Welcome to Retro Renovation® — your regular dose of mid century and vintage renovation and decorating resources… design inspiration… fun finds… and an archive of stories from an enthusiastic community of people all interested in cherishing their mid century and older homes.
Our focus here, first and foremost, is to help you find the products and sources you need to help remodel, renovate and decorate your house in authentic mid century style. We feature some sources for pre-war and post-modern homes as well. We’re here to help you get the job done — doing the research so you don’t have to.
Note: After 15 years — 3,000 stories! — this site has entered a new stage. Today, my focus is working to keep existing resource stories up to date so the site remains a solid reference. And, I want to continue to improve the site as an historical reference around things like steel kitchen cabinets, a longtime passion. To make time, I don’t blog as much, and comments are closed.
How can you make the most of the blog and its archive of 3,000+ stories about resources & inspiration:
- Dive into all our categories (in the navigation along the top of the page) and you will see, we have lots of research into all the products you might need to remodel and decorate. Along the way, we have lotsa other fun, too — always showing great gratitude and respect for the houses — and their owners — who came before us.
- And, important for anyone taking on an older home:
Renovating, remodeling and living in our midcentury and vintage homes can be gratifying, but please always remember, there can be safety and environmental hazards in the surfaces, layers, materials and products in our homes. Anything old, even New Old Stock, that you buy also may have issues. We all care very much about managing safety and environmental issues properly, so when moving into a home … when undertaking cleaning, repair, remodeling or restoration projects … or when adding old materials (salvaged, used, new old stock, etc.)… be sure to get with your own properly licensed professionals to determine what you are dealing with/working with so that you can make informed decisions how to handle, become familiar with and use recommended best practices, and also learn about the proper disposal of debris, etc. Read more: See our Be Safe / Renovate Safe page … the EPA hosts a website on lead paint in the home and a website on asbestos in the home, etc. Consult professionals regarding these materials, and also about the proper disposal of debris, etc.
<– I’m Pam Kueber. That’s me with my crazy wallpaper office … that’s my kitchen above — and this my blog, oh I luv it so. Doing all the research to find products to backdate my 1951 colonial-ranch house in Lenox, Mass., is what got me into this online escapade. In the course of my endless hunt to find products and design ideas sympathetic to my house’s undeniable mid-century bones, I got…. obsessed… I learned a lot… and I figured, why not share all my finds with other folks undertaking the same journey. And now – you have arrived!
This blog has lots about *modest, mid-century, middle-class* homes — ranches, Capes, Colonials, split-levels, contemporaries, bungalows. I also write about sleek *mid-century modern homes*… I love them all, but admit that I tend to worry more about the modest homes (themselves full of charm) being at more serious risk of being gutted, with regrets to follow later. Interestingly, both mid-century modern and mid-century modest homes shared many of the same technological features and design cues (like pink bathrooms) inside. For further info see my Mid-Century Modest Manifesto and my micro-site SaveThePinkBathrooms.com.
What’s covered here? Well: The design aesthetic of retro interiors, exteriors, culture, people, steel kitchen cabinets, colors, pink kitchens, pink bathrooms, hudee rings, pecky cypress, illustrations with people playing accordians, wallpaper, pinch pleat curtains, mint-in-box items — and readers’ fabulous jewel box houses, too. Get ready to be sucked into the retro vortex.
More info:
Above: As featured in the New York Times — yup, read all about our escapades in this 2,200-word feature story that appeared on p.1 of the Home & Garden section on Aug. 18, 2011.
Fast forward 10 years and another New York Times story called me “…the godmother of midcentury kitchens and baths, steering a new generation of homeowners to the four-inch square tiles that dominated homes for decades.” teehee
Oh, and here’s me showing off one of my office remodel. My friend Denise and I pasted about 200 squares of vintage wallpaper on the four walls, creating a crazy patchwork quilt (note: there is method in this madness) of 18 different designs of wallpaper. We celebrated by getting all Love American Style Gothic with the photo.
Hey, see me talkin’ about Mid Century Modest in this etsy.com video:
Press Coverage
2018 … I kinda stopped keeping track
2017
- Wall Street Journal: Big story on time capsule houses. I am the “subject matter expert.”
- Washington Post: Hey, we got a shout out!
2015-2016…
- HGTV.com: In Defense of Pink Bathrooms — A Q&A with me
- Chronicle TV: Big story on my house and my kitchen and the Retro Renovation Revolution!
