This photo of the White House family kitchen is from 1992…but if you jump onto this White House Museum page, you can see the kitchen when it was first installed in the private family quarters area by and for Jackie Kennedy. And glory be, it sure looks like her cabinets were Geneva’s. I can tell by the cabinet pulls — you can just barely see that they have the white plastic recess piece that gets hard and cracked and discolored and is in great demand by retro renovators today. There’s also a cool photo of Gerald Ford with a harvest gold stove in the background — but by then, the steel cabinets were out, and wood cabinets were in. Hey, where have we heard that story before. Before the Kennedys converted the space to a kitchen, the room had been a guest room and bedroom. The Clintons converted it to a family room. (Photo: Historic American Buildings Survey/HABS.)
Mid Century Culture
Kitchens – Countertops

Another first for the blog and our Retro Renovation journey: Last night I spotted vintage Geneva steel kitchen cabinets in a Target commercial. Don’t they look fantastic! Continue on for the close-up and more play-by-play commentary —> I think the countertop is some variety of solid surface material – a very sleek, modern look. And, I’m guessing that [...]

Maryland Nancy is searching for laminate for her bathroom reno, and alerted me that the colorful Nevamar swirlie’s are discontinued. Alas. So, I did another survey — and here is an update of the laminates landscape for bathroom vanity countertops, as far as I can determine. Scroll over each image with your mouse to see [...]

How is this one, Retro Renovation readers? I recently scored a full box of est. 1960-65 era GE Textolite laminate samples, absolute mint condition unused. This is the first bunch — the others aren’t so over-the-top FABULOUS, but still are great gauges of what to look for. OMG. What else do I need to say. [...]

I have been working on retro laminates lately – and originally thought there were only these big five: Wilsonart, Formica, Pionite, Nevamar and Arborite. But – I’ve now discovered a 6th company – Arpa USA. They have a terrific-looking portfolio — of solids, in particular. Some of the greens come darn close to that famous [...]
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Renovate Safe! Get informed about the environmental & safety issues in your vintage home. #1 RULE: Consult with pros. More info: EPA asbestos website ... EPA lead website ... Consumer Reports safety blog ... U.S.F.A. – electrical fire safety.




Trish and her two-family 50s house in Woonsocket, RI
Yellow Geneva metal kitchen cabinets
The perfect white paint for mid-century house interiors: Share your favorites & upload photos 















Wow, those photos are amazing!!
Oh my word, I have Margaret Truman’s bedroom furniture. Along with everyone else who bought furniture in the 50s and 60s. Who else has this set? Mine was originally in gold, and came with the following: bed, dresser, dressing table and bench, two night stands and a side chair. Luckily we lived in a ranch and the rooms were big enough to hold it.