David and Kristin have the eye for mid century modern decorating, and, it turns out that Dave is one handy guy. After I declared that orange is the Retro Renovation color of the year, he sent me photos of his living room of his 1959 split level house, with all the gorgeous orange accents. Of course, I also noticed the fantastic mid century modern panelled, or latticed, wall in the room. It turns out that he designed and installed the wall himself — for only $250 — and it’s 24 feet long! Today, he tells us how to make a panelled wall like this one.. and gives us peek inside his and Kristin’s lovely home.
now
Of course, I asked Dave to start us out by explaining his “Retro Renovation story.” He writes:
My wife and I searched for a house for about a year, going to open houses every Sunday. My requirements were brick, 2 car garage, a driveway that we didn’t have to move cars around to get in and out. We hadn’t seen anything that met our needs for the right price until we saw this house for sale by owner.
It is a trilevel built in 1959, and has a pink bathroom in perfect condition that we both fell in love with. I am sure most buyers were scared away because the house needed “updating” but we just fell in love with it. We put in a contingency offer, hurriedly got our house on the market, and sold it in less than a month.
We started loading up on design magazines and quickly discovered that mid century design fit our house to a tee! Items have been purchased for the house from 2 great mid century shops and several different antique shops in town.
We have been here for over 4 years now and continue to take on new projects, one room at a time. I found your blog early on in our renovation and read it every day for ideas and inspiration.
I thought you might like to see pictures of our living room. Our accent color is orange and it is my favorite room in our house.
I did the wall myself. It is just strips of MDF. It was a time consuming, low cost project. I have about $250 in the whole project (including renting a paint sprayer). The wall project evolved from a picture in the now defunct Metropolitan Home magazine. My wife brought it to my attention and asked if I could replicate it. I kind of took it on as a personal challenge. I spent two days laying out the lines on the wall. The wall starts in the living room and continues into the dining room approximately 8′ tall by 24′ long. The next step was cutting 1 sheet of 3/4 MDF (medium density fiberboard) into 3/4 x 3/8 strips on the table saw. Yep, only in 4×8 sheet ! I set up a miter saw outside the front door and cut pieces to length, one at a time, using my lines on the wall to mark the strips (not a tape measure) because that was more accurate. I then adhered each piece using powergrab adhesive and pin nails. I only worked on it about 2 hours a day, maybe 3 days a week.
After about 5 weeks, and about 6 hours of caulking, it was ready for paint. I rented a HVLP (high velocity low pressure) sprayer from a local rental store for the weekend, primed first, then added 2 coats of latex paint. It has been done for about 2 years now and it still makes me smile every time I walk in the house! Note: the tone-on-tone curtains are from Penneys and were $30 a panel and fit PERFECTLY with NO alterations. What a lucky break! — Dave and Kris
That is so impressive, Dave — like I like to say, “some therapy.” You now move ahead in our overachiever of the year award, ahead of Uncle Atom, who has not actually finished his tiki totem pole, and TroySF, who is resting on his 2010 laurels (so far.) Thank you so much for sharing, the house is really truly stunning. I love the living room — with its mix of white walls, light gray upholstered furniture, the blonde Heywook Wakefield and the puches of orange. You two really know what you are doing — in your next career, you need to be a decorating team, truly!
Dot says
Wow..that’s all I can say is wow. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful home with us. (and giving the rest of us ideas and the resources to make them happen).
Trip Haynes says
Love the pics of your home, looks very warm and inviting. Think you did a terrific job and I know how rewarding it is to finish a project an then step back an say “Whew”.
Kimberly Lindbergs says
Well done and so creative! Dave & Kristin have a beautiful home.
southwick says
I swear we have the same couch as you, ordered through Urban Outfitters, either way its a beautiful couch!
Looks great!
PAppel says
Wondering about a source for the armchair and matching ottoman? Lovely, lovely home!
Dave says
PAppel, We bought the chair and ottoman at a consignment shop and the sales tag said it was Brown Saltman. I haven’t been able to find an actual label on the furniture to confirm that. We had it recovered about 2 years ago.
Jeff says
Dave, Kristin, congrats on such a superb space- square within square motifs are a favorite of mine, especially in wall treatments, wallpaper, and concrete block.
Your sense of proportion and placement is a superb fit.
Glad too that Pam has announced orange as this year’s color,- your three-tier end table is lyrical!
Have several orange lacquered pieces myself, which are near and dear, and really punctuate a space.
Gavin Hastings says
I thought about this beautiful living room all day and revisited the photo.
I missed it the first time around, but honestly…get ready Pam…The absence of a big black TV screen brings a very different tone to this room.
pam kueber says
yes, i noticed that, too. our living room has no tv. we have the tv in the cherry panelled family room downstairs…
J.R. says
Great house and FANTASTIC wall! The 1956 split-level we just purchased last week is begging for a similar treatment, and I have been going over in my mind for weeks exactly how I was going to approach the project of a textured wallscape… and here you come with a complete how-to article! Great tips, MDF never crossed my mind but it does make the most sense. ( I was actually thinking of using drywall! imagine that nightmare!)
Oddly enough, I have almost the same set of grey chairs and sofa… a Canadian made set though with steel legs.
Just can’t say enough, WOW! and Thanks!
CindyD says
Outstanding! Dave and Kris, your home is beautiful – it must be so enjoyable to come home to. I love your orange accents especially! I actually had a similar idea (your interlocking squares) for over our fireplace. Don’t know if we’ll get to it, but we had to rework the fireplace and it means we’ll be looking for a solution. Your home just looks so comfortable. Great work!
Jim at SCOUT says
We loved Dave’s work on the wall so much that we had him make a sales counter in our shop just like it. He painted it in high gloss red and it is killer. He does the most beautiful work and his home is evidence of it. Kris and Dave both have great ideas for their home.