Remodeling, decor and home improvement for old homes
I spent a few hours on the internet Sunday, researching mailboxes suitable for a midcentury home — including modern and more traditional colonials and ranches. Like toilets, many decorator mailboxes today seem to be “Victorian on steroids” or otherwise just too precious. But — I did assemble a good group of choices, at a variety of prices. I also stumbled upon a few mailbox posts with the decorative 50s scroll work we like so much. Heck yeah there is more →
SHAUN SPOTTED THIS WONDERFUL TIME CAPSULE, a 1953 home built by architect Eugene Kinn Choy in the Los Angeles foothills. The house, which is currently for sale, is large and expensive by most standards, but even so, I think that there are a lot of design touches on the interior that provide ideas for a retro renovation on any budget. In fact, the more that I look at this house, the more that I love its unpretentiousness. The new American dream, perhaps? Heck yeah there is more →
READERS GARTH AND MARTHA gave me so much information about their renovation project that I’ve split it into two posts. In this first one, Garth tells us about how they were not…no, they were not(!)…going to tackle another fixer upper when they moved from Maryland back to Dallas in November. Of course… they found a fabulous 1950 home and the rest…well, they’re now five months into their new, five-year project. In the second post, below, Garth details the saga to restore vintage Crosley metal kitchen cabinets. Heck yeah there is more →
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. Heck yeah there is more →
DO YOU HAVE FURNITURE that needs new legs? Or maybe you want to build an off-the-floor TV stand or bookshelf or…?
Well, reader Noah sent in this great find: Tapered legs…and Angled Mounting Plates…that can be found at Lowe’s and then used to update any piece of furniture. Inexpensive – stylish – and fun. You should see the TV stand he built in no time at all – terrific! Heck yeah there is more →
Alison King and I first became acquainted when she was looking for some vintage St. Charles kitchen cabinets. Being a humble, patient and deserving retro renovator, Alison had her request answered almost immediately by the retro design gods, who awarded her with a set via our Forum.
Not only is Alison an avid home renovator, she also is the force behind modernphoenix.net. This site is one of the best around to document a city-region’s midcentury domestic architecture. And, it also is at the epicenter of the region’s growing mid mod community. Fascinated, I asked Alison, who calls herself PixelPixie and a “design dork”, to tell us all about herself and what’s going on down in Phoenix. And of course – she sends us lots of pixures of the house that she and husband Matthew are working on.
I find it fascinating that primitive horse themes were so popular in the 50s and 60s. Why? To be sure, there was a sense of internationalism about modern interiors. Did these horse motifs evolve from Spain…or the prehistoric cave painting in Lascaux, France (at left) – as this 1959 interior (above) seems to clearly reference? Does this all start with Picasso? And, the horses are also very associated with the Danish Modern movement. Wherever the idea came from, they are wonderful.
Additional posts on international influences:
A RetroRenovation re-run: This post originally ran on Feb. 26, 2008
When I visited Rejuvenation on Monday, I was treated to a sneak peek at their latest products just about to be introduced: The Corona pendant lighting fixture… and a mahogany tri-spoke spreader that can be used to group three pendants for dramatic effect.
The Corona — which emulates an original 1959 fixture — has an aluminum pin-hole cylinder around a glass shade. And, the cylinder can also be enamel painted mix-and-match style in 8 colors including Neptune Blue, Aurora Green, Solar Yellow and even Flare Orange. Very ’60s!
The new tri-spoke also can be used with Rejuvenation’s other midcentury pendants, the Aeros, Orbis or Cerise.
Finally – during my visit I had my first opportunity to see this lighting in person. I loved the scale, and the quality.
The new lights are all now on the Rejuvenation website. And you can click through here for some additional photos –
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