tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76848129019486087952024-02-18T22:42:19.324-08:00Midcentury TransformationAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03200859231645556137noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684812901948608795.post-33982881880379773422012-09-30T10:39:00.000-07:002012-10-01T12:07:42.311-07:00My MidCentury Transformation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uN2AIqUHxQ8/UGiIKnqyi9I/AAAAAAAANYQ/sQUvr6U8-Qk/s1600/IMG_4018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uN2AIqUHxQ8/UGiIKnqyi9I/AAAAAAAANYQ/sQUvr6U8-Qk/s400/IMG_4018.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Last spring, I bought a 1951 ranch house at an estate sale.</h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The owner had been a widow, she did not have any children, and her heirs hadn't done a whole lot to fix up the house: there was no furniture, the floors were beat up, the only decorations were some old ratty curtains on the windows.</span></h4>
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Fortunately, a decade of home ownership had given me some vision into what could be.</h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The price was right and so I took the plunge.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Between the exposed brick walls inside and the overall flow and size of the rooms, the house was about as midcenutry modern as they came, so I figured I'd just run with it.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The fact that I was a big fan of <i>Mad Men </i>didn't hurt.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Having the internet on my side was a huge help. I would have not had the slightest clue how to proceed without it. If I could imagine it, I could find it-- and buy it-- online. That meant everything from the 50s diner table and chairs for the kitchen to the early 60s living room drapes online with just a few clicks.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">As time progressed, pretty much everything - from furniture to towels and bedding to plates and dishes to how to make a pink bathroom look masculine, was found online.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Bless you Google.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I also want to give a shout out for all the "how to" and "what is that called" type advice I got from </span>Pam Keubler<span style="font-weight: normal;"> and her crew at <a href="http://retrorenovation.com/" target="_blank">RetroRenovation</a>, even if my decisions to ultimately rip out a lot of original kitchen did not sit well with her. It did make that decision more conscious and less automatic, though.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Props to Benjamin Moore, whose <a href="http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/for-your-home/personal-color-viewer" target="_blank">Personal Color Viewer app</a> was a great way to imagine what the rooms would look like done once I was done with them. (Personal Color Viewer + Apple Keynote is an awesome combination)</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">What follows is the transformation from grandma's house to Don Draper's house via four main rooms: <a href="http://midcenturytransformation.blogspot.com/p/kitchen.html" target="_blank">Kitchen</a>, <a href="http://midcenturytransformation.blogspot.com/p/living-room_30.html" target="_blank">Living Room</a>,<a href="http://midcenturytransformation.blogspot.com/p/dining-room.html" target="_blank"> Dining Room</a>, <a href="http://midcenturytransformation.blogspot.com/p/pink-bathroom.html" target="_blank">Pink Bathroom</a> - there are links to each room in the main menu up top.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">If there's demand, I can also show you all the bedrooms and the newly finished basement.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Thanks,</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">Alan</span></h4>
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