Comments on: Retro kitchen paint color schemes from 1953

By: m in minnesota

m in minnesota — Tue, 18 May 2010 15:18:49 +0000

I also have a 50′s galley/corridor kitchen w/ a north facing window….nothing was well maintained by the previous owners….so I did paint the kitchen cabinets ….but later… my friend who’s builds and designs for a living always recommends wood for the most practical finish in a kitchen….I do have to periodically repaint but I probably won’t cough up $30000 to gut this kitchen either…..I have also painted the faux ceramic tile paneling in the house – I used that Zinsser “1-2-3″ high adhesion primer w/ good results … If you painted the bottom cupboards a darker color and put a flat or satin urethane on them the ugly parts that are bugging you might blend away into the band of color and the urethane would hold up better than just painting like I first did – it’s kind of a ‘bistro’ look and some Nantucket kitchens have two colors for cabinets- Then keep the top ones like they are and re-varnish them when they need it…..

By: Zane Barlow Coleman

Zane Barlow Coleman — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 03:22:28 +0000

So we have 50s ranch with a galley kitchen, the floor is turquoise, and the counters yellow laminate… the cabinets were originally aqua/turquioise but then were refaced with what looks like plyboard… but its rather nice wood grain/color at least on the top cabinets… sunny… but the bottom cabinets aren’t as nice… more worn and less grain, not as golden… I’ve though about painting the cabinets, but the top ones are really nice or at least I like them… would it be weird to just paint the bottom ones? Kitchen also has faux brick backsplash all the way around…. ideas welcome….

By: kristinirene

kristinirene — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:53:01 +0000

Ours is closest to the next to the last one as we left the original cabinets as is; I cannot bring myself to paint them. They removed the original countertop (grrrr), but it is still that color in that example above. It is that CRAPPY faux wood formica. UGH. Which might be tolerable if I could put that metal around the edges to just fake the look.