Buckle up, readers. Here is one of the most beautiful, glowy, dreamy vintage kitchens yet, and the story is still unfolding. This 1956 kitchen — with top-of-the-line St. Charles steel cabinets, in a soft gray with aquamarine countertops — first appeared on our metal kitchen cabinet buy/sell Forum. Bonnie listed the cabinets for sale. She recently bought this house — a gorgeous c. 1900 Southern Victorian near Nashville — and she is going to create a 1900s-era kitchen for it. Within days of the listing, reader Pam snapped them up, with plans to put them into a house she recently purchased. Stunned by these beautiful photographs, I got permission to feature them from real estate agent Starling Davis and from Showcase Photographers. I also was connected to the original owner — Mrs. Starling Davis, mother of the real estate agent — who lived in this home for 50 years, from 1956 until a few years ago — and who, with her husband, had the kitchen designed and installed.
Mrs. Davis told me that when her family bought the house, it was a shambles. They renovated the entire home, including putting these grey St. Charles cabinets, aqua countertops, and turquoise stove into the kitchen. She said that her husband is the one who knew about St. Charles. He asked to put these in. The wallpaper and flooring as shown, is original. Mrs. Davis says the gray has a “touch of pink” in it. The cabinets are in perfect shape, except for a small gash in one place.
The side-by-side refrigerator, Mrs. Davis says, came later. She believes it was the first modern side-by-side available. Her husband bought it as a surprise — and he had it painted soft gray to match the cabinets before installing it.
Please, readers: No woe-is-me’s that Bonnie is not keeping the kitchen (I will expeditiously edit/delete such comments). I totally understand her desire to create a period-authentic 1900s kitchen. We are so happy she chose to list the cabinets on our Forum — and that an RR reader, Pam, snapped them up! Good retro karma! Thank you, Bonnie!
All the photos above are of the kitchen and the adjacent breakfast room. What else can I say? Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. Now, the four stunning bathrooms also installed in 1956.
This ivory-yellow bathroom, with its ivory colored fixtures, was Mrs. Davis’ bathroom. I marveled with her about how “glowy” this room was — she credits the wallpaper. Exquisite taste. This takes my breath away. I’ll even take it over Mamie pink. Gasp! Yes!
An angle on the vanity. Louver doors are good and righteous things. Mrs. Davis says, “We took good care of everything.” Well, yes, you did!
Beige tile, Mrs. Davis says. Notice how they did the shower entry — they tiled up three tiles before mounting the shower door. A beautiful way to showcase beautiful tiel. Louver doors again on the vanity. Hexes on the floors, as in the ladie’s bath and the blue bath coming up. Mrs. Davis says the fixtures are Crane. In her bathroom, though, they are American-Standard.
Blue bathroom. There Is Nothing Wrong About Tiling Your Bathroom Countertop. Wallpaper = yes. Peek into the hall to see the louver closet doors. I am going to do a follow-up story on this room alone, there are numerous design secrets within that Mrs. Davis told me about.
Even though the foreground of this photo reads blue, this is a very soft green tile, Mrs. Davis says. With a pink sink (remember Nora’s time capsule pink and blue bathroom?) Metallic wallpaper…. towel rings with bows on top… a little tile-in nook shelf above the vanity… a door with applied trim…. and teensy mosaic tiles — on the floor. This is the most amazing house ever.
Thanks again to Mrs. Starling Davis for talking to me about this house… to realtor Starling Davis, to Dan Raper of Showcase Photographers for permission to feature the photos, and to reader Bonnie and Pam, for helping with this story. Guess what? More to come.
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You know what I like best about these pix? The owner picked what she liked and stuck with it. It’s really pretty, and she has great taste. Very classy. Fabulous wallpaper.
It’s really beautiful — she DOES have good taste and it has her distinctive style, as you say.
I really get the fact that she wants to go back to the house’s roots and time period. It’s not a mid-century house, it’s a 1900 house with mid century updates. She’s just doing what we do when we rip out 1980s updates and restore our 1956 house to period style.
I’m glad she realized that people value what she did so well in 1956 and is willing to let someone buy it. It took years for my 85 year old mother to see why I kept the original pink appliances that came in my 1961 house.
…and I just realized in re-reading that the new owner is the one who sold the kitchen cabinets, not the original owner. Even so, huzzah for them.
This is gorgeous! I love the wallpaper in all the rooms, but especially the kitchen. Such a beautiful home!
How did she keep it in such good condition?! I have updates in my house from the 80′s (ick) that are falling apart, but her stuff from the 50′s is still *gorgeous*! Really fantastic! I’m sure Mrs. Davis was happy to have her style appreciated all these years later.
I bet the kids weren’t allowed in the kitchen! I will have to ask!
I know it doesn’t really fit with the theme here, but I’d sure like to see updates on Bonnie’s 1900 kitchen remodel, and Pam’s retake on this beautiful kitchen, in the future!
Well, of course, you will see these!!! Both Bonnie and Pam were very excited about this story running!
Hi Tutti,
Pam here, the one who purchased the cabinets. Don’t you worry, I will be keep Retrorenovation Pam in the loop as our new kitchen progresses!
xoxo
I’d like to see the 1900 kitchen too, as my house was built in 1917. I think I prefer a 30s/40s kitchen, but maybe I’ll change my mind.
Woweeeee…So beautiful. I love the wallpaper with those cabinets. And those high ceilings in the kitchen where all of the heat can go up and stay up. I really love all of the softly painted woodwork in that house too. I wish that we could tour the rest of the house.