- Washington Post: The TV-watching public’s long love affair with tray tables
- The Times of London: Something is happening in smart bathrooms — Designers say pink is back after a long absence.
- WFMJ-TV: Effort to Bring Back 1948 Youngstown steel kitchen cabinets
- Ummm: I got out of the habit of updating press coverage of the blog…. I’ll work on it again at some point… maybe.
2014
- New York Times: “When Blogging Becomes a Slog” (but not for me — I am the wise old owl)
- Huffington Post: The 10 Best Renovation Websites for Living out your Dream Home Fantasies.
- Der Standard newspaper profiled the blog. It was in German, so I’m not sure what it said. But I asked on Facebook, and a reader told me it said that, “You are now as loved as David Hasselhof in Germany.”
2013
- Fixing to Die: Retro Renovation® and a reader remodel featured on the blog inspired the setting and story line for Elaine Viets’ “restoration comedy” murder mystery, Fixing to Die. The book debuted #9 on the Barnes & Noble paperback list.
- Yankee Magazine: Six-page story in Sept./Oct. issue — 1.7 million readers! — about the blog and my house. “Fifties and Fabulous.”
- Globe and Mail: Loud and proud 1970s chalet
- Columbus Post-Dispatch: Back to the bones: Restoring ’50s homes
- California Home + Design: Celebrating Midcentury Modest
2012
- Ft. Lauderdale Magazine: Midcentury Modern Architecture Makes a Comeback
- Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Vintage Vibe
- Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator: Kitchens Cook Down Memory Lane
- msn.com: What we can learn from 1970s homess
- The Daily Mail (London) online: Give your Home the Mad Men Look! How one blogger inspires retro renovating tips.
- Blog Aids in Renovation of ‘Mid-Century Modest’ Homes. Nationally syndicated story appeared in newspapers including:
- Akron Beacon Journal
- Seattle Times
- Miami Herald
- Detroit Free Press (twice!)
- Palm Springs Desert Sun
- San Antonio Express
- Baltimore Sun
- Kansas City Star
- Toledo Blade
- Eau Claire Leader-Telegram
- Ogden (UT) Standard-Examiner
- canada.com
- …and more.
Summer 2011
- New York Times 2,200-word profile about Retro Renovation and its readers: Restoring the Retro House
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch — Preserve the Pink (bathroom)
- msn.com — New Respect for the Ranch House
- Portland (Oregon) Monthly Magazine Online — Sofa Shopping
- The Oregonian/Oregon Live — The Retro Queen
Feb 2011
Jan 2011
- Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Bathrooms Still In the Pink
- Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Name that Home Fad
December 2010
October 2010
- AP interviews Pam for story, Used Building Materials a Hit Among Home Owners, that runs in news outlets nationwide.
August 2010
- Arizona Daily Star: That 50s Tile with Style
- Home is a Four-Letter Word: Penny Pinching with the Stars
- Home is a Four-Letter Word: Lovin’ the 50s
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
- Etsy.com video profile.
January 2010
- Knoxville News – Maribeth’s 1970s retro renovation
- Finalist and 4th place winner in Apartment Therapy’s annual contest to name the best home design blog of 2009
June 2009
April 2009
March 2009
- Eugene, Oregon Register-Guard on retro revival and home show talks
- Our tour of the St. Louis 1995 time capsule home covered by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Desert Living Magazine
Dec. 3, 2008
- Pam talks with the National Kitchen & Bath Association about retro kitchen design popularity
Sept. 29, 2008
March 2008
- Pam’s kitchen on Apartment Therapy
Winter 2008
Fall 2007
November 8, 2007 — News Release, PRWeb
Thanks and Credits: Many thanks to the many folks who have helped, and continue to help, make this blog possible. Including:
- The rockin’ readers who help feed the blog day in and day out with their tips and projects!
- All the advertisers who make doing this work fulltime possible.
- Margaret Roach, for all your support. AwayToGarden.com, Margaret Roach Media.
- Brad and all the Webdev and Maintainn team, for keeping the online bogeybots at bay. WebDevStudios.
- Erica Berger, for making me look good. Erica Berger Photography.
- Kit Latham, for helping me get into the dot.com world. KitLatham.com.
- Suzy Massey, for design support. PhoenixMassey Studio.
