Show us your vintage home!

[vitanola]

Big Man,

You have a really well preserved early kitchen!

I see that the kitchen floor plan would work better if the cold storage was on the porch, as you say it was in the old days.


Does your kitchen have a chimney?

If so, a convenient "antique" replacement for your already vintage electric range would be a wood-electric combination. These were moderately popular in the late 1930's and early 1940's in many REA communities as they combined the wintertime economy and heating qualities of the wood or coal range with the convenience and comfort of an electric range for summertime use.

The Monarch Malleable Iron Range Co. in Wisconsin was one of the principal makers of these combination units.

These combination units are generally pretty inexpensive, as they are not in high demand by collectors. Even so, its utility would be marginal unless you plan to cook or heat with wood or coal in the winter. We do, and enjoy it, but I am told that it is not for everyone.

You have a very nice post-war electric range as it is. If you feel that it is a bit too modern, I'm sure that you could find an earlier unit in your area pretty inexpensively. Here is an example of a 1928 or 1929 Westinghouse high oven range.

In clean unrestored condition, these units should generally sell for between $200 and $300. The renovation and repair of these ranges is a pretty inexpensive and straightforward matter.


As for refrigerators, I do conversions on old Ice Boxes all of the time. It is a pretty basic refrigeration job, using brand new Haer compressors and evaporators. Believe me, these conversions are not anywhere near as expensive as the commercially built units!

 

[J. M. Stovall]

The title of this thread is Vintage Home, not Vintage House. I think that gives a lot a latitude to what can fit the description.

 

[Big Man]

... You have a really well preserved early kitchen! ... Does your kitchen have a chimney? ... Here is an example of a 1928 or 1929 Westinghouse high oven range ... As for refrigerators, I do conversions on old Ice Boxes all of the time. It is a pretty basic refrigeration job, using brand new Haer compressors and evaporators. Believe me, these conversions are not anywhere near as expensive as the commercially built units!

Thanks, and thanks for the very good information. There is a "hanging chimney" in the kitchen (a brick chimney/flue that is supported by the rafters/ceiling joist in the attic above the kitchen).

I do have an old wood cook stove (not my grandmother's, but one very much like hers) that we used when we started housekeeping in the 1970's (the "back to the land" kind of thing that was popular in the 70's). Cooking with wood is not that hard, but does take time - not to mention a pain in the butt to chop the stove wood. :eusa_doh:

It's funny how such things as cooking on a wood stove are fun when you are in your early 20's, but a real pain by the time you are in your 50's. [huh]

Any way, thanks again about the tips on converting an old ice box. One of these days I'm going to look into something like that.

 

[vitanola]

Cooking with solid fuel is definitely not for everyone.

Our house is very old (1840's), very large (5000 sq/ft), and hence very expensive to heat. In the wintertime, we heat the kitchen (and other rooms) with the old stove.

We cook a GREAT deal. A very central European sort of cuisine, heavy on sauces, gravies, soups, and other dishes which must simmer for days on end. in addition, we bake bread ourselves, and it seems half the neighborhood. This sort of cooking, day in, day out, can be quite expensive on an electric or gas range. In the wintertime, our bill for cooking fuel is nil, using a solid-fuel range.

Wood ranges are more than a little bother, though. Their tiny fireboxes require constant replenishment. As we live in the village, and must purchase most of our fuel, anyway, I use coal for the kitchen range. Although a coal fire is a bit difficult to kindle, it is easily managed, and in our stove with its tiny firebox will last the night. I must only add fuel to the range every seven or eight hours, unless I am running the stove flat-out on a sub-zero night. Thank heaven we don't have those bone chillers as often as we used to1

 

[Fedora-in-a-Box]

Some of these house are incredibly beautiful! I couldn't comment on each one but wow people! You're lucky

 

[Mr. 'H']

Mr H: The sideboard in your blue room looks very similar to the one I recently got. It was originally from England, probably made in the 20's. Can we get a closer shot of it? It looks VERY nice.

