Nov 11, 2011

Let's do the Time Warp Yeah...

I have a bad case of the 'newies' right now.  Every house we've gone into lately is new or recently renovated with thoughtful space planning with the perfect shade of gray on the walls.  I find myself dreaming about how nice it would be to have an open concept main floor, or proper lighting in the living room, taps that don't drip, a basement without Egyptian-themed wallpaper and a bathroom I'm proud to show off (curses to you, El Pinko).


My biggest frustration with restoring a house right now is the time warp factor.  I've consciously resisted painting the fir wood panelling in the living room  and the trim in the bedrooms in order to preserve the original character of the house.  We've even held onto the nautical themed light fixtures in the hallways.  (Apparently the original owners owned a property on a lake).  Add to that my obsession with thrifting... 


Regardless, whether new or old, every single thing that is brought through my slightly obnoxious nuclear yellow door, is time warped back to 1950.  And not this 1950... 


 Cocktail Hour at the Spencer Residence in Santa Monica (1950) (Julius Schulman)


Yah, this one looks about right... 


1954 Interior (Midcentury Home Style)
So I'm officially torn.  Do we tear down some walls, paint out some trim?  If we try to keep what we have, what can we do to make it less oh so 50 years ago? 


LP 

2 comments:

Heather said...

Do you have pictures of the space? And you don't want to live in a time capsule, right? I think you have a great eye and that you'd be able to blend your original character with some upgrades. I vote for painting some stuff. :)

Luann said...

We live in a 60's house in Calgary and have been keeping the excellent bones but changing things where we feel they need it. The integrity of the original is there but I have to admit, the pink bathroom will be on it's way out when we can afford it. I think you need to do what you feel works - at least you're not tearing everything apart and installing granite counters and faux art nouveau windows!

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