this seemed almost identical to the color in the Armstrong ad
• Marmoleum stripe and countertop color: “Deep Ocean”, this too seemed nearly identical
• James at Nielsen Bros. Flooring (Seattle) did the install work (James was very patient when it came time to do the metal trim)
• Light over the Fridge: Rejuvenation “Atlantic” fixture with “Streamline 8 inch Opal” shade
• Light over the Dinette: Rejuvenation “Arcadia” fixture with ”Streamline 8 inch Opal” shade
• Kohler Triton Facet (K-7776) and Kohler Triton Cross Handles (K-16012-3)
• Kohler Bakersfield White Sink (K-5834) — I found out the hudee ring is sold separately.. (K-6599)
• Stainless steel edging from New York Metals — One nice hint, too. Wherever I ended up with cracks in the mitered corners and whatnot, I used silver/gray gutter sealant as a filler. It blends in fairly nicely with the stainless. Soldering would probably be best, but this was far easier.
• We got inspiration for the color palette from a 1941 armstrong ad I found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanvintagehome/3331401646/

I asked Dave in our email exchange whether he had considered Bradbury and Bradbury’s 1940s wallpaper line. He responded:

It’s funny you mention the wallpaper. I was just showing my wife some of the deco wallpaper on their site last night. You can’t see it in any of the photos, but as you leave the kitchen toward the hallway and head out the back door, there is a wall about 6 feet long covered with some wallpaper from the 70’s. Some of their wallpaper there would be perfect.

Fantastic work, Dave and Frances — the linoleum with the contrasting trim is fantastic, the countertop looks great, and you know I love that Kohler sink. Clearly, you show how making just some minor updates made to fundamentally sound original features can make for a charming (and not too expensive) renovation that makes the house truly feel like your own. I do have two questions I forgot to ask: I was under the impression that today’s linoleum in not particularly recommended for countertops. What were you told about this issue? Also, did you have to adjust the size of the countertop substrate material in order to accommodate the increased thickness of the linoleum vs. laminate? Thank you so much for sharing — this story will be very popular with readers whose homes or styles tend more toward 1940s sweetness than 1950s atomic.

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A number of readers asked if I could share more details about the content of my recent home show talks. I did not videotape them, because they are 30 minutes long or longer — and that does not make for good video. So over the next while, I instead will break the talks down into digestible, illustrated chunks. During my talks, I pretty much always strive to put mid-century design into historical context as I display vintage illustrations. And, I usually start at the beginning: the 1940s. Disclaimer up front: I don’t have a degree in this – I’m a passionate observer, who is still “putting all the pieces into place.”

In the immediate wake of the war’s end, there was a tremendous housing shortage. I’ve read that we needed to get 6 million homes built as quickly as possible. And I’ve even seen references indicating that the government was concerned that if we didn’t deal with the housing (and jobs) situation quickly enough, America’s young men would become restless and political – in a bad way. So we built houses as fast as we could. Usually: Very small houses by today’s standards, no more than 1,000 s.f. There were material shortages given all this construction… as evidenced in the 1946 Aladdin Homes customer letter, above. I also swear I’ve read somewhere that there were prohibitions on building more than one indoor bathroom at some point… I need to find the source.

Also, in terms of design, in this immediate postwar period, the “look” still tended to be similar to that of the late 1930s and wartime period. There had also been material shortages during the war, so manufacturers had put all their new-design work on hold. A good example: After the war, when Heywood Wakefield retooled its factories to again produce furniture, its Riviera line was really just the same, but with new handles, as the Rio line produced earlier.

Because of the shortage and ramping up from 1946 until 1952, these years are generally viewed at more “40s style” than “50s style.” (In his terrific book Populuxe, Thomas Hine looks at the 1953-1963 years, which were more exuberant.) So what did the 1946-1953 interior design look like? Here is additional explanation of the eight characteristics:

1. Innocent: When I look at some 1940s design, I see a real sweetness. We still were a nation in which the masses did not have a lot of material affluence. No clutter, far less excess. Thanks to Kohler for this 1949 image from their archives.
2. Sentimental: When the war ended, the nation was immensely grateful to have their men and women all back home. It had been five years of tremendous sacrifice. I see a lot of ads like this one, that celebrate the simple pleasures in life. Wallpaper is sweet, flowery.
3. Sunny: Kind of same as above. There was so much to be grateful for, that we did not necessarily need “more stuff” to be happier. One other thought is that we still were a nation with a lot of farmers and apartment dwellers – the spaces were small, money was tight, and as a result, interiors and their decorative appointments were simpler.

