Today, Janice shares the story of her wonderful kitchen renovation, which includes avocado (yes) colored Formica countertops, new MDF cabinet doors, Azrock Cortina Autumn Haze floors — and , well, every detail carefully considered. 
Janice writes:
Pam, here are the pictures to what I like to call my Retro Renovation Inspired Kitchen. I look around the room and can relate nearly everything to some piece of advice learned, a tip heard, or a resource discovered through the blog – a blog that I religiously read every….single…..day.
Here’s a little about the kitchen…..
My husband, Greg, and I bought our 1954 ranch house in Wichita, Kansas in 2008. We were downsizing from a much newer and much bigger house that we no longer needed since we’re empty nesters. I wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as my husband about downsizing as I wasn’t ready to give up all my “stuff” that filled a 3 story home. That is, until I latched onto an Atomic Ranch magazine in a bookstore one day. I was inspired by the very unique, simpler concept of these homes and now I was completely on board with downsizing….so long as I could have a 1950’s ranch home in the right neighborhood. We were lucky to find our house after only looking at two houses and bam! Suddenly we were owners of a mid-century ranch. Now what the heck do I do?
Janice continues:
By now I was a regular subscriber to Atomic Ranch and loved pouring over the gorgeous homes in the spreads (and still do), but there really weren’t many stories for the moderate income lover of mid-century homes. These were $1 million redos! I needed something that I could relate to and quite by accident, I stumbled upon Retro Renovation. You were custom made for me and I wish I had a dollar for every time I said to my husband, “I was reading on ‘my’ blog ……” Now every time I mention a new idea, his response is, “Oh wait, don’t tell me….you read it on the blog, right?” (You have to read a little sarcasm into that comment.)
While you’ve seen me through 3 renovations (a family room, living room, and a kitchen), the kitchen is where I leaned on you the most. While I fell in love with my house from the moment I stepped in the front door, I didn’t feel like I was stepping back to the 50’s as much as I felt like I was stepping back to the 80’s. Sadly, the house had gone through a major renovation in the 1980’s and all the natural charm had been taken to the dump or covered up by oak veneer…which leads me to my first Retro Renovation inspiration.
I had decided early on that I was not going to rip out all the original cabinets just because they were covered in oak veneer. I chose to keep the bases and have new solid paneled doors made and then paint everything off white to simulate the look of metal cabinets. My plan was to use maple since it had a very light grain…until I read on the blog about the advantages of using MDF in a kitchen. After changing my order to MDF with my cabinet maker, I discovered its other advantage. Cost. My overall cost of the project was reduced by not using solid maple.
That led to me checking the blog before I made any future purchases or decisions. I either found my answer or inspiration on past posts or on the current posts, which seemed to coincidentally tie in with whatever phase I was in. I won’t monopolize your time or that of your readers by providing a story on each step I took, but here are the inspirations for which I’m especially grateful.
Aquamarine – Never in a million years would I have dreamt of putting aquamarine on a wall…until I saw your kitchen, Pam. Your kitchen was my first inspiration and I never get tired of seeing my aquamarine walls.
Where to find Aquamarine – the blog taught me to go to my local Sherwin Williams store and look at their classic collection of mid century paint. I also learned at this store that I love the color of chartreuse and from studying the period advertisements on the blog, I learned it was OK to mix it up a little when it comes to color.
Cabinet knobs – I learned that you could find new production of retro door handles at Rejuvenation. I selected the chrome boomerang ones.
Hudee Ring and sink. I, first of all, learned what a hudee ring was and its importance to the finished look of a 1950’s kitchen. Then I learned where I could still find one and which Kohler sink I should buy to go along with it. I also learned what to look for in picking out a new faucet to keep it period looking.
Stainless steel edging. I learned that I was going to have this come heck or high water, but in the end, I sacrificed it to have the higher priced Mod Walls backsplash I just had to have….in large quantity. I still covet the steel edging, but a girls gotta stick to her budget!
