After nearly 15 years of blogging about the retro, I have stepped back from posting regularly.
To make time for new endeavors, I can no longer respond to emails asking for personalized assistance. Please note: I do not sell anything. If you are looking for a particular item, the blog is full of many resources, give the Search box a whirl!
If you are writing about advertising, please contact me here.
juli says
Hi Pam. I just stumbled onto your blog from Pinterest and got sucked into your article “Kohler says “no” to: Magic Eraser, Comet, Bar Keepers Friend, Zud, vinegar… for cleaning its porcelain enamel cast iron”. I loved the dialog between you and the manufacturer of the cleaning product and you and Kohler. But what made me sign up for your newsletter and scream AHAAAA loud enough to send all the neighbors running was the education I got about the calcium in the water. You just helped me win a running argument with my husband! THANK YOU!! 🙂 I have been asking him to wipe down the shower and he just rolls his eyes. My parents have ALWAYS done this and their showers are pristine after 40 years of use. Ours look horrible after only 20. (and I am sure I rolled my eyes at them, to be truthful). I believe you wrote that blog in 2012 – and it is still relevant today. Thanks for making my case! 🙂
pam kueber says
Thanks for the note, Juli!
Robert Walsh says
I’m trying to match 4X4 tiles in an existing bathroom and your ceramic tan 4X4 looks like a match can I GET( 1) AS A SAMPLE TO SEE.
Bob 631 7427357
Joe Klemm says
have been looking for toilet paper holder (just like the one featured in christines salt and pepper bathroom) square ,stainless steel, spring loaded door. were can I get that one . Need to replace my old one doors missing . Any help would be great joe
pam kueber says
Joe, can you put the comment on that page so I can see what you are talking about.
Francis says
I would like to know to if you are selling the pink bathroom rug enough for two small bathrooms such as the size 52 x 74?
pam kueber says
We do not sell anything here. See appropriate story, look for bright blue hotlinks to companies profiled.
barbara says
Hi There, I bought an old house.. I’m looking for to buy beautiful floral carpet type linoleum for the kitchen flooring.. (todays linoleum is horrible, just not pretty). Do you know where I can buy new beautiful old style linoleum, appropriate for my wonderful old stylish house? Thank you
pam kueber says
no florals. but see our category on Kitchen Help / Flooring for flooring research including where to buy linoleum today
Ruby Julian says
Three years ago, we bought a 1952 ranch that would have been a time capsule house had a real estate flipper not gotten hold of it for a few months after the owner died. Many of the house’s features — mahogany and pecky cypress paneling, pink and blue bathroom, Youngstown Kitchens steel laundry sink cabinet — were left untouched, but the kitchen was gutted and completely modernized. So now there’s a 2000s-era granite/slate/dark kitchen stuck right in the middle of this mostly period-authentic house.
One thing I love about retro kitchens is how light and fun they are. Unfortunately, we can’t rip out a perfectly adequate working kitchen — even if it does look like a pit of gloom — and replace it. We’ve improved the lighting and tried to bring in some bright colors and some accents appropriate to the age of the house, but it’s a bit frustrating.
So the big question is: How do you get past the FrankenHouse effect and make a modern kitchen look like it fits in a MCM home?
pam kueber says
Ruby, I don’t have a good answer to this. You could possibly start by painting over the dark cabinets. After that: Accessories, furnishings, draperies, wallpaper. But all those won’t disquise FrankenKitchen, not really.
Here’s one story that came to mind, but even this renter had more (a more retro kitchen) to start than you did: https://retrorenovation.com/2013/02/28/dita-von-teese-kitchen-budget/
Ruby Julian says
I like the ideas for the Dita Von Teese homage kitchen. That’s something along the lines of what we’re doing, with bringing in accessories and curtains that bring in some brighter and lighter colors.
I hope the end result will be something that tips its hat to the 1950s and makes the kitchen seem less jarring.
pam kueber says
Good luck and have fun, Ruby! Have you also looked at our category on Readers and their Kitchens? Lots of ideas there — https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/kitchens-hi-pam-reader-spotlight/
Also, we have lots and lots of other research — and a growing archive of design/mood boards — in our entire Kitchen category. https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/
Ruby Julian says
Thanks for the links. I’ve been looking and found a couple of examples of people who dealt with a kitchen almost as dark as mine, so the frustration is lifting. 🙂
pam kueber says
Great!
Karen Smith says
I use to receive newsletters from you via email but now I don’t. How do I sign up?
pam kueber says
Here you go: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001YGdOlKiw_lVaSCuktfLLPqm_rlBgngGBEqhQC0f-s0I3KRrWzgCLSjdTlKmcU2Dkq7oG1TP1nLM13Kepkb0ZOtOk2i-Vz5p90PNy9HfCOLjLFeYStjL50K8Hnva7X0Bsp7P1c50mHGUPGSIYBsx9XbKdZatTFyHfMXGailG8LCBSXtxSGJ-X6Q%3D%3D
Steve says
Greetings! I’m looking for a source for vintage linoleum patterns for a 1957 Mercury camper trailer. Thanks!
pam kueber says
Steve, patterned linoleum isn’t made any more. Your best bet may be: Jaspe (slubby streaky) VCT floor tiles… or you can go with non-patterned but still marble-looking linoleum…. or, we even have a source for glitter flooring tiles now!!! See all our extensive flooring options research in the Kitchen Help / Flooring category here — https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/flooring/
Barry Mardit says
Hi,
Just about ready to give up! World of Tile in New Jersey went out of business. Seemed like they had some “rare” 50’s vintage GREEN bathroom tile to match ours after we redo our shower stall. Now that World of Tile is gone…are there any suggestions of where to look? Thank you…we’re just trying to preserve our 50’s vintage bathroom. I’ve had suggestions to look for “salvage” places…any ideas? -Barry in Michigan
Kate says
Hi Barry,
Try some of the resources listed in this story: https://retrorenovation.com/2015/05/18/17-places-find-replacement-tile/
Good luck in your search!
pam kueber says
Yes, we wrote extensively about World of Tile’s closure last fall. See the lead story in our Bathroom Help / Bathroom Tile subcategory for all our research — https://retrorenovation.com/category/bathroom-categories/tile/
Salvage places are all over the country. But, this will be a needle in a haystack for you.
Christopher says
Hi Pam ,
I saw your blog online and I just think that it’s so great !
My partner and I are remodeling our kitchen and we have come across a tragedy like no other.
We had in our possession a 1960s probably around 1965 waste king dishwasher that was run three times it was in pristine condition.
When our contractor demolished the kitchen we told them that we did not want any of our appliances compromised The appliances that were in the kitchen had been replaced by the 1965 dishwasher was in pristine condition our contractors who did the demolishing of the kitchen stole our dishwasher.
We are now haggling for a price of what the actual value of the dishwasher was I read a blog into thousand 11 from two men that were in Texas that remodel their kitchen and a baby blue colored remodel although it is not the same brand we are struggling to find a value to submit to the contractor Could you please help us ?
My mobile number is [edited out] thank you so much for your time
pam kueber says
Christopher, we don’t do valuations here…