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!
ineffablespace says
Actually there is a small area of houses in the Art Moderne style in one of the suburbs here, and like this house, they reflect something about where they are built.
A lot of houses from the Victorian period to the post WWII period around here are built out of a stone called Wissahickon Schist, so these Art Moderne or Deco Moderne houses are also built out of stone, just like the more traditional ranchers around them. Like the house in this article, there are details that make them Art Moderne but there are many details that are no different from the more traditional houses of the same era.
Lance says
I believe your home is from an architectural / design period influenced by the 1939 World’s Fair [roughly circa 1939-1949]. The curved entry, curved glass block corners, and to a lesser extent the “port hole” kitchen door window, were elements found in some of the 1939 World’s Fair “Town of Tomorrow” homes and other building.
A good architecture / design resource for such period homes is the “Home Owners’ Catalogs” published by P. W. Dodge Corporation in 1939 (they appear on Ebay from time to time). P.W. Dodge catalogs (1939 and other years) are a collection of multi-page home building advertisements by major manufacturers, which incidentally showcased products within the home. We have a 1939 copy and a circa 1950 copy, which we referred to when we restored our former 1949 home and our current 1900 home (whose kitchen and bathroom were last updated in the 1940s).
Good luck in your efforts. Your home’s architecture / design is relatively rare, as fewer homes were built during WWII, causing the 1939 World’s Fair architectural influence to be short lived,
William R says
The more I look at the pictures, especially the glass block, the front door and its hardware, the more this house says late ’30s – early ’40s design — though it may have been built in 1948.
A lot of pre-War house plans were shelved for the duration. No doubt some were brought out and built once the War was over.
Be interesting to know more of this house’s history. Sounds like the new owners are looking to find out as much as they can.
KennyT123 says
My house, two story garrison colonial was built in 1945. I assumed with the war still on that they “carried over” styles and ideas from 1939-1941, hence my style is mid-century modest. I planned my kitchen for 10 years and finally went with black and white tile countertops and painted my wood cabinets white–a reminder of my grandmother’s kitchen. I almost went mid-century modern but lost the stainless steel thermador wall oven on an e-bay auction. However, I did win the pink GE wall oven so mid-century modest I went.
Ted Crocker says
You know, you could be right about the World’s Fair influence. For us it took place not far away on SF Bay’s man-made Treasure Island where some of the Deco buildings remain today.
A side story…In my old 1930’s/1940’s neighborhood, we had a house there that was a lumber company’s exhibit at the Fair. It was floated via barge down the Bay before being relocated to my neighborhood. It had a full knotty pine interior. I have a coin from that fair that I found inside the door of my Rangoon red 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 hardtop. I imagine someone’s grandchild dropping their treasured souvenir coin down the window opening and being so upset.
Diane Miller says
Ted,
It’s all coming together…full circle. The World’s Fair coin you found in your car foreshadowed your eventual purchase of this house. That is pretty telling.
Diane 🙂
Ted says
One does have to wonder about things like this – coincidence, or meant to be??
Ange says
On closer examination, I don’t believe it’s white on the exterior, but would still change the color to make it pop.
KennyT123 says
Love the big windows. I see tropical motif in shades of green with lots of blonde maple to play up the light. I think Heywood Wakefield furnishings–you can find alot of H-W on Ebay or you can actually get brandy-new HW
http://www.heywoodwakefield.com/mid-century-modern-furniture/
The vintage bath is just great–I’d play up the pink with a yellow sherbert paint on the walls.
Kitchen looks like it could use some great steel E-bay cabinets. Or as in a previous post have someone make painted white birch cabinets.
AH says
fyi My whole neighborhood was built in the forties, and just about all the houses have attached garages.
Shelley says
Congratulations! So gorgeous! I’m a huge fan of deco and moderne, so I adore this! I think it’s just telling you it’s a perfect 1948 house, red brick and all. Post-war deco/moderne is its own thing, somewhere between traditional deco and mcm. I think it’s a cool niche to explore.
The bathroom is divine; I would change as little of it as possible.
Just did a google image search for “vintage streamline kitchen” and “deco streamline kitchen” and there are some fabulous ideas. Not for everybody, of course, but so lovely. (I love how much black they often used in kitchens back then.)
Enjoy!
Ranger Smith says
Ok Pam, what’s your take on this? We want to know what you advise?