Speaking of backsplash. I learned about this particular pattern in a bathroom redo that you featured on the blog and knew immediately that this is what I had to have for my kitchen. Mod Walls’ Big Sur was the perfect complement to all the colors and tied everything together.
And finally the floor. This is where I agonized the most. I read every post on flooring, not once but several times. From the moment I saw Pam’s fabulous kitchen, I knew I wanted VCT in Autumn Haze. I sold my husband on it and it was a done deal….until contractors and salespeople started scaring the bejeebies out of us with all their talk of cracking, scratching, waxing, striping, waxing again, stripping again, etc. etc. etc. I searched every store in our area and on-line trying to find an acceptable replacement for my beloved Autumn Haze, but the closest I could come to was at a price of $6 per square foot and I didn’t even like it that much. Then one day I was reading along the blog on a topic unrelated to flooring when all of a sudden it takes a fatuitous turn toward an issue that was all consuming to me….kitchen floors. That’s when after posting a question about what a good alternative was for VCT, a reader convinced me to not be afraid of it. He said it wasn’t as difficult as everyone made it out to be and for the cost, well, redo it in 5-6 years if you hate it. That’s all I needed to hear, I ran back to my Autumn Haze and paired her up with a random pattern of Granny Smith Apple. I had it professionally waxed and buffed (well worth the $200) and when it needs done again, I’ll pay to have it done. That’s what I call a true low maintenance floor!
So, that’s my story of how you and your readers put my kitchen together. I am so grateful for all that you do to spread the love and ideas for mid-century style and design. Discovering you and Retro Renovation was the key to our success in bringing our house back to its former glory.
Pam, I know this is terribly long, but this was my chance to brag on you and sing your praises. By the way, the first two pictures are of the kitchen shortly after moving in.
All the best,
Janice and Greg
Aw shucks, Janice, you are too nice. That said, it’s great to hear the blog is helping folks with their reno’s. That was my goal in starting it all — to share the resources. And now, what’s even more fun is that now, I’d estimate that 50-75% of the product ideas I now post come are from reader tips. It’s all good karma. And, when you think about is, karma IS retro, don’t you think?… Like, it keeps coming back and goin’ round. I ask Janice about the counterops and the lighting. She explains:
Hi Pam,
1. The countertop is an interesting story, too. I absolutely heart your boomerang countertop, but as much as I love aquamarine, having it on the walls and the countertops was just too much for my husband
to wrap his head around. After discovering the Mod Walls tile on the bathroom reveal on your blog, I ordered a sample and noticed it had a great avocado green tile in the mix so that’s what I started looking for. I found it at Home Depot and it’s a Formica brand “Atomic Turf. The name alone made me want to buy it!
2. The lights are vintage lights that I found on Ebay from Sweden. Given that they were European wired, my husband had to re-wire them and devise his own system for
hanging them. We had one that started sliding down the wire, so some revisions to his invention had to be made. They’ve stayed secure ever since. I should add they were a filthy, dirty mess when we got them – in good shape, but really, really dirty. We spray painted the yellow and white and I spent a good amount of time scrubbing the white globes. They look perfect now!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Janice
I thought I recognized the laminate color: See this post I did on Atomic Turf and its sister laminate, Atomic Orange (also shown above). I have more improvements planned for navigation on the site, so everyone can get to these resource possibilities more easily.
Thank you so much, Janice, for sharing. Your kitchen looks fabulous, and you sound like quite the designer. Anyone who uses chartreuse on their walls gets my vote, and you were quite resourceful and lovin’ the house you’re in by keeping your oak cabinets and just switching out the doors. Everything came together just beautifully! Your husband, meanwhile, sounds like quite the wonderful partner in this whole journey. It sounds like you are having fun with the second nest! We need to see your other rooms. Way to go, retro Wichita! xoxo
Retro Renovation TV: Laminate countertops for your mid century kitchen 
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Wonderful! A lot of color, but not too loud or crazy… just right! We have that exact kitchen set in red. I’m inspired to take our kitchen “up a knotch” now that I’ve see yours!
