James and Robi’s 1949 ranch house with 1964 St. Charles kitchen cabinets

James and Robi recently became the third owners of this 7,400 s.f. (woah!) ranch home near Fort Worth, Texas. As you would imagine, this was built by some folks with some dough re mi — it includes an indoor pool and a fabulous 1964 St. Charles steel kitchen has all the bells and whistles. Moreover, the kitchen is interesting, because we can see what vintage metal kitchen cabinets look like when they are finished with granite countertops — which were added by the previous owners. Robi writes:

Hi Pam,

I have been enjoying the Retro Renovation site and am so happy to know that there are others who love and appreciate their postwar homes. I was extremely fortunate to purchase my dream home a few months ago, and want to share some photos. The short version of a long story: The house was built in 1949 in a small college town an hour southwest of Fort Worth, Texas. The second owner purchased it in 1954, and cared for it meticulously for 50 years. The original owners’ son bought it five years ago, but decided to downsize. Now it belongs to my partner, two cats, and me, and it’s home!

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I write back right away and ask James to tell me his “Retro Renovation Story.” He replies:

My partner, Robi, and I were living in Fort Worth, in a nice early-1990s home in a great neighborhood.  We both thought of it as our permanent home, and I was content to spend the rest of my days there.  Several years ago, through mutual friends, we met Jim and Cissy, of Stephenville, Texas.  They soon came to be our friends, too.  We had admired their huge (7400 square foot) 1949 home and Robi’s half-serious comment to Cissy was, “If you ever want to sell this house,  let us know.” This surprised me, because I have always liked older houses, but Robi prefers new ones.  Go figure.

Through fate … the house became available this past spring, and Jim sent us a note.  After much deliberation, we took the plunge and bought it, giving us a one-hour drive to work in the city, but we knew we’d have to make some sacrifices.  This much said, a little history on the house.

Jim’s dad owned the feed mill in Stephenville, a town of about 15,000, and an important dairy and agricultural center in North Texas. His wife, Kathryn, wanted a stylish new home to reflect their standing in the community, and hired a noted local builder.  They lived in the house for about four years, then for reasons not entirely clear (too big?) sold it to another family, who owned it for the next 50 years.  They added the pool room around 1963, hiring the original builder and his crew to construct it.  I am lucky to have several snapshots of the room and pool being built. Over the years, they meticulously cared for the house and yard.  Jim and Cissy bought the house in 2005 from the estate.

He and Cissy redecorated a bit and made some changes, which might be cringe-inducing for dedicated midcentury-ists, including new bathrooms and updated the kitchen with the granite countertops you see in the pictures.  Fortunately, we don’t mind the updates, and they left a lot of the good vintage details intact, including the magnificent circa 1964 St. Charles kitchen cabinets, Vent-a-hood, laundry room, and pool room.  There are two vintage NuTone doorbells and a working NuTone Heata-venta-light.  The house retains its original woodwork and moldings, and has a great, comfortable mid century feel.

The Hobart KitchenAid dishwasher was rescued (by me, the finder and fixer of things) from our local Habitat for Humanity store and restored, so it works as good as new, plus the house is home to our mostly mid-century traditional furniture and accessories and my vintage appliance collection.

Thanks again for letting me share the house on your site!  Stephenville has some other cool mid-century homes, including a terrific 1961 era Eichler-style on an estate-sized lot.  The original owner died this year and I’m not sure what the family has planned, but I went to the estate sale and it’s a wonderful, untouched example of uninhibited sixties modern!   I will keep an eye on it and if it comes up for sale, send some pictures.

Thank you for hosting this fabulous site, which is interesting, educational, and always inspiring!
Sincerely,
James