Retro Renovation » 1964

Chris and Angela’s 1964 mid-century modern ranch – 18 photos!

pam kueber — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:00:13 +0000

Chris and Angela wrote to me a few months ago, excited because they were about to close on a beautiful 1964 mid-century modern home in Wisconsin. Well, the deal went through successfully, and now this cute-overload couple is happily playing house in their stunning, designer-built house — a time capsule with mint-condition original lighting, Nutone, basement bar and heavens to betsy: two flocked wallpapers. (Can you live with that? tee hee.)

Before I launch Chris, let me explain that when he originally wrote, the couple was concerned about the sunset tan bathroom — didn’t quite know what to do with it even though they are “designer types.” I pointed them to a photo of one of my bathrooms, in which I used Home Depot “rose beige” tiles, and suggested something akin to the mint green, aqua and brown combination I used for wallpaper, linens and accessories. You can see how they picked up and ran with the suggestion in their bathroom design experiment to date.

So here’s the story and all the awesome 1964 time capsule eye candy. Chris writes:

Hi Pam,

My wife and I were lucky enough to just purchase this beautiful 1964 home. Our house is an original one of a kind. The original owners we bought the house from designed the floor plan and many of the details were constructed by the owner himself. Beautiful features, fixtures, stonework.

We are not finished decorating any of this yet, but had to share now since it will be a while until it’s finished. These are all just items we already had that we’re using until we find better suited ones, along with nice drapes.

The chocolate & mint accessories in the bathroom will work once we find ones we like, thanks for the color tip!

As you can see, right now we’re experimenting with chocolate, green and cyan.

The bathroom is nearly as-new with hardly any wear (they used the similar but smaller blue bathroom which will be undergoing restoration shortly). About the only non-original item is the faucet.

Note long sliding medicine cabinet under the mirror with an electrical outlet inside. Slanted cabinets. Also we have the NuTone 3-in-1 heater, light and fan.

Needless to say, this room will stay as-is forever. We need to find a chair appropriate for the dressing area,

and I need to clean that floor grout. Pretty easy restoration, I’d say!

Next up is our main hall with what we call

our “UFO” light fixture

And our cozy fireplace room that we’ve accessorized temporarily with some Danish Modern influences.

We love our dotted light fixtures here, too. NuTone built-in doorbell here, too. This room’s flooring is an interesting laminate that is clear with laminate chips in it that looks like pebbles in water. Unfortunately there is a lot of damage, so will need to be replaced eventually.

Entry tile. Pink/green, though camera flash brings out the
color. It’s more subdued. [Pam adds: I like the look of that wallpaper, too.]

Last up is our basement 1960’s paneled family room. We are starting to furnish and accessorize this room now in all oranges and greens. Need to find some orange barstools!

Oh, and can’t forget a couple samples of our flocked bedroom wallpaper, one orange… [Pam adds: I couldn't resist putting these images in super-size. Blow your mind, mon!]

…one blue.

Great site, it’s our favorite… keep up the good work!

Chris & Angela, near Milwaukee, WI

Thank you, Chris and Angela, for doing this great archiving of your home and for sharing it with us. Fantastic house — and you two sound like you are the perfect caretakers. I can’t wait to see what else you do with it, over time. xoxo

Bonus quiz:

More photos from Alice – a Retro Renovation re-run Remember Alice and her yellow Geneva kitchen in Richmond,...
1964 time capsule gray bathroom REMEMBER the recent 1964 split level time capsule, captured at...
A 1964 blue bathroom with built-in Hall-Mack, NuTone, Textolite & more THE 1964 SPLIT-LEVEL TIME CAPSULE first shown yesterday also had...

Rachel and her 1964 Comet Caliente time capsule car

pam kueber — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:00:18 +0000

Reader Frank gets snaps for spotting this great video — a true “time capsule” car. I’m thinkin’ this is the platform just before the first-ever Mustang (a 64-1/2 model) came out. Thanks, Frank, keep ‘em coming!

Hi Pam,

The link below is not necessarily on topic of retro homes, but it is a cute story about an 89-year-old woman who still drives her immaculate 1964 Mercury Comet with 540,000 miles on the odometer. I’d guess you could call it a time capsule car. Just like the mid century ranch homes, the cars of the 1960’s had beautiful clean lines. Thanks for keeping up your great site.

Frank

1964 time capsule gray bathroom REMEMBER the recent 1964 split level time capsule, captured at...
Chris and Angela’s 1964 mid-century modern ranch – 18 photos! Chris and Angela wrote to me a few months ago,...
1964 split level time capsule – great midcentury mailbox and kitchen THE ESTATE SALE ON FRIDAY was a jackpot —...

