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 And, I want to continue to improve the site as an historical reference around things like steel kitchen cabinets, a longtime passion.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
Ali Avey says
Pam,
I LOVE YOUR SITE>>>>i love the colors and everything!!!
I own a vintage St. Charles Kitchens apron, and I think you need to have this……
let me know where I can send pics, if you might be interested. I used to collect aprons, but I just have to stop and start to divest myself of some of my gems, and this is one! It’s not frilly….its white canvas and stamped with the logo….may be it was used in the store by the sales staff. Cute, with pockets.
Ali Avey
Phoenix, AZ
Nancy says
Hi Pam – Earlier this year you posted information regarding new color schemes for Wilsonart’s boomerang patterned countertops. You posted a picture of one of the colors – a white background with a brown and yellow butterscotch look to it. For the life of me I cannot find an item # for that sample. I have even been on Wilsonarts website and cannot find it either. We are building a cabin and I am doing a 50’s diner look to the kitchen and I live 100 miles from the nearest Lowes where I would order this but they are of no help to me over the phone without an item #. Can you help me with this?
Thank you
YCY says
Hi Pam,
I have a GE Electric cooktop, built in oven and range hood set, all mid century, mustard color, very well maintain. I am wondering if you can point me in the right direction to extend their life and find them a new home.
Thanks!
YCY
pam kueber says
YCY, I have numerous stories on this in my Kitchens/Appliances category … make your way through and I think you will find what you need. Good luck.
erin moureau valdez says
Hi Pam!!!! I love you and your website soo much, you have been such a decorating/updating/remodeling inspiration ! I have following you for about 3 years now!!!! Okay, so I was wondering if you have any more pictures of your amazing kitchen that you wouldn’t mind sharing? Thanks!
Erin says
Hi Pam,
We have just bought a bungalow with what looks to be an original 1930s kitchen in good condition. We’d like to rejuvenate it, is there a place I can post photos for readers to give their ideas? Thanks, Erin 🙂
Mike says
Hi Pam,
Did you paint your kitchen cabinets and if so can you share the color and where you got it? I’m trying to repaint mine and can’t find the right color.
Thanks!
Mike
pam kueber says
Hi Mike. No, the paint on my vintage Geneva kitchen cabinets — circa 1963 — is original. However, I think that it is a pretty close match for the Holiday Turquoise in Sherwin William’s Suburban Modern palette — that’s a favorite palette for we Retro Renovators. See this link –> https://retrorenovation.com/2011/05/31/sherwin-williams-suburban-modern-paint-collection-download-the-discontinued-brochures-here/ Good luck!
kimberly says
hi pam, im looking for the exact kitchen countertop its palermo cielo i found it on your website i was wondering where i can order that particular design and color at?
pam kueber says
you gotta go to a retailer who sells it.
Colleen says
I would like to know how other people take the pledge, if they contract out any additional work on their house. I would LOVE to pledge to save our pink (peachy-pink anyway) bathroom (1954 Cape Cod), but while redoing the kitchen we have been discovering all sorts of other problems because of not being “up to code.” That includes our gorgeous American Standard toilet – don’t know HOW many gallons that baby flushes, but I know it is more than 1.6! Our inspector is not going to let us keep it. (I AM keeping it in our new basement, though! My husband thinks this is totally off the deep end.)
Marjie says
We’ve lived in a ’58 storybook ranch since 1989.Last year we completely rehab- ed it in order to made ADA adaptations and create a suite for my blind mother.Code seems to throw the baby out w/ the bath water in some instances . Even though mechanical improvements were made , I do think these so called water saving toilets are a bunch of baloney. Our old toilet flushes effectively w/ one flush. These new things in the new part of the house ( from kohler) need more flushes per visit. So I am doubtful as to the water savings…..the volume on the water bill hasn’t decreased since last year.
Kimberly Conlin says
I love your kitchen. I am restoring a 1956 home now. Its a lot of work, but looking at your photos makes it more exciting!
George Thompson says
Pam,
I recently acquired a cast iron American Standard aquamarine double kitchen sink. It has never been out of the crate. Does anyone out there have interest in it? I can send photos.
George
pam kueber says
George: You can put it on our buy/sell forum: https://retrorenovation.com/forums/
Dawn Nelson says
Hi Pam,
I’m giving away (free) my 1952 vintage peach bisque bathroom fixtures… tub, sink & toilet along with the original vanity cabinet. All in good condition. I posted them on Craiglist here in Seattle, but I wondered if you have a forum to post items for others who might be interested? Thanks! –dawn
pam kueber says
Hi Dawn, our Forum is here and yes, you can post them: https://retrorenovation.com/forums/