Show us your vintage home!

[AtomicEraTom]

Well, if the move is the right thing for you two, then I hope it works out. It's a buyer's market in the US and now's a better time to buy than ever, if you can. If I was a wealthy man, I'd be buying up foreclosures left and right.

Husband sure perked up at the concept of moving in a couple years (he's finishing his doctorate right now so we're not relocating in the meantime though if we could swing it possibly we could buy something and rent it out) when he saw how far it would go in the US.

We have a '70s constructed 2-bedroom 1 bath condo. 650 sq. ft. Just enough space for the two of us, and the kitten we just got.

I am a gardener by nature so I keep thinking of the size YARD I could get. And a dog. By gosh.

He's never lived in the US and he pulled up realtor.com for one of the towns he thought sounded interesting (Austin, TX) and he was just shocked by how much we could conceivably buy.

 

[Viola]

Well, if the move is the right thing for you two, then I hope it works out. It's a buyer's market in the US and now's a better time to buy than ever, if you can. If I was a wealthy man, I'd be buying up foreclosures left and right.

If we wealthy the whole thing'd be sorted, we'd have TWO houses and I'd just let my sister live in it and keep it tidy until we got over there! She loves vintage too.

There's a lot of beautiful things out here (especially if you like Art Deco furniture) and I can't knock the weather at ALL, but as far as inexpensive vintage homes Australia just doesn't have the population to have built all that much to choose from. Especially in our young-student income bracket. There are drop-dead gorgeous homes a little further into the city but they are NOT for the likes of us!

Would you look at staying in WI or would you be looking further afield in the US? I'm just interested - if its nosy, tell me to mind my business. At this point to me, anywhere in the Lower 48 seems nice and close to my folks and to things getting delivered inexpensively...

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I would likely stay in Wisconsin. I was born and raised here, my friends are here, my family are here. Moving down south is enticing at times, especially in the middle of a harsh winter, and my family is more in-tune with the old south, which I don't even know if it is what it used to be anymore.

I know around here, if you're into old houses, you can take your pick. Stuff is cheap, especially if you can put some elbow grease into it. I just looked at one that you would likely adore. It's a nice house, good price, the place is huge, but the only drawback is it's next to an apartment building, not a scummy one, but still not my top pick.

http://starkhomes.com/homes/1618446-525_E_Cook_St-Portage-WI-53901

Would you look at staying in WI or would you be looking further afield in the US? I'm just interested - if its nosy, tell me to mind my business. At this point to me, anywhere in the Lower 48 seems nice and close to my folks and to things getting delivered inexpensively...

 

[Viola]

*jawdrop*

Well that is gorgeous!

I actually pulled up Pardeeville on realtor.com and they had some on great big lots, too, some over an acre... and 1/2 acre not uncommon (and big to me, I'm a city kid...).

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/316-W-Chestnut-St_Pardeeville_WI_53954_M80490-10179This is the one that broke my heart, though. Look at that.

"Back on the market at a new price! Historic Victorian with amazing carved woodwork, pocket doors, inlaid wood floors, leaded beveled stained glass windows all with a tastefully remodeled kitchen with tin ceiling. New roof in 2002, new paint in 2007. New furnace and hot water heater in 2008. This is a home that you do not want to miss!"

Man.

My only knock on WI (which I've known some great people from, btw) is how cold it gets. Hubby saw snow for the first time just a couple years ago... and I used to be just-fine in winter but ever since I wrecked my foot up a few years ago it just plays up wicked once the cold gets into the bones, which is very annoying to be dealing with arthritis and all that before thirty. I spent a winter in Chicago and that Midwestern cold doesn't play around!

Edit: Link may or may not be fixed.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Your link didn't work, but I am positive I know which house that is. On Chestnut St. (County Highway P) and I believe they're asking 105,000 which is a recent price drop. It's been for sale for a long, long time, and they want to sell. That's about three blocks from where I live and is gorgeous and has a big carriage house in back.

The cold is the issue here. If you're a 'seasons' person, though it's great. Spring, summer, fall are all very distinct and beautiful. Winter can be beautiful here, but it gets to be dragged out. It can snow as early as Halloween and not be all gone til April. Not typical, but I've seen it. I've also picked Dandelions in the middle of December lol

*jawdrop*

Well that is gorgeous!

