House interior pics

[xequar]

Hello

I actually stumbled onto this forum as I was looking for ideas for the kitchen in the house my boyfriend and I bought a few months ago. The house is a 2300-plus square foot colonial built in 1940 by someone that seems as though they were doing pretty well in life. A lot of the original details are still there, so I'll share some pics of some of the neat stuff.

Original wood garage doors from the Overhead Door Company, of (either Cleveland or Cincinnati) Ohio.

The living room. There's a step down near the fireplace, and from what I've been told, it's a sort of faux parlour where men could sit near the fire enjoying cigars and brandy while the women were off doing whatever it was that socialite women did in 1940. The floor on the step down is actually built with the leftover scraps from the hardwood floors in the rest of the house, which are the original floors (albeit refinished at some point years ago and needing it again).

The kitchen is... a mess and utter rubbish. But, the counter along the back wall and the double sink are original, as are the overhead cabinets. The counter is small white tile (like would normally be seen on a floor), and the white sink is cast iron and powdercoated, and it still bears the 2/1940 casting date on the underside. This kitchen is actually why I was searching for ideas in the first place. The counters are a mish-mash, the floor is horrible (the original yellow linoleum is underneath of the bad brick crap), and none of the cabinets close properly.

 

[xequar]

This is the original bannister and glass block window in the foyer (and you can see that the house has been neglected for far too long...)

Now for the best part-the original bathrooms! I'll let these jewels speak for themselves, and yes, that's translucent blue glass block on the walls in the first pic!

There are other details I never thought to photograh, like the crowned plasterwork between walls and ceilings and the original linoleum that's still on the staircase into the basement (which is in amazing condition and has full eight-foot ceilings!). The house still had the original 1940 wood windows, as well, although we opted to rip those out in favor of new low-e windows that have the same mutton patterns and actually look really good. There's a beautiful walk with a coach light in the front yard, as well.

Of course, the house needs some work, as it was neglected for a number of years, but as I'm sure you can tell, I think it's amazing, and it just oozes charm that nothing built today could ever hope to match!

 

[Bebop]

That house looks like a winner. I love that living room. I'm not a professional but I frown upon buying a house with a kitchen like that and changing it too much. I know people like center isles and large this and large that but there is a certain charm to kitchens of that era. Same with bathrooms.

 

[vitanola]

Well, that house is a pretty well untouched gem!

The kitchen is fairly original, methinks. You might consider getting rid of the added (non-tile) counters and cabinets and replacing them with an old free-standing piece of some sort., perhps a work table or a late (painted) Hoosier. The original cabinets could stand stripping and repainting, but that is a pretty simple matter. In most cases with cabinets if this sort the doors no longer close properly because the hardware is worn or damaged. The hardware that you would need is quite inexpensively available in excellent reproductions. Forbo makes various Jaspe and Marbelite patterns of heavy real linoleum in a vast array of colors. I would suspect that they will have a very close match to your original, if that is the look that you wish. If you perfer to keep to a very strict budget, though, Amrstrong Excelon commercial vinyl tile (at 66 cents/sq. ft.) can be a good choice for a period floor if cut to 9", 6" or 4" squares.

The tile counter top appears to have suffered some ill advised modifications at some point, but even if it is in un-useable condition it would be a relatively inexpensive job to reproduce it exactly.

Love the bathrooms!

Note that the pink bathroom is suffering from the ill-advised installation of a couple of 1980's bracket light fixtures. If you cannot find originals locally, Rejuvenation Lighting in Portland OR makes some killer all porcelain brackets in black which would be spot-on in that room.

Please live with the house a bit before deciding to tear anything out. It is suprising how well designed some of these late -pre-war places were! Untouched homes of this period are becoming rather scarce, particularly homes of the quality of yours.

I've restored an even half-dozen houses so far, dating between 1740 and 1913, and am working on #7. PM me if you would like to discuss matters further.

