"Acorn" forged iron exterior hardware for retro style

My brick, ranch-style home has a colonial feel, especially on the exterior. I am dressing it up with black-iron hardware and lighting -- and it looks terrific. In fact, if you look at a lot of the classic "California ranches" you see these kinds of colonial touches, with the black forged iron really making the wood and brick "pop."

"Acorn" hardware appears really well made and just what the doctor ordered. Van Dyke's Restorers has a great selection -- you can see it best by browsing their Catalog (rather than online). In their Fall 2007 catalog there are 8 pages of Acorn products. Call 1-800-558-1234 for a catalog. Their url is vandykes.com, but again, the catalog is the way to go.

For the most complete listing of Acorn products, you can go to the Acorn website -- http://www.acornmfg.com/index.php. However, it is a bit hunt-and-peck, not really oriented to consumers. Looks like you can buy closeout items direct from them, but otherwise you must go to a retailer.

More great 50s style kitchens!

It's an abundance of kitchen designs this week! Starting soon I will be analyzing each kitchen and pointing out great design features and ideas to consider for your own 50s restoration!

What's not to like about these retro kitchens?

Come on, how can you not LOVE LOVE LOVE these kitchens?

In our collective American memory, we may think of 50s kitchens as kitschy -- and maybe that is one word you can use. But, in my view, these kitchens are full of great style... daring, exuberant and non-conformist. In addition, there's a lot we can learn from layout and use of materials in these designs - which benefited from learnings from time/motion and efficiency studies that went earlier in the decade and post-WWII, were being brought into the home.

St. Charles Steel Kitchen Cabinets: Sold for $500 on eBay

This looks to be a terrific set of vintage steel kitchen cabinets now on eBay through October 5. I like the color - and the glass fronts look really great, I've never seen that before.

Also - grab the stainless steel and laminate counters, the two sinks, the stovetop, warming oven (!), backsplash and hood, and the built-in ovens.

What a find! If you're near Lake Forest, Ill., and want to create a great vintage kitchen - here's a great set!

For those of you simply interested in retro kitchen design, there are lots of great tips in this kitchen - a nice one!

Update Oct. 6: This kitchen sold for $500. A steal!

Use this great 50s style retro paint palette

I've moved: Please see my dramatically improved site: RetroRenovation.com

I love the Sherwin Williams Suburban Modern paint palette. I've used a couple of the colors in my house, and they've always been spot on! Note, they have separate interior and exterior palettes - but don't let that stop you from using an exterior color inside your house, and vice versa.

Check out the web pages - and be sure to download the entire brochure - it's a great feature and let's you see good-sized color chips, I'm really impressed. When I buy their paint, I've always purchased the best quality possible. If you want to save some money, wait for a holiday weekend, it seems like there's always a decent sale.

Interior palette: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_it_yourself/paint_colors/paint_color_palette/color_themes/suburban/int_suburban.jsp

Exterior palette: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_it_yourself/paint_colors/paint_color_palette/color_themes/suburban/ext_suburban.jsp

Cast iron shower pan can be fitted for retro reno

I would have loved to use this cast iron shower base for my 50s bathroom renovations a few years ago. In two of my bathrooms I was forced to use Swanstone (fiberglass style) bases because I simply could not find any other materials. I've seen numerous vintage 50s bathrooms with these square style tubs/showers. The porcelain on cast iron finish is GREATLY preferable,. If you use this, though, do not use the Victorian feet. I'd set the base onto a tile base/surround/alcove with the tile base built out along one side created for a glass shower door. Use 4-1/4" tile. Look at Olympia Tiles for some great colorways. I'll do a separate post on that next.

http://www.vandykes.com/product/70011535/

Stainless steel edging for your laminate countertop

I've moved: Please see my dramatically improved site: RetroRenovation.com

My husband hunted down the only place we could find -- in Astoria, Queens -- that still made the exact stainless steel edging that we wanted. We installed this very easily and successfully on our new countertops. We purchased 1.5" U-style eding for the counter edge, a little piece that married the counter to the backsplash, and finally, 3/4" ss for the top of the backsplash. This is EXACTLY what we saw used on the 1963 countertops that we threw out, and the guy from Dave Sanders agreed - they've been making it since the 1950s!

The photo used is from someone else's kitchen that I saw on ebay. The edging is the same... Also see the final product in my kitchen post of 9/16/07.

Here is the url for the company. However, please note, the edging is NOT featured in the catalog, you have to call for information: http://www.davesanders.com/

To anyone near western Massachusetts - I have a lot left of this stuff, as we had to order in commercial quantities. If you're interested in buying the leftovers directly from me, post a comment and I'll be happy to sell it to you at cost.

Chemex Coffeemaker - in production since 1942!

