Speaking Of “Time Capsules”, “Decor Warps” And Retro

Most of the folks that are looking for Mid Century Modern homes, are also looking to furnish them “retro”. Our friend Pam Kueber, is the queen of Mid Mod Blogs at RetroRenovation. She got quoted in a fun article in the New York Times this morning about “Time Capsule Homes”.

The part of the article where Pam’s quoted:

Identifying exactly when a home became stuck is easier. “Pink-tile bathrooms, Dishmaster faucets, colors like aquamarine and sunbeam yellow — all very 1950s,” said Pam Kueber, who runs retrorenovation.com, a Web site devoted to midcentury design. Shag carpet and avocado appliances indicate the ’70s. Lava rock and ultrasuede? As ’80s as a Rubik’s Cube.

Ms. Kueber posts midcentury time capsules on her site, with photos provided by readers, often taken from real estate listings. In many cases, she said, the homes were occupied by elderly couples who were immensely proud of them. “I think the owners of these homes were tremendously invested in them emotionally, as well as financially,” she said. “They came from an era where a house was very hard won.”

As a rule, she said, the homes were well cared for, and the belief was “Why change something if it’s not worn out?” (read the whole NYT’s Article – “Time Capsule Homes”)

That’s one of the reasons we tend to cherish the “pink bathrooms”. Of course, Save the Pink Bathroom is just symbolic for all the great Mid Mod colors. Why do one over as Retro When the original colorful tile work is in great shape? Often I see such a mishmosh of eras in the Vintage homes of Las Vegas. The kitchen was remodeled in the 70’s, the bathrooms in the 80’s. The floorings were changed and mismatched room by room. I’ll take a period time capsule any day over a mixing of decor trends.

It’s funny that when I started in Real Estate in 1990 we used the word dated to describe the colorful kitchens and baths of the Mid Mod Era. Now we use the terms retro and vintage. What’s dated now are the horrible 70’s and 80’s cultured marbles, earthtones, and the ubiquitous beige on beige on beige. For an amusing look at the difference between retro, vintage and antique, we can turn again to a “vintage 2008” post that Pam did on the subject.