HOW ARE YOUR SUMMER PROJECTS GOING, readers? What are you getting done? What do you fear will never get done? Me, hopeless. Wrote a check for some new landscaping work, but other than that, too busy with work, the blog, visitors, the usual. And all you lurkers, make my day and leave a comment, for gosh sakes.
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57 comments
PerfectCircle says
Okay, I’ll unlurk! I have a 1926 Seattle bungalow that underwent typical remodeling in the late 40’s/early 50’s, with additional changes over the decades. This is the summer (well, it will end up being the autumn, now) to help out our poor kitchen and restore it so it doesn’t look like such a hotch-potch. I mostly want a kitchen that looks “vintage”, rather than being tied to an exact year or decade. I love our metal kitchen cabinets, and your site has been a wealth of information. We’re having them electrostatically painted. Same with the metal cabinetry under the kitchen sink unit (Youngstown), which will also have the sink part re-glazed. We have a lovely 1957 GE electric stove that I’m going to have spruced up and re-porcelained (will have to de-construct it and send the top to California for that). We’ll rip out the 80’s vinyl and re-finish the fir floors (or put down linoleum or Marmoleum or something if the wood is too trashed). We’ll replace the 80’s fridge with an Elmira Northstar or a Big Chill. We’ll put in stainless countertops and a stainless dishwasher with hidden controls and call it close enough (I’ve been looking at a lot of 40’s kitchens, but also 1930’s diners with all their stainless and chrome; I’ve also found reference to lots of stainless kitchen appliances from the 50’s, so it’s all still in the right ball park.) I’ll be back to post pictures at some point. Thanks for running such a great resource of a site, and to all your readers for their helpful comments!
pam kueber says
Welcome, PerfectCircle, and thank you and all the other lurkers who came out to visit. My goodness, you are busy. I think it’s so cool that you are mixing things up in your 1926 bungalow, and we can’t wait to see the results. Let me know if there’s anything stumping you or otherwise torturing you and I’ll be happy to try and help.
Mandi H. says
We’ve been busy tackling different projects around the house. I FINALLY painted the bathroom, hung a cabinet over the toilet and replaced the shower curtain to a cute retro print. Just last weekend we installed new baseboards and man, they have made the biggest difference! Thank goodness my terrazzo floors are pretty level! We also installed a new entertainment center that had a retro feel to it. We got it from Ikea–check it out! http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S59852149 I got it in the black/brown.
Googie Greg says
I’m one of the “lurkers”. I love your site! As part of my morning routine, I always check to see what cool updates you have. My first retro love is cars. I get my automobile retro-fix from plan59.com. (If you’ve not seen this site, DO NOT visit unless you have 20-30 minutes to spare. It’s almost impossible to break away! In addition to cars, there are home decor and ad sections to this site. The bathroom ads list the names of the sinks/tubs, which you’ve mentioned is one of your life goals to learn. BTW, did the manufactures name the commodes?!)
Anyway, what led me to your site was trying to identify the name of the style of a bedroom suite my grandmother gave my mom when Mom was 16 years old (around 1961). I did a search on “1960s furniture blonde wood”, or something similar, and your site was one of the results. I’ve been hooked since! Sadly, the bedroom suite was sold in stages over various yard sales. Didn’t know what we had, but due to the education I’m getting through your site, it won’t happen again!
Thanks for your time, dedication, and effort in maintaining your site. Fellow retro-enthusiasts like me greatly appreciate it.
pam kueber says
Fostermamas,
Congrats on your new house and of course I am happy to hear that you will be saving your pink bathroom, Ms. Interior Designer! There is a post on the blog about cleaning grout – put ZEP into the search box. Please be careful though – of fumes etc. but also of the possibility of ‘scratching’ or ‘acid’ scratching the adjacent tile. Worth doing a very careful experiment with, to start…. There must be other methods as well, I will have to add this to the list. I’m also getting emails from folks about “replacing grout.” I need to look into that one, even though this not a DIY site perhaps I can point some folks in a potentially useful direction ….
Mary says
As I read through these replies I don’t feel so bad that my home improvements have sort of stagnated. I’m not alone! I did order replacement windows for the family room (yep, they’re wood, not vinyl)–they should be installed in the next few weeks. After that, paint, make curtains and order the linoleum floor. Hopefully all that can get done before the end of the year.
YarmouthCindy says
I’m feeling quite pleased with our baby steps. I recently installed a CB2 drum pendant light in the dining area to replace hideous track lighting. Pictures on my blog: http://www.random-charm.com/?p=1012
Tomorrow I am swapping bathroom light fixtures with my ILs. Getting rid of a perfectly nice neo-Deco fixture that looks completely silly in our tiny ’52 bathroom. Will be replacing it with a very plain classic frosted glass fixture.
And then comes the hardest project. Pinch pleat drapes. I’m not really worried about making them because I’ve been sewing for a long time but I am wondering when I’ll have the uninterrupted time to work on them without sticky fingers wanting to help, and/or pull me away!
James says
I just re-read my post from this morning. I should have said that I have the same “style” as Doris Day’s I-XL cabinets….I don’t really think Doris Day’s actual cabinets found their way into my garage…
Any way, hanging cabinets is hard work for this lawyer by trade but knowing the cabinets were good enough for the famous movie blonde somehow makes the grueling task a bit lighter.
James says
As for projects,well, by perusing your website, I just learned that the old kitchen cabinets that I have been hanging in my garage this summer are the same as the ones in the I-XL cabinet ad featuring Doris Day’s 1966 Malibu kitchen (so so the ad claims). Although these cabinets have been painted (many times), I thought they looked familiar and, sure enough, the I-XL label is on the inside of the doors. We live in suburban Chicago, not Malibu, but now I know that we have a (very remote) touch of 1960s Hollywood in the garage…
Cindy says
Projects? Well, the plan was to do a 1960s looking slate patio and landscaping…….I haven’t had much luck getting quotes, one guy was here two months ago and is still working on the quote………..so he’s OUT. Another person prepared the quote in the truck in my driveway and hadn’t seemed to give it much thought…the third guy was late and pricey………Pam, I may need recommendations from you if you know someone who works in Holyoke. Looks like the project gets postponed til next spring…I’m also looking for slate on craigslist…….unless you start a forum for that!
Elaine says
RE: Matching tiles. If they are small tiles, you can take some from under the toilet to replace them. My handy neighbor did that for us, he is a tile genius. I have been looking and looking for a match for the tiles. They are a peculiar dull yellow speckled color and three or four were missing from the edge of the doorsill. He took up the toilet, got the tiles, and put the toilet back. You do need a new donut ring, but it’s a pretty cheap price to pay.