 

[dhermann1]

This is one lucky house to be owned by someone who appreciates all its details. My apartment building is almost contemporary (1939) and the bathrooms were all identical to yours. And they've almost all been torn out and "modernized". Ugh. Are you aware of Save the Pink Bathrooms?
http://savethepinkbathrooms.com/
I assume you want to keep the kitchen as close to original as possible, as well? I believe modern linoleum is available. Linoleum has a lot more going for it as a kitchen floor material than most people realize.
Please show us some pics of the outside! If it's this noce on the inside, it must be pretty neat on the outside, as well.
I'm also wondering if there's any indication of wall paper anywhere. that could be another interesting challenge.
Once you've restored it, decorating and furnishing will be a trip.
1940's interiors seem to be less appreciated than some other eras. This house is obviously very neo-colonial, but also with art moderne influence. The furnishings of 1940 had a certain classic solidity that was very nice.
My mother's 1945 china would be perfect for that place!
Oh, and don't forget the landsacping!
Good luck and keep us posted.
Then when you're done you can show us pics of the elegant soirees you throw with all the guests in their vintage finery.

 

[dhermann1]

Some links

http://www.home-designing.com/2009/05/retro-kitchen-design-sets-and-ideas
http://www.antiquehome.org/Inside-your-house/1940s/1940s-Kitchens/
http://deabath.com/index.html
http://retrorenovation.com/
http://houseofantiquehardware.com/s.nl/sc.9/category.1314/.f?range=23,34,34
http://www.rickrack.com/index.html
http://www.oldhouseweb.com/architecture-and-design/old-house-kitchen-magazine-scenes.shtml
http://www.tribu-design.com/en/index.php
http://www.chameleoncollection.co.uk/pageid15.asp
http://www.cyberrug.com/artdeco.htm
http://www.historichouseparts.com/vintage_Deco_hardware.htm
http://www.oldhouseweb.com/architecture-and-design/vintage-stoves-and-refrigerators.shtml

 

[vitanola]

American Vintage Home's photostream on Flickr offers some good images:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanvintagehome/sets/72157608089740866/
Pity you tore out the windows. In 1987 a next-door neighbor of mine had the (25) windows in his 1840's Greek Revival replaced with modern double-pane vinyl windows at nearly $900.00 a pop, just when I was restoring and weatherstripping the (43) original windows in my 1860's Tuscan Villa.. The restored windows in my place looked great, with their original (or salvaged) wavy glass and thin mutins. After the addition of interior storm windows, the old wood windows were quite energy efficient, too, for since the air space between panes is the insulator in double glazing, the the 2" space between the storm and main window has a far greater R value than the 3/8" space in a Thermopane unit. Twenty-one years on our windows are still in good condition, not having even needed painting, whilst our neighbor replaced his cracking, sticky vinyl units, for which he could no longer obtain sash balances or glass assemblies, three years ago.


http://www.oldhouseauthority.com/archive/old_windows.php

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"Oh I can picture this room next summer filled with Sunshine, Cocktails, and Laughter" = What a Gem of a residence"

 

[xequar]

Thanks, everybody! I definitely am going to take some time to check out those links and get ideas. From what I can gather, it seems as though we're only the third owners of the house, amazingly! The last people that lived there were there for 20-plus years. Apparently the husband passed away, and his wife took to the bottle and drank herself into a nursing home, neglecting any kind of upkeep on the house for several years and ultimately losing it in a tax foreclosure in the process. The neighbours have all been around for 20-plus years as well, and from what they tell me, the original owners were there for a llooonng time. My suburb here in Metro Detroit was a very planned community, so I'm hoping the historical society has some more insights and possibly some of the original documentation. Oddly enough, the neighbour that's kitty-corner to us is the caretaker/power-of-attourney for the previous owner, so although I know she's still alive and still has the original blueprints and everything else, the chances of me getting my hands on them is practically non-existant, since she's apparently angry that I bought "her" house.

I'm hoping to kind of piece together what "they" did to the kitchen, since knowing what it started as will help in deciding what to do with it (we're thinking that the last remodel relocated appliances and ripped out some cabinets). There are some pretty icky things throughout the house, like some of the replacement light fixtures previous owners chose, but the kitchen is really the worst. My boyfriend wants to do a modern kitchen, with a "1940-inspired" nod here and there, whereas I want to make a 1940 kitchen with modern conveniences.