Pam Kueber says
I’ll do a separate story…
Ranger Smith says
Fantastic! I look forward to it.
te says
The first photo from the outside was quite atomic looking. made me think of some nice landscaping (dark green short hedges of some sort) with uplighting. Add a bit of color (maybe on the garage door). The inside, that’s a horse of different color and I would do each room differently on what values you plan to keep. That bathroom is very glam looking, the kitchen is a blank canvas. Have fun, nice pad!
P. S. The backyard is screaming for a pool.
KStacey says
I have to say, the bedroom closets intrigue me. I bet they originally had two sets of overlay doors over the drawers at the bottom. One about 5′ high for clothes, then cabinets over them for out of season stuff. (Or whatever they would put them up there for, I have no idea!) At least they left the drawers! My grandmother’s house was built in 1950 had those, I have a picture of myself as a baby in one as a makeshift bassinet, haha! But alas, my uncle was SO proud of demoing them and installing “modern” closets. (tear) Frankly, I was too numb from his similar treatment of grandma’s pink kitchen (complete with pink steel kitchen cabinets, sink and stove) to even register that horror until now. But I guess it’s his house (he actually bought it for his widowed mother back in the day) and if he wants to, it’s his choice. I’m at least happy that he did it because he sold his other house and actually lives there now. There is something to be said about a person gutting the character out of a house because they want to live in something different, vs because they bought it to flip and think the resale market demands every house has that bland 2010 HGTV look. Not that my opinion of what another person does with their own property actually matters. Sigh.
Oh, and the door hardware? Mine was in similar shape. I took it off and threw it in a bowl of vinegar. It turned the first bowl black, no joke. Some minimal scrubbing (careful, if that tarnish/vinegar goo splatters it’s a pain to clean off once it dries!), a new clear coat, and it was so shiny-new my husband (who was out of town the week I did this) actually thought I had bought all new hardware! If I didn’t have a habit of photo-documenting every project, he still might not believe me!
AH says
I also have a similar eye hole (if that’s the right name for it) and when I cleaned it up with lemon juice and salt, it turned out to be solid copper What a surprise.
Carolyn says
Has anyone considered cheap ketchup? A household hint that combines both vinegar acid and citric acid from the tomatoes. Good use of that leftover or icky off-brand bottle lurking in the fridge!
Ted Crocker says
Ha! KStacey, We both love white vinegar and photo-documenting.
William R says
This place is a gem, a real treasure from the era.
There was a place down the street from us in Sacramento that used a little bit of the brick/glass block motif on the entrance. It was built in 1940, recently sold, renovated, and immediately resold, keeping most of the exterior appearance and interior layout, but replacing kitchen and bath with standard contemporary updates of dark cabinetry, granite countertops and stainless steel high-end appliances with large-scale tile floors. It was a flip, of course.
This place is certainly worthy of restoration if that’s the way Ted and Marzie want to go.
Are the floors original wood (refinished?) or are they laminate? It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but it’s likely they weren’t originally dark stained.
Are there any original light fixtures left? If so, hold on to them. They may need rewiring or other refurbishment, but they’re gold. For ones that have been replaced with inappropriate newer fixtures, look online. You can probably find appropriate period-correct ones for reasonable prices. Reproductions of some late 40s styles are available as well.
The street-side windows were probably originally multi-pane steel-frame casements with fixed panels. Of course, they are no longer available, and the originals were not necessarily ideal. The rest of the windows were probably wood framed double hung or casements. You might want to look into replacing the current windows with wood-frame multi-pane casements streetside and double-hung elsewhere.
The bathroom may be worn, but it is well worth preserving or if necessary re-creating. The light fixture over the mirror, of course, is not period, but it can be replaced with one that is.
The kitchen is the major restoration project. Look here:
https://retrorenovation.com/2015/08/11/yellow-tile-1940s-kitchen/
for period-appropriate original and renovation ideas.
It appears the connection between the house and the garage is a somewhat unhappy later addition. Consider re-doing it in a more period style. More glass-block? Why not?
All in all, it’s a beautiful example of vernacular Streamline Moderne from the post-War/pre-Midcentury era.
Furnishings were likely originally traditional/colonial mahogany and such, but they could just as easily have been early modern which tended to be heavy and blocky. Best to choose what you like!
Good luck!
Felicia Alexander says
What a thoughtful and aesthetically sensitive post. I hope Ted and Marzie take it to heart.
