Of course, it’s only now that my office studio remodel is almost done that I discover that you can buy plastic booties to put over your shoes or socks when you are working in a dusty area doing your home improvement project. Denise was here last week helping. We spent like 30 hours in that room. We wore our socks the whole time. I think I pretty much destroyed three pairs. Then, electrician dude is here this week and I see these. I love these. I did like TWO PHOTOS SHOOTS with these plastic booties to wear when you are remodeling your house. I STYLED THIS PHOTO, I peaked up the little bootie points and modeled H2T just like Tyra teaches on ANTM. I did not choose new socks, though, these are what I was really wearing. I wanted to *keep it real*. 

I called Pignatelli Electric, my electricians, they said the guys just these booties them at Carr Hardware (nearby hardware store) or Caligari’s (Lenox hardware store.) I also jumped over the ULine Catalog, where you can get all kinds of Booties in bulk. In my experience, Uline always has an amazing selection and great prices; my husband wants to buy stock in Uline, but we think it’s a private company. Indeed, search “booties” on Uline and 14 listings snap crackle pop right up: Super Booties, Water Resistant booties, Skid Resistant  booties, Boot booties, Polypropylene booties, and Kinetic Bootie Butlers to store your booties efficiently. However, I don’t think I see any booties as cute as mine. The cute pointy toe makes a big difference, it elongates and also has that I Dream of Jeannie retro vibe.

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Hi Pam-

Our den is small, with alot of furniture in it, so these were the best photos I could get for you.
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When we first bought the house, we were less than crazy about the wallpaper ceiling and planned to remove the wallpaper. However, over time the ceiling grew on us.  The wallpaper on the ceiling makes the room darker and appear smaller, but gives it a cozy feel.
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Most people paint over the knotty pine.  We love the honey color of the wood, so we plan to leave it alone.  We were told the original owners who lived here for 50 years smoked like chimneys, which may account for that lovely dark honey knotty pine.  The only thing the room is missing is a deer head mounted on the wall.

- Brian

One of the most important lessons
of Retro Renovation:

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Wood paneling? When Dad and Mom or Grandma and Grandpa excitedly and gratefully bought their 1,000 square foot house after 1945, the basement and attic and maybe even the second floor were unfinished. This is part of what made the house a “starter home”, and couples without children were fine with just having the space they really needed. As money and time permitted and as the family grew, the family — on their own — could start finishing off the basement or attic or second floor themselves. They would frame interior walls, add electric and maybe some insulation and then Cover the Walls with Wood Paneling. Cherry or knotty pine were particularly beloved, I think, but there may have been regional preferences. Installing wood paneling was way easier than putting up and taping drywall — Dad could do the paneling all his own, no problem. I’m thinking it was cheaper, too. Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma did not feel at all oppressed by the paneling. The paneling was cozy. They made more space for their families, within their budgets. They were proud, and deserved to be.

So just shut yer pie holes, all you wood paneling haters who *can not bear to live with it*.

Eartha Kitsch – owner of a lovely time capsule knotty pine kitchen — did not rant and was very funny and probably more effective than me when she addressed the wood paneling topic last week in her story Dear Lord! Not Wood!  The three images above are hers and used with her permission. Click on any of them to get to her sassy story. Props to you, Eartha Kitsch.

I had paneling like this in one of my bedrooms growing up. I did not grow up to be a warped and deranged person. I think.

Where to get affordable wood paneling if you, like Mom and Dad and Grandma and Gramps, are interested in using it for a cozy, affordable DIY wall finish? I found this seemingly excellent company — Decorative Panels International, which makes a large variety of wood paneling.

The panels are affordable — $18 – $32 for a 4′ x 8′ sheet, depending on the design. They seem to be widely available at big box and lumber stores. I can’t vouch for the quality — I’d suggest asking to see a full panel before committing — but online, they look just like the wood paneling in the houses that my Mom and Dad and Gramps an Grams built.

Noon update: I talked at length this morning to the president of DPI, Tim Clark. Very nice and passionate man — passionate about making all DPI products the U.S., and passionate about doing it in an environmentally sensitive way. He clarified that DPI’s products consist of an engineered wood substrate with the final top design printed; the top is not veneer. Made in Alpena, Mich., the substrate or backer is made of only three ingredients — wood, water and a flaxseed-based oil. The substrates are put through presses in Alpena that create different textures. The final design is then printed onto the substrate in Toledo. DPI uses rotogravure (not digital) printing, and generally takes each design through several runs with different colors to get the design effect they want. I asked Tim if he thought I would be able to tell the difference between DPI’s printed cherry paneling (for example) and veneered cherry paneling. He said he thought I would be hard pressed (pun haha). Veneered paneling will likely cost about 50% more, he estimated. Also note, Tim said that DPI’s paneling is not positioned to be the cheapest in the market — it’s not the kind of paneling that an economical landlord would put into rental units between tenants. Tim said that DPI is passionate about the structural integrity and overall aesthetic of the product and the processes, and their pricing reflects that. This, along with their focus on environmentally sensitive manufacturing (their processes use minimal solvents, so there is zero or minimal offgassing of the paneling), means the have made major inroads in terms of being stocked at the big box stores like Home Depot, Lowes and Menards, he said.

Tim is sending me samples of a variety of designs — ones I thought would be of greatest interested to Retro Renovation readers. I will take a look and report back. I also will continue researching veneered wood paneling and compare the two.

About DPI:

For more than 50 years, we have been providers of high quality utility and designer wall panels.  With a solid hardboard manufacturing facility located in Alpena Michigan, and a superior finishing facility in Toledo Ohio, we are proud to offer one of America’s finest wall products – worldwide.

DPI is recognized industry-wide as the leader in design style innovation and state-of- the- art manufacturing processes. A perfect fit in virtually every part of your home, DPI wall paneling allows you to achieve looks and performance comparable to ceramic tile, wall paper, wood wall paneling and even stone and brick masonry – at a fraction of the cost!

Go Alpena! Go Toledo! DPI also points out that their product is produced in an environmentally sensitive manner:

• All GreenCore finished products feature our S2S premium hardboard foundation for high performance with lower environmental impact
• Inherent durability resists buckling and warping experienced with other products
• Our prefinished panel resists moisture on the surface
• Formaldehyde-free manufacturing means our panels will not adversely affect your indoor air
• Mold-resistant formulation built into the substrate to fend off typical stains

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