Happily, we are planning to refurbish the original cabinets. The doors are all 3/4 plywood that was shaped and cut, so making a couple of new doors to replace the ones that are beyond repair sound be no problem. None of the door hardware that you see in the pics is original, and most of it was broken anyway, so it does not hurt my feelings at all that we've already changed the pulls. Catches and hinges are next on the list, as is stripping off a few layers of paint then repainting to make things look and close better.

My BF hates (with a capital HATE!) the tile countertop. Ours is in pretty rough shape anyway, with a couple spots around the sink that leak and grout that's multiple colours, none of them appealing, from years of neglect. Personally, I like the look of the tile counter, but I suspect I'm going to lose that battle, since he does have a valid point that it's difficult to keep clean. I need to research to see if there's a way to do a tile countertop and then seal it with a surface that would make a smooth cleanable top that would still let the tile show through. That said, I'm sure there are other options that would also be appropriate and would hopefully be agreeable to both of us.

After looking for floor tile in various places and not finding anything appealing, I think I finally have him on board with the idea of linoleum, although we both agree the original yellow linoleum is not the best option out there. I kind of want to rip up the bad '60s faux-brick vinyl flooring that's there to see if the stuff underneath is in ok shape or if it's completely hosed over.

If nothing else, I will take a whole lot of pictures of the kitchen before we do anything major. I'm hoping that I can convince my BF that a 1940 kitchen with modern functionality is both feasible and desirable. If nothing else, the budget works in my favour, as does the fact that neither of us like the current kitchen trends of granite and stainless and cherry everything.

American Vintage Home's photostream on Flickr offers some good images:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanvintagehome/sets/72157608089740866/
Pity you tore out the windows. In 1987 a next-door neighbor of mine had the (25) windows in his 1840's Greek Revival replaced with modern double-pane vinyl windows at nearly $900.00 a pop, just when I was restoring and weatherstripping the (43) original windows in my 1860's Tuscan Villa.. The restored windows in my place looked great, with their original (or salvaged) wavy glass and thin mutins. After the addition of interior storm windows, the old wood windows were quite energy efficient, too, for since the air space between panes is the insulator in double glazing, the the 2" space between the storm and main window has a far greater R value than the 3/8" space in a Thermopane unit. Twenty-one years on our windows are still in good condition, not having even needed painting, whilst our neighbor replaced his cracking, sticky vinyl units, for which he could no longer obtain sash balances or glass assemblies, three years ago.


http://www.oldhouseauthority.com/archive/old_windows.php

We very briefly talked about trying to fix the old windows, but we had 23 windows to do, and they were subjected to a lot of the same neglect that other parts of the house were. There were only storm windows for about half of them, and the roughly 1/3 of the windows that could actually be opened left literal piles of glazing every time you moved them (the panes were actually moving freely in the frame of one of the living room windows!). They were once beautiful windows, and one with knowledge and time could have possibly restored them, but we decided to just move on.



And thank you all for the warm welcome! I'm kinda digging this place so far!

 

[xequar]

Oh, and I forgot...

Someone mentioned wallpaper. There is one room with wallpaper, which is the gray bathroom. I took a couple pics. I have no idea if it's original or was added later. (there's a border in the kitchen that I guarantee is not original that isn't worth more notation than this sentence)

And the exterior, which was, sadly, painted years ago. We're hoping that next year (we're in Michigan so we're rapidly approaching the six months where you don't want to be outside) we can power-wash the brick and get enough of the paint off to go back to a natural-ish brick colour.

We're definitely looking forward to hosting parties someday!!

 

[swinggal]

Great place you have there and welcome to the lounge!

We have a well established thread already running called 'Show us your vintage home' so you might want to have look in there The mods will most likely merge this post with that one.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=9665

 

[swinggal]

BTW, the bathrooms and powder room are superb! I love black/pink black/green combinations. They really are classy and they look to be in suck good condition too.

 

[vitanola]

Thanks, everybody! I definitely am going to take some time to check out those links and get ideas. From what I can gather, it seems as though we're only the third owners of the house, amazingly! The last people that lived there were there for 20-plus years. Apparently the husband passed away, and his wife took to the bottle and drank herself into a nursing home, neglecting any kind of upkeep on the house for several years and ultimately losing it in a tax foreclosure in the process. The neighbours have all been around for 20-plus years as well, and from what they tell me, the original owners were there for a llooonng time. My suburb here in Metro Detroit was a very planned community, so I'm hoping the historical society has some more insights and possibly some of the original documentation. Oddly enough, the neighbour that's kitty-corner to us is the caretaker/power-of-attourney for the previous owner, so although I know she's still alive and still has the original blueprints and everything else, the chances of me getting my hands on them is practically non-existant, since she's apparently angry that I bought "her" house.

