Restoring the Retro House

A small but dedicated number of homeowners are enthusiasts of U.S. design from the 1950s and 1960s. These homeowners might re-tile their bathrooms in turquoise mosaics that were popular during the Eisenhower administration, or install Dishmaster kitchen faucets. Some live in ranch- or Cape Cod-style houses built after World War II and grew up in that era. A Web site called Retro Renovation (retrorenovation.com), which was created by Pam Kueber in 2007, helps homeowners obtain authentic midcentury hardware, fixtures, appliances, and furniture. The blog site features old advertisements and cleaning tips, such as how to clean a Saarinen tulip table, and lets readers send in photos of such things as their knotty-pine kitchens along with the names of sources. In May, Helen Stickler turned to the site to get help on finding a vintage steel kitchen cabinet for her 1950s post-and-beam house in Los Angeles. Kueber says the site receives approximately 450,000 page views per month, and has attracted advertisers like DEA Bathroom Machineries and Barn Light Electric, which sell products that appeal to vintage enthusiasts. One reader recently informed Kueber about a store in Springfield, N.J., called World of Tile that sells midcentury tiles that are ideal for bathrooms, such as liner tiles as low as $1.49 each. | Read More