- WordPress, for a great blogging platform that has made it possible for so many new voices to find their communities. wordpress.com
Leru says
Hi Pam – Love, love, love your kitchen. You have an obvious passion and talent for mid century decor. Keep up the great work.
and thanks for such an informative site!!
Leru
maplegroveguesthouse (dot) com
A retro place to stay
connie says
Please Help!
Where can I get vinly or lineloum flooring (sheets preferred) that has the bommerang style motif? Or pick and tourquoise pattern?
Uncle Jack (Jack LeVine) says
I’m late to the party, but love your website, and certainly am enthralled with your kitchen.
50sPam says
Thank you, Uncle Jack. I assure you, the party’s just started. Your blog looks awesome as well, I’ll spend more time with it. Along with CSI (my favorite) a voyeuristic view of vintage Vegas – what’s not to like?
Cate Greb says
Pam my sister and I checked out your website. It is AWESOME! Your kitchen came out Beautifull. I know all the hard work you put into it, I’m impressed. Good luck with this site I’ll be visiting more. See you soon.
Cate
50sPam says
Hi vintage_kitchen. I was very lucky in that my cabinets had their original finish, in great shape. They came from a cooking school that had been run by nuns (!) and had only been used for 8 years since they were installed in 1963. I cleaned them up with fine auto body compound, topped with turtle wax, used an electric buffer.
Regarding your cabinets – I’ve seen ones just like you’re talking about before. I actually kind of grew to like the chartreuse but I can understand your desire to change them, for some reason the color is not conducive to thoughts of food! I have read before of people repainting the cabinets. The best route appears to be an auto body shop, or professional paint shop. This will of course be pricey….There apparently also are now paints from companies like Sherwin-Williams that are supposed to be good for painting metal. So you might try that. Be sure to see the Sherwin-Williams Suburban Modern paint palette (featured in my Categories). Next week, I’ll scan some vintage brochures and show some additional paint colors that were used on steel cabinets.
Finally: Perhaps other readers have some experience repainting these cabinets? Let us know how your experience went! – 50sPam
vintage_kitchen says
Pam, what a lovely job you did on your kitchen! I have a one full of , I’d say, late ’60s Geneva metal cabinets and I’m curious – did you have yours repainted before they were installed? I’m embracing fate and the fact that falling-apart counters mean that I’m going to have to do a kitchen renovation soon, but vacillating about what to do about the cabinets, which are in quite pristine condition. I’m inclined to hang onto them since they are in terrific shape and wear like, well, iron, but I could happily part ways with their current shade of chartreuse… but I’m not sure what one has to do to get good, durable coverage on the metal insides and the textured fronts.
KimR says
I have some Republic Steel Kitchen pieces that look to be in pretty good shape. My Dad was
a handy-man in town and he got them from a lady. They have been stored in his shop for quite a few years. Leave me a contact e-mail if you are interested.
50sPam says
Hi RetroKitch!
I sympathize, as it took me more than 5 years to find the set of 1963 Geneva’s that I ultimately was able to install in my kitchen. You’ve just got to keep at it, there’s not really one easy way – although I have one thought that might be the way to strike gold. Here are some ideas:
– Craig’s List. Watch, and List.
– Do you have a Re-Store in your area, run by the Center for Environmental Technology? We do, and I’ve seen a lot of steel cabinets come through over the years.
– If you’re watching on ebay, put your search terms in every conceivable way, I’ve seen some gorgeous sets ‘buried’
– Old House Journal has a couple of Forums you might post on. There are also For Sale items.
– And last but not least — my big idea: The subsidiary of Republic Steel that once built the cabinets still exists. It’s in Canton, Ohio, and makes lockers and such. How about this: Try an ad in the Canton newspaper – or Craigslist there. I bet there are TONS of Republic cabinets in that locality. People do tend to buy local. I bet there are basements and garages full of the cabinets! Canton is a nice place to visit, and it’s football season, a great time to visit.
Waxing on — I have a lot of material on Republic. I think they had the greatest ads of what I call the Big 4 of steel cabinet makers in the 50s: Republic, Youngstown, Geneva and St. Charles. I have an awesome Salesman’s Sample kit from Republic, too. It will be in the photo with me when my kitchen is featured in a magazine coming up… stay tuned.
Hope that helps! Let me know if I can help in any other way! Pam
retrokitch says
I am looking for base cabinets for a 1950s Republic Steel Kitchen. Do you have any suggested sources other than ebay?