I'm hoping to kind of piece together what "they" did to the kitchen, since knowing what it started as will help in deciding what to do with it (we're thinking that the last remodel relocated appliances and ripped out some cabinets). There are some pretty icky things throughout the house, like some of the replacement light fixtures previous owners chose, but the kitchen is really the worst. My boyfriend wants to do a modern kitchen, with a "1940-inspired" nod here and there, whereas I want to make a 1940 kitchen with modern conveniences.

Happily, we are planning to refurbish the original cabinets. The doors are all 3/4 plywood that was shaped and cut, so making a couple of new doors to replace the ones that are beyond repair sound be no problem. None of the door hardware that you see in the pics is original, and most of it was broken anyway, so it does not hurt my feelings at all that we've already changed the pulls. Catches and hinges are next on the list, as is stripping off a few layers of paint then repainting to make things look and close better.

My BF hates (with a capital HATE!) the tile countertop. Ours is in pretty rough shape anyway, with a couple spots around the sink that leak and grout that's multiple colours, none of them appealing, from years of neglect. Personally, I like the look of the tile counter, but I suspect I'm going to lose that battle, since he does have a valid point that it's difficult to keep clean. I need to research to see if there's a way to do a tile countertop and then seal it with a surface that would make a smooth cleanable top that would still let the tile show through. That said, I'm sure there are other options that would also be appropriate and would hopefully be agreeable to both of us.

After looking for floor tile in various places and not finding anything appealing, I think I finally have him on board with the idea of linoleum, although we both agree the original yellow linoleum is not the best option out there. I kind of want to rip up the bad '60s faux-brick vinyl flooring that's there to see if the stuff underneath is in ok shape or if it's completely hosed over.

If nothing else, I will take a whole lot of pictures of the kitchen before we do anything major. I'm hoping that I can convince my BF that a 1940 kitchen with modern functionality is both feasible and desirable. If nothing else, the budget works in my favour, as does the fact that neither of us like the current kitchen trends of granite and stainless and cherry everything.

We very briefly talked about trying to fix the old windows, but we had 23 windows to do, and they were subjected to a lot of the same neglect that other parts of the house were. There were only storm windows for about half of them, and the roughly 1/3 of the windows that could actually be opened left literal piles of glazing every time you moved them (the panes were actually moving freely in the frame of one of the living room windows!). They were once beautiful windows, and one with knowledge and time could have possibly restored them, but we decided to just move on.



And thank you all for the warm welcome! I'm kinda digging this place so far!

Properly built tile countertops are as easy to care for as anything, even granite!.

First, one must choose PORCELAIN tile, a hard, fully vitrified substance, which does not absorb moisture, and then one must lay and grout the tile with a portland cement mortar. A proper mortar for a 1940's countertop is a medium-dark grey in color, and looks black against white tile, and white against black tile, and DOES NOT ABSORB LIQUIDS.

If a tile countertop is out of the question, what about Linoleum? period-correct, relatively inexpensive, durable, naturally bacteriostatic, and not nearly as dated as granite has become (note that on the 'coasts granite is now referred to as "Oh! that's so NINTIES!") Actually, installing new granite countertops in 2010 is rather akin to installing Avacado appliances and orange formica in 1979.

As for kitchen layout, your kitchen probably only was fitted with the cabinets and counter around the sink. The range in a home like yours would have been quite wide, perhaps as wide as 48 inches, and would have included storage space and a work surface, and your kitchen would doubtless also have included a free-standing cabinet and worktable.

