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February 27, 2007
Roddy House, Part 1
My friend Meredith invited me to visit her new house a few weeks ago. A rambling ranch home on the east side, it was perfectly preserved in 1969, the year it was built. Meredith and her husband Ted bought it from a pair of sisters who had kept the house in pristine condition, right down to the fake crystal chandelier in the dining room.
There are parts of the house that seem oh-so-dated, like the funky floral wallpaper over the master vanity (it is also lining the drawers of the vanity like custom contact paper) or the faux marbelized countertop in the guest bath. The kitsch-addict in me wanted Meredith to go with the flow and keep enough of the gaudy to date the house and give it some of that Gong Show flavor.
In general, the home is a beautiful specimen of thoughtful design and architecture. Formal living and dining areas open off of the entry foyer. The kitchen features a priceless pass-thru (that I would personally decorate with modernist etched glass but David thinks should be left open). The exposed beams in the den meet with wood paneling that needs a new stain but is a wonderful complement to the stone fireplace. The lot is enormous with a covered patio and landscaped backyard as well as a private side yard with storage and a climbing tree.
During the grand tour, we started opening the drawers in the master bedroom vanity, and lo and behold we found the original house plans.
I do mean original: rolled up and somewhat yellowed, the graphite and pen had smeared in a couple of places. The plans appeared to indicate that the home was a blueprint for others in the neighborhood, possibly a model home.
Meredith was under a major time crunch, caught between two living spaces, and struggling with needing to make some very speedy decisions. I put in my two cents, but after she showed me her collection of paint chips and her magazine cut-outs, I was sure that she didn't need any input from me. I can't wait to see how it looks with her personal touch!
If you live in Austin and you are in the midst of a MCM home redo, ranch or otherwise, please drop me a line. I know not everyone has time to blog the process, but I love seeing before/after shots and I am happy to post pics here. Plus, it gives me a good excuse to get out of the House of Sick for a few hours ;-)
Posted by Christiane at February 27, 2007 08:20 AM
Comments
What this house needs is a new door from Crestview doors! Perhaps the Piedmont...or the Pasadena...
Thanks for blogging my house. I'll send more pics soon. I've replaced at least one chandelier with a sputnik one and the George Nelson bubble light is on the way. My new CBGBs shower curtain adds a nice touch to the master bath. Basically we're just piddling around before we can get to the big stuff like removing a dropped ceiling in the kitchen and replacing the flowered linoleum that is all too prevalent. It's definately a work in progress!
Meredith
Posted by: Meredith at February 28, 2007 09:38 AM
Dude! I just sent you an email! I hadn't seen your comment yet. Somebody write "DUH" on my forehead, LOL.
Posted by: Christiane at February 28, 2007 09:05 PM
I loved seeing your house, in its original condition. We just bought a 1959 house, from the original owner. Everything is original, like something from Bewitched. We have the same ceiling in our family room, with the beams and wood paneling. The wood is actually great wood, and in some ways I want to leave it as is -- one of the reasons we love the house is it's mid-cent ranch feel. However, that's a lot of wood in that room. (We also have the pass-thru and the added bonus of saloon doors). I was thinking of maybe leaving one wall with the paneling and painting the others. Not sure how weird that will look, but we don't want to do away with all the paneling! We also had the popcorn ceiling in that room removed as well. I think that will make a huge difference.
So was wondering, what do you all plan on doing with that wood paneling?
Posted by: carolyn at March 9, 2007 10:35 AM
Carolyn,
I am planning right now on leaving the wood paneling as is. It is ash wood paneling in pretty good shape. It's very retro- which we are into. I think it is unique to the house and we want to try to make it work.
I hate popcorn ceilings, but the glitter makes them bearable. My son likes to remark that it makes the "stars come out right in our own home!" I did remove the popcorn ceilings in the bedroom because the glitter had been painted over. Right now we are looking for paint colors for two bedrooms- I'm trying to stay true to 60's colors but am struggling to find those. We also have a kitchen redo in the future to remove a dropped ceiling. Like the Erwins, I'm looking to IKEA. I was at their house a few weeks ago and their kitchen rocks!
I'd love to see pics of your home. Please email some!
Meredith
Posted by: Meredith at March 14, 2007 06:12 PM