Jen’s *new* mid mod home in Florida has a beamed ceiling… she needs to add insulation… and writes in for advice: Does she need to keep the beams?

Jen writes:

Hi Pam,

I just recently found your blog and love it already! You’ve got tons of great info, and I’m desperately hoping that you and/or your readers can help me out with some advice. A few months ago my partner and I purchased a unique, mid-century home in St. Petersburg, FL. It has tons of great features and even more potential, but we’re having difficulty making design decisions. And so far, we haven’t been able to find anyone with an MCM mindset locally (designer, contractor, etc) to help.

Our immediate issue is in our living room, where we have exposed beams on a high angled/sloped ceiling. There is currently no insulation up there, and it is desperately needed, but I hate the thought of losing the look of the exposed beams. Our current plan is to insulate and drywall the ceiling flat, then add faux beams. We also plan to replace 2 ceiling fans with MCM style pendants and remove or replace existing track lighting, possibly adding recessed lighting instead. If we do faux beams, we need to determine how many and what size. If we do less than the exact size and number of beams that we currently have we can save some money, and it would still have the same effect, but they won’t match up with the exposed beam ends visible on the exterior of the house. Is this a big no-no? It wouldn’t be too obvious since there isn’t a contiguous view of the beams inside to out, but there are 3 high windows that could allow the interior beams to be seen from the exterior of the house. Oh gosh, does any of this make sense??

Please let me know what you think. We’re at our wit’s end, paralyzed by indecision! I’m happy to provide more pics and more info – anything needed. Thanks! jen

Thanks, Jen for your nice comments about the blog, and for sending in your question. I’ll open it up to readers… But this time, I’ll start with my thoughts:

1. Great house!
2. Insulate the ceiling for sure — you must do what you must do, especially when it comes to saving energy.
3. If you want, I think you can get away without recreating the beams altogether — by painting the ceiling and the back part of the wall that is still white. You seem to have that dusty blue going on below – put that on the ceiling and sort of “L” it to the back wall. Leave the white space on the sides (between the beige of the wall and the blue of the ceiling) and around the front windows alone. It think the whole scheme might be quite dynamic… sort of Mondrian, but not too too, because a sky is blue, too. Keep picking up that orange, too, throughout your decor.
4. I don’t have a big problem with the ceiling fans — they are appropriate for your climate. Maybe get them in an antiqued brass base with wood blades, though… to add additional texture to the ceiling if you dispense with the beams.
5. That ledge below the high front windows is perfect for a lighting solution. Is there some kind of uplighting there? For sure should be – would be fabulous!
   
6. With a room that large — and a ceiling so high — I am not sure how good cans are going to do you … Those spots – they’re for the entry way, I get that, I think. Gosh, this whole issue of lighting is a big deal. I don’t have cans in my 45 x 15 living room/dining room — I have all task lighting — lamps. I prefer that for living areas. There are cans in my kitchen, though, because you don’t put lamps there.
   
7. Paralyzed by indecision: We’ve all been there! Trust your gut. Good luck, the house is happy you found it.
   

Readers, what do you think Jen and her partner should do? Beams? No beams? ….  ?

Related posts:

1. White ceiling tiles This might qualify as the most boring home renovation post ever...
2. Where to find a shade for my vintage light – a round ceiling fixture? Where to find a shade for my vintage ceiling fixture...
3. Retro lighting: A great ceiling fixture from Liz’s Antique Hardware I received a catalog from Liz’s Antique Hardware today and...

.

Cindy writes:

Hi Pam!

Nearly six years after buying my 60′s ranch I figured out what to do about draperies. I would have been perfectly happy without window coverings because I love lots of light, but we’re at the end of a cul de sac and when cars drive down the street the occupants see the entire living room area, so for the sake of privacy I decided to have pinch pleat draperies made of a beautiful fabric I found on www.tonicliving.com after learning about them from one of your reader’s comments. What a great site with so many retro fabric choices!

The fabric I chose is a bold floral that works beautifully with the wall color; as for painting the rods to match…I got that tip from YOU! I was a bit concerned that, given the size of the largest window, it would overpower the room, which it did for about ten minutes. I love it because it feels both retro and contemporary at the same time. I did two windows and three valences to keep the large open area coordinated and also had four pillows made. Although tonicliving.com makes draperies, I had them made locally and was surprised at the cost….the entire project, including the cost of 35 yards of fabric, cost me under $1500. I had another quote from a few years ago for over $4,000!

