Ted and Marzie just closed on their “new” 1948 ranch house. But… do we really call it a ranch house, when the facade also has some delicious Streamline Moderne married to it? And… how should they decorate? Ted wants our ideas — and has sent photos to inspire our input. The invitation is out: time for all of us to put out thinking caps on and play decorator-designer!
Hi, I have a problem I’m hoping you and your readers can help me with. I just purchased a house because it spoke to me, only I can’t quite figure out what it is saying yet. It’s giving me mixed messages. The house is a 1948 ranch with the typical long, low horizontal lines of a wide, single story house with a hip roof and big overhangs, combined with the strong vertical lines of a curved glass block and brick Art Deco “Waterfall”, or “Streamline Moderne” entry. So is it a mid-century modern ranch, or is it Art Deco or just plain eclectic?
Some details have been lost over the years, but some remain like the original pink and blue bathroom, and there was a swinging kitchen door found up in the attic with a round port in it reminiscent of a ship (think Streamline). The bathroom addition to the right with its high, small windows is totally wrong, and the rest of the interior is just plain vanilla post war ranch with its plain, narrow trim and 8′ ceilings.
I have some ideas, many actually, but I’m struggling to come up with a cohesive direction to go with for this house as far as design inside and out. Do I use the remaining original bathroom with its worn tile as my inspiration, and match the new kitchen to it, or do I go with a more modern (1950’s/1960’s) feel throughout? Personally, I’m seeing red countertops and light birch cabinets for the kitchen on the inside, and sunny yellow with bright blue doors and grey trim for the exterior. I admit, I’m typically drawn to Arts & Crafts/Revival houses of the 1930’s with their warm, custom crafted details, so I’m a little out of my element.
I’d love to hear what ideas you and your readers have, including directing me to vendors that might fit the bill.
Ted, whatever you call it, I love it — thank you for sharing; congratulations; and hooray that this house has made its way into thoughtful hands. And I love your sense of humor. Yes, readers say they listen to their houses, too, and sometimes it even gets… spooky! Okay, readers, here’s your chance:
- What to call the style of this house?
- How to remodel in a way that suits the original architecture — kitchen, bathrooms, colors for the exterior, and general ideas welcome!
Mary Elizabeth says
I believe your home was designed by a 1940s architect with an avant-garde aesthetic. So I would call it a transitional home.
I love your pink bathroom and hope you can freshen it up. If it were mine, I would hire a professional tile mason to clean, polish, regrout, etc. Also love your backyard brick barbeque.
As for decorating, we know that in eras other than mid-century, people have refurbished and added on and updated, so if I were you I would choose furniture, cabinetry, etc. from the decade that you love most but pop in earlier and later pieces that speak to you. At the same time, I would honor the shapes and other features of the basic house. For example, in that house with its gorgeous entry and bowed bay window, I could see rounded back easy chairs, curved dining chairs rather than straight-backed ones, an oval table, and a bowed front buffet.
I think your idea about the colors of the kitchen is great. Red countertops spanned the 1940s and 1950s. The ones added to my 1900 home growing up were red linoleum and the curtains were sometimes yellow and red print and sometimes red gingham check. Wilsonart’s Retro Renovation Rock and Roll Ruby would be ideal, in that though the counters will be mostly rectangular (but a curved peninsula or amoeba-shaped island would be lovely), the boomerang shapes are curvy and echo the other curves in your home. Also, the light birch cabinets (with plain flat doors) would be a good transition between ’40s and ’50s, which is why your house is telling you it needs them. If you can get a chrome dining set for your kitchen, like this one, it would be ideal. It comes with red upsholstery.
https://www.wayfair.com/Wade-Logan-Robert-Retro-5-Piece-Dining-Set-WLGN5689.html#readmoremodal1
Michael Houser says
Great looking house and so indicative of the search for a new aesethic in the immediate post WWII period. True low lying one story ranch houses are just coming online around 1948… in fact advertisements for “ranch” houses show up in period advertisements right around this time. The ranch house was really more about the plan/ layout; what most architectural historians refer to as type. Then style, i.e. Decoration , is applied. Your house of course has those amazing rounded glass block windows harkening to the streamlined and machine age. Glass block had just been introduced to the US market at the Century 21 fair in Chicago in 1932. The hardware inside looks more Art Deco with its angular shapes. I’d be curious to see the floor plan in order to see if that gives us any clues to which style, period or type your home is more connected to. Regardless of what you want to call this eclectic mix it’s a fabulous house well worthy of your love and attention. Congratulations on your purchase!!
