Retro Renovation

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Kitchen Help Category

Retro counter top edging — using inexpensive auto body molding trim

Props to reader Anna for sending this tip: She used adhesive auto body trim to create the look of chrome edging on her vintage counter...

Kitchen Help Category

Nationaline steel kitchen cabinets — our 96th brand of vintage metal kitchen cabinets — sort of

Here’s our 96th brand of vintage metal kitchen cabinets, but not really (explanation to come): Nationaline brand steel kitchen cabinets. Thanks to reader Jim for..

Kitchens

Vintage nursery rhyme wallpaper — now reproduced by Bradbury & Bradbury

Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard surely had shelves and drawers wallpapered in whimsical vintage wallpaper -- just like one of these four new/old designs from Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpaper now being reproduced based on original document designs in their archives.

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Popular right now

14 Places to Buy or DIY Mid Century Modern Front Doors

You only have one chance to make a good first impression -- and fortunately, there are lots more places to get a midcentury modern style front door today. Yup, more mega research!

Still in production after nearly 70 years: Acme Dinettes

Yup, these dinettes are still being made from original tooling that goes back as far as 1949. I have lots of photos -- and where you can find these for sale.

13 places to find retro laminate for counter tops

If you are looking for retro-style laminate for a kitchen or bathroom counter top, here to help is a list of all the places I know -- 13 companies, in all -- to look for laminate for your retro kitchen.

150+ vintage drainboard kitchen sinks in stock 24/7

Based in Gardner, Mass., Ken and his wife scour New England and beyond for vintage sinks in original condition. A Massachusetts motherlode!

Bathroom remodeling — a checklist of 84 costs to consider

I've done a few in my day and thought it would be fun (haha) to compile a list of every element of a bathroom remodel for which you need to plan, budget and spend.

Eames in a Box: A 1959 Spartan Carousel trailer with a fantastic circular kitchen

Prepare your eyeballs for this gem -- a rare 1959 'Spartan Carousel' trailer that, as its name suggests, includes a fabulous circular kitchen.

36 places to find 4″ x 4″ ceramic bathroom wall tile in vintage colors

Here's a big update on where to find 4 x 4 inch (or approximately) ceramic field tile in real colors, typically for your bathroom renovation.

Making art from broken vintage costume jewelry — Denise & I share our tips

Making gorgeous one-of-a-kind works of art from broken, vintage costume jewelry is not "difficult" -- but it requires a lot of patience -- a lot of jewelry -- an artful eye -- and the appropriate adhesives.

Getting started with your Retro Renovation

Kitchen Help Category

Armstrong Flooring reintroducing its famous #5352 pattern in 4 colorways — nationwide availability later this year

The most popular resilient floor pattern of the 20th Century — is now coming back as a player in the 21st Century! Yes, in what’s..

Bathroom Help

Where to buy mid century style medicine cabinets made new today

Where to find mid century style medicine cabinets made new today? Over time, we’ve heard from more readers with tips, and some old suppliers exited the..

Kitchen Help Category

7 authentic vintage countertop laminate designs still available today

Are you interested in using an authentic vintage laminate design for your bathroom or kitchen countertop? Over the 12 years I’ve been blogging, so called..

Kitchen Help Category

Steel kitchen cabinets — 4 places to buy them made new today

Where to buy steel kitchen cabinets made new today? I get the question fairly often, so decided to update my research on companies making steel..

Exterior

Major Update: 28 companies that sell concrete breeze blocks — 75+ designs!

I did mega-research to find all the companies -- nationwide -- that make & sell breeze block. There's even a place near me, in Schenectady!

Kitchen Help Category

One-stop shopping guide to finding a Retro Refrigerator

I recently did a bunch of work to create a one-stop shopping guide to finding a retro style refrigerator (or true vintage). << Check it..

Decorating Resources for Mid Century Modern Homes

Barkcloth fabric — 155 designs from 6 companies available today + vintage, of course!

Barkcloth is a wonderful fabric for making curtains and pillows for midcentury homes and tropical home tiki bars too. In this update to my original..

Kitchen Help Category

Metal counter edges — 6 places to buy them + more tips

Where to find metal counter edges for retro kitchens — countertop edging in steel, aluminum and even faux laminate edging? I have made a new,..

Kitchen Help Category

Make a resolution to: Be Safe and Renovate Safe!

Lead — in lots of places Asbestos — in lots of places Electrical and Other Fire Safety Glass Safety Window Treatment Cord Safety Latches Radon..

See my curated list of key resources >>

Readers & their bathrooms

Fun with plastic bathroom tile — Lori’s genius powder room design!

Lori shows us how we can combine different colors of tiles in a bold way that I don't think I've ever featured before. And the tile: It is vintage plastic!