I looourve your dinette set and the color of your walls. Precious. I also love how you fixed your cabinets. Thanks for the inspiration!
It’s subtle, but my favorite is the vct tile on the floor.
Congrats on a great retro-renovation! Love the boomerang cabinet pulls!
Janice,
Great job! The before and after photos of your dining nook should be a complete chapter in the retro-renovation text book! Studying the details lets folks know the mid-century potential that may be lying in their digs! Also, hats off for rounding out the open shelves at the end of the kitchen counter. One of my favorite mid-century details! Your cabinet and floor look great and you made it practical for others. I would further suggest that Home Depot has a pretty big variety of chrome cabinet hardware if folks don’t want to spring for the ones at Rejuvenation.
Congrats on your great space!
Absolutely stunning job! The colors are magnificent together – and so happy! I love the flooring and the accessorizing so much. It all looks perfect and the cabinets really do look like metal cabinets! Not to mention, I really want that counter top color in my own kitchen.
Love the blue and green together, so bright and cheery!
Is the table original or did you get a reproduction?
Hi gsciencechick, I’ve only purchased one thing on Craigslist and this was it. Because I’ve not really ever seen anything of interest on Craigslist, I rarely log on; however, the day before Thanksgiving last year, someting complelled me to give it one more shot. And there it was…my table and chairs being sold by a single Mom who didn’t have the space for it and needed the money. My husband and I went to look at it that evening and bought it on the spot. My husband suggested to me in private that we should offer less and I convinced him (albeit easily) that it was bad karma to try to give less to a single Mom the day before Thanksgiving. She got full asking price and we have our perfect dinette set!
Sorry, I didn’t really answer your question – it’s a vintage set and has the occassional flaw to prove it!
Looooove! Such an inspiration and the floors look amazing with the green mixed in. And that sink looks fabulous too. We were thinking of getting that one as well and I think you sealed the deal. =)
I would like to see some more pictures of where your microwave is. We currently have an above the stove one (added in the late eighties/early nineties) and I want to move it to a build in, but I like the shelving you have. I wouldn’t have thought of that. Any pictures or description of it would be great!
Again – great job! This makes me excited to renovate our kitchen.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Natalie, I went through all of the pictures of the redo and I found one of the “in process” pictures that has a good shot of where our microwave is stored. This was done before we bought the house. We had a hood over the stove, but I removed it altogether (I never use the hood for anything other than the light anyway) and installed a 1950′s utility light. This opened the area up and actually the light is much better than any hood light I’ve had in the past. Here is the link to my Flikr page. You can scroll through the kitchen pictures to find the one with the microwave shot. Warning: there’s some pretty messy stuff going on in that kitchen! http://www.flickr.com/photos/retro-kitty/4707056438/in/set-72157624289607724/
I really like that. And it will be cheaper than doing a built in. I think I will run it past the hubs. Thanks! =)
One of the best parts is, your kitchen and dining area look more airy and spacious with this re-do. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for all the wonderful and flattering comments. It’s very reassuring to hear from veteran mid century re-doers that we did it right! Most of all, thank you Pam. Couldn’t have done it without you – literally!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this helps soooo much. I am in the middle of planning a new kitchen in a 1950′s home that we just purchased. Between your pics of yours and Pam’s kitchen my brain is a whirl wind of ideas. I love keeping it real. I so dislike the homedepot show kitchens where you know that hundreds of people have that exact kitchen. Yours is very unique and cheerful. The backsplash did it for me it was wonderful. Enjoy your work!!
Love the hanging light fixture in the kitchen!
Wow! Janice I’m so impressed you were able to look at that 80′s kitchen and see what fantastic changes you were able to do! I probably wouldn’t have been so inspired – if a kitchen has been touched at all I tend to walk away from the potential of a house. You’ve changed my mind & perspective. Thanks!