This beautiful coffee maker is a must-have for any mid-century-modern home. Designed in 1942 and still in production today, the Chemex® Coffeemaker is found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

According to the manufacturers: "This merging of form and function came out of Chemist Peter Schlumbohm's taste for fine flavor. Applying the techniques used to insure laboratory purity, he set out to brew what may have been the first cup of truly, clear, full-bodied coffee - free of undesirable fats, oils, sediment and most of all...bitterness."

For info on where/how to buy: www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/

SOLD! 1963 Geneva Steel Kitchen Cabinets, in Aquamarine

September 2007 -- I'm updating this post to reflect the fact that I sold my extra cabinets this summer. I sold them on eBay to L.P. of Milwaukee. He drove here -- 960 miles -- pick up the cabinets! Selling price was $2,500. While I'm glad they went to a nice home, I do have some regrets about even selling them, they are so beautiful!

Own a piece of history that will never go out of style, once installed in your vintage kitchen! Up for sale are 18 (total) vintage steel kitchen cabinets left over from a larger batch that I installed in my kitchen.

You can see how these looked cleaned up in my Sept. 16 post, below. They are in great shape -- it is really quite amazing. They came from a cooking school run by nuns for only 8 years so they have very little wear and tear and were kept in immaculate condition during their use. From about 1971 til now, they were not used at all. They clean up beautifully with auto body compound and turtle wax - their coating of NYC grime seems to have protected the original finish!

The cabinets are classic Geneva's -- one of the nation's great brands -- circa 1963. They are in a great Aquamarine color -- which goes perfectly with Formica's re-issue last year of their aqua boomerang laminate. (See my post on vintage stainless steel edging, too.)

Included are original chrome handles. The base cabinets all have great roll-out aluminum middle shelves. Available immediately are:

10 base cabinets. These are each 24.5" deep and 34.5" high:
- 36" wide: 3@
- 30" wide: 3@
- 24" wide: 1@
- 18" wide: 2@
- 12" wide: 1@
- Corner transition pieces: 3@

Sink bases are available in either 42" or 24" widths. Assume one of each comes with this sale. Use one for your main sink, one for a bar sink. I also have the original double sinks, porcelain, Kohler, nice. You may take one as well with this sale.

Note: These base cabinets and sink bases offer 26.5 linear feet of base cabinetry. To this, add: stove, fridge and dishwasher and you will see this enables a good-sized kitchen.

6 wall cabinets:
- 36": 4@. These are 13" deep and 30" tall.
- 42": 2@. These are 13" deep and 18" tall - meant to fit above the 42" sink base or above a 40" stove. They can easily be adapted to include a cookbook shelf if you want to use them to line up with the 30" tall wall cabinets. Total linear feet of wall cabinetry: 19.

I am located in Lenox, Mass., about 45 minutes west of Albany, N.Y. You pick up, or I have a friend who can deliver for you, let me know and I'll get you a price.

Available for sale via Ebay at: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:11&item=200104538320

2" Metal Blinds: The perfect treatment for 50s style windows

When I went to order window treatments for my kitchen, Colleen from my local hardware store took one look and recommended 2" aluminum blinds. "It's what we rip out of every other 50s home," she reassured.

We chose from the Hunter Douglas "Macro" line. The blinds are PERFECT. And I even see that Hunter Douglas has come out with a new color palette with circa 50s colors. I chose a soft neutral metallic, as my window is quite large and I didn't want the shade to overpower the room.

Other tips: I ordered "traditional" slat styling - that is, I wanted the holes in the middle of the blind to show. The alternative is "blackout" style, but that, I believe, is a too-new innovation. Also, I chose the "wand" rather than the cord to adjust the slats horizontally. Finally, you get a self-colored valance free as part of the order. Go for it. However, I am going to add a fabric valance, and will post on that later.

Great story on 50s style retro wallpaper

My new friend sent me this great story (url link below) on 50s wallpaper. The weblinks (in right hand column of page) to Melinamade ("Boomerang mushroom, left) and Interior1900 (right) are great -- for an arm and a leg you can get great vintage papers. Alternatively: try eBay or where I found all my stashes of paper -- in the basement of my local art supply/wallpaper store, a place that had been in business forever. Put your vibes out into the decorating universe: And what you seek will come to you!

Url to story and resources: http://www.oldhousejournal.com/magazine/2007/feb/atomic-wallpaper.shtml

And - be sure to see my previous posts on some Sanderson papers I thought would fit a true 50s house nicely. They're of the "small florals" referenced in the OHJ story: http://50sstyle.blogspot.com/2006/05/wallpapers-with-50s-style.html

Tulip Table by CB2 does 50s style affordably

I found this great buy on a reproduction Tulip Table - only $150 or so, from CB2 (Crate and Barrel's new retail endeavor) plus shipping. Note, this table has a matte finish - while the chairs that I posted on have a glossy finish. But the difference doesn't bother me. And the total price was quite right compared to buying the Saarinen original - as great as that would have been!

