So what are you doing this weekend? Mick most likely is entertaining friends at his Flamingo Drive-In, the amazing backyard theater that he created behind his 1943 cabin. Ain’t got no plasma, ain’t got no hot tub — just good old-fashioned lawn chairs, a projector and click on through to see a little classic Hollywood glamour, too…

Mick writes:

Hey Pam!

I was wondering, what are your feelings on 1950’s fountain side tables? Any idea where or who come up with the idea?

I’ve also attached a picture of the Home Theater I’ve built in back of my 1943 Cabin…

So of course, I ask Mick to send more. He tells us:

The back yard strays from traditional 1940’s and is a summer tribute to the 1950’s.

I LOVE the vintage lawn chairs and have 26 vintage pieces, the oldest being from 1929, and one chair legended to have come from the 1931 Worlds Fair in France! If you’d like more picture of the Drive-In let me know!

Thanks!

Mick

Wow, Mick, that it really something. I am really impressed. Regarding your question about fountain tables. I am not sure what that refers to. Like, those things that hung onto car doors at the drive-in, maybe? In all the excitement about your backyard drive-in, I forgot to ask you clarify… Thanks for sharing these great photos!

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Longtime readers may recognize this photo, it’s one of my favorite images of idealized 50s family life ever. And ooooh, I like that colonial-modern kitchen, too! But look, it also includes pots of red geraniums on the window sill. In my detail-focused time travels back into retroworld, I have most definitively noticed a trend to include red geraniums in postwar kitchen designs. I have a few theories why: 1) Geraniums are big and bold – in synch with the times. 2) They are middle class… egalitarian. 3) They need sun, and we were California-livin’. 4) They look really good with cool colors like aqua and robin’s egg blue. 5) They also play into the patriotic sensibilities of the time. I run a flickr group called Midcentury Modern Red Geraniums -  take a look at about 50 images in all. The majority of them come from flickr friend American Vintage Home, who has quite an online archive of vintage photography. Thank, you American Vintage!

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Kristin has been doing some retro renovation – of her garden. She has uncovered lots of shrubs and perennials under years of scrub. She has planted her built-in brick planter with retro style plants. And her neighbor Lee — another RR reader — nabbed this patio set for her off another neighbor’s curb. Dumpster divers unite! Hey, Kristin. You mention that your neighborhood is “newly popular.” Were you being serious? Tell us more….
Kristin and I exchanges several emails, I think it’s fun to read all pieced together. She writes:

So glad you like! One caveat is that the quality is beneath my standards as I took them with my iPhone. Still they are decent! The ones in the front aren’t as detailed as the sun had gone down quite a bit. Perhaps a reader can identify the shrub in the photo titled “unknown shrub”? The utility company lopped the top off a month or do ago as it was near the wires…grrrr. I when left out a number of uncovered gems but I’ll do more next Spring after we have pruned and really fixed things up. The back of the house is up against an alley with a 50’s strip mall and there is a wood privacy fence there and along the neighbors to our west, but the fence is still up all around. We were cutting crap out last weekend and discovered rounds of the original stuff cut at the height to protect beds just as if they had sat there for YEARS! We have a huge backyard…somehow it didn’t rust one round, but the other got a little rusty.

I met a neighbor through Retro Renovation who has become a friend and he just gave us a vintage set of wrought iron patio furniture his neighbor had just put on the curb! Retro Renovation equals Social Networking site! Wait til he sends pix of his ranch interior!!! Holy moley.  I posted about trying to remove my vintage antenna from my chimney and I mentioned we lived in Colonial Acres. Well, Lee is an avid reader and follower of your site (as is evidenced by his time capsule home) and he lives 5 blocks south in the same newly-popular neighborhood! So he posted a response and he invited us to several parties, none that we’ve been able to make yet! But he came to my yard sale and then we became Facebook friends and there ya go! Well, it is just amazing how much stuff in his house was untouched!  He has the original metal cabinets, porcelain sink, formica countertops, linoleum floor, hardwoods, all the doors are the original, unpainted wood including his pocket doors (mine were all painted white–any idea how to get that off?)…plus original crystal chandelier in the dining room, cracked brick tile mosaic add-on floor with brick fireplace….it is just a  little miracle!  Plus he has 1.5 baths all with original tile and the colored fixtures!

Looking around in out neighborhood at the houses for sale, I’d say we were lucky to get what we got as far as it not being chopped and remodeled  to bits.  My only dismay is the Home Depot tile over the lino in the kitchen, the Home Depot stainless sink and ugly replacement faux wood countertops in there and the thick white paint over every door including my fantastic pocket doors on all closets.