   Sanitary: White kitchen cabinets, or wood. Remember, we still were a nation concerned about vermin and disease, including polio. When your kitchen is white, you can see the dirt.

4. Patriotic: I see a lot of red-white-blue kitchen color combinations. In generally, I think I see richer colors – full-on primary colors and jewel tones – than in the later 1950s pastel period. I’ll attribute this to carryover 1930s preferences and to the influence of Hollywood, but there may have been other factors — there often are, often related to technological innovation.
5. Traditional: My mom, who grew up in the 40s, says the furniture was all dark wood where she lived in Pennsylvania – the influence of Europe, she recalls. Of course, we also had Heywood Wakefield blonde – but we also had colonial maple from Heywood Wakefield, Cushman, Willett and scores if not hundreds of small regional manufacturers. The more I explore the history of interior design – of all eras – the more convinced I become that: We are a traditional nation.
6. Hollywood glamour: Think Nick and Nora and the Thin Man. We did not get television until 1949… before that, our idols were often very glamorous. Remember women’s clothes from the 1940s – their hats and tailored suits and gloves and bags and hose, the whole very put-together thing? That’s the look I think of for 1940s bedrooms and living rooms – formal, very put together. In other rooms, we also may see large prints used on wallpaper and barkcloth pinch pleats, often tropical.
7. Streamline – deco – jazz age: Through to 1953, I think I see more high-contrast bathrooms. That is: black bullnose (or dark green or maroon bullnose, depending on the field tile color). Post-1953, the bullnose is less likely to be black and more likely to be the same color or a similarly toned contrast color, e.g. pink and mint, pink and robin’s egg, etc.

As part of my recent blog update… and now that I’m back from the home show… I’ll be working to ensure all stories are in the right categories so that they will be easier to search up on the blue navigation bar. Meanwhile,if the 1940s are your thing, take a look at the 1940s stories up in Browse STORIES so far.

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Let me take you on a little stroll though kitchen design history from the 1930s though the 1950s — with this terrific series of images from Kohler. Vicki Hafenstein of the media relations team at Kohler is really helpful and responsive, and quickly supplied these vintage kitchen photos and illustrations to help with the etsy.com video. She is also hunting some pink bathroom illustrations for my talk in Charlotte. I really appreciate your help, Vicki!  I also wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone that Kohler makes two hudee-rimmed porcelain-on-cast-iron sinks still available today — they would be my top choices for a Retro Renovation kitchen. Oh, and have I ever mentioned that when I found my 67 vintage Geneva steel kitchen cabinets, the former cooking-school set also came with four vintage, 42″ wide, double-bowl, hudee-ringed Kohler sinks? One is now installed in my kitchen.

These first three images show old, farmhouse style sinks. I don’t really understand the design evolution of sinks. I am pretty sure they were all heavy cast iron, because that was the dominant metal-making technology. Honestly, these have kind of a “trough” feel to me, I am guessing they are in fact derived from designs originally used on farms. I need to do more research… The design above shows how the sink was not necessarily integrated with the cabinets.

Here we have a little evolution – the sink at least is tucked along the same wall as the cabinets, and it has legs. Look at the deep bowl, which also has a hinged top.

This looks like a bungalow kitchen. You see further integration of the sink into the cabinetry — a clear line in the evolution of “fitted kitchens.”

I love this illustration, which I am guessing comes from the 40s, I’d say. The way the linoleum (probably) counter is fitted to the sink — with that stainless steel strip — is a giveaway that this is an earlier-postwar-era kitchen. Did you know that Kohler also made steel kitchen cabinets at one point? I am pretty sure these are theirs.

