Peggy has two decorating questions for us … Morever, she shares her story and some of the fabulous features of her house — including floors I’ve never seen before. This is a good one! –>

Hi Pam,

I am a 23-year vet, and I learned about Aiken while stationed in the Carolinas, and decided that this would be a great place to retire. It’s a small town with lots of culture…and one of the most lovely historic sections in South Carolina…. made famous by the 100-year-old live oaks that were planted by Henry Dibble.

Pam, the first time I drove down my street… with this amazing canopy overhead, I was in awe! There are wonderful little ranch cottages with metal roofs, and beautiful historic homes known as the “winter colonies” up and down the street. So, when this little house came up for sale, I thought I just had to jump on it.  So I bought it, with the intentions of renting it out until I finished my last tour (I was stationed in Delaware), and found out that I had a lot of work to do!

Peggy says: The kitchen has wooden cabinets, I would guess from what I am reading on your blog, from perhaps the 60's when they started using wood. I had those sanded down, and painted with Benjamin Moore white oil based paint, and great vintage looking pulls added.

I was still in the Air Force, and was deploying to Iraq every 10 months, in fact, out of the last 3 years I was in, I spent a year in Iraq.  From Iraq, I orchestrated the replacement of worn out shingles because the roof was leaking, replaced leaking metal windows, some of which wouldn’t even close, old cast iron drain lines and copper plumbing that were original to the house and leaking, duct work that had collapsed and was blowing air underneath the crawl, the electrical was the original two wire system and was dangerous, complete with an old federal box, that was no longer up to code having been deemed a fire hazard years before, but had somehow passed my home inspection.  I had the house partially rewired, grounding major appliances and the bathroom and adding a new breaker box.

Peggy says: I have a peachy pink and brown tiled hall bathroom, and a tiny aqua and hexagonal white bathroom in my MBR which has two closets and built in drawers in between.

And then there was the yard! 14 large pine trees dwarfed the little house, dropping huge limbs that threatened the roof, roots busting up the concrete drive along with a rotting wood fence covered in sticker vines, behind a chain link that was hidden by overgrown azaleas, and a rusty tin garden shed.

Peggy: The yard was horrific, overgrown, with a rusty tin garden shed, which I turned in to the conversation piece in the neighborhood, by painting and decorating it. I have actually had people stop in the street to tell me how wonderful the place looks. I still have a ways to go, and was way overwhelmed until I found your site.

It was a lot of money, a lot of second guessing myself and my decision to buy the house, and a lot of work both before and after McDuff and I moved in. (McDuff is my little westie sidekick, best pal and watch dog.) I never will forget the first night we pulled in to the broken up drive and drove over the tree root that was still there, I just wanted to turn around and drive the other way. We lived the first month in the house with only a bed and a table, because there was so much to be done before I was to have my furniture delivered.

Peggy: The house has a sunken living room, with brick steps and wrought iron railing that lead down from the dining room. Exposed brick wall with planter and vaulted tongue and groove ceiling over all.

After I had the cabinets refinished and new pulls added, and with a fresh coat of paint on the walls, I started to feel encouraged. Gone was the dark cave feel and now the house felt light and airy. McDuff and I got our furniture, and we both started to feel more at home. However, I felt the house was still “dated”, so I was debating what I would replace when I found your site.

Peggy: I also, had the interior painted (white, I know you don't like it but it needed brightening up, it was soooo dark), carpet pulled up off the hard woods in the bedrooms, and I had hardwoods added to the living room.

Aiken, has its share  of midcentury homes, but a lot of them are totally renovated, kitchens torn out, bathrooms gutted and redone. And a lot of folks here like the cute little houses with metal roofs, picket fences around meticulously manicured yards resplendent with lovely porches. They embrace English colonial and cottage, furnishing them with antiques and vintage rugs, but have new kitchens and bathrooms, complete with granite and stainless steel. I thought that’s what I wanted too. My thoughts were what should I do with the old brick planter that runs the length of the brick wall in my dining room? Or the retro red-orange, gray and peach broken tiled floor?

Or what about the pink bathroom? How long would I need to live with it?  Should I put in a granite counter top? Not knowing what to do, but knowing I didn’t have the funds to completely “redo” everything in my house, I went searching the internet looking for what would work with the retro, and that’s how I found you. I typed in renovation and retro and your site popped up. After reading and going over the stories of other owners of  midcentury modest homes like mine, I started seeing my home with new eyes.

I have a beautiful broken tile floor in my dining room. I know its midcentury but dont know if its original and put in when the house was built in the 50's., which has a broken tile, peach, reddish orange, and gray tile, (don't know what year that is from?)

I had been drawn to my little house from the beginning, and I’m so very glad I didn’t get rid of the very things that give it the character that make it unique.  Now, I will never get rid of my broken tiled floor, or my exposed brick wall, and I actually added some river rock and put some spider plants in my planter!… and I love the iron railing, the sunken living room and vaulted tongue and groove ceiling. I just wish I had sliders instead of French doors and would love a Pasadena mid mod front door.

My questions are for my next projects:

I have newer tile in my kitchen that runs down the hall.  It bumps up to my retro broken tiled dining room, and my hardwoods in my bedrooms….I was thinking that perhaps I would have it taken up and install hardwoods?