1964 time capsule gray bathroom

pam kueber — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 08:00:11 +0000

REMEMBER the recent 1964 split level time capsule, captured at an estate sale in progress? In addition to the awesome blue bathroom, there was a gray half-bath in great condition, too. I have a real thing for laminate vanities….maybe because they can be replicated relatively easily, and because they can give you lots of retro bang for not outrageous bucks. (Case in point: Cindy’s bathroom.) This gray vanity is wonderful. And, notice the built-in drawers, also in laminate, in the wall opposite. Formica’s Dunewood looks like it might be close-enough match, Cindy used Wilsonart beigewood. Check the other makers, too. One more slide show from this vintage split level house yet to come. Includes: bomb shelter.

1964 split level time capsule – great midcentury mailbox and kitchen THE ESTATE SALE ON FRIDAY was a jackpot —...
A 1964 blue bathroom with built-in Hall-Mack, NuTone, Textolite & more THE 1964 SPLIT-LEVEL TIME CAPSULE first shown yesterday also had...
Colvin’s masterpiece pink and gray bathroom THIS PINK AND GRAY MASTER BATHROOM is just lovely....

A 1964 blue bathroom with built-in Hall-Mack, NuTone, Textolite & more

pam kueber — Tue, 12 May 2009 08:00:53 +0000

THE 1964 SPLIT-LEVEL TIME CAPSULE first shown yesterday also had two great bathrooms. The full bath upstairs is a beautiful robin’s egg blue, all 4×4″ field tiles, with cheerful flowery liner tiles. There is a separate bathtub and the shower. The shower door is a true classic, and notice the terrazzo floor pan, the light, and the tile on the diagonal on the ceiling.

And there’s more: A laundry chute built into a storage cubby… and the fold-down Hall-Mack scale holder below. The laminate countertop on the dual vanity is surely GE Textolite, from the “Twilight” series . And, the owner’s daughter told me that the Nutone exhaust fan/light also had a built-humidistat that turned the fan on and off automatically when the room became too humid. Finally, there was a hidden door to the master suite, along with a door to the hall. This might have been the best bathroom ever in this history of the retro-universe. Again – not pretentious, but so well considered and well built. Click through for the slide show – 15 images in all.

More: MIB Nutone Food Center and MIB Hall-Mack bathroom hardware It’s always amazing to see this stuff still mint-in-box....
18 rare vintage Hall-Mack bathroom accessories This week’s vintage Hall-Mack miniseries concludes with 18 special...
1964 time capsule gray bathroom REMEMBER the recent 1964 split level time capsule, captured at...

1964 split level time capsule – great midcentury mailbox and kitchen

pam kueber — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:00:51 +0000

THE ESTATE SALE ON FRIDAY was a jackpot — the 1964, single-owner split level house was in gorgeous condition. What I really liked about it was that it was a very middle class, unpretentious house – but it had features that were clearly chosen for their high quality and craftsmanship. It was timeless in the true sense that everything about the house can endure. Oh lordy, I hope that the new owners understand what they have in hand! Today, two slide shows: The first of an awesome midcentury mailbox, recessed into the roman marble brick of the exterior. I know lots of readers will be so envious of this feature, I’ve never seen anything like it yet. And second, a fabulous time capsule kitchen — it includes two-tone cabinetry, a great little breakfast counter with original stools, and yellow GE appliances with gorgeous design features. One of my new favorites ever — like this house. 27 photos in all.

To start: Here’s the mailbox. Fabulous! Click on the first image to enlarge, then proceed through the slide show.

And here is the kitchen. I wish I’d taken more photos of the GE dishwasher. Like the built-in yellow oven and range top exhaust fan, it is a real beauty. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! The fridge is a replacement, of course, the harvest gold is a bit off the yellow, but still an uber-cool refrigerator. And notice how the wall cabinets above the breakfast counter are in a different material (darker laminate), with glass on the dining room side, and suspended. This house is all about the details! More photos to come, tomorrow.

1964 time capsule gray bathroom REMEMBER the recent 1964 split level time capsule, captured at...
Rebecca and Keith’s 1961 split level MEET REBECCA AND KEITH, new owners of a 1961 tri-level...
Merry MIB madness: 1964 cupola, MIB brass mailbox and more Here are some really terrific items: A vintage Early...

A “planter top” toilet tank lid from Eljer

pam kueber — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:00:17 +0000

A PLANTER MOLDED RIGHT INTO A TOILET TANK LID? Well, this is a new one to me… found in this ad for a 1964 Eljer Estate toilet. And of course – LOVE it. Has anyone ever seen this? Let’s all be on the lookout. Like spotting rare and endangered species in the (retro)Amazon. Carry your cameras, readers!

Vintage shower doors, toilet tank lids & more at Second Use in Seattle It’s very cool to know that there is now a...
Gerber’s Ultra-Flush toilet: Me like I HAVE BEEN FEELING ANXIOUS about getting this new...
Kohler Cimarron toilet gets retro renovation nod of approval Drum roll, please. I’m adding a second toilet recommendation for...