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Get your NOS vintage exhaust fan grille cover while the gettin’ is good
Important product update for detail-oriented Retro Renovators: House of Fans is closing its retail location end of this month, Jan. 31, 2015 ish. The company does plan on continuing to sell its...
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Glitter vinyl floor tile — we found a source!
Super exciting news: We’ve discovered resilient tile flooring — with sparkly, glittery mica embedded in the top layers. It’s so… sparkly! Before writing this story, I ordered a sample, just to be sure,...
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Where to find door pin ball stud catch thingies for steel kitchen cabinet doors
Over the years, we have received many questions about where to get various fixit parts for steel kitchen cabinets. But with 70+ vintage brands out there, these questions are tough indeed — we’re really...
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25 companies that make flooring — cork, linoleum and vinyl — suitable for a...
Do you want retro-style, resilient flooring for your kitchen, bathroom, basement — maybe even your entire house? We tend to write about new designs one at time — when we, or readers, spot them. And...
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Vintage linen laminates — 12 colors in my collection of 1950s sample chips
Linen laminates were among the most popular in the 1950s — I will even surmise the most popular choice for kitchen and bathroom countertops. Continuing to fill out our historical archive, I organized...
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A pop art chic dining room from Ikea for just $845
I was poking around Ikea’s website, just to see what was new, and I spotted two items — a wool Corrected: not wool rug and a translucent orchid-colored dining chair — that KaPowW, I was in love. So...
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NBI introduces its sixth vintage reproduction kitchen drainboard sink — 60″ wide
New for 2015, NBI Drainboard Sinks has added a sixth design to its fast-growing lineup of midcentury reproduction drainboard sinks. This new design option measures 60″ wide. Like NBI Drainboard’s other...
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Throwback ’72: Corelle’s new True Blue pattern — a riff on 1970s Old Town Blue
Yup: Corelle. The company knows a rockin’ retro opportunity when it sees one, and recently introduced a new pattern — True Blue — based on its popular 1972 design Old Town Blue. To come up with the new...
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Create a 1940s style kitchen — Pam’s design tips — Formula #1
Want a checklist of key elements to create or recreate a 1940s style kitchen? Reader Carolyn recently wrote to us asking for ideas to help repair and decorate her 1947 kitchen. Long story short: I...
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A vintage + custom kitchen for the Betsy McCall dollhouse
We are several weeks into my Betsy McCall DIY Dollhouse build and finally — after hours of work — it’s time to take a look at what I’ve been cooking up in the kitchen. Yup, you guessed it — vintage...
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40 historic designs of glitter laminate — from Formica, Textolite, Wilsonart...
Back in the day, many manufacturers made and sold versions of glitter laminate. Materials historian Grace Jeffers says that the design was pioneered by Formica — they launched the industry’s first...
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The Mullinaires sing the praises of Youngstown kitchen cabinets, 1953
I first featured this absolutely priceless 1953 video seven year ago this week: “The Mullinaires” singing the praises of Youngstown steel kitchen cabinets. For this update, I did some more digging and...
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Create a 1940s or early 1950s design kitchen — my second mood board
There are many ways to retro [<- I just love it when I used that as a verb], including 1940s style. Lots of readers seem to be totally nuts over 1940s kitchen style, so here’s my second mood board...
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The prettiest vintage red dinette we’ve ever seen
This may be the most beautiful pristine-condition vintage dinette we have ever seen. Why? Seller Sue of Yesterday’s Treasures in Fenton, Michigan says the owner had no children. There’s an idea for ya....
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My 1940s kitchen design board #3
I am in the mode: Cranking out a new 1940s style kitchen design board each week until I get them all done. I think there will be five in total. Here is #3: A retro kitchen inspired by a vintage...
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Acme steel kitchen cabinets — Wile E. Coyote would approve!
Here’s a rare bird for our archive of vintage steel kitchen cabinet — a vintage 1948 “Acme” sink base (with American Standard “Hostess” drainboard sink) for sale on ebay. What’s unusual about this...
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Sam has a great experience with powder coating her vintage steel kitchen...
Three days before closing, a pipe burst in Sam’s soon-to-be 1950s brick ranch house — making a gut remodel of the kitchen Job #1. Sam wanted to reuse the original Geneva steel kitchen cabinets, so she...
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A microwave oven that’s not too big, not too small, just right: My new...
Our old microwave oven was a sad 20-year-old fellow whose get up and go had got up and went. It took forever to cook a frozen enchilada yadda yadda yadda, so I finally took action. Importantly, we...
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Reporcelain refinish steel sinks, stoves and other vintage parts — we find a...
Do you have a steel sink, stove or other appliance that needs to be refinished? Professional reporcelaining is the way to go for long-term durability. Reader Barb tipped us to a second company that can...
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29 vintage Formica designs including Halifax, Fleurette, Fernglo and Finesse
Vintage Formica Halifax… Formica Fleurette… Formica Fernglo… Formica Finesse! We love you — especially you, Halifax! Reader Pete scored these delicious samples of vintage Formica a while ago and sent...
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