Mid Mod Madness

1960s vintage woven wood shades – and an amazing Hollywood Regency time capsule

Posted by: pam kueber • February 25, 2009

You just never know whether an estate sale will be out of this world – or a dud. This past weekend, I was fortunate to hit a real a jackpot. A Victorian-industrial-company-town townhouse in a northern Berkshires “hilltown” that appeared to have been redecorated to the hilt in 1961 or so. All what you call “Hollywood Regency” – a very foofy gilded Italianate style so named because it copied the Regency Hotel in Hollywood. Also, think “Rat Pack Viva Las Vegas.” The home was simply amazing as in eyes-popping-out-of-your-head amazing.

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Kitchens – Countertops
Wow, does anyone know about countertops like these? Becky recently bought a time capsule and her french provincial kitchen (I’d call it) includes these countertops. Reminds me of these Fritz floor tiles. Anyone work with this back in the day who knows? Kind of, an early-days version of Silestone or the other composite-quartz countertops sold [...]

UPDATE (Oct 2011): Click over to –> this story to get an update on all three sources for boomerang laminate. Where to find a retro Formica countertop for a red, black and white kitchen? Pamela recently wrote to ask: Hi! I bought a home a couple of years ago … it’s a 10-year-old FL ranch, [...]

Here is another set of products from the past — still available today — with a fascinating history: ‘Memphis’ style laminates designed in 1978 by Ettore Sottsass, “the greatest Italian designer of the last half century.” These laminates are still offered by Abet Laminati. This is not necessarily a name familiar U.S. consumers, but Abet [...]

“…Eliminates the final telltale sign of laminate – the brown line.” I am a big believer in the idea that the most significant design shifts tend to come from technological breakthroughs. The advance of laminate kitchen countertops — replacing linoleum and wood in most kitchens in the 1950s — came as a result of the [...]

These are sure a blast from the past: Glass combination trivets and cutting boards that are installed directly into your kitchen countertop. Yes: with metal rim aka Hudee ring. I think that these built-in cutting boards were all the rage in the 1970s, because there was one in our 1975 countertop, to the left of the sink.

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