Making the most of our 50s/60s/70s homes

[Lelivre]

Following on from the 1974 thread here
...

This is for those with mid-century homes, trying to modernise or update them in a way that is sympathetic to that period.

There are a few of us out there, no lurking now, please join in!

Hopefully we can share ideas, products, gumtree/eBay/Carboot finds and other sources of inspiration. Also I hope, receive feedback on our plans and build enthusiasm for 'features' that others zealously take out!

For starters I enjoyed this article here

If you will; introduce yourselves, your homes and where you are with things

Ooh, I'm moving house soon and I love stuff like this. No plans to go crazy with decor as I'm expecting a baby and need to keep costs down, but I do have some nice stuff already - bits of Hornsey pottery, a 1950s wall clock, and I've just bought this "cat cave" which both myself and the cat like very much!

Welcome catsofa and all, thanks for all the links and pics - I'm enjoying this

I love that link, Luna. That flat in Ham is very near me; I really like the (admittedly tiny) kitchen, with the white tiles and the clean white with wood units.

Catsofa , where did you get the cat cave?

Cat cave link - everyone asks what it is and says how cool it looks. It keeps all the drafts out and it amplifies purring so the cat thinks it's brilliant, dead chuffed with it!

I've just looked at the link now, Leliver and they're utterly gorgeous. I'm now seriously coveting them and trying to work out if it would ever be possible to have some made up to replace the god awful upvc french doors between our sitting room and god awful conservatory.

You've made and ruined my day with those slidey doors of yours

Justcallme - I know what you mean. I have some nasty looking doubke doors myself. And they look nastier now. But those are not toddler friendly so I must forget about them

Any tile finds? I'm still looking for tiles...

Love these. Not sure if they are mid-c modern but I loves them. Approx £125 m2 from Sweden - what that will cost I have no idea!

I remember very very similar wallpaper to this in my childhood late 60s home

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151411949055?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Just marking my place to come back to. I love mid-century. My parents have a fab 1960s teak sideboard that my dad uses to store his tools in in the garage (horror!). I'm hoping to transport down to the SE from Scotland.

You might be interested in this resource. modernshows.com

I love the tiles you have posted piccies of. I know the site linked below site has the green dandelion tiles above come from, but what where do the other tiles come from? (in particluar the white oblong type ones)

www.marrakechdesign.co.uk/collection.html?app=2&category=design-claesson-koivisto-rune-6491

long term lurker, but this thread is just too tempting!
I feel very lucky to live in a 4 bed detached 1959 beauty - it was built for the family we bought off and we have lived here for 9 years now. We have made changes quite slowly, and did not want to rip the soul from the house - so things kind of evolved, rather than rushing into changes. We have all the classic features - glass panels (which i have used coloured film to cover in attempt at the Mondrian effect, looks fab when light is on), sliding doors on kitchen/larder (with terrazo cold shelf, i did say i was a lucky girl), no ceiling lights (lights are above the windows) in some rooms etc Furnishing wise, i do like a bit of Ercol which can be picked up gumtree/preloved etc i have an ercol day bed and dining table and chairs. oh yes, and have used Miss Print Little Trees wall paper in the dining room.
sorry if i have rambled a bit!

I love MissPrint!! I have a roll of Garden City to go on my back kitchen wall, but I am afeared and haven't pasted it yet. Going to practice on cheaper wallpaper a bit more first!

Am struggling with some vintage Tapley cabinets this evening. Bought a job lot and I have all Tapley 33 brackets, but I have two gorgeous self levelling cabinets which need timber battens to put up which aren't there! Infuriating. I also can't understand why I have two extra 33 brackets! Half tempted to try and use the metal brackets to put them up...

Am just loving everyone's ideas. Just wondering for 1970s house what door everyone liked ours are currently a mix of flat white and glass. I quite like the glass but dh does not like either. Also what curtains. I am quite fancying old track and hooks definitely not poles. Or maybe roman blinds. Love wooden blinds but I know I am too lazy to keep them clean. What do you all fancy?

we have a mixture of the flat whites and a full glass panel door on the lounge, all original to the house. we have toyed with the idea of changing them, but have never found quite the right ones, so we have just changed the handles. Curtain wise I have a mix of wide wooden slat venetian with plain curtains, kitchen has a practical roller blind, vertical (yes i did say vertical, which might split opinions!) blinds with plain curtains (velvet in the lounge which add lovely warmth).
I feel I must explain the verticals - which are nicely tucked away behind the curtains - we are full south facing so need sun protection! the verticals allow us to get out of the sliding doors:) And we not closed in by drawn curtains on sunny/hot days. They are a bit marmite (DH struggled with letting me get them) but I do like them, and oh so practical.

meant to say, curtains are on tracks with hooks, tops hidden by wooden box pelmets:) and also just romans on the smaller lounge windows (which are north facing). complete mixed bag tbh

Sounds great nevertoomuch my dh is the other way wants to keep door handles not doors. I am going to keep working on him I think. Although he has suggested sliding doors for kitchen lounge diner which I am not a adverse too. I love velvet curtains I hadn't thought of vertical blinds tbh will have to do some research.

Right you lovely lot. You all seem completely on my wavelength, so I'm going to put you to work.

I need a new front door for a late 60s/early 70s detached house. It's in a semi-rural location (down a wooded lane) but the house isn't cottagey at all. I want something mid-century modern ish, but not something that looks as though it should be in a smart inner city warehouse conversion.

Oh, and to complicate things more, it needs to have plenty of glass and a side light as the door's recessed making for a dark hall.

It's a tough one... but I know you like a challenge

Would something like this work Justcallme?

Lunaballoon funnily enough, that's exactly the one I've been looking at. I quite like it and it's the best (and best priced) I've seen so far, but I don't absolutely love it, if you know what I mean.

Tricky one, isn't it?

i think choosing the front door is such a difficult decision justcallmedory, the cost involved, something that would not jar with the front facade and would stand the test of time (not too contemporary). In the end we went for plain and simple - solid black composite, letter box at the bottom, with a side panel in simple frosted glass. www.solidor.co.uk/our-doors/the-flint-cottage-range
its from the Flint Cottage range if link doesn't work:) we thought about having the house number etched in the glass, but didn't in the end.
We really pleased with how it doesn't stand out, but is always commented on. I have couple of bay trees either side in black pots, and the wreath at Christmas looks fab against it:)

Ooh I like lunas front door.

Lovingmaternity - I don't know! I wish I could find those white tiles (in the uk, and reasonable preferably)

Welcome to the new poster who likes a bit of Ercol (me too!) and I now like tapley 33 thanks to another pp and I am suitably jealous that would be perfect in my living room!

Oh and can someone put me out of my misery and buy [[http://www.englishsalvage.co.uk/unused-tall-supataps_item_15450
these unused original supataps for their cloakroom]] as I have to spend limited £££ on dull things like fixing windows and the boiler before looking at the downstairs loo, I don't know why I even went looking!

Oh, I love those taps - wish I had the budget for them!