Vintage articles and more in the Home & garden category at Click Americana

15 fabulous examples of fun and fashionable flooring from the fifties

15 fabulous examples of fun & fashionable flooring from the fifties

What was flooring from the fifties like? Bold stripes, oversize checkerboard squares, or random arrangements made from vinyl tile or linoleum for the kitchen, bathroom or other areas of the home!

DIY Halloween decorations on a budget: Fiendishly clever ideas from the days before party supply stores (1919)

Back when cheap Halloween party decor was a distant dream, people had to make their Halloween decorations the old-fashioned way: by getting creative. Ghoul School 1919 is now in session!

More than 110 of the original vintage house plans used for millions of 1950s suburban American homes

See 110 vintage ’50s house plans used to build millions of mid-century homes that we still live in today

If you're buying a 1950s house, already live in one, or just want to see how new suburban homes were designed back in the rock 'n' roll and 'Leave it to Beaver' era, we have some fantastic '50s house plans for you!

How to make old-fashioned apple head dolls - shrunken apple vintage crafts

How to make old-fashioned apple head dolls: Get vintage shrunken apple DIY craft directions, details & photos

Remember apple head dolls - an early American craft with folk art roots that was popular again in the '60s and '70s? Find out how to make these shrunken apple dolls, and more about the art of dollmaking.

X-radium cooking utensils - Bad ideas - vintage ad from 1905

Anyone for radioactive food? You could get it with this X-radium cookware – a mind-blowingly bad product idea from 1905

Back when radium was first discovered, people loved that it was new and cool and it glowed... so companies decided to put it into a variety of products, like this radioactive X-radium cookware. Yeah, that was a bad idea.

Retro rooms: See these 12 themed vintage basement remodels, from the wacky to the wonderful (1948)

Check out these 12 retro basement remodels, including a ranch room with a Western atmosphere, created with cowhide furniture, a totem pole, and a colorful pattern for the floor copied from a Navajo blanket.

Take a look around Armsmear, Samuel Colt’s famously over-the-top Victorian mansion built in Hartford, Connecticut

Armsmear, the Connecticut mansion also known as the Samuel Colt House, was built on a huge plot of land owned by the inventor of the famous firearm. See what this grand and spacious Victorian home was like in its heyday!

Forget kitchen cabinets – install a wall-mounted refrigerator! (Yes – this was really a thing in the ’50s)

This new, revolutionary wall-mounted refrigerator and freezer that hangs from the wall is a completely new and advanced concept of modern living. Truly, it is the most convenient and magnificent refrigerator-freezer ever produced!

A mid-century modern home design & decor for a hip young family (1965)

This mid-century modern home design was created for a busy family of five, and in addition to the spacious floorplan, it glows with light, from huge windows and stunning clerestories.

Stick-on home decorating: Get some Flair Squares on your walls (’70s & ’80s)

See some vintage DuPont Flair Squares wall coverings - sticky squares of vinyl wallpaper that used to be super-popular. They were an easy way to DIY some home decor in the '70s and '80s.

Go oh-so-retro and wallpaper your ceiling like they did in the ’70s

Why stop with the walls when decorating your home when you can add color and flair up high? Here are some retro examples and home decor tips on how to wallpaper your ceiling!

Charming & classic All-American suburban houses from 1919

Early in the 20th century, there was an interesting development in American home life -- people started moving from the city out to the suburban districts and small towns. See some classic All-American suburban houses from that era here!

How to make a space-saving guest wall for visitors (1961)

Here's an idea designed to make one room serve two purposes . . . a cozy, practical family room, plus well-planned facilities for extra guests or family additions.

Vintage Halloween party table decorations

4 festive Halloween party table decorations & menu plans (1912)

Boo! If you're having friends over for some spooky fun, look here for four different hauntingly creative Halloween party table decorations! These vintage menu suggestions and decor ideas are just as fun and festive today as ever.

Walls with a fashion future! Vintage wallpaper samples from 1940

These 72 wonderful wallpaper samples come straight from the forties, when wallpaper was all the rage.

Going up in style: 20 gorgeous ornate antique elevators

Why take the stairs while you can ride up in comfort inside one of these metalwork 'cage' style antique elevators, made with beautiful ornamental iron? Just tell the bellhop what floor you want.

