Filed under: Famous Homes, Design, etc, News & Trends
With the recent passing of the actors Barbara Billingsley and Tom Bosley, we're feeling nostalgic for two of our favorite TV parents and their iconic homes.
ABC Photo Archives, ABC via Getty Images
Even if you dreaded coming home to your parents in your teenage years, there were always two homes you could happily retreat to: The Cleaver's and the Cunningham's, via TV shows Leave It To Beaver and Happy Days. The utterly all-American feel came through in every room, right down to the wallpapers, but nobody embodied the feeling more than Barbara Billingsley and Tom Bosley, June Cleaver and Howard Cunningham.
June Cleaver's style was a sign of her times, and so was her home. Just look at the pots-and-pans themed wallpaper in her kitchen. Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection
Her Style? Classic. American. Traditional. "It probably seemed even a bit modern at the time," Andrews says. On the cusp of the space age (the show actually debuted the same day Sputnik was launched), June Cleaver's design choices do include a few modern flourishes (check out the lamp in the family portrait below).
On the brink of modernity, the Cleaver home featured clean lines and a little modern flair, like the table lamp shown here. ABC Photo Archives, ABC via Getty Images
And it's a classic example of homemaking at the time. June's day-to-day upkeep of the two-story home at 485 Mapleton Drive included a kitchen, dining room, living room and patio on the first floor, three bedrooms on the second floor, a one-car garage and, of course, the iconic white picket fence out front.
The Cleavers later moved a short distance to a house on Pine Street, which featured a private study and our first look at June and Ward's bedroom -- twin beds and all.
Even in black and white, June's aesthetic is clear -- simple and easy and uncluttered.
Family time was always at hand in June's immaculate living room. Photo: CBS, Landov
While Leave it to Beaver fans enjoyed coming home to June's smile and warm greeting, it was the lovably gruff approach of Tom Bosley, a.k.a. Mr. Cunningham, that made them feel right at home with the 70s classic Happy Days.
Interestingly, the show was an homage to the previous decade and the life June Cleaver carved out for her family. Mr. Cunningham, like June, was the cornerstone of his home, dishing out advice and kicking back with a newspaper in his easy chair. The house itself is the kind of place you wouldn't mind ditching your own family dinners to hang out in -- "The Fonz" thought so anyway.
Happy days started in this charming hub for Howard and Marion Cunningham. Photo: ABC via Getty Images
Who wouldn't want to pull up a chair around that sunny yellow kitchen table? Or have a seat on the Cunningham's chintz sofa? These houses have shaped our ideals about family (and our sense of style) in more ways than we think. And they take you back to that "simpler time." In the last episode of Happy Days, Mr. Cunningham toasts his married children -- and the viewers -- saying "Thank you all for being part of our family...to happy days." We couldn't have said it better ourselves, Mr. C.
For more on mid-century modern style, don't miss:
-The Return of the Mid-Century Roadside Motel
-High vs. Low: Mid-Century Modern Lighting
-Mid-Century Clock Collection