And my peachy/pink bathroom….I was thinking of painting the walls a deep cream?  What do you think?

Peggy added: I am so excited about my home after finding your site. Just out of curiosity I went on zillow.com and cyperhomes, and other local MLS listings and couldnt believe it. I had a very difficult time locating even one midcentury home that hadn't had some sort of "complete" update to the kitchen and bathroom, ranging from a full gutting and reinstallation of granite and stainless, to, plain stock cabs and corian countertops. I am so very glad I didn't do that to my house. I feel so lucky to have my vintage tile and cabs, and other vintage features.

By the way, I want to share how my place got its name.  In my neighborhood there are a lot of homes that are “named”…Magnolia Place, or Twin Trees, etc….when McDuff and I first moved in, there was a prowler outside one night lurking around trying to open my back door, and Duff barked and alerted me he was there and he ran away. So I thought it was more than appropriate to name our place, McDuff’s Manor. He lets everyone know he’s on the lookout and he guards it well!  He is my hero!

Peggy says: I was going to gut the little house, but am now appreciating what is still original and it sure is more "doable" for a single, newly retired lady on a budget. Thank you! I appreciate your blog and all the beautiful inspirational stories.

Peggy, thank you so much for this great story and for sharing all these photos. You are doing an amazing job bringing all-new TLC back to that house. It found a good owner. Hey, I also want to say “My Bad!” for making Anyone question their desire to paint an interior white. Or greige, for that matter. First of all, I think it is a really good thing when you are first in a house to paint the interior white. You can then see the house. If you decide to add more color later, so be it. Also, when I slow down and check myself, I know that: Colors are wavelengths of energy — and every individual interacts with them differently. So does every house. Your home has such a … calm … to it. A happy serenity. And McDuff is just as cute as my boy.

Those broken tile floors: AMAZING! I have never seen any quite like them. And the interior architecture: The beamed ceiling and the sunken living room including those brick stairs — I love those! What a livable house — it’s perfect.

As for your questions: I’ll let readers chime in first. My short answer, though: You have great instincts. xoxo you go, girl!

Peggy’s blog: Hazard Girl.

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A frame can easily be made from pipe so that it stands two feet away from the house…Honeysuckle or Dutchmans Pipe would be pretty. Pick one and let them grow together. Add a few hollyhocks and Bleeding Heart and it’ll be “Grandma Time”. I would not recommend Wisteria anywhere near a slab foundation home: It will practically be sprouting through the concrete floor of your living room!

Pam adds: Click this thumbnail to see Gavin’s houseand trellis, larger:

I used lengths of galvanized pipe from the home center. Not too $$$. I built it into inverted l_l shapes using screw-on elbows and t-joints in the center with pipe and flange (to attach it to the house). The open ends I sunk 4 feet in the ground and planted at the base. Set this at least 2 feet from the house for trimming, access, window washing and moisture control. It will look like nothing for a few weeks…not too hot the first year……and then- you are going to expect Jack and the Giant to come running down any moment!

(Regarding Sarah & Liz’ house, Gaving suggested:) Two ideas for your consideration: Because it is stucco- I would love to see vines. One on the left corner and one between the front windows.….If you DO go with the vine idea…let it reach for the sky….or at least the roofline. You could also train it to wrap around toward your doorway as well. Google Image: Dutchmans Pipe.

In your snow-y climate, it can easily be kept in check and not swallow your home!

Think cute and best wishes!

Best wishes to you both, Gavin

Thank you, Gavin. My brother-in-law used the same process you described to create a set of three trellises, also set on the side of the house, for roses. I recall there was some sort of welding involved, e.g. He Who Dies With The Most Toys Wins. My BIL also used copper pipe, which cost a bloody fortune, and that was even before copper prices soared further in the last few years. All that aging copper-gone-verdigris looks fantastic, of course. But, even just using galvanized — it’s clear how this is a great idea.

Question, Gavin: I made poles for my vintage birdhouses out of galvanized pipe and connected them into plumbing connector-gasket-thingies that I screwed into the bottom of the birdhouses. When I did this, I had to pay a little extra to the lumberyard where I got the runs of pipe (which they cut to my size specificatios) to thread the ends to screw into the connector-gasket-thingies. Is this required, also, in the project you describe? That is, how do the screw-on elbow screw on to the runs? And, will we need our own pipe-cutters to get the trellis pieces sized correctly?

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I thought I wanted to renovate my 1962 guest bathroom, but really didn’t want to spend that kind of money. I decided to embrace my pink bathroom after seeing your website, and it sure saved me a lot of money! We used a mix of period decor and more modern “salute to the 60′s” decor such as the record album covers. It was fun.

My husband found out what I was doing, and insisted that I include a shot that showed the early Beatles memorabilia.  Since it’s his birthday and I’ve been making fun of him all day for being even older than the bathroom, I thought I’d include that one too, just to be nice.

Wonderful bathroom, Jill — fantastic that you found the inspiration to save it, and save oodles of money, too. My favorite quote of the week already: “My husband found out what I was doing [sending pics to this blog], and insisted that I include a shot that showed the early Beatles memorabilia.” haha. Many thanks for sharing.

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