Thank you, Kristin! To heck with our houses, all. Let’s get out and garden!

 

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Vince recently wrote in with a link to this great looking, vintage-style patio set. “I thought you might be interested in seeing the nice vintage patio set that is being offered by Crate & Barrel in their outlet site. You can purchase pieces separately or an entire 5 piece set.” I believe that these are very classic style of what’s called “motel chairs” because, you got it, they sat in front of motels and motor court inns. Motels….Ah the car and the summer vacation.  I remember the scene well — Mom and Dad piled us into the back of Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. Put the back seats down and treated it like a playpen, no seatbelts of course. Chain smoked with windows up and the A/C down. Drove 90 mph. Good times. That got me to thinkin’ I would do a round up of other possible motel chairs out there…I know I’ve seen them. And, on my second clickaroo, I found that Apartment Therapy had recently done one.  AT’s round-up includes Plow & Hearth, Grandin Road, LL Bean, LB International, and Vermont Country Store.

Also, don’t forget my post on Woodward patio furniture — it’s not “motel” style but still, quite close to authentic retro. See the post in the first Related Posts, below. And of course, you can always find vintage. Methinks the old ones may be more heavy duty – although not with that shiny new powder coated finish.

Thanks, Vince, for inspiring this very important summertime post!

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NO DISCUSSION OF MIDCENTURY LANDSCAPING IS COMPLETE without including the famous pink flamingo lawn ornaments designed by Don Featherstone. According to my online research, Featherstone is an artist who sculpted 750 products for Union Products, Inc., in Leominster, Mass., starting in 1956. He sculpted the iconic pink flamingos in 1957. They were based on National Geographic images, and they went on the market in 1958. The taller one is 30″ tall when staked into the ground. Read on for more history — and how to still buy these today!

In 1987, Featherstone inscribed his name on the original molds, in order to differentiate them from knockoffs. Today, all the authentic reproductions being made will still have Featherstone’s signature molded into them.

Featherstone actually rose to lead the company. He retired in 2000, and still resides in Fitchburg, Mass. — where he reportedly has 57 of his flamingos on his front lawn. Also, Wikipedia says that he and his wife have dressed alike for more than 28 years. My goodness, I need to visit, these two are folks after my own heart!

Unfortunately, Union Products closed in 2006 – but fortunately, a year later a company named HHC International purchased the famous flamingo molds. It produces from them today in Westmoreland, NY. I remember that there was a ton of news media attention on this story at the time.

You can buy original reproduction flamingo ornaments for $15.99 (a good price, I think) from my Amazon Favorites store –  Click to buy it here.

There’s also a book written by Don Featherstone himself. Maybe a good one for the sun porch, or the guest bathroom? Buy it here.

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Elizabeth lives not too far from me. I was invited to come down and see her house – and her gorgeous magnolia. But, I was out of town the week it bloomed so I haven’t made it down yet.  I am nutso for my garden this year! In a week or two we have our favorite landscape guy – who knows what grows well here, low maintenance, really well — coming to put in a new crabapple tree and some more shrubs, and a second tree that I forget the name of. Our 1951 colonial-ranch house is pretty much “done” in terms of renovation expense, so now our spare cash is going to landscaping. I’m looking forward to sittin’ on the front patio in my rockin’ chair and watching my new trees and shrubs grow, year after year after year.  How is your garden growing this year? What are you putting in?

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MARY-FRANCES of Meanwhile Back At The Ranch recently featured an excellent story from the National Trust for History Preservation that seeks to address that age-old question: Should I buy replacement windows? The NTHP’s answer, modified by me: Go slow in making this decision, and have a bias toward trying to work with what you have. Best solution may be to tighten up your existing windows, add storms, and for improved energy conservation look at adding attic insulation, a new furnace, a programmable thermostat — even just window treatments! These are likely far “greener” solutions than sending (likely better quality) old wood windows to the dump and causing the energy-intensive manufacturer of all-new windows. Bottom line, with windows: The ‘easy’ answer — to work with what you have — might not only be the ‘cheapest’ but also the ‘greenest.’  Click here to go to the NTHP article. And note: We’re talking wood windows here. I haven’t seen advice on steel or aluminum windows … sorry… as I know that’s another question for some readers. A safety issue with aluminum/steel windows seems to be: If there is a fire, can you open them easily?

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In this RetroRenovation classic re-run from April 2008, Madison Sarah writes to express her concern about midcentury homes lacking curb appeal. She is looking to buy a new/old home. I share my advice on what to look for when shopping for a home, and also how we handled starting out with a house whose curb appeal had most definitely faded.