Ted Crocker says
Here is the floorplan as purchased.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xNNnu90hLiN98syrprRmNRDwZ2H0ObmDTiUd5qvUqNJgz9nekNo3ADR7S7ueMhF0DBJFi8VfaJTM_Iyj6ha9GPWKwj3YalVg0BScsUBhao0rkiLCvzPpYDecUPiBpUbD4EXieuobbUo5jj5gfeI7FwxAD6PgehCRFioetoUYnDb-obRc9BZYH1-H5DgFJeZwxHyA1FoS3ZxzZzeOJnB9JQhRw9jdQDkyzg__hknnnWkjpJlKVm70AxbO6OBHeIPFbf2_1oF-db8xvrls4JiZiOiGBc_pyfS4ySiRnzh37SuKRqshaHknQZnea-AAE3swrMOK56xyJYLmyASrycJuLtJT1w4_ZrM_8qz3xqfg26yEGwWwtA1pbukvC61EwMVKty1XtrdvvTyzra4XhzLT-4zpFngRa2_faK1zgpyKiFBabWrEcfxf1x1B9xRrqB4cjkfjppxNABS5lyZ5TEsG3fSg5kMNfxtgx_PPkBJN9ZdyurFZ_P7i_aLy-Mx–KJKH0C1S2yIo5WyB3g_eYEA7zTdTyVzgu0jYnQgDzWs1gWgcU02GgpUhZNvkXknsgCnSna-kmhcmNL4A7u0kmd0kKPaw9GCGqmkGs3ECikKigd6Cdggzs_-xlXNRLEhfE_04C8iS2V3dK5qJ90icncfrSgVTmTRb2sc9uJzSwy6Jttw5A=w1684-h947-no
SD Amy says
Congratulations! Your home is amazing, I don’t know if it needs to be defined. Do what makes you feel happy, comfortable, at “at home.”
Ted Crocker says
Thank you. I think that is the bottom line… we should be sensitive to its origins, but in the end it has to feel comfortable and we have to feel at home in our own space, especially since we intend to live our lives out in this house.
Susan says
It screams ART DECO to me.
We bought a mid-century last September and are just finishing our renovation. One thing I’ve learned….take what you like and leave the rest as you decide which way to take it. If you love the lines, research Art Deco and incorporate what you love….pair it with some modern to balance the curves. I’m kind of eclectic…a lot of people are…don’t feel like you have to stick to one style.
If it WERE me, I’d go Art Deco Modern….not sure that’s a thing, but that’s what I’m going to call it…..some deco lines, some metals and a soothing neutral pallet with maybe darker pops of color. Especially the windows. We painted our window sashes soft black…it really draws attention and added interest. If the tile in the bathrooms are too much, pick some to keep and up date the rest. I know that’s a no-no for purists, but it was too much for me…I kept the amazing retro tile on the floors and put sheetrock on the wall. Not only did it calm things down, it made the bathroom feel much larger. Win-win.
Hope we get to see the results!! It’s a beautiful home!
Marie says
He needs to paint the garage door like one of the posts had recently. I think it had shades or red-orange. I love the exterior! Best of luck!
AnnF says
The kitchen I would probably do in yellows with white cabinets and some kind of mostly white formica countertop. Or light blue with birch or white cabinets. These are from houses I have seen. Though you may want to remodle right away, I would wait until you get used to the house. Also, furnishings I would keep with contemporary with accents of mid-century modern, like end and coffee tables. Did you know PINK is a big color lately in beds and couches? Not my personal favorite, but unique. I could also see Chinese/Chinese modern in the living room — just go for walls in a neutral color and accents of green. I JUST saw a house online that used red walls, and yikes!
Maybe look at old tv shows and movies for inspiration and go to fabric.com. They have a TON of mid century inspired fabrics for ideas. I wish you luck! You’re lucky to have a house you really like!
Genevieve Rainey says
It’s funny you say that about the Chinese/Chinese-modern. We also own a 1948 Art Deco(ish) house and a newspaper article at the time called it Chinese interior.
Jay says
Wow! People come out of the woodwork when you ask for comments. Just getting around to reading today’s post as I was recovering from a long drive back from Milton WV to see the Blenko glass facility. Neat early 60s visitor center. Alyssa Starelli used to feature these on her old Portland Or website and I think they were referred to as bungalows. I love the curved glass block window walls. Definitely not a ranch. I wonder if the wall with the sliders is original. That may be infill; possibly originally an open breezeway between the house and garage. I wonder if the windows are original. Casements, horizontal awning windows or large plate glass windows would have been more in period with the Moderne exterior. Enjoy your home, it’s a real prize. The kitchen, when time and money permits will need a do over, it was remuddled; the stove was possibly free standing when the home was new; at least it would not have been placed under a window. Have fun!