I actually pulled up Pardeeville on realtor.com and they had some on great big lots, too, some over an acre... and 1/2 acre not uncommon (and big to me, I'm a city kid...).

Realtor.com link to a Victorian This is the one that broke my heart, though. Look at that.

"Back on the market at a new price! Historic Victorian with amazing carved woodwork, pocket doors, inlaid wood floors, leaded beveled stained glass windows all with a tastefully remodeled kitchen with tin ceiling. New roof in 2002, new paint in 2007. New furnace and hot water heater in 2008. This is a home that you do not want to miss!"

Man.

My only knock on WI (which I've known some great people from, btw) is how cold it gets. Hubby saw snow for the first time just a couple years ago... and I used to be just-fine in winter but ever since I wrecked my foot up a few years ago it just plays up wicked once the cold gets into the bones, which is very annoying to be dealing with arthritis and all that before thirty. I spent a winter in Chicago and that Midwestern cold doesn't play around!

 

[Viola]

I think I fixed the link. Let me know if I've made it worse or anything but it seems to work for me. You nailed it though. But there was more than one house for sale cheap on Chestnut St. - it's not an old Indian burial ground or anything, is it, Tom? Haunted houses? You'd tell me, right?

Another Chestnut St. wonderment. Or conversely a broken link. The anticipation simmers.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/402-E-Chestnut-St_Pardeeville_WI_53954_M89973-47586

 

[AtomicEraTom]

That'd be the house! I looked at it, but just cannot swing it at the time. No indian burial grounds, no hauntings (that I know of!) If you look in Portage, closest biggest town, about 9000 people, there's a lot to be had for even cheaper than Pardeeville and a lot more old houses. Pardeeville has a ton more charm, though. It's near the Amish community and it's great seeing horse and buggy coming down Main St. all the time. If you ever considered the area, you'd be very happy (besides the darn winters). Great place to live, good schools, a decent amount of work, and the Capitol City is a 45 minute drive, a bit of a commute, but plenty of jobs!

I think I fixed the link. Let me know if I've made it worse or anything but it seems to work for me. You nailed it though. But there was more than one house for sale cheap on Chestnut St. - it's not an old Indian burial ground or anything, is it, Tom? Haunted houses? You'd tell me, right?

 

[Viola]

Well, here I was just wanting a 20s-50s single story, something in the bungalow/ranch family, perhaps a touch Art Deco, maybe a bit post-war Atomic, and you're all busting in with big Tudors and Victorians with leaded windows and stuff!

I didn't need to know that!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

The atomic ranches are much more elusive here, unless you get toward Milwaukee, there's TONS of them there. They never really got popular in the small towns around here. Victorians, Tudors, Bungalows, Foursquares, Folk Farmhouses, all popular and plentiful here.

Well, here I was just wanting a 20s-50s single story, something in the bungalow/ranch family, perhaps a touch Art Deco, maybe a bit post-war Atomic, and you're all busting in with big Tudors and Victorians with leaded windows and stuff!

I didn't need to know that!

 

[Viola]

I didn't want to start a new thread but this is a li'l different from what we've been talking about, maybe I should...?

Anyway, how do y'all settle on colour schemes and design plans for your vintage homes? Is there much advance planning of the look you're trying to achieve, or strict themes, or do you just let it happen organically as you find each piece? Do you have specific decade(s) of interest or just like old things generally?

Or should I make a different thread for planning new purchases and hunting up things and planning looks?

 

[Mark D]

...how do y'all settle on colour schemes and design plans for your vintage homes? Is there much advance planning of the look you're trying to achieve, or strict themes, or do you just let it happen organically as you find each piece? Do you have specific decade(s) of interest or just like old things generally?

No planning. I let it evolve. In my case [see my living room in post 1229] I'm not recreating anything specific. I'm merely aiming for what I think is 'cool and old.' My preference is to surround myself with objects that are pre-war. So, what I do is simply put something neutral on the walls such as beige or in the case of my living room a very pale yellow. Then I start collect objects, usually from the local junk shop, that I enjoy and use them to create the color or lighting that I want.

Take a look at the chairs with the checkerboard and stained glass lamp. Both the checker board and the lamp were put there to add a splash of color...well, that's only partially true. I do play chess so the board isn't strictly for show. But, imagine that space without them. It would be bland as heck.

