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!
thanks pam!~Veronica
JKaye says
I go along with everyone who suggests waiting awhile. I give this advice from experience. When we bought our ’59 ranch several years ago, we ripped out the kitchen cabinets in the first month. Granted, they had water damage and were filthy dirty, and probably we would have ripped them out no matter what. But what I regret is, we didn’t give ourselves a chance to find out if we liked the way in which those cabinets were arranged. The longer we live here, the more I think that the original cabinet layout made more sense than what we came up with. We replaced the original cabinets with some of very similar style and age from the ReStore. One thing I regret is, we got rid of the original floor-to-ceiling cabinet that held a wall oven. It wasn’t in such bad shape, and I think we could have blended it in with our replacement cabinets. I think we would have liked that cabinet and a wall oven, but, too late now. Also, I’m not thrilled with the paint color we picked for the kitchen (it’s a cool pale blue, and we realize now we need a warmer color in that room). But, we’ve had too many other fix-it jobs to do to get around to repainting that room. Eventually we will repaint it, but for now, I put on a sweater when it’s time to work in the kitchen! So, we know we made a few decisions way too quickly. So, congrats on the marriage and the new house, and give yourself time to adjust to both!
Teresa Halpert says
I agree with making a long-range plan, but I personally wouldn’t wait a year to get started. I would start by deciding what is staying, and working around those elements. Eg, if the appliances are in good shape, you want to keep them for the foreseeable future. They have a strong black and white thing going, so that would suggest that you keep some white in your color scheme so they continue to blend. I have painted laminate cabinets, and if you use a good primer it is actually not hard–BUT they are never as easy to maintain afterward; the laminate seems to be more durable and cleans up more easily than paint. So I would be tempted to keep the white in the cabinets.
The floor is probably also a keeper for the foreseeable future since it looks to be good-quality and in good shape. And the wonderful stainless pulls and sink are probably staying. So I would make my new colors work with these two and the black and white. Laminate is very affordable, and you may be able to glue a new layer right over the one you have, so the counter is a cost-effective, achievable change you can make to the color scheme. And, as everyone else is saying, paint on the wall is easy and affordable. (Wallpaper is also a possibility.)
New counter and wall paint gives you two colors to add to your scheme; then you can accessorize. You can buy the sample-sized paint jars at the hardware store and paint pieces of posterboard to get an idea of how the colors will look. If you don’t like the paint color you picked after a while, you can easily change it in a year. Good luck with your wonderful kitchen!
MrsPitcher says
I do love the kitchen cabinets and hardware, I’d keep those, maybe paint them pearl gray, and aqua from the Sherwin Williams Suburban Modern collection. If you can swing it, a Northstar Range and Refrigerator in aqua. Or turquoise. It’s a beautiful house. My technicolor wallpaper grew on me, but your kitchen is very white and could use a punch of color here and there. Some colorful embroidered tea towels in retro patterns could also add just the right touch.
MaryE says
Paint is relatively cheap–paint the walls only though. Leave the cabinets as they are.
Nancy C. says
I totally agree with MaryC. Leave the cabinets. They are terrific. You may regret something you do now if you haven’t lived with your house for awhile. (I speak from experience and sleepness nights over hasty changes!). Congrats on a great house.
loumeigs says
Yeah, in complete love with the staircase. I agree to wait, we did some painting over color block painted cabinets when we first moved in and began to cry just after getting a couple done. I had ruined them!
But, I would truly lean towards the typical 70’s “Tupperware” colors. Paint the black places brown to tone that down a bit, the backsplash area in orange or mustard yellow…ooohhhh Pyrex baking dishes in avocado and orange with the Crazy Daisy pattern…pyrex storage containers in Spice o’ Life…OMG!! swag lamps (you should see my huge light blue swag lamp if you’re not into big blobs of amber and green hanging from the ceiling…though you will be before long if you were attracted to the form of that house!! I do have amber and green ones too), amber and green glasses or goblets (seriously in style…check the anthropologie site), lidded candy dishes, giant table lamps, fondue pots, walnut furniture and accessories, big floor pillows, earthenware dishes, mushroom wall plaques…ahhh what a spiral staircase can do to this girl!!!
Sooooo….what I am saying is just live with it a while, start hitting thrift shops, vintage shops, etc.. Eventually something will jump out at you and you’ll start collecting. You can pick your colors when you have enough of the accessories to work with. That’s how we did ours for our kitchen!! We found the blender and it all came together after that!!! I’m glad I didn’t pick the color first. I let it pick me.
Lindsey says
LOVE THESE CABINETS! I painted the cabinets in our 1962 ranch white and used black hardware on the doors…we also put in a black floor. I went with a bold green wall color…and I love it! It is a great compliment to the black and white!
Congrats!
MikeD says
I would agree with those who recommended living in the house for a while to get a feel for things before diving in and making changes. With our 50’s ranch house we bought last year, there were several things we jumped right on and started changing the week we moved in. Some of those first initial things we changed are now getting changed again, just a few months later as we are getting a better feel for the over all look we are wanting. I understand the urge to get rid of certain things right away, but resist that urge until you make a more long term plan on what you are wanting he house to be. It would have saved us a bunch of time and money as we are now doing the same things twice
dee says
I would leave the black & white cabinets, as they’re mod and they pop! I would paint the walls an airy aqua color, then add little touches of orange and yellow to make it pop. The house may be 1970’s but don’t limit yourself to pukey colors like browns and golds…while era appropriate, you have to look at it every day…and irony gets you only so far. I would wait on making major changes until you live there a while, so you can make one big renovation when you’re certain about what you want. I would change out the floors and countertops eventually, and maybe even some appliances, depending on how well they work. Congrats on your house and good luck!!!
Missouri Michael says
pukey colors? That seems a little harsh, don’t you think? Every era is defined by different color schemes, which were popular at the time. Different people embrace different eras and different colors.
pam kueber says
yes, “pukey” is all in the eye of the beholder. remember, everyone: number #1 rule of Comments: No one can be made to feel bad for their choices! And Michael is absolutely right — the colors trends come and go… What one era embraces, the next era despises and ultimately it all comes full circle again….
Joe says
I would just give that kitchen a thorough cleaning and leave the scheme alone. Whoever designed that kitchen was cutting-edge in ’76. When everyone else was slavishly adhering to a avocado/gold/pumpkin color palette, that designer decided to really stand out by complementing the “new look” for appliances around that time (white enamel with blackout fronts and chrome trim). If you go online and look at vintage kitchenware from Dansk and Rosti, and vintage Vera kitchen textiles, you’ll then realize what to do to bring warmth and color to that kitchen. It’s not about bringing color through paint and wallpaper, it’s about accenting with colorful kitchenware and textiles. You’ll want any countertop appliances to be white, black, or chrome. If you need new major applicances, stick with a white refrigerator, black & white stove and a white dishwasher – they really do complement your cabinet design. From your photos, the house was designed with a real minimalist art-gallery feel to it. My eyes pick right up on how everything ties in and flows – right down to the black trim on the spiral staircase tying in with the kitchen cabinet black trim. Good luck with your “mod-gallery” home and many happy years there!
Carol B. says
My sister did a painted warm brick toned back splash in her kitchen and it looks great. I’d paint the walls in the kitchen to match the tile floor.
I’d hang bright interesting shaped plates on the painted back splash for more interest and to warm the space up a bit. I’d use vintage patterns, maybe Vera prints from the 70’s?
Not great, but you get the idea:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vera-Mikasa-Cockltail-Time-Vintage-Plate-/140494659077?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b6225e05
Carol B.