One of our best stories yet! Christopher and Francisco send this wonderful email and photos:Pam,I have enjoyed your blog for so long. It is an endless source of inspiration in the restoration of our Philadelphia row home. Soon after we moved in, we met our neighbor Nora, an 89 year old widow with a passion for clothes, make-up, and MCM. Her home is immaculate. The kitchen, probably remodeled in the 60’s, has beautiful pink formica counters, wood cabinets, a Caloric wall oven, and a secret wall compartment for the paper towels.
.
Nora’s favorite color is pink and her husband’s was blue. He remodeled a former bedroom into a large master bath using both colors. Nora is one of thirteen children. She grew up in the three bedroom house across the street. “The bathroom was the size of a phone booth,” Nora always says. Her husband Pete made sure she had the bathroom of her dreams.
We have many more pictures of Nora’s home and our own remodel. I look forward to sharing these with you. We love our pink bathroom and our retro kitchen. We are currently refinishing a set of metal Geneva wall cabinets and putting a new shine on our light blue 1950’s VCT floor tile. It is a pleasure to share this with you. Thank you so much.
– Christopher and Francisco
To view slide show, click on the first thumbnail, and move forward or back via the arrows below each image.
Thank YOU, Christopher & Francisco. I can’t even express how happy this story makes me. One of the things I love the best THE best THE BEST about our mid century homes is the fact that their original owners are still around to tell us their stories … and to share with us their immense gratitude at having these homes — even the smallest among them. Tell Nora, thank you so much for sharing her story with us! And my GOSH, she looks fantastic. See how that pink bounces off your skin and makes you all glowy? Or — in this case — I think the glow is coming from the inside. 🙂
John says
…. it even has a phone in the bathroom. …and here I thought talking on phones while “on the john” was a recent cell phone phenomena.
Jennifer Donleavy says
Note the burners on the stove top to the right of the oven — that little cylinder in the middle of the burner is a temperature probe for the natural gas burner thermostat. You would set the temp with the dial, and a spring would hold the probe against the bottom of the pan, and the flame would vary to keep the temp stable. These are, in my opinion, the coolest burners ever.
Thanks, Nora!!
JD
Mike S says
OMG!!! My mother had the very same kitchen canisters! She would constantly complain about bugs getting into her flour! Wow, what a trip! LOVE this stuff!!
Jsteen says
I soooo love this story, and pictures. I live in a suburb outside of Philly and wish I knew this lovely gem of a woman. I would love to go inside and share nice cup of Lady Grey Tea with her, and of course go on a house tour. I would love to meet Francisco and Christopher and see what they have done , and are remodeling. Take good care of this lovely woman. I really enjoyed these pics. Jsteen
kim says
Hi, I love Nora’s pink Kitchen and bathroom! I am trying to bring some retro looks into my house. If I wait a few more years it will be retro! I would love to see more of Nora’s house!! She is looks so good!! I want some pink in my house now. Thanks for this wonderful website!!
Johnny 5 Fachy says
Nora is fabulous as is her finely appointed home, what a great story! Like other readers I’m really digging that hidden paper towel holder, the entire picture spread is fantastic!
Janice says
What a sweet lady – she looks great for her age, too! LOVE her house. I have those canisters and the matching salt & pepper set and a matching spice rack, but I have to admit they look so much cuter in her pink kitchen.
Jennifer C says
Now those are kitchen counters of my dreams! Can someone please get Formica to start selling them again? I bet they would be surprised at the number of sales, especially if they advertised a new MCM line! Thanks for posting : )
Adrian says
What a adorable nice lady!