Hi, a quick shot I took. What do you think?

 

[dhermann1]

Oh, man, gorgeous. Looks like walnut. Mine's oak. Very elegant.

 

[marineabilly]

Guest Bedroom:

Living Room:

Living Room (other side - Reading area)

Living Room (another side - decorated for a Wii Bowling-themed party)

Common/Guest Room (Couch back can adjust to lay flat):

 

[MadelienneBlack]

marineabilly, your house is absolutely perfect! love your style!

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Awesome, Marineability! An outstanding collection!

 

[marineabilly]

Thank you!! Although, I can't take credit for it as it was my wife with the vision and decorative creativity who created such a comforatable living area. I will, however, take credit for spending countless days (sometimes around the clock) tearing up the spanish tile (photo below) in preperationf for the laying of the wood floor. I HATE spanish tile!! It was no easy task... I think I even developed minor arthritis throwing around the sledge hammer:

 

[Rachael]

I love the picture frames! Where on earth did you find them??

 

[Warbaby]

Thank you!! Although, I can't take credit for it as it was my wife with the vision and decorative creativity who created such a comforatable living area. I will, however, take credit for spending countless days (sometimes around the clock) tearing up the spanish tile (photo below) in preperationf for the laying of the wood floor. I HATE spanish tile!! It was no easy task... I think I even developed minor arthritis throwing around the sledge hammer:

The rooms are great and I love the trapezoidal pictures in the guest room, but I really, really covet that matched pair of Gretch guitars.

P'raps someone should start a "Show us your vintage guitars" thread...

 

[marineabilly]

fftopic: Ah yes - my babies... 6120W and Roundup. Gretsches are functional art pieces. First came the 6120W (hollow body) and was reluctant to get the Roundup becuase of their similar colors/features, but who can seperate big and little bro's? Next up? Perhaps the Hallmark Deke Dickerson signature... fftopic:

 

[David Conwill]

Marineabilly, you have a lovely home. What breed of dogs are those? They almost look like Bouviers.

-Dave

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

I think they're Giant Schnauzers.

Custom frames I assume? Where did you get the pics to fit, or did you cut them?

Great place!

 

[marineabilly]

Why thank you!! Those beautiful little girls are Giant Schnauzers (good call Miss_Bella_Hell). Knowing them, my baby princess on the right is up to no good and more than likely wants to wrestle the other one.

Those aren't custom frames, they are actual vintage 1950's frames and, believe it or not, the paintings were produced just to fit the frame. Can you tell we are big collectors?

 

[Laura Chase]

Just some pics of my "gun-wall" in the living room:

More detailed pics here: http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e259/Jakobeep/Bolig/

My girlfriend and I have been spending all day decorating our new flat and moving around furniture. Now we are finally getting somewhere

More pics to come.


Regards.

Jakob

I don't know if this is intentional or not, but your setups really resemble 17th century Dutch hunting-motif stilleben/trompe l'oeil-paintings - especially those of Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts, who actually painted quite a lot of them for the Danish king's wunderkammer (many of them are in the Danish National Gallery/Statens Museum for Kunst today:

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Why thank you!! Those beautiful little girls are Giant Schnauzers (good call Miss_Bella_Hell). Knowing them, my baby princess on the right is up to no good and more than likely wants to wrestle the other one.

Those aren't custom frames, they are actual vintage 1950's frames and, believe it or not, the paintings were produced just to fit the frame. Can you tell we are big collectors?

Cooooool. Great finds. And the frame's colors? Original?

 

[CherryRed]

Some updated phoots showing the things my Mom shipped me this summer that had been my Grandmothers and Great-grandmother's.

My Grandmother's mirror in the den:

My Great-grandmother's mirror in the entry. The rug runner is vintage from my Granny too:

My Great grandmother's China cabinet and matching buffet:

My Grandfathers chair ( I used to sit on his lap in this chair and watch Sesame Street)
My Great-grandmothers sewing machine from the 1930's.