Now that the holiday frenzy is kinda sorta dying down, I’m getting back in the groove with features about reader homes. Did I say “groove”? Veronica — who is closing on her first house — a 1976 contemporary — today, is already chomping at the bit to get her retro nesting under way. And, she wants our help with paint colors for this 1976 kitchen. Interestingly, this is really typical of how readers find my site: They make an offer on a new/old house… immediately begin online research on how to renovate and update it … and land right here among us, sucked into our “back-dating” retro vortex. Veronica writes:
I have recently bought my first home- a 1976 contemporary. I want my first project to be the kitchen, but on a tight budget my only option is to paint… I am having a hard time picking out paint colors. They are currently black and white but it feels too stark and cold. I want to keep a mid century mod motif- I was thinking grays and browns to match the brick red colored tiles on the floor, but I would love some ideas.
My husband and I are first time home buyers in the Albany, NY area. Relatively speaking, it did not take us too long to find our dream house- a 1970’s contemporary. I knew before we even began looking for a house that I would not buy a “cookie cutter” house. When we walked in to this house, we fell in love with the spiral staircase and the retro feel of the house.
The layout is a bit awkward- the main living space (kitchen, dining, and family room) are in the walkout “basement”. The main floor is a wide open living room- the third floor holds the bedrooms and there is even a fourth floor loft area (accessible via ladder). I am very excited to add even more midcentury mod touches to this house!
We are closing on the house Wednesday and will begin our renovations this weekend.
thanks pam!~Veronica
Trouble aka Shane says
Man that’s awesome! That kitchen is a blank slate for you…the first thing that comes to mind (and not because it’s cliche) is Harvest Gold. Growing up in our brick ranch in the ’70s, everything in the kitchen was Avocado. The walls were white, with Avocado panel wainscoting and a brick chair rail around the edge. One wall had fake brick on it, but it was just like the real thing. It wasn’t the flat panel stuff.
Get a good, solid base color for the walls, then the rest will tell you what to do (I mean the kitchen, not the people here LOL). You may even find it necessary to use wallpaper on a wall with green, orange, white flowers on it!
Good luck! I’m restoring my 1954 ranch…..it’s alot of fun!
Janice says
Me too! I wouldn’t jump in this weekend and start renovating. I had all sorts of ideas of what I was going to do to my 1954 kitchen when I first moved in. Two years later when I got to that room, my ideas had completely changed and I’m so glad I waited becuase I love my final choices much more than the orignal ones. But Veronica, it the kitchen were mine I would leave the white laminate cabinets as is (assuming they are in good shape.) Trust me, painting cabinets is a LOT OF WORK and if you can avoid it, you should! I would add color in the backsplash, walls, and countertops and how about where the black is currently? Can that be painted? I agree right now it’s very, very white, but those are awesome cabinets and they will look much different with color in other areas. I, too, would lean toward the burnt oranges, reds, and greens when you do start adding color. Good luck and best wishes for many happy memories in your beautiful new home!
Jacky Bartlett says
Already I’m loving your house, Veronica. I know you’re going to be very happy there. I do have to tell you of my strategy when first moving into a new home, tho. I’ve been in about 8 over the years. Each time I move in, I first want to sanitize and unpack. I wait a full year before I firm up my color choices, tho. I like to see how each room feels at different times of the year. The light coming in is different each season. Each room will feel different as the sun moves around. After a year, you will have a better feeling for what you will need in each room. I wish you much joy and happiness in your home. No matter what you decided to do for colors, you have only to make yourself and your hubby happy with it. Be creative and have some fun with it.
Nathan says
Waiting to make a choice is always a good idea, but since paint is an easy and relatively affordable change, it’s a great way to experiment.
Choosing a new wall color would be a great place to start, and I wouldn’t suggest painting the cabinetry. Keeping with the popular colors of the home’s era is a logical choice: oranges, browns, greens and yellow all would work well here. Orange or brown in tones similar to the flooring would visually expand the space, while green or yellow would provide contrast.
Whatever the choice, the color should be brown based to add warmth. Think Orla Kiely for Target. A pure, saturated or “acid” color could easily make the high contrast black-and-white cabinets and counter look cheap or cartoony.
Congrats on the great new place, and best of luck!!
Lynne says
I agree with everyone about waiting and living in the house for a little while before you do anything. But, if it were me, I’d leave the awesome cabinets alone and change the floors! I’m not loving the wood laminate platform in the dining area.
Joe says
I suspect the laminate wood flooring was more out of necessity than a style whim. The owners were probably aggravated by the dining chair legs getting hung up in the grout channels between the floor tiles.
Missouri Michael says
I used a Sherwin Williams color called “Brassy” in my kitchen. My house is a late 1950s ranch, but most of my furniture is from the late 1960s / 1970s era, with a lot of avocado and browns in it. When you look at the “Brassy” color on the Sherwin Williams website, it really looks more brown, but when it is on the walls, it definitely looks more green. Here is a link to the manufacturer’s website:
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/search/?Ntt=brassy
And here is a link to a Flickr image that shows the color in my kitchen, on the backsplashes. I was initially just using this color as a temporary solution until I redid the counters and brought the rest of the kitchen back to the mid-century feel the house had when it was built, but I love the color so much that I have now been working my kitchen plans around this paint color. Unfortunately, you don’t see a lot of the walls (there isn’t much – my kitchen covers just two walls, and all there is to paint is the backsplash) as this photo was documenting my new windows…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30395056@N03/3594434205/in/set-72157611870163915/
I would probably leave the cabinets white, along with the countertops until I got used to the space (you may find that you really like it the way that it is) and highlight the green color with some burnt orange highlights / accessories.
The green / orange color scheme will work really well with the floor that you already have in your kitchen.
Good luck with you new home!
TroySF says
Congrats on the house! Love love love the black and white kitchen cabinets. I agree with the advice to live with it for a while. But in the meantime, throw in some bright colors (accessories, wall art, or even paint a wall or two) and see what works for you. Just about any color works with black and white. Have fun!
Jane (aka) Elvis says
Congratulations, Veronica, on your beautiful new home!
Glad to see so many responders cautioning you to wait and feel the place out while you’re in it. I think it’s very important to see how light affects the space at different times of the year, as well as at different times of day. That kitchen is a great blank canvas: try adding some color-soaked accessories and see how you like living with certain colors before sloshing one everywhere.
I love the door pulls and the dining room light fixture: it’s perfect for the space and the period!
Kory Carroll says
My 1st Home that I bought at the Jersey Shore was built in the early 70’s. It came complete with all the colors of the 1970’s:
Avocado, Harvest Gold and I even had a Brady Bunch Orange Counter top. These colors really fit this Home. I think that the Avaocado color incorporated in there would really make a statement and look great with the floor.
Can’t wait to see the completed Work of Art!
Have Fun!
Gavin Hastings says
When I first started reading this I thought…”Earth colors? I need to see the rest of the house…” and then scrolled down. Perfect choice.
My personal taste is for rooms to logically flow from one room to the next; color-wise. Browns with a SMALL pop of oranges, yellows and greens would be perfect.
Live with this house for awhile…see how the light plays in each room and how you end up living in it. The house will tell you what to do.
Gavin Hastings says
Ooooopppps! Almost forgot:
Best Wishes for years of happiness in your new home and life!
sophista-tiki says
this color plan is exactly what I was thinking too. . small pops of orange and green work wonders,