In a bid to make this 1950s tract house more functional — and help it to look a little less ordinary — several rooms in the home got a makeover.
Before its renovation, the crowded living room lacked cohesion, due in part to the dreary darkness of black vinyl tile floors.
After its sunny living room makeover, as seen here, it had a bright new color and glowed, even in winter.
Fiberglass curtains gave the room privacy, yet permitted a view from inside. Over-draperies could be drawn to cut out chill north winds.
The curved sofa had a new cover of cheerful quilted linen, and the stools and side chairs were reupholstered in blues and browns.
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Fixed space dividers were a common “feature” of prefab and midcentury modern tract homes. The problem was that their placement often restricted the ability to change placement of furniture and rugs to allow for a new use of the space.
In this case, a trio of unnecessary ceiling-to-floor poles gave way to a practical loose-woven folding screen divider that could be moved as desired, and worked to shield the seating area from the front door.
Airy caneback chairs replaced clumsy lounge chairs, a new coffee table was added, and the whole living area benefited from improved lighting.
Finally, the new wall-to-wall carpeting continued into the study, visually increasing the size of both rooms.