Your tips please on renovating, decorating and furnishing a late 60s house

[lostindubai]

Just bought a three bedroom detached which had been occupied by an elderly couple for some years. Would like to give at least a nod to the era if possible.

First thing we're doing is replacing the windows and doors. I have no idea where to start so all tips are welcome please.

A lot of it is original including the bathroom suite which is lemon yellow. Not sure I can bring myself to keep it though!

Hopeful bump!

Hello, maybe have a look here

I have painted everything white gone for very light bamboo hardwood floors, picked up some vintage ercol and tapley and I'm going for clean lines in the kitchen and mid century colours for furnishings. It's a work in progress though!

Thank you for the link! I'll have a proper read later. Good to see lots of enthusiasm for this era on here

Keep the yellow bathroom. Can you post a pic?

We moved into a similar house last year. We kept the hatch from the kitchen - it's dead useful! And we kept the stone 60s fireplace. I also love the boxy solid bannister and the sturdy stairs. We decided to use bright light colours everywhere, and curtains and cushions in 60s style patterns. It feels so warm and cosy after our old Edwardian semi, so glad we made the move.

A lot of it is original including the bathroom suite which is lemon yellow

Primrose One of my favourites.

Surely white bathroom suites have had their day now

I'd get some sort of energy survey done and make sure before you decorate that you can improve the thermal insulation as much as possible.

Windows, wiring, heating then the fun stuff.

There's an online estate agent called "The Modern House" which tends to have very unusual homes featured. Might be a good resource?

Yes post photos of the bathroom you maybe able to do something lovely with it. I had an avocado sink in my downstairs loo but took it out now think that with the right tiles and styling it could have looked brilliant. We are in a 50s semi which we have done up I love mid century style so have some original sideboards, prints, wall paper in one room (Sanderson have some great styles) and vintage vases (I collect
Blue glass ones) nearly everything is white and light wood a bit Scandinavia - we have been here 4 years and still doing work and making changes all the time. Pinterest will be your friend.

There's plenty of inspiration on Houzz and Pinterest. Or go to one of the MidCentury Modern furniture shows for inspiration [http://modernshows.com] (website also has good resources). Judy's Vintage Flea also has occasional furniture fleas with plenty of stuff from this era (I picked up a great sideboard from one of their fleas in London)

Primrose! At least its not advocado, brown or pink. Its not offensive, actually a pretty colour, Im sure you could make it look lovely and keep it.

There seems to be a lot of geometric patterns lately, Ive been looking for plainish wallpaper, blinds and rugs, so getting quite annoyed!!

Ah primrose! Good to put a name to the face it's all been cleaned now so will try and get a photo in the next day or so.

I must admit it's all growing on me now. Like you Clawdy I'm a fan of the bannisters and the stone fireplace. Like the kitchen hatch too although we're toying with the idea of knocking through for a kitchen diner one day.

Treadsoftly the electrics have now been upgraded the next thing is windows! I wanted hardwood but dp is adamant we must have UPVC - I'm guessing the flat profile will suit this type of property more than curved?

Thanks everyone for your comments. It's an exciting time!

Watch out for asbestos, although it can be in any property from before the 80's, they particularly loved it in the 60's. Look at the insulation, it's unlikely to be great but sorting it out can make the house much more comfortable and cheaper to run. If you do it before the decor then it's easier.
I have a client with a beautiful 60's house, it took a while to get it that way though as everytime we stripped off a bit of panelling, flooring etc we found some horrors lurking.
The house has been finished with a paired back 60's decor combined with modern design, light bright walls with statement pieces of furniture and beautiful pieces of art. It's gorgeous. He went for a modern German kitchen rather than a 60's style and it works very well.

A lot of furniture that is new is designed with a 60s feel to it at the moment. I recently saw an advert for a dining room table and chairs that looked very similar to the ones my parents used to have.

Definitely look at things like cavity wall insulation.
My parents house which was brand new in the 60s used to have wooden window frames (single glazed of course). They've replaced them with UPVC.
It didn't have a coloured bathroom suite though, it was all white.

you can usually get cavity wall insulation done free - have a google!

Take care with cavity wall insulation - the companies who fit it can be a little cavalier in fitting it when its not necessarily appropriate.
Your external walls must be it great condition so ensure any maintenance work is done first to ensure no penetrating damp. If the property is in an exposed area then the possibility of wind driven rain penetrating the outer skin also gives you potential for damp problems being exacerbated by cavity wall insulation. See the map on here for areas where it might not be suitable www.homeworksenergy.co.uk/1195/damp-cavity-wall-insulation-in-exposure-zones/
Its a pain to remove if you get it wrong, I have a client who bought a property (in the lake district) where we had to remove it and it been a messy job. It was recommended in the EPC by a not very clued up assessor.

Ours is 1970 built and was a time warp when we moved in.
We kept the serving hatch when we had a new kitchen fitted, many will say they are old fashioned but it is very very handy and many of our friends wish they had one now.

We did find that the plaster on the walls was terrible and our quick fix of putting lining paper up was not a good idea.

Ok here's a piccie of the bathroom. I really don't like the dark wood but not sure what else to do instead? And there is a toilet paper dispenser on the wall next to the loo but it's not for toilet rolls, more from boxes of paper Also, I'd like new taps and plugholes. Any suggestions would be welcome please!

Thanks for the advice on insulation. We'll be getting the loft done first I reckon.

You need a box of the Izal Medicated .

I remember the sides of baths of that era were usually black hardboard stuff. Then the matching plastic ones that stuck out (and cracked) came in. I think toilet seats were usually hard black plastic.

Paint it white?

There's some amazing 60s bathrooms on houzz where they have celebrated the coloured suites.

Hi Lelivre would you be able to link directly to that please? I'm finding it difficult to navigate that site on my phone.