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!
1955 time capsule ranch bungalow in St. Louis – frozen in time 
1964 time capsule gray bathroom 
A basement shuffleboard for Dave & Sarah 
Carpets, rugs and runners featuring 50 clan tartans – from Stevens & Graham circa 1947 
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Elvis says
SumacSue, your recollection sounds eerily similar to mine, except the desk unit my dad built in for my sister and me was painted white, with every drawer a different warm color (orange, yellow, brown, etc.) So cool!
And I guess every dad whose teenage daughters want to put up hearthrob pics has the same reaction: save the paint job!
Thanks for the memories!
lynngweeny says
Sumacsue,
Nope, our bedroom was in a darling single level ranch house in Anaheim, just a few miles from Disneyland. We badgered our folks for years to add a 2nd floor because we wanted a staircase banister to slide down. Can you imagine how we quickly we would have destroyed that?
Tiffany Phares says
Late to the party, but anyone have any idea how they stained/painted that paneling? I’m wanting to do something similar in our living room in something close to this color…but ours is veneered panels in a dark orange brown and I’m afraid the stain won’t lighten it up but make it darker. Thanks for any info.
pam kueber says
I am not an expert on this. With wood floors, you need to sand out the stain, then restain. With a veneer you won’t have much to work with. You could try something like Citristrip Gel — it might lift the old stain. On the face of it, I would agree with your guess: New stain will not lighten up old stain.