Show us your vintage home!

[vitanola]

I love that oven! There is one for sale at the Restore, but DH won't get it because he thinks the wiring will be bad. I do have a gas range that I love, that we brought with us. House was not wired for a gas range, but was near a gas source, so we had someone put a line in.

Almost all older (pre-1970) ranges used neither rubber nor plastic electrical insulation, relying instead on a mineral wool compound, and so the wiring in these stoves seldom deteriorates. I recently refurbished a 1925 Hotpoint range with eight burners and two ovens for a young couple, and found that all of the wiring was safe. The unit wanted only a thorough cleaning, new contacts on one oven thermostat, thermostat calibration, shiny stainless burner reflector bowls and new nickle plating on some trim.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Modern upholstered furniture is particularly difficult to fit into all but the largest of older houses as it is terribly over-scaled. In the 1980's, furniture manufacturers discovered that over-sized sofas and chairs sold well, as they looked more impressive when displayed in a large furniture store than did pieces of more traditional scale. Unfortunately this large furniture did not look well in living rooms of ordinary scale, hence the ascendance of the so-called "Great Room" at this time.

This is maybe the most important piece of information anyone can get before moving into a "vintage house." If you have a lot of big, showy modern stuff, not only will it not fit in the living room, there's a pretty good chance it isn't even going to fit in the door.

The only couch that will fit in my 1911-built living room is an old humpbacked Victorian I rescued from a friend's back porch where it had been abandoned for probably fifty years. The upholstery was shot, but that was easily replaced. It's not as impressive as a modern couch, but at least you can fit other things into the room with it.

 

[Gregg Axley]

I have to agree with you Lizzie.
Most modern items are in our addition, but the rest of the house has older furniture because of the doorways.
When the wife needed a recliner in the bedroom for awhile (medical condition), I had a hard time getting it from the addition to the bedroom.
It took some bending and shoving (of the chair not me) just to make it go through 3 doorways.
After she didn't need it in there anymore she said "we might be able to put it back."
Uh no, I'm not going through that again!

 

[jamespowers]

I have to agree with you Lizzie.
Most modern items are in our addition, but the rest of the house has older furniture because of the doorways.
When the wife needed a recliner in the bedroom for awhile (medical condition), I had a hard time getting it from the addition to the bedroom.
It took some bending and shoving (of the chair not me) just to make it go through 3 doorways.
After she didn't need it in there anymore she said "we might be able to put it back."
Uh no, I'm not going through that again!

Don't you own a chainsaw?

 

[Guttersnipe]

Alright, here's my vintage home. The building was built starting in 1928, but the real estate developer went bust in the 1929 stock market crash, so it wasn't finished until '31. Our apartment is decorated with with a mixture of late '30s through '50s decor and furniture.

The building's exterior (y'all better not stock me!):



The living room:

 

[Gregg Axley]

Very nice!

 

[Shangas]

Don't you own a chainsaw?

I'm getting horrible flashbacks of how my father and I tried to manipulate a sofa-bed through the house, from one bedroom to another, a few years ago. I don't know how the hell we did it, but I don't intend to ever do it again!

 

[Stearmen]

I'm getting horrible flashbacks of how my father and I tried to manipulate a sofa-bed through the house, from one bedroom to another, a few years ago. I don't know how the hell we did it, but I don't intend to ever do it again!

I have not had to do that in several years. If memory serves me correct, the couch goes right in, once the legs break off!

 

[Gregg Axley]

Oh, see that's the information I needed!
Actually I think my grandfather took the legs off the sofabed in my living room, and then got it in the house.
That thing has been here since the early 70's, yet I had a hard time wrestling a skinny book case through the door way.
Yes I own a chainsaw, but I'm not allowed to use it without adult supervision.
You use a chainsaw in the front yard one time, while wearing a hockey mask (for protection) and you're labeled a danger to society. [huh]

 

[jamespowers]

Oh, see that's the information I needed!
Actually I think my grandfather took the legs off the sofabed in my living room, and then got it in the house.
That thing has been here since the early 70's, yet I had a hard time wrestling a skinny book case through the door way.
Yes I own a chainsaw, but I'm not allowed to use it without adult supervision.
You use a chainsaw in the front yard one time, while wearing a hockey mask (for protection) and you're labeled a danger to society. [huh]

The legs on those nasty 70s couches unscrew if memory serves.


The chainsaw is a cutting tool and a musical instrument.

 

[Gregg Axley]

My couch isn't a 70's, I think it's an early 60's.
All the other furniture (except for my recliners which are 5yrs old) is 50-60yrs old.

 

[jamespowers]

My couch isn't a 70's, I think it's an early 60's.

Same thing. They should unscrew.

 

[vintageTink]

Alright, here's my vintage home. The building was built starting in 1928, but the real estate developer went bust in the 1929 stock market crash, so it wasn't finished until '31. Our apartment is decorated with with a mixture of late '30s through '50s decor and furniture.

The building's exterior (y'all better not stock me!):

Very nice!

 

[kampkatz]

Guttesnipe- A solid looking building. Is there a basement, backyard, attic?

 

[Guttersnipe]

Gregg Axley, vintageTink, kampkatz, thanks. No, there's no basement. Being in San Francisco, where usable acreage and livable square footage is such a premium , the building doesn't have a backyard or attic either . . . that's city livin' for ya!

 

[lolly_loisides]

Not my home, yet. We went to have a look at a deco home for sale at Katoomba, it's a nice mainly original late 40's house. Needs work, but could be lovely, and it's only a five minute walk from the Three Sisters.

This is just around the corner

 

[Vera Godfrey]

That's amazing! I love the floors and the kitchen. Not to mention the view around the corner!

 

[sproily]

A little update of the progress in my bedroom. There's more pictures in my blog: https://castrumnostrum.wordpress.com/

 

[Touchofevil]

Not my home, yet. We went to have a look at a deco home for sale at Katoomba, it's a nice mainly original late 40's house. Needs work, but could be lovely, and it's only a five minute walk from the Three Sisters.
View attachment 8258 View attachment 8259 View attachment 8260 View attachment 8261 View attachment 8262 View attachment 8263
This is just around the corner

Beautiful hardwood floors make it a keeper all by themselves.

 

[Touchofevil]

A little update of the progress in my bedroom. There's more pictures in my blog: https://castrumnostrum.wordpress.com/

Very nice home and professional quality photos. You definitely have an eye for sprucing up a place.