Christa writes:

Hello Pam,

I’m a long time reader and admirer of Retro Renovation. When we moved in to our 1961 Vancouver Island house last April, your site provided oodles of inspiration for me!

Christa says: My husband Garrett and 5-year-old son, Emmit. Here's one from an evening last Summer, when Emmit set up his toys so that he could put on a show for them

Since moving in, I have painted almost all of the interior, save for the staircase, and completed many small projects to rejuvenate our home with a bit of colourful 1960s flair.

It’s been a ton of fun, and now that we’re cruising toward Summer, I’m anticipating painting the house’s exterior so that the outside will match the inside in pizazz. I have been browsing your paint inspiration collections, Flickr, and my own collections of vintage house magazines, and I’ve got nothing- I need your help!

I’m inclined to incorporate some aqua or seafoam, and/or mustard, burnt orange, pink, even black — really I’m all over the map and coming to a place of confusion in regards to what will actually suit the house. What will help it ‘pop’?

And what do I do with the rock wall? Does one paint any part of it, or just leave it? I feel lost. Any guidance you, or your readers could provide would be SO appreciated.

Yours in thrifty mid century modest-ness,

Christa

Christa, you have a lovely house, it just seems so idyllic. And, Vancouver Island: One of my favorite places in the world!

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Hi Pam,

I’m the Army officer that wrote you from Afghanistan about the Bowie Cape Cod!  Just wanted to send along a pic of my own pretty little house, which is the same model and same year as the one you featured today. I love your blog! It has been a great resource for me and a source of inspiration as I fix up our little place. Plus it makes a nice escape for me, when I read it here in Afghanistan, I can dream about my fun DIY hobby at home and read the thoughts and ideas of like minded retro renovators.

Not long after I acquired my pink toilet a friend was moving it and shattered the tank lid. I was practically in tears thinking it was a lost cause, but I was able to order an exact replacement from the fixture warehouse that advertises on your site! I sent them a chip from the shattered lid and a tracing of the tank top and they hooked me right up!

Two more pics. The first one [at top} is me in the photo! I love pink flamingos for their kitschy appeal, and own several. So when I found one in Afghanistan I had to have my photo with it.

The final pic is from a meeting I went to at the Afghan police headquarters. The general speaking thought I was taking a picture of him but really I was grabbing a photo of the window treatments and pretty pistachio wall color. Even Afghans know pinch pleats + sheers + traverse rod = good window treatment!

Well, I'll be home in 40 days, wrapping up my yearlong tour here. This is my fifth tour in the Middle East since 2002, I'm a military police officer and a paratrooper. My husband is a Green Beret and is here in Afghanistan also, in a different part of the country. When I get home I'll send a few before and after pics of our house. Our kitchen and living room are our best 'done' projects. We took them from 80s right back to MCM and my husband and I have quite the selection of retro bar ware and a fabulous turquoise free standing bar with hairpin legs.

Check out this article and the many terrific photos -- I did not include any in my story because I did not have time yet to track down permissions.

I thought you might get a kick out of these few pics of mid-century Afghanistan. Kabul, Afghanistan has remnants of mid-century architecture that can still be glimpsed through the dust and crumbling concrete. The 50′s through the 70′s were a booming time for Kabul before the Soviet invasion and an era of peace, connection with the outside world, and opportunity for men and women. I’ve attached a few photos from the 50′s and 60′s showing how it was more westernized then. These were published in a terrific Foreign Policy article on May 27, 2010 called “Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan…Record Stores, Mad Men Furniture, and pencil skirts — when Kabul had rock n’ roll, not rockets”.

[In our email exchange I told Mariah I was going to try to get to the DC area this spring and that maybe would could plan a Retro Renovation Meet-Up with readers there -- probably around a tour of Hillstead. She responded:] I hope you come to DC! It would be great to get together with you and other readers. I know my mom would love it as well. I still remember her saying to me in about 2004 (I was living in Tennessee – Fort Campbell then and was still in my cabin/farmhouse decor stage),”You know Mariah, folks your age are buying ranchers and homes from the 50′s and 60′s and fixing them up the way they originally were.”  It was a brand new concept to me then!

Thanks Pam! Your friend in Afghanistan,

Mariah

Thank YOU, Mariah. You know this is going to blow all of us away. I’m a little unhinged, thinking that the blog could provide some happy diversion to folks like you putting your lives on the line to make the world safer. Please take care. I hope we can meet in the spring. I’d love to see your house — it sounds PERFECT. Readers, you can get more info on Mariah’s house by reading the very first comment in this story. I guess that she can be first to read the blog every day… I publish at 4:30 a.m. Eastern, which seems to be 2:30 p.m. in Afghanistan.

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Oh my goodness, I’m having palpitations, this is the sweetheart Cape Cod home that architect Royal Barry Wills built for himself and his family in 1920 in Melrose, Mass. Before he went and got all famous and became the #1 influence (in my view) on mid-century homes all across America. This house should go into historic preservation. And – they should restore it inside and out to look just like it did on the magazine cover shown in the listing information — I assume it’s the same house. For sale as of July 2010.

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