I actually got to visit Versatronic's (aka Mike Hoover) house and let me tell you........IT IS THE COOLEST, THE AWESOMEST, THE GROOVIEST VINTAGE PAD ON THE EASTERN SEABOARD!!!!!!!! As my jewish friend Naomi would say I was shvitzing!!!!! To start off let me tell you that I wanted to take my camera to take pictures but I forgot it at home, but I am going back to my sisters in Harrisburg for Thanksgiving and Mike said that if both our schedules allow he wants to get together again so I will take pics then. I also want to state the fact that the pictures Mike posted of his house don't do it justice mainly because they make the house seem much smaller than it is. That said let me get on with the description of the house. It is a beautiful 1957 all brick rambler that sits on a hill over looking the street just a block of of route 81. It has a garage with a pink and white door attatched to the basement on the lower level. When you pull into the driveway you walk up a flight of steps to the front yard which is above the street, at this time I would like to point out that the bricks used on the retaining wall and the house are the most unusual bricks I have ever seen in the fact that they have the same thickness of a normal brick but they're twice as long as a normal brick. That alone gives the house a real solid almost indestructible but very warm and inviting look. The front door is painted the same pink and white as the garage door and has two lower panels with circles in them and the top panel is a glass pane which was a very popular style door in 1957, even the storm door is the original aluminum Air King door which may not seem like all that big of deal but believe me when I say it is a detail that helps add to the vintage feel of the house. The living room is just absolutely gorgeous and is very warm and inviting with its red chairs tan carpets, red and orange accents, and lest we not forget the Philco "Siesta" Predicta TV. The tiki lounge off the living room has a Gabor Sisters style leopard wall to wall rug and gorgeous pine paneling plus an awesome coffeetable/bar. Off the tiki room is a short hallway that goes between the livingroom and the kitchen. Off that hallway is a full bath that has its origianl 1957 maroon tile (even on the shower stall ceiling) and the original sink, toilet, and light over the medicine chest. Now on to the KITCHEN!!!!! It is a really big kitchen with a brown ant tan checkered linoleium floor that has a confetti design on it. According to Mike he was told that the original name for that style of Linoleium was in fact Confetti. The kitchen has the original wood cabinets which I believe are pine (aren't they Mike?) with the neatest latches I have ever seen (when I take pics of them you will see what I mean) they defy description. The countertop and matching kitchen table are yellow and both have a sponge like textured look to them and are original to the house. The Ge 2 Speed dishwashe is gorgeous and looks like it was hardly used. The wall oven is a GE P7 self cleaning oven which means it is not original to the house but I believe was installed at the same time as the dishwashewr and the fridge that the Kelvinator from hell repalced. The coolest part of his kitchen is thge METAL CEILING! Thats right folks I said METAL!! the lights hanging from the ceiling are held there with huge MAGNETS just like what you would find in a all metal Lustron House. Inside his cabinets are all sorts of blenders, mixers, and other kitchenware, Mike is definately one of us....he is a Vintage junky. Now, back to the house, The laundry room off the kitchen there is an awesome pale green almost like fiberglass looking paneling on the walls, a circa 1955 Kenmore Tip toe Ironer, as well as the sainted Versatronic dryer and a 2001 Kenmore Model 70 washer (which Mike wants to replace with a vintage machine that he says does not necessarily have to match the dryer) and the original pull down ironing board. The paneling in the hallway and the bedrooms is not like any I have ever seen before. It kind of reminds me of plywood but instead of looking rough and cheap it has a very nice shine that makes it look finished and depending on which room your in it has a pink, blue, or green, tint or stain on it (again it is hard to explain but I will take pics of it so you all can see for yourselves). Each of the bedrooms have built in dressers with drawers twice as deep (front to back) as a regular dresser drawer and a place above the dresser for a television as well as huge closets with sliding doors. Each room also has been faithfully decorated with Heywood Wakefield and/or Lane blond 50's furniture. The masterbedroom doesn't have its own bath but shares the pink one at the end of the hall with the other 2 bedrooms. Also in the hallway there is a Huge walk-in cedar clset that Mike has converted to hold all his CD's. In the basement there are alot of neat pieces of furntiure that Mike is storing in the area that he plans to turn into a fifties bar and a actual bomb shelter. One piece he had down there was a TV he bought from someone in France that I think looks like an alien brain but you all might think looks more like a french version of the Predicta tv. As I stated I will post pics that show all this in a few weeks when and if I get back there. but this should hold you for now. If I have forgotten anything or made a mistake Mike, please feel free to step in and correct me ok.
PAT COFFEY
PAT COFFEY
