FAQ’s

I grew up in a 30’s style home in Venice California. I remember the wall trim being a pale green and having a formica table with metal sides. I am also facinated by kitchens and homes with decor from the 40s-60s. I would love to find a pale green stove and accentuate the kitchen with vintage green and red cherry wallpaper and accessories.

I LOVE midcentury design and just discovered your site. My husband and I live in a small house in St. Louis, built in 1949. I guess it’s considered a ranch house, although I’m not entirely certain. Just a post war simple “box” home but we love it. We have already finished our basement and would love to finish the attic space to add more bedrooms. The attic renovation will be extensive, I imagine, and will most likely result in re-doing the exterior of the home. Do you have any suggestions on good sites or books we could check out for ideas for a midcentury attic space and/or exterior re-do? I really want to keep w/the midcentury feel of the home both inside and out. Any suggestions you have about this would be most appreciated! I love your site. Thanks,

Allison

I am going to be liquidating a Estate full of Vintage Danish Modern Furniture in Portland Oregon. They were purchased at the Viking Store Princeton NJ in the late 50’s and early 60’s – Help where do I start? I do not have the designers names or manufactures names yet, but will in July. Most of it is teak but the other pieces are walnut. Any guidance you can give would be most helpful
Thanks
V

Hi – I’m hoping you can help me. My mom has a 1939 GE refrigerator that her family purchased new in ‘39. It has been in continuous use (without repair!) until about two years ago when it was finally replaced with a more energy-efficient refrigerator. We live in the Pacific Northwest and I was wondering if you know if there is an antique appliance business I might contact to see if they would be interested in buying it. I’ve about Google-d myself to death trying to find one and have not been successful. Thanks for your help!

mary anne

Hello, We bought a house that still has the 1950’s metal kitchen cabinets. They are dirty and worn, and in need of painting. I’m looking for ideals and help on the matter. I’m thinking of lightly sanding them and paint them by hand with an OIL base paint. Thinking oil base will wear good and be able to clean nicely.
Is this a good or a bad ideal? ANY HELP will be very useful to us ASAP. Working on budget, but in great need to do something to help our kitchen.

Hello, we very recently purchased a 2nd home in Morro Bay, CA
http://picasaweb.google.com/beepscreech/ShastaBath#
I just uploaded some bathroom photos from our prepurchase walkthrough and am hoping one of you will help us identify what we have … we were told house was built in 1967, but county records have March 1966 bldg permit for carport that showed house already there.

I will take more focused photos and upload next week.
thank you,

I love your website=) we have a house built in 1955 the kitchen has American Kitchen cabinets with maple doors + I was delighted to find copperplate under years of ugly paint on the drawers! We already replaced the faucet from Locke Plumbing and would like to get a fridge but need to raise 2 of the cabinets because all of the fridges are taller than the space. My query is this how do I raise the above fridge cabinets without harming them? how were they originally mounted?
my contractor said he could rip them out but I want to make sure no harm comes to my great retro cabinets.
thank you so much for your help
Mary

Pam, I will be going over to the house I am hoping to move into in NOv. On Thursday, I will take pictures of what is left of the origional features (oh by the way I am in the U.K.). I can’t see where I commented last on your page, so could you message me back with your email, so that I can send you the pictures. Thanks again, and I am adicted to this site, I spent 3 hours on it last night, and came back to varify my email addy and am stuck back on it, I best get started with the day as it is 12 and I am still in my p.j.’s! Thanks, tamara

I am loving this website
I’ve got a wonderful early 1960s house and unfortunately have to replace a front bay window (thanks to an active 10 year old with a soccer ball). I’d like to keep as true to the era as possible and would like suggestions as to type of windows. At present, the bay consists of 4 floor to ceiling casement windows – 2 angled on the sides and 2 in the “middle”. I’m concerned that by simply replacing them with standard vinyl casements the entire lot is going to look too modern or present-day. Any suggestions? I can’t quite shake the feeling that a bay window isn’t really a retro look…

Help! I am looking for wheels for my St Charles kitchen draws and the nipple and recessed spring closures for the cabinet doors. My kitchen is circa 1957 and fab I love your site and have been on for hours since i found it.

