Alice’s picture perfect yellow Geneva kitchen… pink bathroom…and blue bathroom — a festival of 50s cheer
Mid Mod Pam on Apr 10 2008 at 11:36 am | Filed under: Reader homes, kitchen, pink bathrooms
Sleeping Bee Alice writes:
Hello, I am a novice retrorenovator…and am loving your website.
My husband and I are leaving our modern, brand-spanking new customized kitchen for a charming 1950’s yellow Geneva kitchen in a home that we have fallen in love with. I’m having trouble thinking through the “enhancement” of the kitchen…the cabinets are in great shape and we really like the look…we have to replace the outdated wallpaper, bad flooring and yellow countertops. The fridge was gone.
I really enjoyed all the pink kitchens pictures…any such resources for yellow kitchens? (Pale, maize yellow.)
For future thought, we are also inheriting three fabulous tiled bathrooms…one pink, one blue, one aqua…will be looking here for complimentary design ideas for those as well…no gutting going on here!
Thanks!
No — thank you, Alice! For all the wonderful photos — and for letting us know, another sweetheart of a middle class mid-century home is being saved. Hallelujah!
Since this is already a long post, what with all the photos, you’ll get some suggestions tomorrow!
O lucky, lucky, lucky Alice… I’m positively chartreuse with envy.
That built-in clock radio in the kitchen! Those jet-engine faucet handles and square tub in the pink bathroom! *sigh* And a SEVEN BURNER cooktop!
Alice, PLEASE start a Flickr photo pool so we can marvel at your swell home.
And please let the Gods of Vintage someday send me a house this well preserved.
I have the same pink sink - isn’t is fabulous! I want those pink hexagon tiles…
I love your yellow cabinets. We just bondo’d and painted our Youngstowns white. Yellow would have been great on the inside.
I’m joining your novice renovator club and trying to preserve my little mid century abode as well.
Good luck and happy rehabbing.
Oh Lawd, I am in love with that blue bathroom! It’s so perfect!
How on earth did I miss seeing that huge pink tub? Now I am in love with both bathrooms. I agree with Maggie that we need more pics of this lovely home.
My grandmother had a square tub exactly like that (only in white). It eventually became the abode of our ancient chihuahua, Diamond, who went to live with my grandmother after we couldn’t stand him anymore (sad, I know). Seriously. The dog lived in the bathtub.
I can see why Alice and her husband fell in love with that house. It’s perfect…and the bathrooms look like they’re in pristine condition. I love the narrow accent tiles. Also, that pink sink is amazing.
Wow - thanks for everyone’s comments…this is fun! I’ll try to figure out Flikr as suggested and post other pictures. The aqua bath is tiny, and my photo skills are poor, so the shots didn’t come out very well…I’ll try again soon.
Regarding the wallpaper in kitchen. Yes, I figured it was very ’60’s. Other than I’m just not a groovie orange person, it is terribly discolored with years and years of nicotine that just won’t come off. (Any tips?)
These photos are going to cost me a fortune, at least the ones of the blue bathroom! My own blue bathroom renovation has become seriously stalled thanks to a tile company (DalTile) that cannot seem to get its act together. But I was not really happy with the tile pattern I had ordered from them anyway. It was too contemporary and not an authentic ca. 1958 pattern. On seeing the fantastic pattern of your floor, however, I’ve decided to re-order new tile (even though the first batch … that has not arrived after 9 weeks … is non-refundable) and “copy” the pattern of your floor. But I am making an adaptation. Since my walls are white tile, I’m going to lay the floor with 3×3 unglazed white tile and 1×1 unglazed blue and black (in the same 3:1 ratio). It’s only money, right? How can I not spend a little more after seeing your wonderful floor?
Regarding the nicotine on the wallpaper, I have used Formula 409 spray cleaner on fiberglass lampshades with amazing success. Not sure that it will work on wallpaper, but it might be worth a small test patch.
May I ask a question of Alice? What are the exact sizes, inluding fractions of inches, of the tiles on the floor of that blue bathroom? Thanks.
Stephan - give me a day or two to get those measurements to you…happy to do it!
For Stephan - tile measurements in blue bathroom. Stephan, I’ve emailed additional photos to Pam because I don’t know how to post them here. The measurements, much to my surprise, are:
Large tiles: 4 3/16 x 4 1/8
Small Tiles: 1 5/16 x 1 5/16
Hope this is helpful. Tell us how your project works out!
Thanks very much, Alice! Pam forwarded the photos as well. Odd sized tile, though. The small ones are not made in those dimensions today, so it will be a challenge to replicate the pattern with tile of a slightly different size! Getting the geometry to work as the tile is laid out from a center point may require a lot of tile cutting …. tedious, labor-intensive, and costly. I will send along photos when it is completed.
Good luck to you Stephan! I really appreciate the inquiry because I had not even noticed the floor of the bathroom until you requested more details…