Update, Monday, May 31: We have a winner — congratulations, Robin L. — who has been notified and is whoopdedoo happy. 🙂 ENTRIES NOW CLOSED. Watch for another contest – different question – same prize – a “Love The House You’re In” custom collage made by our collage artist laureate Mel Kolstad – in June.
Amy was the first winner of a “Love The House You’re In” custom collage made by our collage artist laureate Mel. That’s Amy’s wonderful house… and Amy’s husband’s vintage truck… all interpreted by Mel. This is such a fun contest — let’s do it again. To enter this month:
- Leave a comment on this post answering the question: What year was your house was built? If you like, I’d love to hear about what era/style you are decorating it in… but this is not required.
- And, subscribe to my newsletter. Yes, this helps me build my newsletter list… I send ’em out max twice per week.
Please read all the rules here before entering. I’ll pick a reader next Monday morning.
Erica Sternin says
We are the second owners (Bert and Helen were the first) of our 1954 Ranch-on- a-Hill home. We have a daylight basement and an amazing yard with the original quince, lilacs and rhodies all doing great! We don’ t have much decorating $$, but my tastes seem to have landed on a a sort of MidMod Asian. I painted the exterior a bronzey spring green with carmine trim and it looks incredible with solar powered red lanterns hanging from the trees in the garden. The pink and grey bathroom with the boomerang formica stays “as is”! And we’re trying to find someone to update the wiring in the 1949 chrome plated Westinghouse stove,which came with the house and we have the bill of sale ($180 in 1949) and owner’s manual.
Vanessa Bugge says
Our house was built in 1914, It has been re-done but they did a nice job and kept with the original style. We are adding an addition that I am attempting to match the original style of the house. I’ll be putting white subway tile with a thin black border in the bathroom, and white porcelain 1″ hex tiles on the floor. As for furniture I have a mix of 20’s – 40’s with a few late 19th century dressers and tables thrown in. The overall theme right now is crowded, awaiting more space for our family to enjoy. I think when the addition is done I will decorate and furnish my sewing room with my favorite Midcentury pieces that look a little out of place in the rest of the house. Oh and my little covered front porch has the greatest mid-century chair I picked up off a curb, It’s chartreuse vinyl <3 it! along with a mix of other furnishings.
jill harvey says
my house was build according to best records in 1920s. and its SOLID. some cobjob add ons in the 50s. i have a cob job decorating style right now. there are weird and quaint features. total solid wood ceiling to floor cabinets in ktichen, weird peek thru cupboards to and added on back room, old old sunroom. way old kitchen sink, clawfoot tub in bath. weird room dimensions. i’d love some help
Maureen says
I bought a lovely 1961 Florida Ranch. The lines are clean, the bathroom is pink/salmon tile & tub, which I admit I was not fond of at first, but have acquired an appreciation for, mainly due to the “save the pink bathrooms”. I have kept the original light fixture and hardware.The floors are terrazzo, the kitchen cabinets are original, as well as the pink specled backsplashes! There are awning windows throughout. Nearly all the furniture is “found” mid/mod items at thrift stores. Built in 1961, in about a week for under $10,000 by Mackle Brothers, the pitch was “Move to Florida and live on Easy Street”. They were $10 down and $10 a month. It survived a direct hit from Hurricane Charley with virtually no damage when many newer homes were destroyed. I love my little Florida Ranch!
Shelley says
My house is very new to me, having closed only a couple of weeks ago. It began it’s life in 1896 and has grown up, getting taller and a bit wider, over the years. Haven’t we all? The newer has joined the older with additions over the years, combining form and function with charm.
The previous owner’s ancestors built the house. Her grandmother and great grandmother lived here. Her mother and uncles grew up here and were also born in the house. The seller’s mother came by to say hello my first day here. She showed me the room in which she and all her brothers were born. After a few stories she excused herself, told me to come over the hill to her house if I ever needed anything and then she quietly left with a misty look in her eyes. I felt warmly welcomed and sympathetic to her sadness all at once.
