Retro Renovation » reader open threads

Open Thread: Where do you use the color red in your house?

pam kueber — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:00:24 +0000

Every month this year our collage-artist-laureate Mel Kolstad is creating a new assemblage that helps us to celebrate the houses that we’re in. (That’s a house pendant she also created – click on it to go to her etsy.com shop.) An open thread to go with this month’s red-headed muse: Do you use the color red in your house? Where is it working well? Tips for other readers?

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Yeehaw, mid-century modern and modest

pam kueber — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:59:48 +0000

The retro decorating gods -- and I -- thank you. Photo by Erica Berger, thanks, E.

Wednesday night update:
Retro Renovation was one of 6 finalists in Apartment Therapy’s contest to choose the favorite home-design blog of 2009. Voting is now closed, and it looks like Remodelista is the winner, followed by Young House Love, and Decor8. Retro Renovation finished 4th — a fantastic outcome, in my mind, considering the nature of the blog, which is outside the mainstream, mass-market. I’ll do a follow up post after AT makes it all final, which they say is tomorrow night. So look for my official thank-you Friday morning. Meanwhile, my very sincere thanks to everyone who #1, voted us into the finals, and #2 then helped us make this great showing for mid-century *modern* and *modest* alike. xoxo pam

Mid-century modest and Retro Renovation on etsy.com TV Yeehaw, Retro Renovation and Mid-Century Modest are in a...
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Mid-century modern flooring from Amtico Cindy’s new kitchen and dining room floor is perfect for...

Welcome, Apartment Therapy voters

pam kueber — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:07:12 +0000

Welcome to retro-wonderland, Apartment Therapy voters. Here at Retro Renovation, a lot of us are “accidental modernists.” We ended up in our (generally) small, mid-century homes because they were in the right neighborhoods or because the price was right. Mid-century *modern* homes, yes, but mid-century *modest* homes, too… ranches, capes, colonials, contemporaries, bungalows and split levels that real estate agents generally suggest should be gutted. We kinda like the quirky charm, though, and our motto has become “Love The House You’re In.” So before we make any drastic changes, we meet here to share renovation resources, lots of vintage eye-candy photos and a friendly and helpful community — all with the goal to update our homes in a way that’s sympathetic to their original postwar design. I like to think we’re playful and unpretentious (just like our simpler houses), and we’re not “purists” — it’s your house, make the changes that are right for you — love it! In fact, our main rule for comments is that “no one can be made to feel bad for their choices.” So take a tour… ask questions… and we hope you have a blast. After you’ve soaked it all in, if you want to vote for us, we would be honored. If you haven’t registered yet, go to Apartment Therapy; once you’ve confirmed your registration via email, click on The Homies 2009 to vote. Many thanks and all the best, Pam.

Yeehaw, mid-century *modern* and *modest* Wednesday night update: Retro Renovation was one of 6 finalists...
Welcome, Mel, our collage artist laureate During the Apartment Therapy home design blog contest, a number...
Comments will be deleted when… Just a reminder, on rare occasions I delete comments. I...

Taking requests for 2010

pam kueber — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:00:52 +0000

THE PARTY is only getting started here at Retro Renovation. I have a feeling that American design in 2010 is going to be even more retrograde-retrocrazed, than ever. Looking ahead to year #3 for the blog, I’d love to hear from you. What do you want to see more of… less of…? What are your favorite features? What are your biggest needs? How can the blog help you out with your projects, even more?

Groovy note pad from the Urban Outfitters store. This...
Welcome, Mel, our collage artist laureate During the Apartment Therapy home design blog contest, a number...
Lilly Pulitzer 2010 day planner If I buy a pretty planner, will it force me...

Do renovation decisions stress you out?

pam kueber — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:00:55 +0000

Maribeth finished her kitchen renovation in such record time that I wondered: Did it stress her out? I can’t make decisions that quickly. Tips to get the job done fast — and happily? She replied:

Hi, Pam, Anguish?

