** Dr. Kevorkian of 50's Homes **

Oh Man- last week my wife told me about this show "Designing For the Sexes" on HGTV that she had seen where disagreeing couples seek the advice of a mad-scientist-like interior designer to help them make decorating choices..

The reason she was telling me about the episode she saw was because this couple had a cool 50's house with an incredible flagstone fireplace that the dingbat wife didn't like/appreciate, but the husband did (note: easy solution- D I V O R C E)

Well, needless to say, DOCTOR DEATH talked the henpecked husband into SLEDGEHAMMERING THE THING. At the end of the show the viewer was subjected to witnessing the 50's fireplace's terrifying metamorphisis into a contemporary tasteless mess. I shuddered to think of it.

But then, TONIGHT, I was channel surfing and came across the show- I was about 2 minutes into it when I was horrified to discover the idiot/moron couple's eyesore tile choices they were making were for complete desecration of their SUPER-MODERN 50's BATHROOM!!

Auuuugghhh! The bathroom went from a sweet pink-tile shower with matching apron-front sinks (awesome terrazzo floor) to a pompeiian/gay bath-house monstrosity.

THIS SHOW AND THE DOCTOR OF DEMENTIA MUST BE STOPPED!

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, I present Exhibit A:

Doctor Death's House of Madness

For further incrimination, please see Exhibit B:

Update for a 1950s Bath

[ Edited by: fatuhiva on 2002-04-18 22:56 ]

I saw that one, too, and was deeply disturbed... Almost as much as the show where they destroyed a perfectly good googie entryway to make way for cheap lumberyard lattice and fake flowers.:( Grrr. Moral - never allow a new-agey pop psychologist decorator with a (fake) Brit accent get his hemp-cloth shoe in the door...

Here's the ironic thing about all this. One day, the "modern" millenium homes of today will eventually be looked at as old, out-dated and gaudy. And people of the next generation will shudder at those who want to tear it down and replace it with whatever is considered "modern" for that time period.

Or even weirder, people of the next generation will learn to appreciate the googie style of "generations past" and start the style all over again, much like those who are building "new" victorian style houses.

Modern homes are a joke anyway - a strong wind or a heavy downpour will tear them to pieces, the construction is laugahble. I'm making a conscious effort to live in buildings built prior to 1960, when they used actual nails and rebar... not a hot glue gun...

Have you seen the show "cribs" about the pop music star's homes? They cost a fortune and they look like chain motels. There are so few architects doing anything worthwhile these days. When an architect does get mentioned it's for being outrageous like designing a building with exposed plumbing and heating ducts or something along those lines.

On 2002-04-19 12:19, thejab wrote:
Have you seen the show "cribs" about the pop music star's homes?

I saw an episode of this where the drummer from some ultrahip band with both letters & numbers in it's name (Some band that I didn't think had made a million bucks) was giving a tour of his house.

he built it in LA and overall it wasn't very cool, it kinda looked like someone wanted to build a cool contemporaty home but didn't have the guts to go all the way through with it and instead try to switch to spanish-style.

But the guy DID build this HUGE pool with lots of vegitation, palm trees, waterfalls, caves, and Tikis all over the place. He said he always wanted to live on an island like that. It was really cool ... I'm sure he's going to have a hell of a time selling when the money's gone though.

Then he showed off his backyard bar... the fridge was filled with Heiniken.

~Hanford

I love the rappers on Cribs that have huge portraits of THEMSELVES with gleaming rings on hanging in their ultra-tacky homes (framed in an ornate baroque-style gold monster of course)

anyway- to avoid future confusion, we should refer to 50's/60's "modernist" homes as "modern homes" and today's foamed-in stucco jokes as "contemporary homes" or just "clown boxes"

"Dr. Kevorkian" implies that there's some sort of mercy in what this guy does...sounds more like jack the ripper to me!

Ah. This is just in time to unveil my newest web page The American Home

Images from the 1957 Better Homes and Gardens book.

"Clown Boxes." That is brilliant.

Um, yeah... I wasn't going to comment again, but I have to say, I think 'Clown Boxes' could really catch on...

hahaha thanks! That was a spontaneous one off the top of my head :)

Yes, you're right there is no mercy in this Doctor's work. Jack the Ripper is much more like it..

OK, I definitely MUST be hungry - bith times I saw this phrase on the Swank Pad website:

"Tiki Kiliki's Country Fried Hot Rod broadcast "

I thought it said :

"Tiki Kiliki's Country Fried Hot Rod BREAKFAST."

Ha ha! Anyway, nice Dream Home pics! I must be reading too many of my old Better Homes and Garden Mags from the 60's too, cause I had a dream last night that my mid-century modern downtown dream home is for sale awaiting me at this address: 280 Montrose. Since that's not too far from here (and conveniently near the Lakeview Lunch Diner, where I just might find some Country Fried Hot Rod Breakfast) Mr. Tikifish and I are going to go for a walk up Montrose just for fun and see exactly what DOES lie at 280 Montrose. Most likely, considering this neighbourhood, its a 3 story victoiran, painted red and green, with wrought iron railings and statues of the blessed virgin mary in the paved-over front yard... hahah!