Sigrid’s one-step-at-a-time 1954 house refresh

We love our vintage wallpaper here on Retro Renovation -- and sure enough, it helps put Sigrid's spiffed up bathroom over the top!

Lynne’s Ice Grey Daltile bathroom remodel — lovely!

If you want to design a midcentury bathroom using ceramic tile that's readily available and relatively affordable today, here's a terrific example from Lynne.

100+ idea-packed, real-life bathroom projects >>

Readers & their kitchens

Recreating a Brady Bunch kitchen — Duane and Wendy show us how!

Duane and Wendy recreated much of the Brady Bunch kitchen, right down to Mike and Carol's coffee cups. They even got out their plaid double knit bell bottoms for the photo shoot!

A 64-year-old Geneva kitchen that looks like it was installed yesterday

Carol bought a 1956 house that came with a second kitchen that was barely used. Let's take a look!

Scott started with one adorable vintage dinette — and built a picture perfect kitchen around it!

With this sweetheart mid-century style kitchen, Scott also shows us how to combine new materials with vintage appliances and decor.

150+ clever & creative real-life kitchen projects >>

12 favorites from 13 years of blogging

Mid Century Culture

Hazel Dell Brown of Armstrong Flooring — the most influential residential interior designer of the 20th Century (that you probably never heard of)

Was Hazel Dell Brown of Armstrong Flooring the most influential residential interior designer of the 20th Century -- that you probably never heard of? I believe that, yes, she was!

Kitchen Help Category

Nevamar introduces 20 new retro countertop laminate designs — including Venus from Kyrsten’s vintage chain set find!

Read how reader Kyrsten and I helped bring several midcentury laminate patterns back to life -- part of Nevamar's new Yesteryears™ Collection of 20 designs.

Kitchen Help Category

The Retro Renovation® Encyclopedia of Vintage Steel Kitchen Cabinets

With help from readers, I have identified 90+ different brands of metal kitchen cabinets built before, during but most after World War II -- mostly steel, mostly in the U.S. You have arrived at the epicenter for steel kitchen cabinet history!

Kitchen Help Category

Found in boxes never opened, 1948 Youngstown Kitchens cabinets go home to Youngstown, Ohio

When we broke the story last fall that a complete set of New Old Stock 1948 Youngstown Kitchens cabinets -- plus Cusheen countertops -- plus GE Airliner range -- had been found in storage in California, many of us agreed it should end up in a museum. And guess what: It did!

Kitchen Help Category

Retro Renovation® by Wilsonart boomerang laminate — now available online at Home Depot

Our Retro Renovation® by Wilsonart boomerang laminates -- all seven colorways -- are available via Home Depot including online.

Decorating Resources for Mid Century Modern Homes

A Beauty View of all our stories about Beauti-Vue woven wood shades and more

Golly, is there anything more exciting than finding business that’s been in the same family for 67 years — and which has a back o’..

Mid Century Culture

The 14 beautiful homes of The Astronaut Wives Club — Production Designer Mark White takes us inside and behind the scenes — 33 photos

The story of the seven women on ABC-TV’s The Astronaut Wives Club is fascinating, but you know what we’re ogling: Their midcentury homes. Seven modest 1950s homes… seven glamorous 1960s homes – each, meticulously decorated to reflect the well documented lives of these “astrowives” as they rocketed to Mercury Seven Project fame.

Mid Century Culture

Dollhouse warming party: Kate’s 1955 Betsy McCall DIY Dollhouse tour — finished!

It has been five months since I began work on my built-from-scratch 1955 Betsy McCall DIY Dollhouse -- a project that has been labor of love and one that I didn't realize would take me so long to 'finish.'

Mid Century Culture

11 retro design archetypes — which style are you?

A while back, Pam and I created 11 retro decorating “archetypes” — and “retroscopes” to go with. We made these as a “freemium” for the signing up..

Decorating Resources for Mid Century Modern Homes

Pickwick pine paneling — the most popular knotty pine pattern in midcentury America?

Epic: 2,000+ words exploring this piney puzzle Pickwick Pine! We recently learned that this is the name for the what we believe was the most..

pink bathrooms

12 reasons I love my new retro pink bathroom — Kate’s pink bathroom remodel

Excited, giddy, thankful, accomplished, proud — all of these feelings have been bouncing around in my brain ever since completing my retro pink master bathroom..

Holiday

Our tutorial and 30+ tips to make your own vintage Christmas ornament wreath

I have been ornie hoarding for a few years… and we have Georgia Peachez’ DIY instructions… so I invited my friend Danielle (with pink wreath..

See more of my personal favorites >>