Not at all. Ha Ha. Oh, the sleepless nights with paint swatches dancing through my head…

Seriously, I did anguish a lot over all of this. I only had a few hours to go through the house and take as many photos and measurements as I could because I would not see it again for 4 months; a full month after the contractors were to start the renovation. So all of the design decisions had to be made based on just what I could remember from that single encounter. I kept a huge file of inspiration pictures on my computer (many from retro renovation). I probably changed the overall kitchen scheme about 4 times. I started very Brady with burnt orange countertops (they don’t make ‘em anymore), then went towards orange lower cabinets and a groovy laminate for the backsplash. But with each design, there was always something that would not quite fit. If I went with one color on the cabinets then the wall color didn’t work, or if I choose a certain tile pattern then the floor would clash. That is how you know you’re on the wrong track and when you realize that you are, you have to allow yourself to scrap the whole idea and start in a new direction and not try to force it to work. There is a certain Zen moment that happens when the idea just works. When everything just fits together nicely. Luckily, I had about three months to wait for that to happen or I would be sitting here with orange cabinets right now. Not that there’s anything wrong with orange cabinets.

I always like to put all the colors and fabrics that I have selected together on a board, look at it in every possible light, then carry it around with me and drive my friends nuts asking them which of 15 shades of beige works best with Java brown and eggshell white. (It helps to have patient friends with good taste, too.)

What about you, Readers? Do you anguish over making these decisions? How are you able to bring it all together to move forward?

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pam kueber — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:00:11 +0000

Groovy note pad from the Urban Outfitters store. This note pad is not currently listed online, but the Urban Outfitters site for sure is fun to browse for retro style home accessories.

Alexander Girard bedding and shower curtains at Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters features bedding, shower curtains, cloth curtains and wall...
Have Yourself a Merry Mad Men Christmas Whether you are mad for Mad Men or simply love...
Never clean the bottom of your oven again For those of us living deprived of a self-cleaning oven,...

Open thread: What’s your longest running, un-finished house project?

pam kueber — Fri, 01 May 2009 08:00:28 +0000

PROCRASTINATION. I am now up to Year Seven in terms of not finishing painting the trim around my living room/dining room window. Really, it’s totally ridiculous, because this is not even something kind of hidden — these windows are right in the heart and center of the house. The reason for the delay? My windows are huge, vintage Andersen Windo-Walls that are really heavy and hard to take in and out. And now, the paint for the job is all disgusting and rotten in the can. Will I find the energy to tackle this gosh-darn project this spring? Don’t bet on it.

So…What’s the project in your house that’s taking you the longest to complete, and why?

Open Thread: Where do you use the color red in your house? Every month this year our collage-artist-laureate Mel Kolstad is...
Open thread: What made you happy about your house this summer? HAPPINESS IS… a cozy house. What has made you happy...
Open thread: What’s on your weekend agenda? What’s on your list for the weekend? Weekend warrior?...

Mother’s Day poll

pam kueber — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:59:07 +0000

Mother’s Day is May 10. Which would you choose – polished body or polished house? Note that in our last poll, asymmetry beat symmetry – but not by much, 54% to 46%.

10-second poll Symmetry? Or Asymmetry? Answer quick – don’t think too...
Midcentury modern pendant lamps from Progress, 1961 DIG THESE 1961 MIDCENTURY PENDANT LIGHTS from Progress. Which one...
Pink bathroom fixtures available in the U.K. Although our British readers often write saying they want...

10-second poll

pam kueber — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 08:00:12 +0000

Voting buttons are right in the little graphic, above. DON’T THINK too hard: Answer from the gut – fast. Afterwards, think about ‘why’ and share your opinion and experience in a Comment, if you like!

Mother’s Day poll For Mother’s Day would you prefer: A $300 professional...

Open thread: Does your significant other share your retro pursuits?

pam kueber — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:57:16 +0000

Group Therapy: Is your significant other into retro renovation and all things vintage as much as you are — or is your life a retro battleground? Has this interest strengthened bonds — or do you have to compromise (or finagle) to make it work? (Example: Like the couple in this 1948 GE advertisement, David and I juggle pretty well, but I admit, I have the estate-sale bug very bad and the number of things I constantly squirrel into the house is a source of conflict, to say it nicely…) Share your stories and tactics! This should be fun!

Open thread: Your favorite Retro Roadtrips? SUMMERTIME IS ON ITS WAY — and research from...
Open Thread: Where do you use the color red in your house? Every month this year our collage-artist-laureate Mel Kolstad is...
Open thread: What’s your longest running, un-finished house project? PROCRASTINATION. I am now up to Year Seven in terms...