My name is Carrie, I was not born (actually 1976) during the times you mainly discuss on your blog; however I have been very fond to all things vintage instead of new. I have been an addicted reader of your blog for more than three months now. It is nice to know there are so many others out there who are just it in awe of the 40s 50s and 60s especially mid century modern. I am very much inspired by all the things you have written about, and everyone else who contributes as well. Especially real estate time capsules. I have just purchased a house where I live and it is a time capsule. The house was build in 1964 and has only had one owner….
Carrie’s 1964 Storybook Ranch — aka “Cinderella Ranch” or rambler — is a real time capsule purchased from the original owner who never changed a thing – and Carrie pledges not to, either! Speckled laminate…knotty pine kitchen…original pinch pleats… Sears lights… just look at those awnings! This house is terrific! 14 photos.
Carrie writes some more:
…I have also come to find out that my kitchen counter is formica and it is just BEAUTIFUL!!!! I am not changing a thing in the house everything will stay as it is. The only thing that I had to take out was the accordion shower door because it wouldn’t close and the plastic pieces just broke into pieces when I was trying to remove it carefully. I will find a nice shower curtain to compliment the room and all its details. The wood paneling, wallpaper murals, knotty pine cabinets are all staying and pretty much everything else. I do however would like to get a new stove and refrigerator. I have already found them – they will come in the fu+ture cause they are pretty expensive.
I live in a small town in the Central Valley of California “Los Banos”……it is about 2 hours south of Sacramento but only an hour north west of Fresno. It is centrally located to everything, only an hour and half to Monterey or to Santa Cruz. Also you can get to Yosemite National Park in 2 hours, its GREAT.
Here is a link to more photos — http://www.flickr.com/photos/31338833@N03/
Keep up the good work, Carrie.
Thank you, Carrie — you are an inspiration! Your house is happy it found you!
nancy says
Where did you buy the accordian-style shower door?
Craig Cadwell says
Awesome house! The model you live in was built by Walter Bollenbacher and Louis L. Kelton developers. They have numerous developments in San Diego county and I think I live in possibly the largest tract in Spring Valley, CA. I have always loved these houses, sadly they are being stripped of their scroll work trim, fake shutters, garages being converted to bedrooms, etc. I am taking pictures of the finest original examples to preserve their memory. Our house has the knotty pine cabinets, brown O’keefe & Merritt wall mount oven with matching range, the knotty pine paneling in the living room, diamond pane double hung windows and the best part is the glitter on the ceiling. Keep this house the way it is!
Renee says
I have a 60s Westinghouse Brown range that my husband rewired and replaced the elements and thermostat in.
I would not part with it for all of the Vikings, Wolfs, Dynasties or any other high end commercial style ranges in the world.
It bakes perfectly and doesn’t heat the whole kitchen up (a plus in Florida). The burners get very hot, much hotter than today’s stoves, even the $5000 Wolfs. It boils a pot for pasta in 10 minutes and also holds a very low even simmer. Not even the top of the line commercial style ranges today work as well as the stoves from the 50s and 60s.
I have an old fridge too. My husband calculated that it actually does not use more power than the newer Energy star fridges. My new old fridge does not make iced spinach and rotted yogurt like the new one in my old house did all the time. It doesn’t have an icemaker or water on the door, but these are minor tradeoffs for food that is not always spoiling.
Michael says
After I posted that, I looked back and photographs and it’s quite similar but not an exact match to what we had.
Michael says
The wallpaper in the kitchen is exactly what was in the house I grew up in. My mom put it up in the early 70’s. It is a perfect match to a popular Corning Ware cookware set. My mom had absolutely everything to match that pattern. Every single kitchen doo dad you can imagine!
Sara says
What about window boxes overflowing with salmon pink geraniums and petunias?
sumacsue says
After reading Alice’s comment, I had to go back through all the photos to find the cat — thanks, Alice, for throwing in a fun little game.
What a great house, Carrie! Congratulations to you. It’s interesting how a touches like scalloped exterior trim and scalloped switch plates can turn a regular house into something dreamy.
Also, while I personally have a more natural (OK, messy) approach to landscaping, I think that these tidy, sculpted bushes and the manicured lawn are a nice foil for the curvy lines of the house trim. What does everyone else think?
Alice says
What a doll-house Carrie! Congrats and enjoy it! (I notice you have the all important asset of a cat as well!)