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 And, I want to continue to improve the site as an historical reference around things like steel kitchen cabinets, a longtime passion.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
Ted says
WHERE CAN I FIND A VINTAGE HARDWARE FOR A GENEVA KITHEN CABINET? NEED AO PHNE NUMBER FOR GUIDANCE
Pam Kueber says
Hi Ted, too many brands, we don’t have the level of detail on where to find hardware for each of the 80+ brands of cabinets. Also, I don’t sell anything, so no phone calls.
Tab A Rhode says
Hello Ladies,
I’m looking to replace some damaged and worn polished price tag molding used to edge my red formica countertops. I was wondering if you ever came across the red plastic insert strips that were used to insert into this type molding to cover the screws. I’m having a terrible time finding anything like it
Pam Kueber says
I suggest trying Heffron’s or Bars & Booths.
Simone Renee Funk-Hayes says
What brand and which pattern of dinnerware sets would compliment Michael Miller Home Ec Valances?
Pam Kueber says
Hi Simone,
I think that from among all the patterns from Homer Laughlin, you could find good options. https://retrorenovation.com/2017/07/12/16-patterns-new-homer-laughlin-vintage-retro-pattern-china-buy-retail/
Fiestaware is also still made new and has lots of great colors – you could even mix and match.
Stacy Barr says
I am looking for a white drop-in or apron front double sink with one drainboard on the right….help me!!! A reproduction would be fine.
Pam Kueber says
See this page: https://retrorenovation.com/farmhouse-drainboard-sinks/
Matt McEwen says
Hello! My wife and I just purchased a historic cabin in Mineral King in Sequoia National Park CA. Its Bat and Board construction was done in 1933 with wood from a local Atwood Mill. I want to restore the interior to what would have been period for that time 1915-1945. Do you have any suggested links for interior paneling and kitchen design? This cabin comes with a real wood burning stove for cooking! Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Matt
Pam Kueber says
Hi Matt, wow, what a great sounding house! I have a category on knotty pine https://retrorenovation.com/category/period-accents/knotty-pine/
Also, search “Paneling” there might be more.
And, start going through all my Kitchen subcategories. Looking at Time Capsule Houses and Reader & Their Kitchens is a good place to start…
https://retrorenovation.com/2018/01/04/renovating-midcentury-kitchen-12-key-stories-help-get-started/
Here’s a good one on getting started with a kitchen too:
Greg Dessart says
do you still have the 1955 fold back surface units by frigidaire
Pam Kueber says
I don’t sell anything on this blog, Greg.
Al says
I’m now living in my childhood home,built in 1957 by my parents. It certainly fits the Mid-Century Modest category. It’s been in the family since it was built. The kitchen appliance have been changed out over the years and I’m giving thought on how to restore it to the correct era. The original knotty pine cabinets are still there and in good condition. I’m contemplating putting a Tappan Fabulous 400 range in but not having good luck in locating one. Any suggestions as to where I might look. I already have searches set up on eBay and Craig’s List.
Pam Kueber says
Hi Al,
Sounds like the house is going to be very happy you area in it! Re the stove search, I think Craigslist is the way to go. Use a site like Search Tempest to search farther and wider…. Also, check our Facebook page, readers sometimes post them in comments there. I think I saw one recently!
Gerry says
I checked Practical Props website today and they have spun acrylic (spaghetti) lights again in 4 colors. They don’t have the round swag spaghetti lights as before but the write up for the available ellipse shape says that swag options are available for that light. Love the orange!
https://shop.practicalprops.com/collections/globe-pendants/products/24-spun-acrylic-ellipse
Pam Kueber says
our original story — https://wp.me/pUrF5-uy6
Ryan E Perkins says
Hi All! I stumbled upon your site while looking for inspiration to decorate our new home. Built in 1956 with original bathrooms and mostly original kitchen! It has hand plastered coved ceilings and so much built in storage. We fell in love at first sight. I am having the worst time trying to figure out what is on our kitchen and stairwell walls though! It is a SUPER SHINY finish. Almost lacquered? If anyone has some input or knowledge I am really looking for some help!
Martha says
Hi I was given your site by a fellow Mainer who just purchased a vintage green couch from us and said this site was perfect to share our other treasures. Selling appliances from 40’s and 50’s including sinks, kitchen and bathroom, stoves, metal kitchen cabinets, 3 refrigerators that work from 3 apts. next steps to share Mrthhggns@ aol.com located in Bangor, Maine thank you