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 And, I want to continue to improve the site as an historical reference around things like steel kitchen cabinets, a longtime passion.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
Joann Leonard says
Just found your site! My home is a post and beam mid-century in the Hollywood Hills. We made some updates, mostly turned out very well. Over 20 years ago I sold my pink kitchen! I got almost $1000 for it even then, but sometimes I miss it! Finally doing some redecorating as the era of hideous ‘fat’ furniture appears to be ebbing. I’ve just had 3 teak chairs professionally restored. Cushions on the best one disappeared long ago. (I think it was rats!) It was purchased new, 40 years ago (It was expensive!) and I’m searching for the provenance. I have photos, but can’t see where to post them.
Appreciate help.
Chris says
Pam,
Roman brick (the long horizontal brick about 2″ by 11″ – sizes very) was all the rage in the 50s-60s. Fifty years on we’re starting to reach the point where some bricks need replacing (especially on chimneys). I’ve tried searching your site and while I find tons and tons of pictures of roman brick on interiors and exteriors, it doesn’t seem like you’ve ran a specific article on what brick manufacturers still make the profile. I’m well aware that it’s not likely a stock profile and no doubt a ‘special cast” and therefore probably has minimum order quantities as well which may be additionally problematic. You’d surely think some manufacture out there is making these.
Do you have any information that you perhaps just haven’t posted on the matter?
Onyx says
Hi Pam!
I’m just beginning renovations on my grandparents 1954 ranch house in California and I found your blog via google while researching. Can’t wait to read EVERYTHING!
pam kueber says
Welcome. However, your avatar is sketching me out!
Onyx says
Happy Halloween? Meh, while I would like to claim this avatar is seasonal, the truth is I keep it up year round. Hope it doesn’t freak you out too much.
Cynthia Bell says
Hi Pam – I love your site and came across this time capsule house the other day and thought I’d send the link. Enjoy!
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/438-Robin-Hill-Rd_Wayne_PA_19087_M41609-11062
pam kueber says
Thank you, Cynthia! What a perfect little house – and yay! for pinch pleats!
Catherine says
Dear Pam,
I have been a fan of your site for quite a while, but never more than now that I live in my dream mid-century house. It came with a lot of original furniture, original kitchen including the real-deal boomerang formica countertops, pink bathroom, etc. The house is in almost brand-new condition… no 80s massacre happened here!
I just acquired a set of Heywood Wakefield Ashcraft furniture and have found resources on your site for “refinishing supplies”, but… the whole set has rattan-style ligatures around all the legs that need replacing. Seen from a distance, it is rattan, but seen upclose it is… Paper! varnished to look like rattan and it held for about 50 years so they were right about their material choices. Anyone has any idea what to use to replace that?
Keep up the good work!
Catherine
Cathy says
I have a mid-century medicine cabinet with working lights
and 3 original glass shelves (perfect condition).
Chrome is REAL metal unlike today’s cheap plastic fake chrome.
Metal case has some rust, needs some TLC.
I have photos, let me know!
Leah Bonebrake says
Hi Pam, I have inherited my grandparents post war bedroom set.I believe it is a maple veneer, but it is not quite as light as some pieces I have seen. There is a nice tall chest of drawers, a beautiful vanity with a big round mirror, and of course, two twin beds. I am looking for inspiration to decorate a bedroom around this furniture, but don’t find any pictures of bedroom sets from that period. Also, my husband and I don’t want to sleep in twin beds. I would appreciate any suggestions, or resources.
Thanks,
Leah
Linda grotenstein says
Hi Pam,
I loved reading the article in the NYTimes! I’m a Realtor in Montclair NJ and have a house listed that is the most amazing home that I have seen in 25 years of real estate. Built by the owners in 1962 and decorated by Wiliam Pahlmann, a Manhattan decorator w/a newspaper column in the ’60’s. The house is exactly as decorated when new. My clients will be selling most of their furniture and I was wondering if you could recommend a source for sale of the furniture that would appreciate the value and impeccible condition and be fair to them too. If you would like to see the interior photos, go to http://www.seetheproperty.com/r/83168.
ray adamik says
Hi Linda,
Great house and decor – I especially love the posts that separate the living room from the foyer, the sunburst over the fireplace, and…..did I note rosewood paneling and a built-in bar made of “pecky” cypress? Reminds me of homes where I live (Elkins Park, Pa, and nearby communities like Jenkintown and Rydal) where estate sales from people who built or bought in the 60’s often have great stuff of fine qualilty and design – this, however, is exceptional! Familiar with the work of Pahlmann, among other things he decorated the two ultra-luxury suites at the top of the New York Hilton hotel in 1963 (probably long since gone, as is that hotel’s reputation as “luxury,” though in ’63 it was much publicized). I believe also he once was associated with Lord & Taylor back in the day (WAY long ago) when they sold furniture and decorative accessories that were incredible.
Just curious: do the current owners realize the number of people today who can appreciate and admire this (the exterior architecture, too) and think – as I do – that it FAR surpasses newer homes that cost 3 times as much!! Thank you for the link to the site – it made my day!!
PS – I’m getting design ideas from this house!
Gordon Nugent says
In 1953 I bought a top-of-the line GE double-oven electric stove (white) from the company store as a GE employee. Used it one year; in storage since. Beautiful condition. Offered first for $100, now for $25 with 3 photos on Craig’s list, which seems to restrict audience by region, in this case New Haven, CT. I’ll have to scrap it unless it sells soon. Would like to find someone who’s looking for it.
pam kueber says
Gordon — we do all buying/selling over on the Forum — please post it there: https://retrorenovation.com/forum/ Sounds lovely, good luck
Laura Brodax says
I have 95 SF of beautiful Original ribbed aqua green 6 x 6 Pomona ceramic tile-never-been-used. I’d like to sell it-buyer takes all 95 SF. I have images to post.
Is this something I can add to your bathroom forum?
I’ve had them posted on Craigs list-Seattle/Tacoma for a few weeks under materials and antiques.
Thank you!
Laura
pam kueber says
Yes, Laura – you can post them on the Forum – https://retrorenovation.com/forum – these sound beautiful!