One valuable lesson I learned is to hire a professional to install such a large rod and draperies. When a carpenter friend offered to help me do it I readily accepted…. six long hours later we had finished, only to discover we had put the rod a bit too low….(a very long story that I now am able to laugh about). The following week I hired a professional installer from a local furniture store to reinstall …. 90 minutes and $75 later they were properly aligned and completely functional. Oh the lessons we learn along the way!

Now on to landscaping….!

Cindy

Love ‘em, Cindy.

Related posts:

1. 6 tips for using pinch pleat draperies as window treatments for a mid century home I’m following up on yesterday’s story about Dave and Kris’...
2. Embrace your Inner Traverse Rod — pinch pleat draperies are #1 for mid century homes I know that Pottery Barn and the like want you...
3. How to make pinch-pleat draperies? Reader Brenny wants to know if anyone has good instructions...

Steven and Michael have wowwed me beyond belief by recreating a Mondrian-style bathroom — the style originally intended for their Alcoa Aluminum house. The first Alcoa Aluminum house — much like Steven and Michael’s home in Rochester, NY — was  designed by architect Charles Goodman as part of an Alcoa demonstration project showing the uses of aluminum in housing. Thing was, Steven and Michael did not get the original bathroom design … although they do have a fantastic Mondrian kitchen … So, when they found original documents pointing them toward the Mondrian style bathroom, they ambitiously pursued it, with some tweaks of their own, of course. Read on for Steven’s explanation and source list… and for a slide show of 9 more photos of this inspiring space.

Steven writes:

Hi Pam,

We have been busy all winter making progress on one of our bathrooms………… If you look on page 9 of the original brochure for Alcoa Aluminum houses, you will see a picture of one of the bathrooms. We are remodeling one of the bathrooms to reflect the design in the brochure.
.
Our house was not originally built with the wall hung toilets/sinks but there was space in the wall to accommodate the tank, our remodel does have a wall hung toilet and sink which really maximizes the available space. We used honed Carrera marble for the shower walls and floor; the floor has radiant heat. We used Formica on the rest of the walls in a Mondrian style.
.
The Formica pattern was created by a good friend of ours (Josef Johns, a designer in Rochester), who also helped us with the lounge area of the house. We are very pleased with the way that it turned out. Cutting and gluing the Formica was not that fun!!!!! We even did the back of the door so when our friends come over and have a martini or two they may have difficulty finding the door, LOL.
.
We had my brother in law install the marble and it is honed but we did the rest. We built the mirrored medicine cabinet ourselves taking full advantage of the extra space in the wall. The lights flanking the medicine cabinet were purchased at Restoration Hardware. The sink and toilet are manufactured by Duravit and in case anyone is looking for an in the wall tank the manufacturer of that is Geberit.
.
About the shower stall: We went with a trough drain that runs along the front of the shower floor. We did this because we wanted to use the same larger size tiles on the wall and floor and now looking in you don’t see a drain in the middle of the floor being the most prominent feature. The shower stall floor is pitched from back to front and we actually lowered the shower floor so that it would be the same level stepping into the shower and at the front it goes below the level of the rest of the bathroom floor.
.
We did one other thing that you wouldn’t notice from looking……we put a thermostatic shower valve in the shower, this means someone flushes the toilet, turns on the water somewhere, etc,……. your shower water temp doesn’t change. I think that is my favorite part
.
I saw that you mentioned that they have received historic certification….I didn’t know that you may be interested in that sort of info so I wanted to let you know that we have submitted an application to be listed on the National Registry of Historic places. This past March the application passed the NYS vote and we were listed on the NYS Registry of Historic Places. It was then passed on to the Federal level for National approval. We were told that it should just be a matter of time for if a state has recognized a property it is automatically approved at the National level but I guess time will tell.

Steven and Michael, amazing job. Thank you so much for sharing.

Related posts:

1. Rochester Steven’s 1957 Alcoa Aluminum house After we looked at the Alcoa Aluminum time capsule home...
2. Steven updates his 1957 Alcoa Aluminum House Rochester Steven has completed some drop dead gorgeous updates to...
3. Updating the second bathroom in a 1957 Alcoa Aluminum House It has been great fun to watch the continuing transformation...