 

[missjo]

Forgot if I posted here but added a few new pictures anywhere so here are snaps taken in my house;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hab3045/sets/72157600018535309/with/5908666826/

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I adore your house. You've done a wonderful job with it. It's really like taking a step back in time!

Forgot if I posted here but added a few new pictures anywhere so here are snaps taken in my house;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hab3045/sets/72157600018535309/with/5908666826/

 

[LizzieMaine]

Anyway, how do y'all settle on colour schemes and design plans for your vintage homes? Is there much advance planning of the look you're trying to achieve, or strict themes, or do you just let it happen organically as you find each piece? Do you have specific decade(s) of interest or just like old things generally?

I think the key is to let the house or apartment itself dictate the style. What kind of house is it, what kind of people lived here, what sort of things would they have had? If you have a small, simple house like I do, big luxuriously-styled furnishings wouldn't work even if I could afford them -- they'd overwhelm the place. So I stick to the sort of simple, inexpensive furniture the original occupants of the place would likely have had, and it looks like it belongs here.

Same thing with period -- my house was built in 1911, and never really renovated, so if I were to stock it with fifties-modern stuff it wouldn't look right. Bold, modern looks work best in a bold, modern house, not a cramped little two-by-four, so I avoid anything too extreme in its styling. Most of my stuff is fairly conservative in styling, from the twenties thru the late thirties. I do have a few postwar items, but they tend to be more even conservatively styled than the older stuff...

I don't have any specific theme though, unless "lived-in clutter" counts as a theme.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

My specific theme would be 'old person's house' lol My grandmother was in town recently and I showed her the place. She adored it and was shocked that I had the ability to choose paint schemes, decorate, etc.

I told my mom (who's only been here once, ironically) that Grandma loved the house, her reply was "Well, she is old"

 

[MissChloeCorville]

Thanks Analiebe and Doran, after working it's now time to rest and listen some music...

WOW!!!! I'm in love with this!

 

[tonyb]

I think the key is to let the house or apartment itself dictate the style.

That's it, in a nutshell.

I couldn't count the number of times I've said (or just thought, as manners kept me from giving it voice) "don't fight what you have." This isn't to say that a person has to furnish his or her space exclusively with pieces from a specific era or even a particular style, but that it all work together in something at least resembling harmony. The biggest part of making a space inviting and comfortable is avoiding anything that might feel forced.

To add what I'm sure most here already know at least as well as I do, but which bears reiterating, I think: Don't confuse period with style. Some of the most iconic modernist furnishings and structures date from the 1920s and '30s. To the uninitiated, it might seem almost cutting-edge style in 2011. I dig much of that stuff myself, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it to a person shooting for a more typical style of furnishings of that era for their more typical home of that era.

 

[tuppence]

Forgot if I posted here but added a few new pictures anywhere so here are snaps taken in my house;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hab3045/sets/72157600018535309/with/5908666826/

Your home is a real inspiration missjoeri.

 

[Viola]

Oh, let the house dictate the style. It all comes clear now.

*weep*

Youse guys are killing me.

'70s/'80s apartment (blond brick building, naturally...) with acoustic ceiling and brownish-gray carpet and MDF cabinets? Embrace? I'm not sure I'd give it an air-kiss.

The kitchen just got all busted up via a leak that water-damaged the already decrepit cabinets so they will have to be replaced, but to paint a picture the cabinets were bright screaming yellow with chipping brass hardware, and harvest gold-orange counter tops.

There's not much else going on in the way of architectual interest. We have windows I am going to hang curtains at (as opposed to the current vertical blinds) and some furniture we're picking up a little at a time.

tonyb, harmony's what I'm trying for - rather than true authenticity, but I'm not sure how to make it seem right, and not forced. I don't want to stuff the place, or fill it with overscaled pieces that don't work in what's a fairly modest little apartment, but I don't want the fact it's a slightly small and cruddy apartment to dictate that I need small cruddy things to "match" it, you know? Hmm.

 

[lolly_loisides]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Viola, I think I know exactly what kind of apartment you have, vermiculite ceilings right? Every now & then you can find nice art deco furniture around the Sydney area on ebay (but unfortunately all the best things seem to be in Melbourne). There's a shop at Springwood called Frou Frou that has nice furniture at times. Katoomba & Blackheath have good antique shops too.