I love your website! I recently moved into an old building and the kitchen needs a little help. I have wooden cabinets (someone painted them white in attempts to modernize) and the counter top and backsplash is a yellowy/beige tile with burgandy tile trim on counter edge and above the sink. I would like to restore the kitchen to give it a more retro feel. Any suggestions on what I should do with the walls and/or cabinets? email me for pictures if you’d like to help!

I would like to add my pink bathroom photos.
This house has been “flipped” enough for a rental.
We are currently renting but may buy.
This bathroom distressed me for a long time…..but now I am grateful to find this web site and do something cute to the whole thing…..thanks

How can I submit photo’s

We have a 1952 pier and beam house, and we are looking to remodel our bathroom. I was so happy to find this site! We have a two-color typical 50s bathroom with the original 4×4 wall tiles. The tiles are deep maroon/burgundy and creamy yellow. They are in good shape, and, for budget reasons, I would like to keep the tiles , however, the bath was never tiled up beyond 4 feet and a shower is not plumbed in. Obviously because of the water, we really need a fully-tiled bath with a shower. Does anyone have any advice on trying to find matching tiles to finish out the bath walls? Or would a white or light gray in the 4×4 above the current tile “work”? (Currently the walls above the tile are a light gray.) My concern is that the new grout would never match the old. Anyone with any thoughts on how to approach this? Anyone had to do the same thing?

I am about to move into the house my grandfather built in 1954. I am quite sure I will have lots of questions, but since the master bed and bath are first priority, the first thing I need to know is: Can the enamel be restored on the iron sink in the bathroom? There is a significant amount of rust around the overflow hole, and my mother is threatening to replace it with the cheapest thing she can find at Lowe’s. Help! Also, the metal trim is coming away from the side of my chunky perfect-for-shaving-your-legs bathtub. I am hoping this is simply a matter of gluing it back down, but don’t want to ruin it in the attempt.

Any good websites out there for 1945 style? We have a cute stone 1945 colonial. Love that it still has most of its charm! We’re working on rennovating the bathrooms right now. We got the original tub refinished in our master bathroom. It has blue and grey tile. Any photos around of bathrooms with blue and grey? Just looking for some decorating ideas!

I am totally hooked on your website! I recently inherited my grandparents teeny weeny (435 sq.ft.) c 1900’s cottage on Crystal Lake in Oak Bluffs, MA (On Martha’s Vineyard). It was rented for 15 years by the same old couple who have decided to buy and live year-round on the island, so now I want to upgrade the place. My husband has already redone his kitchen in Oak Bluffs and we chose the Formica boomerang pattern in tomato soup. I’m repeating this theme in this little cottage because I love it so much and it goes with a collection of Jadite Fire King I have. I am buying the Northstar small (11cu.ft?) fridge in mint green and have given up on finding a 20″ stove in that color. So I’ll go with white (unless you have a better suggestion).

I was then hoping I could find a good retro style microwave in the same Northstar mint green, but only landed on the microwave/convection oven/grill that Northstar makes. Way too heavy to put over the little stove, and too big (and expensive!). Any suggestions on that score? Is there a retro microwave out there?

I discovered your wondferful site when I was looking for 1950 kitchen shots. You have me ready to tear through the attic where I’ve hidden treasures from my parent’s home, which I cleaned out in 2003 after 44 years. I even have a glass jar of multi-colored popcorn that was never opened. Can’t wait to see what else will surface. I’m glad I don’t like to throw things away!

Thanks for any input and I will send along pictures as things unfold. It will be a year-long project before I’ve turned this into the gem I remember as a little girl. It faces a little lake and also Vineyard Sound, where the ferry boats come in and out.

Thanks for providing such a stimulating website. It makes me smile from ear to ear!

i found a swan neck rocker in an antique store. it is covered in nogahide. i want to have it recovered in kroehler nylon frieze. i see the fabric on your site.ebay didn’t have much. can i buy it from your site? if not where can i get some? thank you.