Note that QUALITY period ranges are quite effective cookers and are easy to keep clean. Our current kitchen is fitted with a Frigidaire double door-refrigerator with water and ice in the door, 2 Jenn-Air convection ovens, 2 Bosch dishwashers, One General Electric Profile series sealed gas cooktop, and a GE profile series smooth glass electric cooktop, as the Better Half insisted that a "FULLY MODERN" kitchen would be much easier to clean and maintain. The kitchen that I'm building in the house that is currently under renovation is being fitted with a 1934 Magic Chef gas range, a 1934 General Electric Monitor Top refrigerator, a wall-hung kitchen sink (with double drainboards), Hoosier cabinet, and porcelain enamel worktable, as the BH now admits that I was correct when I insisted ten years ago that 1930's appliances worked as well as modern units, and were easier to keep clean!

After finishing the kitchen in the new house, I'm currently scheduled to do a 1920's kitchen make-over for one of the neighbors.

I see that you're just over in Detroit. Give me a call, and I can put you into touch with a couple of superb (and inexpensive) craftsmen, who understand sensitive renovation.

 

[Honey Bee]

Must remind myself that coveting is a sin.....

Such a beauty...simply waiting to be spruced up!
That gentlemen's parlor is awesome...what a find!
Keep us up on how it goes!

 

[xequar]

Properly built tile countertops are as easy to care for as anything, even granite!.

First, one must choose PORCELAIN tile, a hard, fully vitrified substance, which does not absorb moisture, and then one must lay and grout the tile with a portland cement mortar. A proper mortar for a 1940's countertop is a medium-dark grey in color, and looks black against white tile, and white against black tile, and DOES NOT ABSORB LIQUIDS.

If a tile countertop is out of the question, what about Linoleum? period-correct, relatively inexpensive, durable, naturally bacteriostatic, and not nearly as dated as granite has become (note that on the 'coasts granite is now referred to as "Oh! that's so NINTIES!") Actually, installing new granite countertops in 2010 is rather akin to installing Avacado appliances and orange formica in 1979.

As for kitchen layout, your kitchen probably only was fitted with the cabinets and counter around the sink. The range in a home like yours would have been quite wide, perhaps as wide as 48 inches, and would have included storage space and a work surface, and your kitchen would doubtless also have included a free-standing cabinet and worktable.

Note that QUALITY period ranges are quite effective cookers and are easy to keep clean. Our current kitchen is fitted with a Frigidaire double door-refrigerator with water and ice in the door, 2 Jenn-Air convection ovens, 2 Bosch dishwashers, One General Electric Profile series sealed gas cooktop, and a GE profile series smooth glass electric cooktop, as the Better Half insisted that a "FULLY MODERN" kitchen would be much easier to clean and maintain. The kitchen that I'm building in the house that is currently under renovation is being fitted with a 1934 Magic Chef gas range, a 1934 General Electric Monitor Top refrigerator, a wall-hung kitchen sink (with double drainboards), Hoosier cabinet, and porcelain enamel worktable, as the BH now admits that I was correct when I insisted ten years ago that 1930's appliances worked as well as modern units, and were easier to keep clean!

After finishing the kitchen in the new house, I'm currently scheduled to do a 1920's kitchen make-over for one of the neighbors.

I see that you're just over in Detroit. Give me a call, and I can put you into touch with a couple of superb (and inexpensive) craftsmen, who understand sensitive renovation.

I'll definitely keep all that in mind!

And I apologise for placing this in the wrong spot. I looked for threads about houses, but I didn't look in right spot obviously... As interesting stuff develops, I'll have to update this. Right now is mostly patching walls and painting. The previous owners chose really really bad colours. :eusa_doh:

 

[Foofoogal]

I like the look of the tile counter, but I suspect I'm going to lose that battle, since he does have a valid point that it's difficult to keep clean.

If he decided to knock it out be prepared for old chicken wire and lots of concrete. This is how they did them back then. Like Vitanola stated the back wall in the kitchen with the sink was the original as is.

Please don't touch the original bathrooms.

Love houses like yours. Congratulations.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Retro-Renovation/145067618127?ref=sgm

Retro Renovation on Facebook page.

 

[Mr Badger]

Have you considered looking for kitchen units on E*ay?

Dunno whether there's a US equiv, but we got our 1940s English Rose kitchen for £850, which was considerably cheaper than even the most hideous MDF box store jobbie. Then we just, erm, accessorised! Here are a coupla picks from before our cheapo digital camera went kaput...