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Show us your vintage home!

MissMittens

One Too Many
Messages
1,628
Location
Philadelphia USA
Well, this just a part of it but I think the pin up art should not be missing in the home of 50's. P.S. I love Art Frahm's pictures :D
DSC_0206.jpg

DSC_0207.jpg

Very nice :)
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
My building makes the New York Times

Here's an article from last Friday's New York Times about my building. This guy is my next door neighbor, and his place as an almost exact mirror image of mine. Alex is a great guy, and it's going to be terrific having him as a next door neioghbor. And of course I've invited him to visit the Lounge.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/r...-art-deco-bronx-apartment.html?pagewanted=all
 

David Conwill

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,854
Location
Bennington, VT 05201
Here's mine:

156_W_Adams.jpg


I’m not sure how old, but I’d guess it was built c. 1882 (newspapers from 1881-1882 fell out of the dining room ceiling), with substantial remodeling c. 1918 (newspapers from 1917-1918 came out of the upstairs bathroom floor). It’s 90% original with a couple very high-end, midcentury upgrades in the kitchen, downstairs bath, and enclosed porch.

And the garage:

garage.jpg


I don't know exactly how old, but there are handwritten fuel-economy figures written on one wall dated July 1914, so it’s old. And huge for its age.

-Dave

Well, it can finally be told: Last month we traded in our 1882 Victorian for a 1941 Cape Cod*.

B15B4CA9-38F8-41B1-8FBC-8996DD23DC01-1660-0000015252CE0E4F_zpsc22de5f8.jpg


The interiors are mostly original with only slight 1990s redecorating. I’ve been spending a lot of time on the Retro Renovation blog admiring Mid Century Modest interiors. First up is a pink kitchen.

*“Cape Cod” is the nearest we can come to an accurate description, but alternative suggestions are welcome.
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
The Cape Cod and "Colonials" of that pre and post war period were characterized by a lot of the detailing being sort of shaved off in that manner. We have a lot of them, tho smaller, in my nabe in the Bronx, all from late thirties to late 40s. Anyhow, very very nice.
Mr. Blandings would be envious.
 
Messages
10,939
Location
My mother's basement
Here's an article from last Friday's New York Times about my building. This guy is my next door neighbor, and his place as an almost exact mirror image of mine. Alex is a great guy, and it's going to be terrific having him as a next door neioghbor. And of course I've invited him to visit the Lounge.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/r...-art-deco-bronx-apartment.html?pagewanted=all

Just curious, Dan ...

Are property taxes and/or insurance covered by y'all's monthly maintenance fees? Or heating? Or water/sewer/garbage utilities? If so, NYC ain't necessarily as pricey as we hicks have been led to believe.
 
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Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
Here's an article from last Friday's New York Times about my building. This guy is my next door neighbor, and his place as an almost exact mirror image of mine. Alex is a great guy, and it's going to be terrific having him as a next door neioghbor. And of course I've invited him to visit the Lounge.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/r...-art-deco-bronx-apartment.html?pagewanted=all
Nice building, very ornate brick work. I like the Gargoyles over the door. Part of me would like to live in a building like that. Don't think your neighbors would like riding on the elevator with my motorcycles though!
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
I have a mortgage (of course), but the maintenance covers all property taxes, heat and hot water, and insurance for the building. I still need insurance for my own place. I pay my own electric, cable, internet, of course.
There are plenty of buiildings in NY, mostly dating from after the 50s, that have indoor parking garages. They are mostly in the outer boros.
The Bronx is the poorest county in New York State, but it's come a LOOONG way since the terrible days of the 70s. The South Bronx is, of course, still pretty bad, but even that is much better. Crime is way down, housing stock is much improved. The North Bronx, where I am, has many lovey neighborhoods. Riverdale, in the north west corner of the Bronx, is like a boro in itself, quite exclusive in some parts.
The further you get from Manhattan, the cheaper the housing. Manhattan has gotten insanely expensive, and the outer boro nabes with easy access, i.e. 15 to 40 minute commute, have gone up, but not prohibitively. But the Bronx, because of its bad image, is far the cheapest. My area is a terrific bargain, I think.
The thing about New York is the trade off between housing cost and how long it takes to get to the City. For me, I'm exactly on the border between North and South Bronx, and I have a subway stop very near me. But it's usually an hour and a quarter to get to and from most places in Manhattan that I would go to. And a little longer to Brooklyn.
Some other parts of the city take so long to get to by train that I find it not worth the effort. And a cab is prohibitively expensive all the way up to where I am.
But if you have a car, which I don't but many of my neighbors do, it makes a big difference.
 
