Retro Renovation » paneling

Wood paneling — time for a comeback?

pam kueber — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:00:02 +0000

I‘ve been holding off for a while on posting this incredible 1966 wood paneling, thinking I could find some today-sources for this stylish material. Click the images to enlarge and see the wonderful decorative detail. Alas, nothing on the internet. Does anyone have any other ideas…sources?

It’s so interesting – that this was so popular…then so unpopular. Please don’t rip yours out unless it’s truly pedestrian! When we bought our 1951 “colonial-modern embankment ranch” seven years ago, another of the selling points was its original cherry paneling in the basement. The room itself needed some work – insulation, better heating, lighting, ceiling, carpet…but there was never a doubt about the paneling. Today, it’s the favorite room of my husband and his guy friends — a classic.

Methinks it’s time for paneling like this, to make a comeback.

This post was first published Feb. 19, 2008

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pam kueber — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:59:18 +0000

Oooooh, look at this great color chart – for Motorola television consoles in 1956. Click directly on the photo to get to the flickr photostream of What Makes the Pie Shops Tick – who has some additional images of vintage Motorola’s straight from the 1956 catalog. But back to the color chart — I liked this in particular, because it provides a good reference for paint, stain and finish options for anything wood – furniture, cabinetry, even paneling. Thanks, Pie Shop!

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Decorating ideas from a retro 60s avocado and orange time capsule basement

pam kueber — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:00:43 +0000

How to add light to your basement? This wonderful 60s room spotted by reader Tom B., ready with the camera for retro recon, provides a great example.

Tom writes:

“Pam, My wife and I hit up an estate sale late yesterday and stumbled across a “time capsule” room I just HAD to share with you: Get a load of the green stained walls, built in seating nook and orange tweed carpet!!! and look at those windows!

Tom continues:

“a closer view-

“get a load of the sweet little handprints in the stain on the right-And a closer look at the windows-

“did i mention that this room is in THE BASEMENT!!!! there is about a 10″ gap between the walls with lighting along he ceiling:

“and here’s the next room over, similar windows and a false fireplace. (i loved this basement!!!!):

“The rest of the house was pretty unremarkable, just a normal, late 60’s ranch home. The kitchen had a wierd combo- the original wood cabinets/appliances with new beige/white corian countertops/backsplash. it was an, er, interesting look… (sorry no pics of that)

“I also picked up a new in box, ceramic doorknob escutcheon with gold fleur de lis printed on it along with a grocery bag full of other stuff for a whopping DOLLAR (like i said it was late) Anyway, i hope you enjoy the pics, feel free to use them however you want.
your faithful reader,
TomB”

Thanks, Tom — great green paneling, wonderful carpet! And just to be super clear, readers — those are fake windows in the basement. Built out from the wall, with lights behind them, to simulate daylight at the touch of a button. Pretty nifty!

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Lawrence Bill’s 1955 pecky cypress living room

pam kueber — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:00:44 +0000

Last week, reader Magnarama clued us all in about Pecky Cypress when we looked at a 1959 Drexel living room and bedroom.

Pecky cypress…I cannot tell you HOW MUCH I love to say that, write that, think that, add that as a Tag, tell my husband about it! And now, dream it: Look at the living room in Lawrence Bill’s 1955 split-levell! Here’s his wonderful story to go with it:

Hi Pam,

Yes, the pecky cypress looks fantastic in contrast to the huge fireplace here in the living room. I just love the look and texture. It’s feels natural, organic, of a place, yet utterly modern. Though it’s hard to tell from the pics, the wood was lightly stained a light blue color. The effect is quite striking; it cools the eyes yet remains warm and inviting. It’s magical, really.

The architect, who is still alive in L.A., told me the story about how the house was built. I’ll tell you just a bit of what I know. He said the owners wanted the pecky cypress look in their living room/dining area. Evidently it was becoming popular at that time. They sourced the best pieces they could find from a supplier that got it from Louisiana. The rest of the house has a lovely mix of hardwoods and softwoods. You could not duplicate this quality today unless you had hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend. And even then it wouldn’t be the same–the untold story about midcentury homes is the quality of woods sourced from forests that no longer exist or can’t be logged for environmental reasons, etc. I don’t need to tell you about that.

The house was completed for exactly $18,000 in October, 1955. I still have the original receipt. It was built by two brothers (+ a helper), one of whom was a demolition expert during WWII. One day, while trying to lay the sewage line from the house to the (then new) dirt road, then ran into a huge underground rock. The demolition expert went out and found some dynamite somewhere, came back, and after a few unsuccessful attempts to dislodge the rock, finally blew it up, sending a huge chunk of clear over a neighbor’s roof into their back yard. Luckily no one was hurt. From what I heard, the brothers went over to the house, apologized, and the police were not called in. How’s that for a 50s moment for you? Could you imagine that happening today?

I could go on with stories I’ve heard about how they built this place but I’d probably bore you. But then again, one of the funnest parts about your blog is reading about other people’s houses and their stories. So in that context maybe not so boring. Which reminds me: one of these days you should consider doing a post about architectural drawings. We have the original drawings to this house and they’re really cool. I don’t know, it just amazes me that all this derived from a hand-drawn plan. I get the same feeling looking at the drawings of famous golf course architects. For some reason, there seemed to be a correlation between the quality of the drawing and the quality of the end result. I don’t know how you’d make a post about architectural drawings interesting, but it might be worth considering. Could be a good idea over the winter when not much is going on.

Regards,
Bill

KABOOM! Get your architectural drawings ready, readers. We will indeed take up Bill’s idea come fall and winter…Thanks, Bill!

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