Sad "renovation" of a lovely mid-century home

[Abuela]

http://www.younghouselove.com/photo-gal ... rst-house/

The original divider? The first thing they ripped out. That delightful original knotty-pine kitchen that looked to be in excellent condition? Replaced with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, of course.

Ugh.

[nezwick]

I know! I was reading this blog yesterday and I got really mad. I don't think they did too terrible of a job on the house - i.e. it's not really ugly in my opinion - but it's not pleasant to see all of the original fixtures and kitchen ripped out and replaced with modern stuff.

[Lynners]

Hm. Young House Love is actually one of my favourite blogs. Would it be if they were doing what they do to a home 1930s or older? Maybe not. But I don't find mid-century homes to be all that special. Just how I feel.

At least they aren't hacking their way through things - they do a proper job with everything. And they Craigslist useable stuff that they remove!

[circuspeanut]

Yep. It looks like a Pottery Barn vomited in there. And what a shame about the original brick and wooden ceiling beams. From quirkily unique to tediously anonymous, in just a few simple destructive steps!

Instead of a nice dedicated place to put one's keys, purse, and store one's wet shoes, you can now just open the front door and trip over the white (!) sofa. Or, alternately, bang your shins on some cheap espresso-stained rubberwood.

And don't even get me started on granite.

[shazapple]

I can't blame them for any of the changes; the house before was pretty awful. Nice colours, but the amount of nick nacks drives me mad!

[nezwick]

I definitely love "old" houses more, but I still have a soft spot for Mid-Centurys (1940-1960). When I was first looking for a house, that was my target style. I hadn't really even thought about anything pre-1930. So I kind of got a compromise here, with my 1880 house and awesome 1955 kitchen.

I was pretty appalled that they painted all the brick. I'll give them that the paneling was hideous and that had to change, but the brick is pretty much going to be painted forever now. I do agree that some of the colours they chose were nice though.

[jklare]

Dont get carried away now, updating houses to the current style has been happening for centuries, it is just part of the house maturing through time! If most old homes were never updated to current tastes, old neighborhoods are more likely to be bulldozed than rehabbed! There aren't tons of people like us out there!

Just look at any old neighborhood from the early 19th century; there will likely be houses with late Victorian marble mantles, Italianate bracketing, and porches added, all of which would be part of the house adapting to the most current designs. Most of us wouldn't bat an eye or scoff at these renovations, because they are all filed away as part of history.

I am sure that soon granite tops and stainless steel appliances will be considered as kitschy as the seafoam appliances and apron sinks many of you are disgusted are being ripped out, and 50 years from now people like us will be scouring craigslist for vintage side by side fridges distressed colonial cabinets for their period kitchen!

[lupinfarm]

Dont mind this renovation my self...maybe they could have turned the spindly divider by the front door into more of a feature.
What really gets my goat is the kitchen cupboards. I would have repainted them. Infact I would have loved to have them. They
were solid wood. I`m jealous.

[eperot]

Hmmm. I have split feelings on this one. It does look like HGTV went hog wild and these people pulled every style out of the pottery barn/ballard designs playbook for their renovation. but at least they are calling it a renovation and not a restoration. Personally, I have no love of houses built after WWII. I think style went right out the window with a substantial amount of quality as well. That said, I do think they deserve some credit for making their house the place they want it to be. Everything looks well done.

We all have our reservations for what is appropriate and what is not in reno/resto/repair of old houses. How far you are willing to go and how much of a purist you are is subjective. For instance, As each room we do gets done, I am building new doorframes with functional transom windows. They were not here to begin with, but are a feature I have always loved and wanted in my home. Not to sound full of myself, but they are done so well and in such a traditional manner that 99.5% of people would never think they were anything but original. Yet I'm sure there are people who would declare that I am destroying the original character of my house. It's a hard line to walk. We are all opinionated here and what is your cup of tea may not be mine. At least we can all agree on one thing. Life looks better through wavy glass.
Eric

[lavender_bush]

I know! I was reading this blog yesterday and I got really mad. I don't think they did too terrible of a job on the house - i.e. it's not really ugly in my opinion - but it's not pleasant to see all of the original fixtures and kitchen ripped out and replaced with modern stuff.

What really gets my goat is the kitchen cupboards. I would have repainted them. Infact I would have loved to have them. They were solid wood. I`m jealous.

If you actually if you read their blog you will find that they did repaint their cabinets, reused cabinets to fit new space when they closed off a door, as well as sourcing second hand units from their local Re-Store.



The counter tops are Corian not granite

http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/12/

Cut these guys a break! It might not be exactly to my taste but they've done exactly what I would have done - torn down that divider!