This looks to be the same sink as the one above – without the drainboards. Late 40s and early 50s kitchens were much more likely to have built-in banquettes or dinettes and such. Kind of a carryover from bungalows. As kitchen design progressed, it seems we moved to stand-alone dinettes. Maybe this derives from the fact there could be less craftsmanship as housing construction boomed. Bungalows were part of the “arts and crafts” era — a return to hand-made and craftsmanship in a backlash response to mass industrialization during the Victorian era. With the etsy.com handmade movement today, I think we are seeing a bit of this same sentiment.

The same kitchen, perhaps — but in a real-life installation (as opposed to an illustration).

Same kitchen as above, it appears – with Shirley Temple lookalike. Hey, and notice all the mid-century modern geraniums.

Ahhhh, notice that the sink has “lost” its integrated backsplash, and it’s set into the laminate countertop with its metal hudee ring. More design evolution. It’s like… monkees losing their tails and becoming… human!

We are into the heart of 1950s kitchens now, I think.

Woah, look at this beauty! Early 50s? Honestly, I don’t cook much, BUT it still seems that I am doing dishes all the time. I would REALLY love to have drainboards like this to the left and to the right. So practical for managing the dishes piling up, going through production, then over to drying.

Like this! Except that today, we compost all of our carrot peelings. Right, people?! Obviously, it’s impossible to say because this is a black-and-white photo, but: That sure looks like a colored sink to me. Let’s guess.

This is one of the two images from my collection of vintage Kohler ads. Gorgeous mid-century kitchen, isn’t it?

And this colonial modern Kohler kitchen (also from my collection) — one of my favorites of all time, truly.

Modern! Can anyone give me a date based on the oven?

Finally, I want to remind everyone that Kohler still makes two, metal-rimmed, cast-iron-on-porcelain kitchen sinks available today. The Delafield sink has two bowls, the Bakersfield, one. The list price from Kohler’s website is shown in the images above — but talk to your local retailers, I bet you can do better. You can see all my mid-century kitchen resources recommendations anytime over on my Product Guides: Kitchens Page.

 

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This is a terrific 1956 kitchen that shows the continuing popularity of Early American design, but with modern touches…  “coolonial.” The Early American design is visible enough — the copper pots and ironstone, the cast-iron trivets and the cabinetry, the simple and patriotic paint scheme, the forefather portrait, the scallops and the captain’s chair.

Look closer, though, and you see the modern: The pull down light… those dining room chairs have a shaker-modern feel…the mid-century modern red geraniums.

Meanwhile, over on the kitchen counter, there’s a blue glass genie bottle — which now gives TroySF something to collect for under his ties) and hey, that’s sterno under the bean pot.

Click this thumbnail to see the complete, enlarged image:

 

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Drexel Perspective dining room suite. Very nice. I love the horizontal red cabinets doors on the hutch. And it’s nice to see dark wood for a change.

The Drexel Perspective living room line and the Drexel Perspective bedroom suite.

Tee hee. Lots of little chrome goodies to organize your small closet. Does anyone still have any of these? Hat racks – two styles. And look at the extendable hooks to hang clothes — kind of a carryover from armoire days?

First reader who puts in chartreuse wall-to-wall carpet and sends me pics wins a prize. Doesn’t chartreuse look beautiful with medium-blue? Note lamp.

I know that lots of folks will flip over this interior. Would you have ever guessed it was 1952? Look at those lamps.

Swinging the pendulum back the totally opposite direction, here’s an early American interior with a very pretty paint scheme. If you have recessed nooks, like this, consider painting them a different color to achieve this very nice effect. What a great way to highlight artwork.

Here is a great shot to the outdoors from an indoor porch or Florida room. Love the pinch pleats. LOVE the wire patio furniture.

In the past I’ve searched for a source for old-fashioned “mill finish” screen doors. I remember finding some, but I have lost the trail. I have two in my basement, scored at estate sales. Lord knows what I will do with them. Meanwhile, my next-door neighbor once told me she threw hers out when she moved in. It had a “P” set into it!!!!

I think that dishwashers must have been hot in ‘52 because I found three ads for competing brands in one magazine. Here is a American Kitchens brand dishwasher, touted as eight years in the making. Note how there is one configuration where it is built into the sink base. Is there a dishwasher-only configuration? Does it have its own porcelain top? Anyone ever seen one of these?