Genevieve Rainey says
I agree with the breezeway assessment. Especially considering that the steps out of the house are brick, like the front steps. It was pretty rare for pre-1950 houses to be built with attached garages. My 1948 house also has a breezeway between the house and garage.
Ted Crocker says
You are correct about there having been a breezeway. The stove, though, was originally free standing under the window. The hole for the stove pipe and the flu remain as does an original steel casement window (both can be seen in this photo).
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/v7f2H6_XfudyYixZMgQj78hDId-VOkjy-XtChiFnOWjQHb4kf6cajlYCrkOtbVFprtrWDyar4MEtGqH4MU5zOZ1pERInnxItIYRnFno2_morPlLNFjz5qVha6FKGI3M7qy4MMha4iw4TD81FRPSnRx8LY3Cw-BV6JQPoA3ekkQ8bwQD9XyTYSaZz_P1KAZa5oFHWRXrtT0LVyJZP5M1myh3yirO2Bs2zkhMzJxU0MmKKIByPwMXkM0_t4lcGv9ocHEoq_qT8cYjxXvH7HTDUruRIEXpSM7hjGk-L5vod1UbOrD0HS0wSPE6npuhbqb6EuHTPmUlG6BzCPxQZZDxLuv642C3IXoP2E4So8yqxRPTdQfH7A0Ln-T554rSdXEmC4zzMeYMXPRYkxGGQlE9lXkXTPlvnU3eMXJvoc0t5OD3OFEIsXGuaWGO8_y39buxLBTfD6u8O8p79g0ZnFjjOZVg5JCxWLl9ktDIlboCUN7gsCL9sUWwWm8Z7vXVeVm7pCOnTED94eAlppLM-dSs-fTOS4nBblLwSwki4KjNqzi62nE–SmMtEjKLkVgaPgOD0uW00lpVp7q7okvYlUqKSuuwrnKHhP_PoU0DwD_lc1Y6BqPdMP8QiJKPonivrCbcT_1E-LAlTJynZyuQlbo28mIEN5apopnZAv0SJZU4zjojLQ=w1263-h947-no
ineffablespace says
I don’t think I would paint that bit of brick, even if it is considered atypical to the style. It’s appropriate because its there. Someone thought it was appropriate when they built the house.
Houses are never built in a complete vacuum or without local references or whatever that may vary from the textbook. That’s why there are deco-moderne or atomic-influenced colonial revival fixtures. (Or colonial revival-influenced moderne or atomic fixtures).
Felicia Alexander says
I agree, for a reason I mentioned in an earlier post–the brick aids and accentuates the Streamline Moderne horizontal lines of the front facade. But your reason is an excellent one, too, and it makes me all the more curious about where this house is located.
Ted Crocker says
I agree as well.
Tina says
This house does not say 1950s or 60s to me. What it does say is late 40s especially the bathroom, the door handles, the front door and even the glassblock wall. I’m assuming that there have been additions to this house because it really looks like a small 1940s house with later additions. I don’t think you could go wrong with very late 40s or very very early 50s furnishings. IMHO!
Ted Crocker says
The house was originally a 1547 sf 2/1. Besides filling in the covered breezeway between the house and garage, the only addition was a, architecturally speaking, poorly conceived bath and closet off a bedroom at the opposite end of the house. Before then the bedroom (behind the bath addition) had large corner windows and the bedroom with the glass block wall had windows on two walls. It’s definitely a late 1940’s house inside.
Genevieve Rainey says
I would call the style Art Deco, of course it’s a late ’40s version of that. I also own a 1948 house which I would call 1940s Art Deco, on the inside. Ours is more new traditional on the outside. Ours obviously isn’t as stylized, but the door knockers and cabinet hardware are the same, and we also have a pink (and gray) bathroom. Our kitchen originally had dark blue linoleum with white cabinets, very similar to the cabinets you have in your bathroom. We also have an outside brick fireplace/grill. I’ve tried to keep as much of the mid-century aesthetic as possible, but haven’t put ourself in the art deco bubble too much, mainly because the ’40s and ’50s liked to incorporate other styles in kind of a kitchy way. So looking through the 1950s lens. Hopefully you will have as much fun as we have playing up the original character, and if in doubt: chrome is your friend.