http://www.fiftieshouse.com Living in the Perfect 1950s Home Sun, 16 Nov 2008 04:28:27 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Amy recently found REJUVENATION for lighting, shades, and hardware, and Schoolhouse Electric Co. for period light fixtures and glass shades. http://www.fiftieshouse.com/2008/10/19/awesome-lighting-fixture-sources/ For the past six months or so, I've been too busy at work (and too tired in the evenings) to properly clean house. Combine this with the effects of Hurricane Ike and a week of sleeping on the couch (to babysit the generator) and you end up with quite ... http://www.fiftieshouse.com/2008/10/07/what-a-mess/ Back in January I posted some pictures I'd taken of interesting articles from the 1961 "Popular Mechanics Illustrated Home Handyman Encyclopedia & Guide". I'm happy to report that Popular Mechanics has given me permission to produce PDF versions of their articles as long as I don't alter the content and provide ... http://www.fiftieshouse.com/2008/10/02/update-on-the-popular-mechanics-articles/ About a year and a half ago, Jenny Suk and Luther Batie opened up Tanglewilde Ace Hardware in the shopping center at the intersection of Tanglewilde and Westheimer, just "down the street" from our house. Since then it's been our one-stop shopping source for all kinds of house stuff. Luther ... http://www.fiftieshouse.com/2008/10/02/the-neighborhood-hardware-store/ Living in Houston, we got to experience the effects of Hurricane Ike firsthand. A friend from San Antonio found out that I didn't have a generator, so he bought one (along with 75 gallons of gas) and drove it to me, arriving about six hours before the hurricane hit ... http://www.fiftieshouse.com/2008/10/02/hurricane-ike-aftermath/ When you own a home, there are a variety of things that can (and will) go wrong, and they usually happen when you least expect it or are not prepared for the cost of repairs. I've certainly experienced my share of these in the past ten years of being ... http://www.fiftieshouse.com/2008/08/12/10-common-household-repair-problems/ We've decided to go with the Eichler Numbers house numbers instead of the Neutra house numbers. They look a bit better, are easier to install, and are lots cheaper - $80 for the set, versus $75 per number for the Neutra stuff. http://www.fiftieshouse.com/2008/05/27/number-number-on-the-wall/ I've added Crestview Doors to the Links & Resources section. They're a great place to find Mid-Century Modern-inspired front doors for your Fifties House. http://www.fiftieshouse.com/2008/05/10/new-resources/ I recently found a 4-volume set of the Popular Mechanics Illustrated Home Handyman Encyclopedia & Guide (from 1961) in the bargain bin at a local used book store. The ~4000 pages of projects are basically the equivalent of today's MAKE Magazine with tons of stuff that wouldn't be printed ... http://www.fiftieshouse.com/2008/01/05/make-magazine-from-the-1950s-in-a-way/ Amy and I visited Houston's 1940 Air Terminal Museum today, and I took a bunch of pictures. It's a great example of Art Deco architecture, and I'm glad that it was saved instead of being bulldozed. Edit: here's some of my favorite pictures. Click a thumbnail for the ... http://www.fiftieshouse.com/2007/09/15/houston-1940-air-terminal-museum/