Comments on: Bronwyn the Bad Visualizer renovates her Culver City ranch

By: CulverCityBronwyn

CulverCityBronwyn — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:33:59 +0000

Oops–never answered about the curtains. We had them made! Went to a fabric store and had our curtain guy make them (he was horrified by our selection). While he was at it, he re-upholstered our 1950’s kitchen chairs in with the same material. Also, the curtain rods are original to the house (we think) and are fake wood.

By: CulverCityBronwyn

CulverCityBronwyn — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:35:55 +0000

Hi! Thanks Pam and Everyone for the wonderful ideas! Wow–white walls….I love the obvious sometimes .

By: retrotravelgirl

retrotravelgirl — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:09:44 +0000

Hooray…another LA house saved! Where did you find those glorious aqua curtains????

By: Palm Springs Stephan

Palm Springs Stephan — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:49:57 +0000

I’m going to suggest something a little different … something with more drama.

Keep the aqua painted walls. Keep the matching aqua tile backsplash above the sink. Get rid of the aqua tile countertops (though they would have to be removed VERY carefully, lest you damage the backsplash). Instead, install solid black high-gloss formica countertops with a 4″ backsplash along the base of the tiled walls above the sink. The black in the countertops will repeat the black in the floor without the overwhelming busy-ness of a B&W checkerboard tiled pattern, and it will blend beautifully with both the aqua walls and tiled backsplash and with the coral or salmon bar.

Definitely keep the stove! And perhaps replace the face-panel on the dishwasher with a white one so that it will both match the stove and pick up on the white in the floor. And I think a white dishwasher door will make the room appear larger.

Then instead of the modern white plastic waste can, get a pink or salmon colored period piece to provide that little pop of contrast.

But I’m a huge fan of white-black-aqua-pink combinations, as you can tell by my bathroom!

By: kristinski

kristinski — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:10:25 +0000

I agree to keep the aqua and see if it works out. My kitchen is aqua (fridge, stove, and soon the sink) with yellow walls and red accents. It sounds pretty bad (and maybe it is) but I got the color combo from a vintage wallpaper that I didn’t use. So, if I were you and didn’t like my aqua after I put in the aqua counter top, I’d consider a soft yellow. I’ll be anxious to see it completed.

By: nancyb

nancyb — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:08:52 +0000

Cute kitchen, even “before”. I agree with elvis, that you can run the laminate up the wall as high or low as you like. I’ve seen it over-and-over in vintage home magazines where the laminate backsplash goes all the way up to the cabinets, or up 7-10″ (instead of the usual 4″). We are using the aqua Formica in our renovation, and will be running it up 7″ (under our outlets) with metal banding to top it off.
However, tile was also widely used of course… I agree with Pam and David, that you should keep it very simple, using white and maybe a pale accent at the top edge of pale yellow or coral to match your breakfast bar. A black accent might be too heavy and also seems more 30’s-40’s to me.
Good luck,
Nancyb

By: elvis

elvis — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:46:53 +0000

I’ll get this right yet!
I see now the modern stove is in a different kitchen shown for its backsplash.

By: elvis

elvis — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:41:27 +0000

Great kitchen! Love the O&M stove, but I’m confused by the more modern one…or did I miss something?

How about a flat backsplash of the same boomerang laminate with the traditional narrow metal edging around it? It was a common (and economical) solution, and with the expanse of your backsplash, might also be even a quieter visual effect than the grid created by white tiles.

My husband and I are also “splashy” people and using the same formica on the countertop and walls has worked well for us. It’s so easy to clean!