Madison Sarah writes:

Hi Pam,

First of all, I have to say how much I love your site. It has helped me move from a rabid collector of retro lamps into someone obsessed with finding the perfect 60s house (and thus giving up my lovely, but labor-intensive, Arts & Crafts home that I have slaved over for six years).

My problem is this: I hate the exteriors of most of the houses I am looking at! Whether it’s the flat facade, with the windows and door and garage all in a row, or the cliched colonial brick-and-shutters motif (sometimes with a weathervane on the garage for an extra touch), just can’t see the curb appeal. Do you have any advice on how to either learn to live with the exteriors of these houses, or to enhance them in such a way that they look more interesting?

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

Sarah (Madison, WI)

Thank you, Sarah. Wisconsin is another of my favorite places – I went to college in Milwaukee. That is one cold place. I heard that this year, it snowed EVERY SINGLE day of the winter. You are hearty souls indeed.

Okay, so, the exteriors of modest postwar homes. Here are my thoughts:

You know, many of these homes are quite plain. In the first five years after WWII, issues like ‘curb appeal’ were quite secondary considering the incredible demand for functional housing coupled with the very modest tastes following 20 years of economic deprivation. Quite opposite today – people had to be pried loose from their wallets, they were still so concerned following those depression years.

By about 1953, though, we began to relax into affluence and real consumerism kicked in, bringing with it a design flair that emanated from (1) Modernism and California Cool and/or (2) neo-Colonial-revival inspiration. The preference for both of these styles came out of the post-WWII desire to invent an authentic American look. While at the opposite ends of the spectrum, one reaches to our possible future, while the other harkens to our historic past.

Now – whether you like the looks of these homes is a matter of personal taste. And it’s a taste than can evolve out of appreciation and understanding.

When we found our 1951 colonial-ranch here in Lenox, Mass., seven years ago – buying retro had not been on our radar at all. We wanted a quaint New England farmhouse. Fortunately, as it turned out, the house has been great – and inspired this great passion I now have.

Initially, our home’s exterior was…pretty awful. In my opinion the trim paint did nothing for the exterior, the trees and shrubs were overgrown… there was a lack of decorative punch. People used to come inside the house – and act surprised at how nice it was – because from the outside, it appeared so “innocuous.” In fact, I came to like this fact. It kind of played to my rebelliousness about “not keeping up with the Joneses.” In fact, this unpretentiousness is basic to the mid-century design ethic. Excess ornamentation is not functional – and it also costs unnecessary money, which would put these homes a little farther out of reach. Simpler=Democratic.

Even so, over the years we made a number of changes to our house that made it much more pleasant, and today the house has really nice – colonial – curb appeal. It was kind of like the ugly duckling that we turned into a swan.

So, what to look for, in your house hunt?

1. My #1 tip when it comes to buying a house: Location, location, location, like the realtors say. That includes, good feng shui, in particular: No roads “pointing” into your house, if possible. Someday you will likely want to sell. Not only will best location make it be easier to sell, but your investment will have compounded at a much nicer clip. And, it will be a nicer place to live in the meantime. If at all possible, I would not compromise on location; hold out.
2. After that – look for an interior that has the right scale and room flow. Is it truly truly livable? Can you imagine using each of the spaces to its fullest possible extent?
3. If possible, original kitchen, bathroom, floors, windows – etc. Un-remuddled, and of good quality. Yes, you know I am a fan of time capsules! If original features are of good quality – and if they are safe and environmentally sound (always know what you are living/working with) – they are gems and will save you tons of money in renovation costs. (If you find these time capsule features, do NOT act excited. Most people are not like us. Use this as a negotiating lever, like, furrow your eyebrows and say worriedly, “Well I kind of like it but, oh my gosh, that kitchen hasn’t had any updates since the day they moved in…hmmm”).
4. And of course – a price that is fair considering all these factors.

If these four factors are right – you should be jumping up and down in the foyer with excitement.  In your head, not in front of the real estate agent.

The look of the exterior would be at least this far down my list – probably farther. Because anything cosmetic — is fixable.

I jumped on Realtor.com for Madison, and found several homes, all under $200,000, that looked like nice examples of the era. Of course, I can’t weigh on location, #1. But the four homes I show here all have exterior charm that looks workable – and several of them have “one owner for 35 years” or “needs TLC and/or updating” — codewords to me that there may be original stuff inside.

Over the next while, I’ll do some more posts on ways to spruce up an exterior. Now that it’s spring is here in the north, the time is right!

