Show us your vintage home!

[BeBopBaby]

I know that it's not the same but there are products out there that mimic tin ceilings but at a way better price. There are plastic types and there are wallpapers too. This is coming from a girl who just can't always afford to be a purest. Just a thought.

I'm going to try finding a salvadged tin ceiling first. If I'm not lucky in that department, I'll probably go with one of the fake tin ceilings. Our ceilings are pretty high, no one would ever be able to tell the difference. I'm not a big fan of the wallpaper though, I've used it in the past and the paint chips/scrapes off of it very easily.

 

[The Shirt]

I'm not a big fan of the wallpaper though, I've used it in the past and the paint chips/scrapes off of it very easily.

Very true. It's that hard line to walk - do you wait and do it right or do you do it how you can afford right now. I think the really thing is gorgeous. Hope you find a good source for it.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Any sofa that old would be bound to be comfortable. First, they were all built MUCH more solidly back then, and second, only the most solid would survive that long. I partially redid a sofa of that vintage years ago, and got to see the insides. Modern sofas are total crap compared to sofas of that era. That is one category where "they don't build 'em like they used to" applies in spades.

Preaching to the chior here my friend lol

I have sat on many old sofas... most of them were rather cozy, however the size they made them back in those days were a little smaller then they make them today. They tend to be a little narrow in the seat... but, it sits nice and high off the ground... It really is made of some fine material and construction! That's why I only buy antique furniture when I find something I like and at a good deal... I've been very lucky.

 

[Forgotten Man]

I know that it's not the same but there are products out there that mimic tin ceilings but at a way better price. There are plastic types and there are wallpapers too. This is coming from a girl who just can't always afford to be a purest. Just a thought.

A lesson I have learned over the years and that is to wait.

The sofa that I posted a photo of came at the right time and it all worked out perfectly… for a few years I could have used a better sofa… mine was falling apart and it was just a hammy down from an office on the Warner Brothers lot where my brother and father work. It served me well but, I could have used a better or more period sofa for a long time… I saw many but, couldn’t afford them… or, they were too far away and I couldn’t find away to get it up here.

So, I waited... and then a week ago Saturday, I find a really nice one and at a cost I couldn’t pass up! The chips were in my favor!

Also, my ’40 GE refrigerator… I wanted that model for a long time and always saw them for sale in the $1000. + price range… then, my mechanic had one and gave it to me free! I just had to paint it and now, it’s in my kitchen runnin’ like a champ! And also very quiet and good on energy!

I’d say to save up some money, do it right and in the end, you’ll be much happier!

 

[Atomic Glee]

Hi again, everyone. Yes, I'm still alive. I hope to have more time to hang around here now.

I'll have some photos to show shortly, but for now I just wanted to say that I'm in the process of buying a home in the historic "streetcar suburb" pre-war neighborhood of Fairmount just south of downtown Fort Worth. For the uninitiated, Fairmount is a designated historic neighborhood in the city's Near Southside urban district. It's a walkable mixed-use traditional neighborhood with many Arts & Crafts bungalows and Prairie style houses from the turn of the century through the '20s, along with similar vintage apartment buildings, schools, churches, and shops oriented along the "Main street" (Magnolia Avenue) and other streets throughout the neighborhood. Oh, and about five blocks or so to the east in the neighborhood is an old church that's been restored and is now used for swing dancing, so that's pretty great.

The house I'm buying has an odd history. It was built in 2004, but all homes built in Fairmount are required by the city to look like traditional bungalows. This particular home, though, has led a fairly rough life - the builder skimped on a few things because of a budget problem, for one. This meant he left out several windows (resulting in some ugly blank walls on the outside), canceled the planned detached garage and stuck an attached garage on the back (taking up space inside), and did some very cheap detailing on things like the porch (the porch railing is a joke). It's not badly built or anything, just sort of unfinished. Then, for most of its life, it was a rental house, and as such the interior was finished very basically with a dreary bland paint scheme and lots of carpeting (which I don't like).

It's been sitting vacant for a while, unloved by the neighborhood because of the failings of its design (doesn't fit in as well), and because it was tagged with graffiti and they painted over it with the wrong color of paint. (Yes, they did catch the graffiti taggers - teens.)