I am jealous of the cabinet hardware. We tried to get those boomerang pulls from Rejuvenation but they were always backordered. Great job with the renovation.
Janice, I love it so much! What a wonderful kitchen.
I absolutely love your kitchen! The colors you used are so nice together and your floor is perfect! Terrific job.
It turned out wonderful! Truly inspirational!
Just beautiful:)….I am a empty nester as well(my only son just got married)…We lived in a townhouse here in Baltimore County Maryland for 19 years…My mom has a “big” house but I always said I would be satisfied with a “smaller older” brick home….Well the opportunity came in a “strange” way to acquire the house I always had in my mind(a famliy situation)…..It is a 1959 “cap cod”(mostly everything on the first floor…with 2 attic bedrooms/ 1 bathroom on the second floor…4 bedrooms total:)……I want to re-do the house but I also want to keep it’s original 1959 charm:) I have an original black/white tile bathroom that I am keeping(needs some work)….I love seeing all of the wonderful renovations on this blog….Your kitchen is beautiful & tasteful:)….Best of luck to you!!!!!
Very cool! All you need now is Northstar appliances, just to put icing on the cake.
It makes me want to subscribe to Atomic Ranch! Also, is that recycled glass in the backsplash? I was thinking about adding a backsplash, and I’m considering it.
Mrs. Pitcher, yes it’s glass tile, but I’m not sure if it’s recycled glass. It’s from a company called Mod Walls and I highly recommend them. There were fabulous to work with and very quick with delivery.
I honestly got all teary just looking through your pictures let alone reading about your restoration. What a wonderful kitchen! May you bake many cookies and pies in that happy space!
The colors are fabulous! Well done!
How FABULOUS! What a wonderful story and great renovation.
Congrats on a job well done Janice!
Wow… your kitchen is FABULOUS! And you’ve got all my decorating colors in there… we’re starting to think more seriously about our kitchen redo and yours has given me so much inspiration! I am absolutely in love with your floors (with the green thrown in), your dinette, your backsplash… just such a great kitchen! Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely LOVE the colors (especially the formica with the tile pattern). Unique and wonderful kitchen! What a score on the table and chairs. Looks so “happy”.
Nice job! I LOVE that table and chairs!!!
That floor looks GREAT! Didn’t you have to buy a whole box of the green? I’m doing my kitchen floor in VCT and have run into the fact that I still have to buy the whole box even tho’ I only need 5 or 6 squares of a certain color
Hi Shane, yes I did have to buy a whole box of the green even though we only used about 22 squares. But VCT is so inexpensive I didn’t flinch too much!
I love your kitchen and Breakfast room so much. I love Turquoise and Avodacado Green as well. Only wish that there were more like you and I out there that appreciate the simple kind of life. John Taylor
lovely, just lovely!
Janice, it looks fab! I love the colors, and the floor is just great. Thanks for sharing with us.
Nicely done! And is it just shadow or is the underside of your soffit painted a slightly different shade of green? Love the use of random green tiles on the floors…you are a designer!
Hi Alice, if you’re referring to the stripe of dark green beneath the chartruese, it’s not a shadow. When the kitchen went through it’s 1980′s renovation, they added some crown molding to the soffit. Along with the crown molding there was a strip of wood added. I removed the crown molding, but left the strip of wood and painted it avocado green to tie in with the counter tops and floor. Turned out to be a great divider color between the white cabinets and the chartruese – but required a very steady hand!
Janice, I just love how you’ve mixed 50s, 60s, and 70s so seemlessly. It looks great. I also love your choice of colors. I too have the syrocco danish wall plaques you have hanging by your wonderfully delicious dinette. Aren’t they so fun
Thanks for sharing!!
Looks great!
Janice, you have done a fantastic job! I LOVE how your kitchen came out and think the avocado and turquoise color scheme is WONDERFUL!!! Please show us more of your home!!!! You should be sooo proud!