And about that flip job down the street from you–I don’t suppose they at least had the decency to preserve the interior walls, did they?
William R says
The house down the street has the same footprint and the interior spaces are the same — 2 bed/1 bath, just under 1000 sq ft. The kitchen and bath were updated HGTV style, the rest was repaired and repainted (HGTV gray with white woodwork); floors refinished; recessed lighting; windows and exterior doors replaced, landscaping redone. Sold to the flipper for almost $30,000 more than asking, sold by the flipper for about $120,000 more than paid.
Ted and Marzie have a significantly larger house worth restoring to the extent possible.
Hope they take their time and enjoy the process.
ineffablespace says
William,
Metal casement windows are still available through companies such as Hope’s, who has been around since the 1930s.
I looked into these when I found the original architectural drawings for my house, and found that the architect had specified metal casement windows.
The issue is that the cost for historical-style steel casement windows (with modern thermal properties) was the cost, something like 4 times that of a high quality wood clad window.
AH says
Congrats on the house!!
In many places code requires replacement windows to be double paned. In my experience the single pane metal casement windows get condensation which causes the metal frames to rust
KStacey says
My boss lives in a neighborhood of adorable 1920s-30s “Tudors”. (I will admit to limited knowledge of the era, but they seem more like mini faux-Tudors to me, haha!) He went to install new windows and SURPRISE, the neighborhood zoning codes will not allow tacky vinyl window casements, so he had to shell out for the period-correct option. I had not realized how accurate I had been when I had expressed the opinion that to do so would be a crime!
Personally, I’m not a fan of telling people what they can or cannot do with their own property. But in Dallas we have had SO many contractors destroying neighborhoods with the demo/spec build business model. Usually something completely out of sync with the surroundings, tearing down a bungalow and building some monstrosity from lot line to lot line. “I love this neighborhood! So I’ll build something here that belongs in a suburb an hour away and completely change it!” So, I am happy to see that there are neighborhoods that have found ways to protect their identities. First the vinyl windows, then it’s just a slippery slope to the 5,000sq ft concrete block squatting on your street. And it’s not as if you are not informed of these restrictions when you buy the house. I was happy that our house had a couple, like not being able to build any closer than 30′ from the street. Homeowner association crap like no pink plastic lawn flamingos or only being able to have certain exterior paint or drape colors showing though? Not signing up for that in a million years!
Pam Kueber says
In Historic-designated neighborhoods, Historic Commissions / Boards set bylaws/rules that must be followed. This may be “good” or “bad” — depending on your perspective. Also ask about historic tax credits or other incentives that may be available at the local or state level.
LuAnn says
My “new” 70s neighborhood in Colorado has a pretty restrictive HOA. At least I doubt we’ll ever have flippers running wild around here. Lol! For many years they insisted on owners replacing wood shake shingles with the same type of roof. Until, that is, new wood shake roofing was made illegal by the state. There is too much fire danger. Owners still need to submit plans for ANY changes to the HOA, though. We knew before we bought the house. I admit, it can get downright irritating when you need work done fast, like when all our old fences blew down in a windstorm! ????
Jay says
You have touched on several different aspects of home ownership. Local or nationally historic designated neighborhoods come with enforceable rules that all exterior improvements/changes conform to the rules.
The 30′ set back you reference is part of the zoning laws that dictate size of structure in relation to lot size and usually apply to all the zoning districts in a municipality. The restrictions on lawn ornaments, flags and clothes lines are as you noted; HOA for private developments with non-public deeded streets. Unfortunately tear downs can occur anywhere, even historically significant buildings disappear.
Pam Kueber says
Didja know: I am on the Lenox Planning Board — we write the zoning bylaws. Note: In our town, we have different residential zones. Lot size, lot frontage, and setbacks can be different — and are — in each zone.
Zoning is something I’ve had on my list to write about here for a long time. Just haven’t gotten to it. It’s something prospective buyers should also educate themselves, as zoning can present hurdles and “surprises”.
Jay says
I forgot that, you did mention it once before. Lennox is a lovely town. Yes, you’re right, hurdles and surprises. My township is known for its preservation of open space except that it’s concentrated in the interior of the township where it’s still open. Near me an abbey sold off the bulk of their land for development that abuts a road that on the other side has neighborhoods of ca.50/60/70s housing on 1/4 A. lots. The new development starts at 800,000K to 1mil.+. and boasting such features as morning rooms. What, mini Biltmores? The zoning was changed to accommodate the new development. In exchange the township got a measly little walking trail. Looking forward to your future post on the subject.
