You all who are around 50 may be aghast...my #1 easy child was, lol.

DDD

Well-Known Member
As some of you may recall I am a retired Realtor who gave up my career at 36 to marry husband and SADLY relocate, lol. Anyway I watch real estate shows on television very often. HGTV has a number of them and another channel now has one based in Miami (my hometown). Anyway two weeks ago I "thought" I heard this weird term used as vacation properties were being shown in Fl. BUT I wasn't sure. Last week on another program I "thought" I heard the term again. WTH?? This week I HEARD the term loud and clear! :)

The term is "mid century". I hope you are sitting down guys. "Mid Century" homes are those that were built in the 1950's and 1960's. :fantasysmiley: OMG..."mid century"???? The Buyers are saying "We don't care for mid century homes!" or "We like the mid century homes." LOL!

My wonderful easy child was gobsmacked. She said "Mom that sounds like they are from ancient times. I can't believe that purchasers are labeling the houses we lived in that way!" How weird & funny. DDD
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
My aching heart. I am Mid Century...lol. Actually what tickles me so much on those shows is the unrealistic expectations of some of the very young buyers. They want granite, new stainless appliances, hard wood floors in the entire house and acre lots. All for the lovely price of 100K!!!
 

goomer

New Member
My aching heart. I am Mid Century...lol. Actually what tickles me so much on those shows is the unrealistic expectations of some of the very young buyers. They want granite, new stainless appliances, hard wood floors in the entire house and acre lots. All for the lovely price of 100K!!!
You couldn't buy a trailer home around these parts for that price lol
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
In 2001 I bought a decent enough double wide with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a huge master which included what could either be an office or a nursery. I paid exactly 40K. It was brand new. Believe me, its made out of trailer parts. The cabinets that looked so nice are simply plywood cut outs with doors on the front. They looked like nice cabinets. Hahaha. I wouldnt have ever thought about granite anywhere. In fact Im not sure that the floors would hold that type of weight! My counter tops are those pressboard formica things with the thing formica glued to the tops. It looked nice in the beginning but it wears out fast.
 

goomer

New Member
In 2001 I bought a decent enough double wide with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, a huge master which included what could either be an office or a nursery. I paid exactly 40K. It was brand new. Believe me, its made out of trailer parts. The cabinets that looked so nice are simply plywood cut outs with doors on the front. They looked like nice cabinets. Hahaha. I wouldnt have ever thought about granite anywhere. In fact Im not sure that the floors would hold that type of weight! My counter tops are those pressboard formica things with the thing formica glued to the tops. It looked nice in the beginning but it wears out fast.

We live in an old house built in 1974. Trust me, it looks like it was built in the 70s. Formica countertops and all lol. Even when the house is clean, there is still a layer of grime that will never go away. Someday soon, we are hoping to get out of here, though. Alaska!
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
DDD,

As a "retired" antique dealer but still furniture lover, the term mid-century just refers to homes, furniture, decorative arts, etc., that were built or made from the late 50's through the 60's. They are not antique, they fall into the collective category. It's just a term to describe something by the period it is from. Just like Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco, etc. Mid-centry applies to everything from reproductive colonial (think Ethan Allen stuff from the late 50's/60's), to atomic to mod!

I believe Mad Men has raised folks awareness of the time period, but folks have been lusting after mid-century architecture for years as well as the appliances, furniture, and decorative arts that go along with the period. There are several websites that specialize in listing mid-century homes; others that specialize in locating working mid-century appliances. My daughter actually has her entire living room done in mid-century style with pieces from the period that she has collected from yard sales and thrift stores for years. Every piece of furniture, the area rug, the artwork on the walls, her "good" china, her lamps, and all her decorative items are from the period. She also has an etsy store where she sells vintage clothing from the 60's, 70's and 80's that she finds on her thrift store runs. You would be surprised what folks will buy - she just sold an acrylic (remember that fabric?) jumper for $65!

Having been born in 1959, I guess I'm a collectible too!

Sharon
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Oh then my mom's furniture is Mid Century. Does that make it worth something? Doesnt matter, its not going anywhere anyway but I have always loved it. She has that Queen Anne stuff.
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
My first house was a mid-century ranch (1959) and my current is a mid-century cape (1950). It reflects the building "booms" in my town: We have historic housing built after the War of 1812 (most of the older housing was destroyed in the war); a few homes built in the late 1880's through 1930 (the depression stopped construction cold); then mid-century housing as our town became a suburb and a major project started nearby; a few small neighborhoods put up in the late 1970's and early 1980's (the recession stopped further development); and then a mini boom in the 1990's. So.... my "age" of home is actually the most common because my area saw the biggest population growth during the mid-century period.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
How old do we have to be to be an antique? LOL



Speaking of being old I have to tell you a funny from a 7 year old's point of view.

She seems to have somewhat of hard concept of how old, old is. Like she just had her birthday in June and now she tells me she is all grown up because she is about to turn 8...lol. I keep telling her no she isnt and she wont turn 8 for a long time...when school is out!

She also thinks there are only a few categories of people. Baby's, kids, adults and old people. She kept telling me I didnt have to tell her what to do anymore because she was almost grown. I told her no you arent, your still a little kid. She was aghast. She said I am not a baby! I said I didnt say you are a baby, I said little kid. I told her she would be a big kid when she got to be about 10. Then she would become a teenager at 13 and would be considered an adult when she graduated HS.

I mentioned that her Papa's birthday was coming up in September. She asked me how old he would be. I told her the same age as me. She thought that was so funny. She started laughing and said "Oh lord, now Papa is going to get fat like you!" He isnt skinny by a long shot but I look way fatter. Dont worry, she still loves me and isnt trying to hurt my feelings. I talk about being fat all the time.

I laughed back at her and told her no, age has nothing to do with weight...lol
 

helpangel

Active Member
I'm half a century old, house is from 1924, car from 1980's, furniture from about every decade since the civil war - but they made stuff to last back then... half the new furniture that I bought last winter is ready for the curb but my old stuff will still be around in 20 years. just a thought

Nancy
 

svengandhi

Well-Known Member
My house is from the 1920's. When we were house hunting, we looked at a farmhouse from the 1800's. We loved it but the owner was greedy and it was too close to a main street. I think of the "mid-century" style as houses like my mother in law's cape or the ranches and splanches that litter my area. I have a center hall colonial.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
We live in an old house built in 1974. Trust me, it looks like it was built in the 70s
Don't trash the 70s houses.
They are actually well built compared to stuff from the 80s and 90s. Each decade got worse.

You can take a 70s house and make it really comfortable but you have to know where the weak points generally are. And that takes money.
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
I guess the term for mine would be WWI era...built in 1918, remodeled in 1924 and again some time in the 1940's, and repainted in 1996, when I bought it.

I also qualify as mid-century...I'll be 51 this year.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
KTMom... here, they call that vintage "pre-war". We don't have a LOT of houses older than 1900, so they kind of get lumped in with pre-war. Basic house ages are pre-war, wartime, post-war (now called mid-century), then by decade (70s/80s/90s), The rest are "modern"... whatever that means!
 
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