I'm going to be doing a big remodel job on it. I'll be knocking holes in the blank walls and installing more windows, I'll be remodeling the porch to make it more vintage-correct, I'll (a bit later on) build a detached garage and convert the attached one to a livable room, and will be completely repainting from top to bottom, inside & out, with vintage colors. I'll also be getting rid of the carpet and probably staining the foundation slab in those rooms for a floor (a little funky modern touch as a contrast).

My plan is to make it more compatible with the neighboring bungalows and give it a little Mid-Century Modern kick as well (since it's not quite as detailed as the Arts & Crafts houses).

I've been working on some renderings to present to the city's Historic & Cultural Landmarks Commission (who must approve all work done in Fairmount). I plan to close very soon. Later today I'll put up some photos of the house as it sits now - please be kind. You won't recognize it when I'm done with it.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Good to hear from you AG, just the other day I was wondering were you where (have to keep the Texas delegation going ).

 

[David Conwill]

Atomic Glee,

That's a fascinating project. I love in-fill buildings as they present their own opportunities and challenges when compared to already-standing buildings. I wish you the best of luck and can't wait to see some pictures and updates.

One point - I like the concept of using stained concrete as a floor, but I have to warn you that the resulting surface is rather uncomfortable for daily use. It would be alright for a game room, second kitchen, bar, or the like, but a living room or bedroom will get old.

I say this from experience - we've lived in both a loft-converted factory with stained-concrete floors and a Frank Lloyd Wright "Usonian" with a concrete floor. Both homes resulted in near-perpetual knee and back pain for my wife and I (and we're in our twenties and in decent shape).

The detached garage might make a neat screened porch or something, or even an in-house workshop (just brainstorming).

-Dave

 

[Atomic Glee]

David,

On the floors - both my girlfriend and I live in lofts with hard floors at the moment. It's what we're used to, I guess. I'll miss the feel if I don't take something of them with me. I can always go back and redo the floors later if I decide to get away from the concrete. Only thing that's certain is that I will never have carpet in any living space I occupy. I *loathe* that stuff.

The plan for the garage, when it gets converted, is to use it as a kind of bridge to the outdoors in a way. We'll be replacing the garage door with some nice big French doors and I think when opened they'll be very nifty. I'd like to build a small porch and pergola coming off of it into the back yard, where we plan to set up some "square foot gardens" (Google if you're curious) to grow some food. That's actually the sort of thing I'd like to do a lot of - I'd like to put together some examples of "urban green" living to go with it. The square foot gardens are one of them (the house is also two blocks south of a vegan restaurant with a small market - ridiculously easy walking distance, and I plan to power the house using a Texas energy company whose power comes from solar and wind turbines. The house is also within easy biking distance of our workplaces, and will be only a couple of blocks away from Fort Worth's planned modern streetcar system when it gets built).

(The room may also be where I wind up putting a TV - I'd like to not have it in the living room, because I'm trying to wean myself off of it so much.)

Steph and I were over at the house yesterday with color swatches trying to decide once and for all what exterior scheme we'll be going with (as we are still waiting to close, I don't have a key to the inside just yet). I'm probably going with these, all from the Sherwin Williams Arts & Crafts historic palette:

Main color: Roycroft Bottle Green

Trim color: Roycroft Vellum

Detail color: Polished Mahogany

Gables: Craftsman Brown

(These aren't completely accurate representations of the colors, but you get the idea.)

Inside, I'm still working the details out - probably a blend of colors from Sherwin Williams's Arts & Crafts Interiors and '50s Mid-Century Modern Interiors historic palettes.

Here's a few photos of the house as it sits now - again, it won't be recognizable when I'm through. It's something of an ugly duckling right now.

Getting the porch remade will do wonders for the front. The cheap railing is going away, replaced by a sturdy and period-correct railing I'm building now. The columns will be dressed up with new capitals and trim and painted as part of the new color scheme. The porch floor will be changed to a reddish brown hue, and I'll be installing a nice outdoor ceiling fan as well. In keeping with the historic homes, the porch ceiling will be painted sky blue. On the left edge going down the wall you see one of the big blank spaces I'll be installing new windows into - that's the living room wall.

There's that graffiti tagging. The wall on the right towards the front is part of the master bedroom and is the other place getting two new windows. A nice decorative iron fence will come up the side street frontage and stop just past the existing side door and window in the dining/kitchen area. I'll also be redoing the landscaping, possibly using all native plants. Still haven't gotten to that point, yet - got to get the house stuff itself done first.