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Brinybay

Practically Family
Messages
571
Location
Seattle, Wa
I'm not sure there is an official thread, but a few members have posted photos here and there--

There is this thread regarding kitchens, sparked by LizzieMaine's darling home:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=8740&highlight=homes

And Trickeration has posted photos of her lovely home in another thread:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=4133&highlight=homes

I don't know if this has ever been posted here, but this 1931 art deco bathroom is the tops!
http://www.joelp.com/bath/index.html

I'm trying to find the thread on kitchens, but the link takes me to a thread on the social meaning of hats. Apparently it's either incorrect or outdated. If somebody could post the correct thread link it would be appreciated.
 

Brinybay

Practically Family
Messages
571
Location
Seattle, Wa
Looking for pictures of your vintage or vintage style bathrooms, 20s-30s era. My wife and I just signed a contract with a remodeler to gut and remodel our small bathroom. The home was built in 1919, so basically Prohibition Era was when it was young. Currently the bathroom has 70s era fixtures and decor that's tacky and old. The contractor has done some research for us, and I bought a book called "Bungalow Bathrooms". These are helpful but the more ideas and examples we have, the better.
 

Big Man

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,781
Location
Nebo, NC
Looking for pictures of your vintage or vintage style bathrooms, 20s-30s era. My wife and I just signed a contract with a remodeler to gut and remodel our small bathroom. The home was built in 1919, so basically Prohibition Era was when it was young. Currently the bathroom has 70s era fixtures and decor that's tacky and old. The contractor has done some research for us, and I bought a book called "Bungalow Bathrooms". These are helpful but the more ideas and examples we have, the better.


Well, if you want to see a real 1920's bathroom, here it is. My house was built in 1907. My grandparents bought the house in 1917, and by 1920 had added a bathroom on the back porch. The only changes to this bathroom since it was built by my grandfather in 1920 has been the shower assembly I added to the tub (and the shower assembly is a reproduction of a 1920's era shower addition). The old iron claw-foot tub is original to the house, as is the sink, commode, and even the towel bars on the wall. I repainted the walls about three years ago, and went with what I had discovered was as close as I could get to the original color. The bathroom is 8' x 8', with the commode just out of frame to the right of the tub.

They used to heat the bathroom with an old kerosene heater. When I was little and stayed with my grandmother in the winter, I used to like to take a bath and splash water on that old heater and hear it sizzle. The old heater is also still in the bathroom, but hasn't been used in about 30 years. After my grandmother died in 1983, my aunt (who had always lived at home) had an electric outlet put in the bathroom and used an electric heater from then on. My grandfather did "modernize" the bathroom (and the rest of the house) in 1930 when he added electric lights in every room.

These photo's aren't good quality, but hopefully will give a glimpse into a virtually un-changed bathroom that dates to 1920.






 
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Brinybay

Practically Family
Messages
571
Location
Seattle, Wa
Well, if you want to see a real 1920's bathroom, here it is. My house was built in 1907. My grandparents bought the house in 1917, and by 1920 had added a bathroom on the back porch. The only changes to this bathroom since it was built by my grandfather in 1920 has been the shower assembly I added to the tub (and the shower assembly is a reproduction of a 1920's era shower addition). The old iron claw-foot tub is original to the house, as is the sink, commode, and even the towel bars on the wall. I repainted the walls about three years ago, and went with what I had discovered was as close as I could get to the original color. The bathroom is 8' x 8', with the commode just out of frame to the right of the tub.

They used to heat the bathroom with an old kerosene heater. When I was little and stayed with my grandmother in the winter, I used to like to take a bath and splash water on that old heater and hear it sizzle. The old heater is also still in the bathroom, but hasn't been used in about 30 years. After my grandmother died in 1983, my aunt (who had always lived at home) had an electric outlet put in the bathroom and used an electric heater from then on. My grandfather did "modernize" the bathroom (and the rest of the house) in 1930 when he added electric lights in every room.

These photo's aren't good quality, but hopefully will give a glimpse into a virtually un-changed bathroom that dates to 1920.

It helps, thanks, especially examples of small bathrooms. I guess in the size category, ours is definitely "period". We're aiming for as much of the look and feel as is practical, e.g. she doesn't want a claw foot tub, too hard to clean around it. She also wants a low-flush toilet which weren't around then. I tried to steer her away from that idea until the remodeler said we can find them in vintage style. We're going to use period-style tile on the floor, walls, and tub/shower enclosure. Pedestal sink will replace the worn sink/cabinet combo. Marble top for the vanity, and the mysterious walled-in dead space in the corner will be opened up to use as a linen cabinet. I've been very curious about that space. On the exterior of the house, there's what looks like a boarded-up window or maybe a flue on the other side of the space. Why they walled it in instead of leaving it open is the mystery.
 

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