KStacey says
It is true that anybody can tear down and rebuild a house in my neighborhood. But at least the zoning laws will prevent what I have seen a LOT of in other Dallas neighborhoods, that being rebuilds of 3-4X the size of the teardown, barely squeezing onto the lot. Or worse, squeezing a row of 3-4 townhomes in. Which, of course, overshadows the homes that were actually built in proportion to the lots and neighborhood.
Pam Kueber says
I need to check but I believe that in my town, you can only increase habitable space by 50%. It’s an anti-McMansion reg…
“Habitable space” recently had to be clarified, because some folks were trying to excise things like hallways and closets from the equation…
I am a geek regarding zoning and land use — it’s fascinating!
William R says
Good to know that steel-frame multi-pane casements (or their simulation) are still available — for a price. I suspect they are industrial rather than residential, however, yes?
I’m curious to know whether the homeowners are willing/able to spend more for a restoration or if it’s even their interest.
Readers here will eagerly follow their progress whatever the case.
ineffablespace says
They make windows for commercial, institutional and residential applications, as well as historic preservation and replacement.
For a residence, these are a very high end thing, and you aren’t going to see them often.
Many things like this, and in my location plaster, and certain types of wall covering are very rare in the residential market because people either can’t afford it or it’s not important enough to spend the money on.
I looked into replacing a full plaster room in my house with plaster and it was so much more expensive than drywall that I just couldn’t afford it. He said he rarely does residential jobs, and when he does they are pretty much limited to insurance jobs where people have good insurance. The vast majority of his work is in institutional restoration settings.
Ted Crocker says
If I could afford them, those Hope windows would be at the top of my list. I hate vinyl, so don’t worry about that. I installed Marvin aluminum clad windows in my last house of 24 years (see link). I will probably go with something similar, but in a grey color to give the sense of a metal window.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qfB1o-FAUWZ3ZS5CZZEJVzdetp97YWHqKForuFEnnLT64yewYNjNEqGFE1ebRzz86kpSOxpAZgCm2EPzFlBY9N2Jus3q3edF1CnCibYeVH9ky5KVgbUYrS9FFvUIDLIPvXnYjjqfZArflEGcJkhxjEN6y7YE64H5l_IlaYL3KbBqkta3h9IsBSUEDLDYoN9CWrD9835eP_tvrevk3iA_PF1WsFA04-GOxxXpMIRvkFomkM8LzYM_XdQIiVSBzqx_ZLa5ous4FEzbaofh2UJ65dwuBAvX8vNhorJ0WTP1V6vaN8fz9ZlcQ_Eqi9v7ENjhYCt8ZQzXAKGy2XRjxDTENYZ9UNoxZS_qtJO_RI9O6Hl5apmNwueUwBUpXMhoDoRPy-4LoS7Zhi2iyx2k1aD4nk40UYQADwRdbUsC3bo8t_Jye1BwDCcmtgBzhNtoVPPPWdRZarFLMEpTdD0CyQpgaAmJzRl0MU4tHWnGWwuL9u1IAjEQy74cXmbdnOjZjykfJ-ZNjN4NUtDHwik_DirPgDNbRMTe1jB3B9I8_Cp4laZwP7x5bMYNe8_UFAAINaRGcTFgmfV8yzFy8vdu8U7dNotz5-LbQehRUOC_P8NNO17Mmv24jUtrf748=w604-h453-no
Diane Miller says
Ted,
Your last house was precious! You have great taste!
Diane 🙂
Ted Crocker says
Great post. I wish we had the budget for a full restoration, but we don’t. And at the moment, we are carrying two households and a storage unit, so we don’t have the luxury of time to get the big stuff done. That said, I want to do the house justice to the extent that we can so the rest of the details will have to follow in the years to come.
I want to install 1940’s era horizontal divided lite casements as this is what it had. The house has a few original casement windows in both wood and steel, so either is true to the house, but steel is a tall order, so I may have to go with all wood (or clad). The trouble with this is I may lose the fine lines of the original steel windows in the big openings (which have since been switched to aluminum). My neighbor of 34 years says the house had wood windows and awnings originally. Based on the remaining flashing under the stucco, I question it having all wood windows, but I did find remnants of wood awnings in the overgrown ivy out back. Any thoughts on window choices/brands are welcome.