Nice job! You should be proud of yourself!
Well done! Love this kitchen renovation. I’m really fond of the color choices and floor. I recently ordered some Azrock samples and I’ve been drooling over them and it’s always great to see examples of what other people are doing. Congratulations on your new & super fabulous kitchen!
WOW! Looks great. I’m curious about the “spice rack” over the stove. Is that a vintage set or did you purchase new?
Northside CJ, not sure if you will still see this. I’ve been on vacation so just now seeing your question, but the answer is it’s a vintage spice rack I found on Ebay. Now I just need to find all the right spices to put in the labeled jars!
Very nice job. I really like what you’ve done.
Hi Janice,
I love everthing about your “revised” kitchen – the colors, the layout, the materials used… I have a couple of questions:
1. If I can ask, what is the square footage of your kitchen? It looks a little smaller than mine (although that could just be camera angle), but so much more efficient!
2. How or where is the light over the stove wired? Looks like such a good idea, but does it impede on the cabinet above?
3. I love your floor, and it really does look random! How’d you do that (every time I try anything random, it really just looks spotty)? Did you plan the placement of the green tiles on paper? Just drop them in now and then when the floor was laid?
Thanks so much – and great job!
Jan
Hi Jan, sorry so late in responding. I’ve been on vacation and just returned today. Here the answers to your questions:
1. Our kitchen is 290 sq ft. so not a large kitchen. Seemed much bigger when I was painting all those cabinets, tho!
2. There was a hood above the stove initially so all the wiring was there. We did have to lose just a tiny bit of cabinet space (about the size of a bag of flour) to install the housing for the light. It’s not enough to even notice really and I so much prefer not having a hood covering up all the tile.
3. I had the floor laid by a contractor and the night before he was to come, I just put tiles on the floor wherever I felt it was needed. I tried to not put too much thought into it as I knew then it would look “planned.” The contractor then marked the floor so he would remember where to put the green. I know he missed a couple in the end, but I’ve gotten over it.
Thanks for you kind remarks about our kitchen!
Her kitchen has been renovated to look almost EXACTLY like mine, no joke.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30431380&l=ad7d709665&id=1405755712
I have since painted the walls yellow but aside from that it looks the same. My house was built in 1957 and most of the kitchen is original.
Wonderful kitchen! I love the color combos and especially your lights! Very unique and creative design!!! I second the comments about the VCT floor. I’ve had a blue/white VCT pattern I installed in my laundry room for 9 years so far and it really does not require that much maintenance compared to the modern no wax vinyls. Mine still looks great and in addition to regular mopping, I usually do a scrub, strip and wax reapplication every couple of months and it looks good as new. I do like your idea of a professional clean, buff and wax job for it — I am going to contact some folks in my area for an estimate. Janice, your kitchen is awesome and you should be proud of making your ideas and creativity come to life in your kitchen.
Janice,
What a terrific renovation,Congratulations! I just purchased my 1961 atomic ranch completely intact from the original owners. I’m very eager to begin the more extensive renovation of the kitchen area, which includes painting the cabinets and replaces the floor and countertops. can you provide any details of the painting process? method of application, type of paint used, insides of the cabinets painted as well?
any assistance you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
look for my blog updates coming soon to atomdustbin.com
Thank you
Edwin
Wow! We just purchased a home built in 1954 a year ago. The kitchen layout is exactly the same as yours and we are in the process of planning a renovation. I want to keep the feel of the 50s kitchen but provide modern convienences. Great inspiration from your pics. We have an original Thermador pink electric wall oven that no longer works and we will need to remove. Will plan on listing at Craigslist for someone who really loves the retro appliances. Thanks again and will post our pics as soon as we have finished.
Janice,
I love your vintage kitchen. I love the way you keep it clean and simple and uncluttered. Its absolutely darling. You did a fab job.