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 And, I want to continue to improve the site as an historical reference around things like steel kitchen cabinets, a longtime passion.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
Richard Ward says
Don’t know where else to put this question. My friend and neighbor is going to completely remodel her vintage St. Charles kitchen. The cabinets have probably been painted at least once, but they are in good shape and include built in cutting board, and the pull up mixer stand. She is willing to see that they go to a good home, but how does one go about tapping into the appropriate market? Thanks for any help. (She’s turning it over to her daughter to see about handling the cabinets’ removal and transition to a loving new home.)
Pam Kueber says
Richard, we have a story on this in Kitchen Help/Steel Kitchens category — or use the Search box.
Richard Ward says
thanks so much…I’ll pass it along. Hope she finds the info useful.
IBikeNYC says
Ooooh; Lenox! I miss going to Tanglewood.
Love your aqua cabinets and OMG are those actual Saarinen chairs?!
pam kueber says
Thank you! No, the table in chairs originally installed were knockoffs made new circa 2005. I have replaced them since this photo with vintage chairs, also knockoffs, but better made that ones in this photo, in my experience so far, and also I love vintage… I gave the new ones to a friend — she is very happy!
Kim says
Hello! I can’t tell you how happy I am to find this site! I’m moving into a 1980’s ranch and have this pull to forego renovating to modernize but to bring my kitchen back a couple of decades. I’ve been looking all over to find the kitchen cabinets, 70s and 80s. Haven’t seen them anywhere. They are natural oak, flat with 2 groves simply following the dimensions of the cabinet front. The hinges are exposed black and the handles are brass with white china. How can I “downdate” and keep these sturdy cabinets?
Kim says
Here’s a link to see the kitchen: https://www.housesincharlotte.com/listing/3184206-2905-valley-farm-rd-waxhaw-nc-28173-9205/
pam kueber says
Those cabinets look nice. I wouldn’t mess with them! You’re in a 1980 house — Love the House You’re In!
Tim Purcell says
I have a mid century laminate counter top with a fabric pattern favoring a navy blue base color. Do you have a way of identifying and locating the material. If so, what do you need, a picture or sample chunk?
pam kueber says
You can post photos to a photo sharing site, then post the url here.
D Collins says
How would I find out manufacturer of a mid century modern sofa and matching chair? Don’t know whether to keep them or sell. Is it advisable when reupholstering to replace everything, these were bought from a house that has not been lived in for over 10 years in Texas.
Danielle Pickett says
Can you advise on how I could find a Modern Maid Built in toaster. Mine just broke.
pam kueber says
I don’t have an easy answer for you. I think they come up on ebay occasionally/rarely. There is a site called Toaster Central — http://www.toastercentral.com/ — that does repairs of vintage toasters, I think. You might also talk to them. Be sure to Be Safe! https://retrorenovation.com/renovate-safe/
Stephen says
Hello all~
I feel like when you think you have just about seen it all, “it” shows up —
the elusive Lurelle Guild designed “Dolphin Wall Lamp” No. M531 !
Been searching for these for some time now and finally found them. I am not encountering much Chase chrome what-so-ever anymore so you can imagine my surprise. Now I hope for your suggestions in attempting to replace the absent frosted
glass shell-shaped shades. Many thanks in advance.
Best regards + happy hunting !
pam kueber says
Not sure what this lamp looks like and google did not help. Can you post a photo somewhere and provide a link to it?
lorenzo says
Hello, i have a friend who is interested in a vintage Red Top kitchen table set . How do we find the locations on sale items. Would it be safe to add a phone number? We are in Ohio
pam kueber says
We do not sell anything here.
Stephanie says
My husband and I lived in a an actual mid-century home for years in the hills of San Francisco. We have fantastic Danish modern furnishings (lots of teak).
Nearing the are of retirement we decided to transition into a very cool and kitschy 55+ mobile home community in the area. We opted out of rehabbing an older mobile home for purchasing a new one because new mobile homes are extraordinarily energy-efficient and just a customizable.
We’re now stuck in the middle of designing a new mobile home and I would love your help to give a Mid-Century Danish Modern twist to the exterior of this brand new manufactured home.
http://www.palmharbor.com/our-homes/floor-plans/sr-floor-plans/fp-20-nw-sunsetbay-4P56S52/#photos-videos
Mark says
I have a beautiful late 1930s (1937 I think) Kelvinator Refrigerator and chest freezer. The freezer has a bit of rust, but very little. The refrigerator is really nice…and MINT inside. I would like to see someone be able to use these amazing kitchen appliances in their “retro 1930s or 1940s” kitchen. Any suggestions on the best place(s) to list these items for sale? Thanks, Mark Kiel, Wisconsin
pam kueber says
craiglist. good luck.