My home was built in 1937 and though it is a Cape Cod style home there really isn't a distinct Cape Cod style of interior decorating. Nor are there a lot of examples to look at. The 1930's included the Great Depression. A time in which decorating your home was not the most important item on your agenda. You rarely run across a home built in the 1930's. Gear Acres was built in the time frame after the depression and pre World War II, which was another time in which Americans were vastly preoccupied with things other than decorating.
At the book stores I see numerous books on Victorian, Mission, bungalow, Arts and Crafts, and now even mid century styles. Authors have completely bypassed the 1930's. So I have resorted to old books published in the 1930's and 1940's for design guidance.
Gardening books from that era offer many photos of home exteriors and landscaping. Several of the interior design books from the 30's and 40's explain why we are now stripping paint off of our wood trim and reinstalling removed design elements. It's both horrifying and amusing to read their thoughts about why removing that built in buffet and extensive oppressive wood trim is the right design choice.
This week the postman delivered these books.
Starting on the left....How to build a house for under $3,500. I purchased that book to glean structural information. Hoping to gain a little insight into how and why they built the way they did. The book in the middle...Injurious Insects....has great photos of insects common in the garden plus a 'way cool' cover. In an attempt to stay away from chemicals in the garden, I'll read and see what they used in 1914 to curb their bug infestations. And last but not least a cookbook.....Ruth Wakefields' Toll House Tried and True Recipes. I purchased this book with nothing more than the intent of gaining a good recipe to get my "snack on". I was shocked when I opened the book to find a photo of Toll House. Seems that Toll House is a Cape Cod.......the decorating Gods work in mysterious ways.
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Interesting. I've been buying old books too, to gain clues on how our house was constructed. So far we've come across one book saying our wiring was totally outdated when installed, and another saying our plumbing wasn't an ideal system at the time either. But we live in the middle of nowhere so I suppose the newfangled technoligy took its time filtering to our area. And I can relate on the lack of decor specific books. We've got a bungalow (built in '39 or '41) but it doesn't seem to fit mission or arts and crafts themes so well inside.
ReplyDeleteI know that you can plant dill weed in your cucumbers and musk melons (catelope) and it will keep bugs off of those - this is something I did when we kept a garden.... and I also planted marigolds in between the tomato plants and bell peppers and they kept the bugs off of those. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteBrian....I purchased an old wiring book that describes knob and tube just in case we run across some that wasn't removed. That stuff scares the "you know what" out of me.
ReplyDeleteSandy....cool...I was going to plant dill so it's good to know it keeps the bugs away. Probably because of the intense smell. Plus I kind of like the looks of it, too.
I really like old books, too. I have a bunch that were my mom's when she was little (she just turned 80) and every time we go to an auction we end up spending most of our time looking at the old books. Never thought of them as a decorating andn landscaping resource, though--thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I just noticed your comment about knob & tube wiring. We had that in a house I used to live in. Scary stuff. We could only plug in turn on one thing at a time or the whole house would go dark!
ReplyDeleteJan,
ReplyDeleteI've been lurking on your site for a year now, and I love it. Just had to comment and give you a couple of titles to try to find. They are in my library--found them at thrift stores, and they have a bit of decorating, room arrangement, construction, etc. in them. You might also want to check old archived home magazines. BH&G and Sunset come to mind. The New Home Owner's Handbook by C. B. Smith, 1938, The World Publishing Co., NY; The Book of Home Economics by Mary M. Leaming, (Home Demonstration Agent New Jersey State Extension Service)1942, The New Home Library, NY. 'Economics' is a hoot--even talks about the 'new' federal regulations regarding thread count. If you want more info, or copies of pages, tell me how I can email you. Annette
Annette...I took your advise. I have already purchased 'The New Home Owner's Handbook' and hopefully tomorrow I will own several BH&G mags from the late 30's. I think the magazines will look cool sitting on the coffee table or maybe on a foot rest with a throw. Thanks for the idea.
ReplyDeleteJan, Wow! that was quick! I'll bet the magazines will be fun too look through. I was just thumbing through the Econ book again and was struck by her recommendations for the living room; comfortable seating with good light for reading, a radio one corner or nearest the chair of the one who likes to choose programs (sound like a tv?), a smoking corner, and a space for a sewing machine, if there is no sewing room. Too fun. If you can get your hands on it, it is a thorough tome.
ReplyDeleteAnnette
Annette...believe it or not...I was able to purchase that book just today.
ReplyDeleteR's smoking corner is outside!!!! My how times have changed.
Thanks for the book suggestions.
Jan
Annette....I was able to purchase the Homeowner's Handbook, the econ book, and 5 BH&G magazine from the 1930's. I currently have my eye on an issue from April 1937. That issue would be perfect.
ReplyDelete