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Cory

I found that Nov 58 Popular Mechanics and scanned the
"House Full of Built-Ins" but for some reason when I try to attach them here they don't go...maybe they're too big.. I'll try again later..I can send try emailing them to you or if you want the mag I'll mail it. Also has the 59 cars, well some of them.
 
Yay,, forgot about the organ

And you can find them so cheap now. I've still got my spinet, I think I posted a pic of it already. And the day I bought that sectional there was a beautiful late 60's or early 70's Baldwin spinet there as well. Course I had to sit down to try it out and everything worked perfectly, even the "Phantom Fingers" arpeggio. Loved it.
 
Wow guys, looks like great minds think alike!

The ironing board is one I've been trying to figure out... where exactly to mount it and make it all work..I'll have to dwell on that one.

I've got the Beam vac sys planned, the pocket doors upstairs, a great pull-down dining light, and lots of other things you guys will love. Even the phone booth! (for the garage of course)

To give you guys some more info, the design really came into maturity just a few months ago but I've been working on it a bit over a year now. Ben has seen some of the 3D models but I'll keep it all a secret until I get rolling with the hammer.

It's 2/3 flat roof one storey, with a second storey on the last third for the master bedroom, bath, rear observation deck and front sunning deck. That storey is a butterfly and will complement the dual width carport on the opposite side of the house. Main level- sunken living room, lots of glass including a multi-panel sliding door roughly 18' opening, a freestanding fireplace, and an entertaining room with bar, grasscloth, glass and stone. The kitchen overlooks the living room, seperated by a long counter (turqouise boomerang formica!) The major apps are turqouise, and the small ones are sunny yellow. I still need a turqouise kitchen sink (and Frigidaire DW).

I'm also on the hunt for the starburst front door escutcheon after one slipped through my hands on eb*y a while back.

Westy, are you talking about the Farnsworth house in Illinois? I hear they give tours!

The electrical system will be something to behold, approx all the lighting circuits will be relay driven and computerized using an industrial PLC, but "programs" are run with sleek pushbuttons and via a chrome phone dial in the living room that was military NOS surplus. Almost everything will be 30 amp capable as I'm getting tired of tripping breakers when I fire up multiple Radaranges, washers, and tube TVs. The two-prong outlets are only in the more visible areas for visitor shock value (sorry, couldn't resist) but are just as safe as the grounded outlets as long as I'm only plugging in two-pronged plugs. There are separate isolated outlets (hospital grade) for the audio equipment where the buzzing from a light dimmer would drive me batty. Oh yeah, only dimmers with brass centered knobs : )

When I finish, you're all invited for a housewarming party! Great ideas guys, keep 'em coming!
 
Hi Cory, don't forget about a Pink Bathroom. No 1950's home would ever be without one. Finding Pink tile is a challenge but it can be done. And I know of a salvage place here in Minneapolis that has quite a few vintage pink sinks and toilets, they might even have a pink bathtub. We have quite a few huge home and building salvage stores here that you can get all kinds of fixures and things.
 
Thanks for reassuring me...

I actually used to be rather blase about electricity (not that I ever took a bath with the radio on the edge of the tub or anything like that) until I got the O'Keefe & Merritt and plugged it in and noticed how there was a slight tingle on the surface of it. It was two prong, but it also had a ground screw on the back, so I grounded it to the conduit for the unused electric stove hookup, and it was carefee cooking after that.

And then, when we rewired the house and got rid of all the scary knob and tube, the electrcian told me all sorts of grisly stories about "old-timey" aluminum wiring and fuses boxes, etc, etc, etc.

The house sounds so cool - don't forget to have your address numbers back lighted!

And instead of electric bathroom heaters, I'd go with radiant floors. I have one in my bathroom, and it's wonderful. Add a heated towel rack, and it makes winter mornings much less grim.

And maybe a heat lamp/fan fixture like motels used to have!

And low brick planters in the interior? Has that been mentioned yet?
 