I hope this helps, Sarah. I’m a big believer in truly loving your house. I hope you find the one that’s right for you. Keep up apprised of how your hunt goes!

Epilogue: Sarah contacted me a few months later and said she’d found a house she was happy with — and was loving her new neighborhood.

This post has been updated from the original, which ran on April 15, 2008.

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Reader Tiki Lisa did major retro reconnaissance in her neighborhood — and photographed these 57 midcentury exteriors. She’s sharing via this slide show linked to her flickr photostream. Great exterior details here — wood trim, shutters, brick work, roof slopes, paint colors, window boxes, and more. And,  I’m particularly in love with all the Cinderella ranch homes, also known as Storybook ranch homes. You live in a retro-wonderland, TL! Many thanks!

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Midcentury homes come in all styles and sizes – generally with either “ranch style” or “colonial style” elements. The house above: A real mix of the two, and the exterior touches really give it…stature, even despite its small size – just 1,000 s.f. There is so much you can do to add great curb appeal to your postwar ranch, cape, colonial, bungalow, or split. Read on for 17 illustrated ideas… In our first house, notice:

1. The cupola above the garage. I really like cupola’s for the visual interest that they provide. Check out the Brosco catalog for a number of styles – get a hard copy, their website is not helpful.

2. The tree at the left, and that shrub at the left corner are “higher” than other greenery. Feng shui says that looking at a house, the left side is the “dragon” side that protects the house – trees and shrubs should be higher here. The right side is the “phoenix” side – lower to the ground here, please. I kind of also works in the west because we read left to right. I use this dragon/phoenix principle in decorating on the inside, too.

3. Not exactly shown here, but one other principle for exterior landscaping that I picked up when I did my house two summers ago and was doing extensive research: If you can (and it makes sense visually for your house), bring the beds along the house out the full height of your facade. That is, if the facade of your house (not including the roof) is 9′ high…bring your beds out 9′. This “grounds” the house within the landscaping quite nicely. The beds don’t seem “dinky.”

4. Let your windows breathe. Don’t have shrubbery covering them and if you do, trim it back.

5. Notice how the window treatments contribute to curb appeal. There are horizontal blinds with tape at each window. The draperies are all a light yellow. Harmony in repetition can make a big impact.

6. If you have a house like this, stay with the wide clapboards. The scale is so nice.

7. And of course, that structure at the front door is so welcoming, and the brick planter makes a nice addition.

Thoughtful exterior touches elevate this house, which otherwise could have been a forgettable ranch box:

8. Add shutters: Match them to your roof color. Note how they are sized vertically to also encompass the trim underneath the window. The rule of thumb for width is to take half the window width – as if the shutters actually could be used.

9. Garage door: Matched to the shutter trim color.

10. And notice how the stone trim under the bay also is that nice warm sandy brown. Your eye dances right along this house horizontally because all these colors are linked.

11. Consider using the front gable to introduce another trim color and another material. And while this may really seem obsessive – this illustrator has imagined that the linings on all the draperies are lined in the same fabric and orange-y color, complementing the gable. Nice!

12. Hard to see, but there is dentil molding along the cornice of the bay window. Hey – the bay is a nice touch, don’t you think? Edged in that stone below.

13. Finally here, note the use of the fence at the left – the trellis at the door – and the trellis at the far right. These are nice hardscape touches that add interest to this exterior (and the others shown).

My goodness, I’ve seen this house everywhere across the country! Ideas:

14. Mix the materials used on your exterior. Looking left to right, notice how the bedroom window is edged and “sectioned off” from the shingle siding….see that little bathroom glass-block window with three horizontal trim pieces?…at the entry way, they’ve used vertical siding… and of course the stone makes a nice horizontal statement then rising to create a flower box.

15. In fact, it’s important to pause and underscore the use of materials that running horizontally along ranch-style homes. Ranch homes are long and low to the ground…they have a horizontal profile. Adding “footwalls” or “kneewalls” of brick or stone are a great way to emphasize the horizontal profile. In addition, you often see siding that runs half-way up the sides of a ranch home – this also can split it in two horizontally. In addition, these techniques add visual interest by introducing another material to differentiate a ranch-box. I will add, though, in thinking about doing these kinds of changes, scale becomes very important – and is a while ‘nother discussion altogether.

16. Of course, the entry way structure itself makes a welcoming statement. Notice how it’s roofline extends around the right-hand side of the house, almost like an awning.

17. Finally, I like how the chimney is painted white like the siding of the house. Nice!

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