Retro bathroom decor: 4 colorful, comfortable and convenient ’70s bathroom remodels

Keyed for color, comfort and convenience, the retro bathroom decor for two homes in the city and two in the country have been remodeled for maximum relaxation.

A 1950s home tour: See inside a small house in San Francisco

I don't know why this older couple -- my great-grandparents, in fact -- had these photos taken of their home in the mid-fifties, but I'm glad they did... Click to read more...

The End Of Dinner by Jules Alexandre Grun

How to throw a formal dinner party, Edwardian-style (1905)

The following is a list of the indispensable and necessary pieces of china and glass for correct dinner service, together with a menu describing each of the fourteen courses served at a formal dinner party.

9 colorful mid-century kitchen remodels & retro floorplans from 1954

If you were planning to get a new kitchen for your home in the 1950s, here are nine of the most popular mid-century kitchen remodels and floorplans you might have checked out!

Meet Josephine Garis Cochrane, inventor of the dishwasher (1892)

The inventor of the dishwashing machine The patron saint of the emancipated woman of the future will be Josephine Garis Cochrane, the inventor of... Click to read more...

Groovy walls! 25 vintage wallpaper samples from 1963

Careful selection of wallpaper important By William Pahlmann, Fellow, American Institute of Interior Designers A beautiful design on a fine wall... Click to read more...

How to make a roll-away children’s activity center (1961)

Children's activity center Hours of family-planned fun with this compact "home saver" A separate little world for the youngsters of your house .... Click to read more...

How to be a perfect ’50s housewife: In the kitchen

A lighthearted look back at the 50s housewife during the sunny days of yesteryear, when a woman's home was her castle -- and her kitchen was the heart of that home.

Which way does the wind blow? A look back at antique weathervanes

Vintage weathervanes were made in almost every conceivable design and pattern. Horses, cows, deer, eagles, ships. roosters and even pigs were hammered in metal and used to register the direction of the wind.

Glorious vintage designer kitchen remodels (1978)

A kitchen remodel portfolio: Help yourself to the inspired ideas - some big, some little, all of them adaptable - in these kitchen makeovers by talented designers! Retro styles from 1978.

Coleco above-ground swimming pool (1970)

A Coleco pool for the backyard: Above-ground swimming pools (1970)

'I just bought the only vacation you can keep -- a Coleco pool. Would you believe it cost me less than taking the family away for two weeks?"'

The '40s career girl's apartment - vintage decor (2)

Modern career girl? Here’s how to decorate your apartment! (1948)

After you get a place of your own, you get to decorate your apartment! You will have such a joyous adventure turning it into the kind of place you like.

How to have a Victorian garden party (1899)

A Victorian garden party may extend from afternoon into evening, or it may be entirely an evening affair, in which case the lawn and shrubberies are lighted by Japanese lanterns cleverly put about the place.

Vintage home exteriors: 18 colorfully-painted Victorian houses (1886)

Bold, rich coloring for houses of the era The day when nearly every building was painted white, and window blinds green, has passed away. It was ... Click to read more...

Gold Bell stamps home gift catalog from 1963

Everything for the home in the 1963 Gold Bell gift stamp catalog

This catalog of household goods was published to help people 'spend' the gift stamps they had earned at the grocery store -- much like the better-known Green Stamps.

Mobile homes: The hot housing trend of the ’50s and ’60s

Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the American Dream could be had -- affordably, fully-furnished, and in style -- if you wanted to buy a mobile home!

Flower power! ’70s bedding from the 1973 JC Penney catalog

These bold and bright '70s bedding ensembles delightfully epitomize the colorful fashions -- both in home decor and clothing -- of the groovy years.

Actor Michael Landon and family at home - 1975

Michael Landon and his family at home (1975)

Michael Landon's 'Big House in Beverly Hills' is a far cry from the 'Little House on the Prairie' featured in his hit TV series. But, says the former Bonanza star, he and Lynn and their six lively children "really live in this house -- we don't just look at it."

A vacation home on the water: The Homarina beach cabin (1960)

The Homarina beach cabin provides secure boat storage, over 400 square feet of comfortable, practical leisure living space, plus a large deck right at water's edge.

A ’70s designer dream house: The American Home of 1974

You enter the house through the front door, painted an unforgettable bright blue, outside and in. You stand on cool, dark ceramic tile that has the sleek look of polished leather. Take a tour of this '70s designer dream house here!