My place sits upon a foothill between a mountain on the right and another more distant mountain range on the left. I’m embraced by mountains. The coziness of the lower ceilings and original floor in the oldest part of the house feels like the valley to the mountain top of the lofty addition. The tin roof over the older part of the house makes a calm, rhythmic sound when it rains. People always smile when I tell them my house has a tin roof. They all tell me they want to sleep under the tin roof on a rainy night!
The laundry room sits in the middle of the house. You see older slate under foot in what used to be the original kitchen. A heavy door fits into the floor in this room and leads to a small root cellar. Waiting there are old mason jars filled with fruit and vegetables. They still look colorful and perfect after years though I won’t be trying any. The previous owner couldn’t bear to throw them out since her grandmother had canned them before she passed away. An old Coke sign, from the 1930’s, hangs on the wall to remind me of another generation that has called my house home.
I found a second slightly rusted yellow and red metal advertising sign from the 1940’s nailed up as a patch for a large gap in an old outbuilding. The place was used to raise chickens and later rabbits. It read Bar L Rabbitry. There I also came across an old handmade door as well with the black metal box lock and porcelain knob still on it as if ready to be put back into service. I will make it a part of the home once more.
I’m discovering as I walk through and actively imagine a future for me inside these walls. The walls, floors, nooks and land seem to tell me stories. Knowing what to place where to create my ideal home felt daunting when I first stepped out of the car. I pictured my own brand of country simplicity with a clean, modern touch though I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. Now I feel I have a friend in my house, giving me visual hints and subtle clues as to what will feel right, a blend of myself and all who have worked on, lived and died within and loved this house.
This is more than a house, more than boards, framing, metal and nails. This is a place to be everything I dream of being and all I imagine creating. My mother always calls her house her “home place”. Now I know what that means.
Carolyn says
We have lived in our 1968 Deckhouse for 2 yrs. We bought our home from the estate of the original owner and it came with lots of original but dry-rotting curtains, slowly but surely replacing them with more pinch pleats and using the same hardware and rods. We also added some color to the walls, as the house was all white before we moved in. Most of our furniture is to borrow your term, mid-century modest. and mostly from craigslist.
Patti Waters says
1959
Julie Bricking says
My brick story and a half was built in 1957 by my parents. Yes, I live in the house I grew up in! Never planned on it but would never move now.
I have hardwood floors throughout the first floor that we refinished, a brick fireplace with raised hearth, peach tile in the bathroom and knotty pine kitchen cabinets. We have a front porch and breezeway between the house and 2-car garage.
I’m in the process of planning a bathroom remodel leaving the peach tile and replacing the floor tile. Any tips on cleaning yellowed grout? I tried to grind it out with a power tool to re-grout but it seemed way to difficult and I chipped the tile in the first 5 minutes.
I have wood Luan doors that I would like to replace with 6-panel doors. We just re-did the front landscaping. We have 5- 50 + year old trees that shade the entire yard. I love your website and have told others about it. I’m even looking through different lenses at my knotty pine kitchen cabinets. I refinished them when we moved in 16-years ago but would love to replace them. But who knows–maybe I’ll learn to love them and never want them to go!!
marie says
I live in a 1920’s tudor/craftsman house. All brick and stone on the outside. Plaster walls, arches, stain-glass, slate roof, stone fireplaces, and original woodwork on the inside. My husband bought this house several years ago before we were married. While I have always dreamed of owning a mid century home, I have learned to love this house. I have many pieces of vintage mid century furniture and art. It works really well with the style of the home.
Jason says
When my wife and I looked for our home, we initially made an offer on a ranch from 1958, which fell through due to the housing market woes. We ended up purchasing a split level that was built in 1992. The layout is identical to split levels built in the 1960s and 1970s, so we have decided to intentionally make our home look like it came from the past. We’ve gone mid-century in our living room with a nice blend of original and new pieces (and an awesome color palette inspired by a chair of ours from the 70’s; avocado, orange, and cream). Our dining room is currently in 1940’s traditional, but that will change in the near future. We’ve painted our outside trim in Sherwin Williams’ Burma Jade and have plans to update both the kitchen and bathrooms in a more 50’s oriented style (however, that won’t be for a while).
Our friends think we are a little off for intentionally dating our house, but we are having fun and loving the results of our effort!