The kitchen. The existing wood and tile floors will be staying. I am going to completely repaint everything, of course. The appliances will all be replaced with new energy-efficient models. I also intend to replace at least some of the doors to the other rooms with single French doors to let more light through the house.

The wall on the right here will be getting a new double window. Carpet will go away. All the blinds are going away as well (they are super-cheap sub-apartment grade installed by the rental company), to be replaced most likely by some wider-slat natural light wood finish models.

Wall on the left to get new double window.

Will be redoing the color of the porch floor as part of the repaint. The house number will go away most likely - I plan on doing some individual Frank Lloyd Wright-style numbers instead.

 

[Josephine]

Will be redoing the color of the porch floor as part of the repaint. The house number will go away most likely - I plan on doing some individual Frank Lloyd Wright-style numbers instead.

Please keep us updated, it sounds like a fun and fulfilling project. Too bad my house number isn't 1500, that's a nice plaque.

 

[texasgirl]

Kevin, Congrats! That looks like a super house. I Love the colors you've picked out. When we were looking for a house, I remember that area coming up, but it was too far to my job in downtown Dallas. Although we ended up buying a new house in Wylie, so there you go-lol. Keep us posted on your project!

 

[Atomic Glee]

Thanks, y'all. It's quite a project, but I think it'll turn out well in the end. The neighborhood is really excited, because it's something of an eyesore for everybody and is on a prominent corner.

Now...anybody know a good place to get a mid-century modern couch, preferably one that doesn't cost 5 squidillion dollars?

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Now...anybody know a good place to get a mid-century modern couch, preferably one that doesn't cost 5 squidillion dollars?

Craigslist

 

[The Shirt]

Craiglist. Scour it daily. I usually see 1 a week for free. 1 a week for $100 or less. 10 a week for $500 plus.

 

[SweetieStarr]

Great pics of the new apartment.

My cousin has a house built in the '30's. It's interesting because the outside is Spanish style, but she has decorated the inside more art deco. Anyway, the house has these GREAT built in storage linen closets and things in the hallways. They are HUGE and really useful. She also has all those old-fashioned grates on the floors.

 

[Dinerman]

I'm going to be moving here in a week. What do you think of the place?

 

[Lilibet]

I'm going to be moving here in a week. What do you think of the place?

It looks great! I assume it was 2 houses connected together?

 

[Dinerman]

It certainly looks that way. I think I got really lucky with my housing assignment.

 

[Viola]

Oh, Atomic Glee: a bungalow with plans for a square foot garden and native plantings?! Can I move in? What if I weed? lol

Seriously, while I can see the current "ugly duckling" issues, your vision sounds really great, and this house has so much potential . I'm curious, though, how old are the old appliances? I can see wanting energy efficiency but if its actually original... I might make up the energy costs other ways. That's just me talking of course, and I have an unreasonable attachment to '30s-'40s stoves.

I can't see the front door in that picture, are you planning on going more Arts and Crafts or more mid-century?

Here's some mid-century ones I like, I don't know what the site's prices are, I just looked for ideas. The front door is such an important element in a home's style. http://www.crestviewdoors.com/designguide

 

[MPicciotto]

Ironically enough in the realm of gas stoves the pilot models are actually more "energy efficient" then the "energy efficient" ones. Take a modern gas stove. It has a clock running all the time, spark igniters and a hot-surface igniter that draws upwards of 3.5 amps the entire time the oven or broiler is lit. Now take a pilot model stove and the combined gas usage of all the pilots is only a few gallons a year. And since you can turn off the pilots for the top burners and light them with a match or lighter (something I do on my modern gas stove as the igniters are burned out anyways) you can save even more. Now if you had a 1948 Tappan Deluxe gas stove with all the trimmings then your electric bill might be higher with the electric clock and the light up knobs to tell you if a burner was on. Something similar to this one:

http://www.antiqueappliances.com/products/restored/1950_otappan.htm

Matt

 

[dhermann1]

Dinerman, that looks like a nice homey place. You're SO lucky not to be in some huge noisey impersonal dorm. You have to post some shots when the snow reaches the second floor windows this January.