Wood Paneling Anyone???
We’re not sure if this centered and stable guy is serving cocktails or selling wood paneling or both. Whatever he’s doing, he’s certainly well-dressed for the occasion in that snappy, smart three-piece tweed suit. It goes oh-so well with his pencil mustache and sinister slicked-back hairdo.
Stylistically, the sparsely stocked bar is a moderne masterpiece. Rarely do we see honey blond knotty pine so curvaceous and cutout. Plus, it’s a hand puppet theater waiting to happen. Imagine the possibilities with three stages!
Speaking of bars…yesterday while driving down the street daydreaming up new summer cocktail recipes, I dreamed up a new drink. It’s called the MAI-TAIGARTIA. You guessed it – it’s half mai tai and half margarita! Rim a glass with half sugar and half salt and serve with a maraschino cherry, a pineapple chunk and lime wedge skewered on one of those ‘lil cocktail umbrellas that we all love SO much. You may want to nickname this cocktail the “TIGER” because it’s probably gonna make you growl.
Cheers to wood paneling, tweed suits, MAI-TAIGARTIAS and YOU!
Quickie note: “Like” me on FACEBOOK so we can spread the joy of AMERICANA even more!
Charles Phoenix
Los Angeles, CA
August 4, 2010
I’m betting that 15 years after this picture was taken his kids turned that room into a baby hippie party den complete with black light posters and bean bag chairs. I recall a few basement rec rooms from my youth that looked like they had followed that exact evolution.
I’ll add to what Joe said earlier. In the house I grew up in, Denver Colorado, my dad did indeed finish our basement in blonde knotty pine! For those that don’t know, this is not “paneling” in the generic sense (4×8 slheets with a veneer of wood on them and pressed-in fake seams). These are typically varyingp-width real wood boards with a tongue and groove on the sides. One must nail in wood runners into the concrete walls first, and THEN use finish nails (hidden from view) to nail up each board. It is time consuming and the wood was extremely expensive. My dad did that himself–no outside contractor, my mom and he blew an acoustic ceiling into place (very 60s) and did all the flooring. Our neighbors were amazed.
I went back on a business trip to Denver 2 years ago, and stopped by the place. The present owner had the house for the last 30 years–way longer than we had been in it–and the basement (er, rec room!) was almost EXACTLY how we left it. The wood still looks good! The faux-fireplace in the corner from 1969, well, that’s another story!
Oh my. This is the place where wood paneling goes to die, and there’s the Devil himself overlooking the domain. In spite of the hell imagery, I confess it looks like heaven to me. Flaming Zombie, anyone??
Awesome shot! We also had this same honey-blond knotty pine paneling in the basement of our 1957 ranch home in Upper Arlington, Ohio, which included a rarely used cocktail-party home bar. This paneling was Americana hotstuff in the 1950s. But it’s the cutouts that make the paneling in this shot very special. Somebody went a little nuts with the jigsaw.
@Richard, above: I have a feeling that if you grow tired of your dining room paneling, it might be worth something to vintage collectors, provided you could find a way to get it off the wall without damaging it. That might be impossible, and even if it can be, I could be wrong about the value. I just did a quick websearch, and there are online dealers still selling this stuff, but their paneling looks different than the vintage look we see here.
Like an inkblot, you see what you want to see in the art piece behind our Gomez Addams bartender, but to me, it appears to be a portrait of the bartender, with his arms folded.
Dang, it looks like he has a tugboat in his basement. Awesome.
Yep, I remember the 50′s knotty pine well – our kitchen cabinets, for instance, with the black wrought iron handles. My brother and I used to use the ones on the drawers to open our pop bottles and drove our mother crazy because they’d leave dents. Eventually the dent would get too deep to open the cap, so we’d move onto the next drawer. I recently visited my childhood home and the knotty pine/drawers/dents were still there. The lovely current owner finally had the mystery solved about the damaged drawers.
My grandmother’s kitchen was originally all knotty pine (built in 1957) when she bought it and immediately painted over it pink to go with her pink fridge and stove. It was quite popular back then but this guy obviously had a kinky naughty fetish! Look at that salacious look on his face.
I just love the craftsmanship of this room. Even the wood ceiling shows the planning that went into creating the perfect atmosphere here. And it’s finished in clear varnish for a mid-cen mod mood as opposed to the tinted/amber shellac that we’re so used to seeing. The porthole window and the round woven end table are are aperfect match. But my favorite touch is the tall ship “painting’ hung over the still functional basement window behind the proud owner. A frame of a frame over a frame!
I currently have that paneling in my dining room. We bought a very old home here in Western KY. I sort of have a love/hate relationship with it. I like the look, but, am not a huge fan of paneling in general. Probably because my dad, when I lived in Brooklyn NY, went on a paneling rampage. He put up paneling in the living room, dinning room, up the stairway to the second floor, and the entire second floor hallway. I am trying to recall if he did got to his bedroom and mine. It would not surprise me if he did, I’ll have to go back to the old photo albums someday.
What a treasure! I love the porthole-shaped cutout with some little ceramic figure perched on the trim. If this is anything like the bar my grandfather created in his basement, that right hand corner that supports the shelves is framed to cover brickwork pilings of a chimney. And on the left… swinging saloon doors, here shown only in half-view. I would bet that the picture in the background is a clipper ship or some other nautical scene. Maybe this is “nautical-pine!”
Wow! I also note the symmetric balance of the two (Bauer?) pots on shelves– blue one on the left and orange one on the right. And I’m with Jeanette: what is that picture behind him? A painting of a lighthouse? A print of Salvador Dali’s last supper? A coal chute cover painted blue and framed? This is some of the better pine panelling I have ever seen.
Wow, photographic proof of the very first man cave! I’m just wondering who actually was invited to this basement wonderland and what the dress code was?
What is the picture in the picture behind him????!!!
Enjoying a Mai-Taigarita right now! Good inspiration!
Paired with those classic spindly-legged, orange-topped barstools, this is one awesome setup.
I grew up in the ’50s, and what many people don’t realise is that “Early American” (AKA “Colonial”) furniture was very popular. Everyone did NOT have/want “1950s Modern”. Knotty Pine went well with it. It also was loved by DIY guys for the basement “Rec Room”. Most of the old knotty pine has been painted over. I thought it looked pretty crappy, even in the ’50s!
I love the inappropriately-chosen wall sconce light fixtures – better suited surrounding the mirror/medicine chest in the bathroom. (They do appear to be Lumiline incandescent lamps, though).
But what they heck, as long as the four bottles of liquor are at the ready (does Dad have any more hiding below-?) and that lovely three-piece suit – lets get ripped-!!
Sweet mother of pearl that Mai-Taigarita sounds like it’d put the curl back in your kuka-choo!
You have such a delightful way with words Charles!! You crack us up!!
Oooh, is that naughty pine?