Farnsworth House

Funny you should mention that. I live in St. Charles which is about a half an hour from Plano where the house is. Some friends came in from LA and we took a tour. The most amazing design, especially for a late 40's house. Most impractical though. I remember coming home and thinking, where in the world did Dr. Farnworth hang her ironing board. Not to mention, no place for a washer and dryer. She woke up one morning and we she got out of bed, she saw a group of Japanese tourists looking in from the yard. When they saw her, they took off running. Definitely worth a trip and a tour. Classic Mies.
 
Farnsworth House and Misc. notes

Loved it! Have not seen it in person. It reminds me of a house in
France I believe built for some sort of expo, and I think even earlier.
There is something really out of this world about the Farnsworth house,
especially in that (presumably) silent wooden setting. Almost alien.

In an associated note, it hit me like a ton of bricks watching Blade
Runner on AMC the other night, that Harrison Ford's apartment was the
Frank Lloyd Wright Ennis-Brown house in the Hollywood Hills. A few
years ago we took a tour of that house, and I have a reproduction brick
from the gift shop there, that is exactly like the brick used. It is so
clear in the shots in the movie, as the brick treatment is also used
inside. The Ennis-Brown house was open to tours, but is closed now due
to landslides and the need for about $2M to save it. I am willing to
bet they will accomplish that.

It is amazing that I have seen that picture a number of times before,
but since touring the house, it is now so clear in the movie. They just
lit it so it looks like an apartment. If I had remembered that when I
took the tour, I would have asked/looked for where it was that they shot
the scenes, as only one room and part of another was shown.


Another home you all might like would be to check out the "Sleeper
House" shown in the movie Sleeper. We called it the clamshell house
growing up, and would see it high on a hill when we used to go up into
the mountains outside Denver. You will love this if you have not seen
it before.

This may be the ultimate expression of what many of us here really
crave! Absolutely top drawer.

 
If I ever build....

I too, want central vac, but I really want a small Hobart dishwasher (the sort that look like a standard home dishwasher on steroids), and either a DishDrawer or two, and/or a KitchenAid briva or two.

I've only seen DishDrawers installed stacked, but I think a nice installation would be to have a right hand one, and a left hand one.

If this house is going to be anything but a ranch/rambler, get the elevator shaft and electical rough-ins now (put doors on the shaft, and lock them). An elevator may make all the difference when a person is no longer vigorous, but still otherwise competent.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
Lawrence, DishDrawers are available either as an integrated double-unit (think two-drawer filing cabinet), or as single-drawer units. A double-drawer unit cannot be split, nor can two single-drawer units be physically joined. It's common to install two single-drawer units at either side of the sink. Or any combination of single-drawer and double-drawer units wherever one wants.
 
Low Brick Planters

You're in the right zone now, Have to have the right 50's plants in them as well, like Mother in laws tongue, maybe a split leaf Philodendron or two. The planter should be the same brick or stone as used elsewhere in the house, but long and low.
 
Cor, it seems to me that Greg just found one of those NuTone builtin kitchen appliance systems that he was going to sell. Maybe you should speak to him about that. ;-)

Sounds like it should be a wonderful house. You can start your own Memorial Bend in the middle of Iowa!

Of course Robert's pink bathroom idea is a wonderful one. On that end, if you need to learn how to make your bathroom garbage can look like a black furry monster, he can hook you right up on that too, I'm sure! ;-)
 
Pole lights

Get on the lookout now for some nice ones with the conical metal shades, die cut designs in the shades are nice too. As well you'll need some wire ashtray/mag holders or tables, like the lady sitting in the pic I posted above. I've a nice one I'll grab a pic, but I just deleted my printer/scanner drivers and need to find the CD's to get it going again. And no 50's modern home would be complete without the proper little period vases/ornaments. I'll pic those as well, much of it looks like leftover Woolworths stuff but is quite collectible for the Scandinavian or Italian made things and wasn't cheap even when it was new.
 

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