UPDATE: In a wave of making my life simpler, I discontinued Knotty is Nice in 2019 — the site has been taking down. I’ll leave this story up, though, in honor of the knotty — and you can leave your knotty pine memories in comments here if you like.
Crikey, I’ve gone and done it: I’ve started a third blog,Knotty is Nice — a big bear hug aimed at respecting, preserving, maintaining and defending the knotty pine paneling and cabinetry that was phenomenally popular in midcentury homes. Above: That’s Mod Betty of Retro Roadmap‘s father having a swell time in a knotty pine living room, circa 1962.
Alas, knotty pine seems to get little respect in today’s design world. To me, though, it’s clear: Knotty is nice. I think we are just out of the habit of being able to see so, and to say so.
One of the key things that I *think* I’ve learned from writing RetroRenovation.com for these past five years is that our concepts of “beautiful interior design” are very much a product of the era in which we live. We are not any smarter today than our parents or grandparents about “what’s beautiful” or “what’s tasteful”. The applied decoration of interior design is fashion, and in almost all cases, wall coverings are fashion: Some years, we did painted walls .. other years, trends favored wallpaper… and for many years, it was a landslide of knotty pine. By 1950, according to an industry brochure: “Famed the world over… Knotty pine … has found its way into millions of hearts.”
So, with Knotty is Nice, let’s do the same thing for knotty pine that SaveThePinkBathrooms.com has done for vintage pink bathrooms: Let’s convince homeowners — and the rest of the design world maybe even — that knotty pine is beautiful, worthy of our respect, and worth saving.
Over on Knotty is Nice, I will talk about why knotty paneling is Just Fine as a decorative choice within midcentury homes. I spotlight readers and their knotty pine kitchens, basements, sunporches — we even have a knotty pine bathroom. I also plan to further develop a solid list of knotty pine resources — where to get it, how to refinish it, how to maintain it, how to decorate with it. And, one of my favorite stories is about the “why” of knotty pine — why it was so popular. I have some theories — from the fact that it was a common, durable, affordable, traditional material … to the idea that its midcentury popularity also was an embrace of the more casual, California-esque lifestyle.
What do you think, readers?
Can we reach out to our parents, aunts & uncles, grandmas and grandpas — and ask them, “Why All the Knotty Pine?”
What do they remember?
natalie says
love the logo/name/website! do you have someone that does your web design or graphic/art design?
pam kueber says
Hi Natalie, the new site is from a premium template offered by WordPress. I chose the owls from stock illustrations licensed from istock. My graphic designer is Suzy Massey of Phoenix Massey Studios – she edited the owls and put them in the header. Voila! It worked out great!
Leanne says
Hi there!
I thought I’d dump Knotty but Nice into my RSS feeds — I adore knotty pine — currently looking for a house and hoping to find one with nifty wood interior. But it gave me the RetroRenovations RSS feed instead. Umm … is it supposed to do that?
pam kueber says
Oops, the RSS at the bottom of Knotty is for RetroRenovation.com. I’ll fix the link, and email you directly with the RSS for KiN. Sorry ’bout that, and thanks for letting me know!
Lauryn says
Love it!! Our current house does not have any knotty pine, but our rental house back in Seattle had one room, 8 x 8, that was completely covered, ceiling and all. It became my teaching (violin) studio and I loved it. The acoustics were fabulous and all my students sounded better in it! Have fun with the new venture, Pam!
chris says
First, I must ask you, Pam — do you have some sort of intravenous drip of coffee? Can you say “overachiever???” 🙂
I’m just teasing — sort of! I am amazed at all you manage to do! The RR blog, your big project at home….
I know! You have found some sort of atomic age CLONE machine at a yard sale, haven’t you? Are there 5 Pams running around your house doing all this stuff?
What a fun blog — and I absolutely love that pine cone print barkcloth featured in the latest article!
pam kueber says
you are so sweet. Yes, I run on Dunkin’. They need to make me a spokesmodel. Or perhaps they could get one of the clones.
Andi says
Pam, congratulations on the new blog—I love it!
Alas! I don’t have any knotty pine in my ’52 Cape Cod, but have always loved the warmth of the honey-colored wood. I remember it from my childhood in the homes of many friends, often in “rec rooms” where we kids played on linoleum tile floors. YES the message needs to get out while there are still lots of those great rooms to save!
Judy H. says
Love the new blog, name, design….. My husband and had decided to paint our 1950 knotty pine den….and NOW I SEE THIS?! We’ll have to just hold on to our horses…
Stacey says
What a beautiful blog! And what a beautiful name for your beautiful blog! And owls – who can resist the pull of their magnetic cuteness!! 🙂 It looks like your office redo isn’t the only thing keeping you busy.
I wish I had a knotty pine room to share. I might have to bug my mid-century mom for photos of our house when I was growing up – of course, it had adorable KP walls!
Congrats on the new blog!
Anna S. Bannana says
I’ll get some pics together…If you’ve never seen 12′ high KP…I got it ! lol The enclosed porch/den in our 1834 greek revival homestead is KP.
My Grandparents did this around 1948. My Moms old house, done in 1957-1958, has a KP living room…they used the “left over” KP from the main house. We are all still quite fond of both !!!
Laura says
So excited for your new blog!! I am pretty certain I have knotty pine in my blood. The cottage my parents lived in when I was born had knotty pine and the house I grew up in had wonderful knotty pine in the basement family room/ bar area and in a really cozy 3 season porch with knotty pine walls and ceiling. There was even sisal flooring and a braided rug!
In 1996 I bought a split ranch (c. 1958) with a knotty pine lower level rec room with a pink, black and grey powder room adjacent. There are all kinds of great built-ins… shelves, a desk and a small bar against one wall.
A few months ago I bought a 1961 raised ranch with lots of its original charm intact, including… you guessed it… knotty pine!! Wet bar, paneling, built in shelves and cabinets… I love it all!!! Your blog has been a wonderful resource for me and I am looking forward to all the tips and tricks you’ll have to offer in this blog too!! Thanks!
pam kueber says
Congrats, Laura! My mom told me last night that the first house she and my Dad ever bought — therefore, “my” first house — had a KP kitchen and KP beams in the living room. 🙂
Eartha Kitsch says
Three hundred cheers! May the message sweep the world, saving beautiful wood far and near! The site looks great. : )