Direct to table on cb2.com:

http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=202&f=1963&q=odyssey+table&fromLocation=Search&DIMID=400001&SearchPage=1

Tulip Chairs - great retro repro's

I bought these white (swivel, with red cushions) tulip chair reproductions from eBay - they're new, and so far seem great. Search Tulip Chairs", I paid $275 for a pair, plus about $80 in shipping. They came in just 2-3 days. The FedEx label said they came from : I&L Distributing Inc., 544 Park Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11205.

A friend of my husband pointed us to the other chairs, the "Case Study" fiberglass side chairs available in 12 colors @ $239 plus $35 shipping. I've certainly seen both of these styles (and there are more on the website) on ebay - these look to be terrific reproductions. From http://www.modernica.net/.

The kitchen comes together

Here are some photos of the kitchen nearly completed. The only thing I'm still missing are: a valance for above the triple-window, and I will continue looking for white plastic marbleized tiles to create a backsplash.

The kitchen comes together #2!

Here are some first shots of the kitchen coming together.

Features we love:

• Pantry cabinets look great.
• 1959 GE Pushbutton Range.
• Original sink (one of 4 salvaged from nuns' kitchen).
• Azrock cortina floor.
• eBay coppertone spaceship light (with glass on bottom that mimics glass on stove.)
• Can lights in chrome satin finish.
• Formica boomerang countertops with metal edging from last place in America you can find it (info to come in future post.)
• 42" Sub Zero - new, yes, but very vintage looking and again, my husband put his foot down when it came to my installing a vintage fridge.
• Vintage wallpaper from basement of Miller's Art Supply, Pittsfield, Mass. NOTE: You can spot this SAME wallpaper in Steven Spielberg's classic, Catch Me If You Can. It's in the family home living room where Leonardo di Caprio's dad Christopher Walken dances with his French wife!
• Nutone exhaust fan - fit right into previous fan's space.

Not shown and/or not yet completed:

• Window treatments TBD.
• Custom rounded shelves 3@ side along wall cabinets to right and left of window. Similar shelves above stove.
• Wallpaper on soffit above fridge, delayed as we fuss with the exact position of the fridge.
• And most importantly: We are searching for a Saarinen tulip table, 42", and chairs, all white. Once the kitchen was in place, it was crystal clear that this is what the space calls for (rather than the typical 50s diner style table and chairs.) This will go directly under the center light. I added a photo of a the type of set I'm looking for.

Posts to come: On suppliers and helpers. Also, on all sources.

An inspiration kitchen - the epitome of 50s style

In preparing to R&R the kitchen, I did tons of research. On eBay, I've bought many booklets from 50s-60s steel kitchen cabinets - and these have been great sources of design detail. Here's a photo that I particularly liked.

Found: 1963 aqua Geneva steel kitchen cabinets - from a cooking school run by nuns in NYC!

The is the original home of the steel kitchen cabinets I'd been searching for, for nearly 5 years. The decorating gods sent them to me, just as I needed to lock in a decision about my cabinets. I'd just about given up hope of finding the vintage steel kitchen cabinets I wanted -- hard to find a set large enough to fit my 15x15 kitchen, and they had to be geographically near. But these came to me just in time -- and in aqua -- the color my husband wanted -- 67 of them -- plenty to work with -- and in great shape. They are from The Grace Institute, a not-for-profit on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and had been installed in 1963. Nuns ran the institute at the time, and these filled two rooms used to teach cooking to women in need. Today, the rooms are used to teach ESL classes (in progress when I initially visited to scope out the cabinets, pictured.) The nuns took great care of them. I'm told they were only used for seven or eight years. Note the dymo labels they put on to keep track of the cabinets' contents. I wanted to keep these on, but my husband's patience stopped there. The fastidious nuns also labeled the inside.

The kitchen reno starts!

I've been offline for a while, involved in all the details of my kitchen renovation. Here's the first set of photos: The "befores." My circa 1975 kitchen. Mary Jane Gable put it in - it was really well done but, well, a '70s kitchen in a 50s house.

Some of the defining features of the 'inherited' kitchen: Dark wood-melamine cabinets. Falling apart after years of hard use. 24" soffits that, while very functional with their included recessed can lights, made the kitchen feel smaller. A long wall of pantry cabinets, again, while useful, made the room feel smaller. And a small window. The original kitchen was smaller, and in '75 the Gables expanded it to enclose an adjacent mudroom.