Show us your vintage home!

[kampkatz]

David,
The barn-like garage door must be in good shape to stay usable. My garage(which is similar to yours) has long had an overhead door(with electric opener) . The original doors are long gone and unfortunately no one left a vintage photo for us.

 

[David Conwill]

David,
The barn-like garage door must be in good shape to stay usable. My garage(which is similar to yours) has long had an overhead door(with electric opener) . The original doors are long gone and unfortunately no one left a vintage photo for us.

Well, the barn doors are in okay shape. The track has sagged a bit and the right-side door needs to be tilted out a bit to slide. The left side door hadn’t been opened in many years and the bottom board had soaked up so much moisture it had expanded and glued the door in place.

I ended up knocking that extremely rotten board off to get the door open and accidentally jumped the door off its tracks in the process. The left side now opens more easily than the right, however as its track (inside the garage) is absolutely pristine. One more project for the “get done before winter” list: repair the bottom of the garage door.

I couldn’t stomach an overhead door in my garage, though I do envy some of the accordion doors I see on old garages in my area.

-Dave

 

[Shangas]

Here's mine:

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:

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

A beautiful and compact-looking house, Dave.

Does your house have a furnace/woodburning stove/open fireplace? Perhaps the garage is so big because it was used to store extra firewood? I don't think many people around the time of the Great War had enough money to buy TWO cars. Owning just the one, even if it be only a Model-T Ford, was significant enough.

 

[David Conwill]

Actually, the house is huge, though the front elevation makes it look small. It’s something like 3400 square feet (though this counts the enclosed porch, something that I believe was added in the late 1960s). The house is known in town as the “Neal House” because the Neal family owned it from 1919 to 1995 when their last (spinster) daughter passed away. Ms. Eleanor Neal is well remembered in our town as a schoolteacher of many years. Prior to the Neals the house was owned by a man who worked for the state of Michigan, and prior to him the McPhail (or MacPhail) family. Mr. McPhail had interests in several sawmills and stores in our town, his son was a very successful banker, and his grandson was the father of night baseball, Leland “Larry” MacPhail. In any case, the families who owned this house in the old days were pretty well off.

As for heat: There is a modern high-efficiency furnace in the basement that looks like it was plumbed into the ductwork for an old “octopus” coal-fired furnace. That heats 95% of the house. There is also a 1960s vintage boiler in the basement that feeds three antique radiators in the main living area, the baseboard heat in the enclosed porch, and several 1960s radiators in the basement. The fireplace is designed for coal, though it may have replaced a wood fireplace during the remodeling I mentioned.

I think whoever built my garage was a “car guy.” I’ve seen a Model T garage, and they’re tiny - this one’s clearly a Packard garage or the like. It’s not only wide, but deep, with sufficient length to park a full-size 1960s car in there if you’d like. Plus, this is the only garage of the era that I’ve seen with a grease pit and an oil-disposal system. I will concede, however, that it’s likely that 1/2 the garage was vehicle storage and 1/2 was workshop. Regardless, it makes an excellent two-car garage in the present day.

Sorry, I see I’ve gone on too long. I just love my house and enjoy talking about it. We haven’t owned it for long, but we’ve got big plans to make it nice. Once all the deferred-maintenance issues are resolved, anyway.

-Dave

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

These cabinets are certainly not 1917, but an update somewhere along the way. When we're in a position to fix things up a bit more, we'll tackle the chore of getting them powdercoated and made lovely again.
The stove came with the house; it's a Frigidaire, circa 1961. I'd rather have a gas range.
The kitchen floor was covered in beige berber when we bought the house but a few years ago we took it up and put down these basic vinyl tiles. We added the ceiling fan as well; with no range fan, it was vital to have some way of moving the air in there.

 

[David Conwill]

These cabinets are certainly not 1917, but an update somewhere along the way. When we're in a position to fix things up a bit more, we'll tackle the chore of getting them powdercoated and made lovely again.
The stove came with the house; it's a Frigidaire, circa 1961. I'd rather have a gas range.
The kitchen floor was covered in beige berber when we bought the house but a few years ago we took it up and put down these basic vinyl tiles. We added the ceiling fan as well; with no range fan, it was vital to have some way of moving the air in there.

Now there's a kitchen with character. I like the tiles. Where'd you get them?

And what's "Heathrow"?

-Dave

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

The tiles are bargain peel-in-stick, from a floor shop - a box of white, a box of black, a ruler and a little luck, and bingo.
Heathrow is the airport west of London. The hub and I lived near it in our early days, & found the magnetic sticker on a roadside during a walk. Those doors under the sink don't close correctly, but a big nostalgic magnet keeps 'em in place. Of course, it also caused the rust damage you see around the edge.

 

[Darhling]

I must admit, none of my furniture is vintage, but I had a vision about how I wanted it to be, hotel-chic with a dash of art deco and lots of glamour!

Here is my perfect workspace..

 

[SweetieStarr]

I must admit, none of my furniture is vintage, but I had a vision about how I wanted it to be, hotel-chic with a dash of art deco and lots of glamour!

Here is my perfect workspace..

Dahling - did I know you in another life, lol?! I love this space.

 

[Darhling]

Dahling - did I know you in another life, lol?! I love this space.

Thank you sweetheart!! My bedroom is almost done, but it needs the final and personal touches like photos in small frames, pictures hanged etc.. but I am getting there!!

 

[MaryDeluxe]

New lamps

I found a pair of 50's lamps today at auction! I simply adore kitschy lamps!

 

[Solid Citizen]

Mary Deluxe KITSCH Theme

NICE decor job MaryD! If I recall from prior posts your living room has similar KITSCH theme. Solid Citizen

 

[Lamplight]

My house was built in 1946, presumably one of the post-war suburbs in my town. Now it's basically in the middle of town!

My brother and I live here, and we had to remodel the entire house just to make it livable. In fact, there's still a lot to do! Unfortunately, we also don't have much in the way of furniture or decoration.

Kitchen before:

Kitchen after:

Bathroom before:

Bathroom during:

Bathroom after:

 

[Lorena B]

I found a pair of 50's lamps today at auction! I simply adore kitschy lamps!

I am drooling, ( i don't think i need to make more comments)

 

[MaryDeluxe]

Wow Lamplight nice before and afters. I love that tub!


Yes, SolidC my living room too!lol lol

Lorena...you must come for a visit, we'll go shopping!

 

[Lorena B]

Lorena...you must come for a visit, we'll go shopping!

Sounds like two great plans to me Mary !!!

 

[Lamplight]

Wow Lamplight nice before and afters. I love that tub!

Thanks! I love the tub, too, even though I guess it doesn't technically fit the age of the house.

 

[Alexandre.R]

A place to work:

 

[Cricket]

My family and I close on our first home this Friday. I am very excited but slightly nervous because I feel like I am signing my life away.

Anyway, it an older home that was moved out to a country pond. It needs some TLC but it is a project that my husband and I are ready to tackle. The great thing though is that, being an older house with fine attention to details, we won't have to do too much; just a little lipstick and rouge.

We are starting to move next weekend after we paint, and these homes from fellow FLers are really inspiring! Great job on all's projects.

Will post pics as soon as it is officially "ours". Tell me being nervous goes away. lol

 

[analiebe]

A place to work:

i love! this workspace - simply wonderful!!!