Here’s the Crosley. Hmmm. I’m thinking the stand-alone dishwashers were under-counter installations, just like today.

The Youngstown dishwasher loaded from the top. Howdy do, that’s sure to impress the girls from the neighborhood.

Vintage Dutch Boy paint ads have such great color palettes — lots of inspiration here.

A very pretty kitchen from Armstrong. Again: Can you believe this is 1952? It’s definitely foreshadowing the next 10 years of exuberant design to come. Note the floor tile design, floor-tile-design aficionados.

More flooring ideas. I like that basket weave design.

And more floors. Love the kitchen cabinets. Is that his wife, do you think? I think we should start a wacky caption feature, don’t you?

Fantastic Rubbermaid. You see these every now and then NOS MIB. I have one from the 60s — avocado green, with gold flowers. It’s too big for my stove. Drats.

An over-the-top Armstrong bathroom. The wallpaper seems to have an Asian motif … it also reminds me of the Saul Steinberg wallpapers I showed last week.

This is way more typical of what I’d expect to see in a 1952 bathroom. The last gasp of 1940s Hollywood glam style. Those are large Carrera glass tiles (or similar brand) on the wall. Have always adored that American Standard toilet seat.  Oh, and the little bitty tub that is really sort of a shower receptor, delicious. Drats, this size tub was still available in the early 2000’s, from Eljer, as I recall.

Speaking of Eljer. They have that massive toilet seat, too. Funny, the details you grow to like. Pretty pretty Ming green.

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This ad, from Dec. 1955, features a Hardwick gas range, confetti flooring, wire furniture and natural-stain shutters.

Alas, my scanner may be dying because the color in this scan does not match the print ad. The blue in the original is softer — more of a powder blue. And, the wire chair is soft pink. This is a kitchen that mixes loud (black and white confetti floor) with soft (wire, pink, shutters) very nicely. Note: Putting more “heaviness” on the floor, or lower down in any room design, is generally okay. This literally “grounds” a room, just like the earth is dark, the sky is light.

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I do need to preface all of these photos by saying that the orange is reading very red from my scans on my monitor. Red shades are the most problematic to scan, and I don’t know how to color correct on photoshop. I’m telling you, you think that blogging will be all creative expressive glory. Really, it’s like 90% technical nonsense. I am not kidding, I have become a 90th percentile geek girl, and it is still not enough. But I diverge. The other colors are pretty close to “original”, though. I chose this photo out of interest in the fireplace… but when it comes to color accents for orange, also to showcase that medium slate/powder blue. This color looks really wonderful with orange in mid-century interiors. And hey, since your house is in Ann Arbor, Mich., you could get some M Go Blue juice going, too. Well, toned down a bit… In this photos, also notice the plant in the foreground right, in the groovy planter. Every self-respecting mid-century modern homeowner needs a tropical plant. My favorite mid-century plant is Monsterosa Deliciosa.

I know that you just tore out “atrocious” green carpeting. But, olive or avocado is another color that accents mid-century orange very beautifully.

Here’s another image where sharp colors seem to be freaking out my scanner. I sure hope it is not broken. Lord knows how you fix that. But again, you can see green — this time I’ll call it monsterosa green, it’s like a shiny tropical plant — paired with orange. The black accents provide a forceful (as opposed to milquetoast) counterpoint. And look at that powder blue piano. My goodness.

Regular readers will recognize this photo. It’s an ad for paneling. I chose it to show that blue chair…. a lovely punctuation mark in the room.

A rich jade pillow, and a navy pillow, on this orange sofa.

I noticed this ashtray in your living room, Rebecca — this blue-green jade (like the pillow above) would be a good accent color to build out in this room.

More green in this ridiculous photo … including in the recessed beer stein holder.

Orange makes you want to play the marancas — another photo showing mid-century musical instruments played at home. You also need a painting with roman horses — another favorite mid-century motif.

These are photos that I found in just three magazines from 1960 and 1961. I’ll be on the looking for more, and plan more posts on decorating with mid-century orange.

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