Gorgeous, gorgeous rooms. Lot’s of louvres and shutters. I notice each bathroom has a louvred cabinet on the wall…at least I’m assuming they are medicine cabinets? Or a laundry chute?
And how sweet is her husband for surprising her with a side-by-side refrigerator and having it painted to match?! Thanks for sharing those time capsule photos!
I was wondering what those little doors are too!
Yes, medicine cabinets. I will do a future story. I talked to Mrs. Davis about why she did it this way. She has sage advice!
My vote for comment of the day:
“Louver doors are good and righteous things.”
Louver doors! I bought my 1956 house a couple of years ago, and there are louvered doors EVERYWHERE – bedrooms, bathrooms, closets, everywhere. Was this really a common part of mid-century design?
yup!
love, love
This is a perfect post on so many levels. The house is being restored to its original time period, the gorgeous cabinets are going to a new home, the rooms and photography are beautiful, Pam got permission and credited all involved, and Starling Davis is an amazing name! I can’t wait to see the rest of the house and, perhaps a photo of the elder Mrs. Davis. She sounds like a very classy woman.
What attention to detail. A stunning home. Glad to know the cabinets are going to a good home.
Don’t the louvered doors keep the contents of cabinets cool and dry?
That’s my thinking.
Very pretty! I love all of the bathrooms. The kitchen cabinets are terrific too.
It’s all so immaculate… it warms the heart!
This is beautiful. Where can I find a picture of the exterior of the house?
I will be showing that later… stay tuned….
Wow! 50 + years and still looks new. What an amazing run of counter space in the kitchen. At the risk of being drummed out of the RR corps, I love the beige tile bath. It’s neither pink nor blue! Can’t wait to hear more about these rooms. Thanks for sharing.
I never said I didn’t like beige tile! One of my three bathrooms “my bathroom” has rose beige 4″ tiles from the Home Depot!
oops! sorry, didn’t mean to get you all riled up; I was just being funny. but I really do like the dreaded BEIGE!!
Awesome post Pam!
They seem to have spared no expense when they did that work in 1956. Amazing. Those huge windows in the kitchen are fantastic.
I’m glad the cabinets went to a good home and that there are photos here to inspire other MCM remodelers.
Add my vote to those who want to see the Starling House kitchen remodel and also see the St. Charles cabinets in their new home.
Whew, I need a cigarette. That was great!
Yes, better than….
Each picture more beautiful than the last!!! I literally gasped out loud. And in one of my favorite cities and where I went to college. I repect the owner’s decision, but if I had my druthers it would be declared a national treasure and preserved forever.
I too own a victorian with a cool-but-out-of-place MCM kitchen (and bath, and enclosed porch). I’m glad there’s some sympathy for those of us who would pass these elements on to new owners in an attempt to create a more cohesive interior design. Please don’t doubt, though, that I would leave such a beautiful arrangement in place in a 1950s ranch.
-Dave
I have total sympathy for folks who want to change out original (even for “new” if that’s what they decide) — IF they do it with respect! What totally aggravates me, is when they start throwing the h-bombs, “hate” and “hideous”. Each era has its design view — it’s all about respect.
Are the bathrooms going to remain the same?
ohhh I love the Aqua stove! And the curved cabinet ends! and the countertops! LOVELY! I’m so glad it is going to a new good home instead of in the trash.
Is the owner selling any other fixtures or appliances? I live in the area and am very interested.
Amy-
Type in vintage kitchen on Nashville Craigslist for appliances. They are beautiful! I bought the cabinets but appliances won’t fit. Seriously gorgeous though : )
WOW!! This is the prettiest kitchen I’ve ever seen. And the rest of the house is amazing too! Makes me proud to live in Nashville…haha! Pamela, just wondering if you’re keeping the aqua countertops. I assumed you are, but if not, I’m in the market for some!!
Have Mercy! Picture me giving the tour…THIS is my TUB and THAT is my SHOWER. Better yet it’s a beautiful real tub, not a plastic oval that blows air. I love this all – it’s so gorgeous and I even though 50s at the time, still in itself is appropriate into a 1900s home, not too mid mod, etc.
I love my ranch, but my Dad has a 1900s 4 square on our farm, I am the 4th generation of my family there and one family lived there before us. It and my other grandmother’s farm house had updates in the 50s and this shows that type of integration which reads 50s to us and we love it, yet still works with the 1900s. I’m sure the period work they intend to put in will be also quite beautiful.
Beautiful! How could you ever have a bad day if that is your home.
My heart skipped a little when I saw this beautiful kitchen… I am excited to see the remodels of both this kitchen & new owner of the cabinets! And those bathrooms are gorgeous, Mrs Davis certainly knew what she was doing!
I totally agree with the owner going back to an earlier kitchen. The whole story and the transaction is just how it should be! One of our own got the set to use in the proper setting.
Although I will say that the MC kitchen has been there since the ’50s, so I don’t mind it in a turn of the century home either!
I love this story. EVERYONE wins! Everyone gets a chance to be restored to their OWN time period. I love it! These pictures are fabulous. She must have been a spectacular housekeeper for it looks almost like it was installed yesterday!! Good luck to all on their renovations!
Insanely gorgeous rooms. Kudos to Mrs. Davis and her husband, who clearly had excellent taste, chose quality materials, and took beautiful care of their home.
Mrs. Davis has exquisite taste (and a wonderful husband!). To each their own though, because even though I am more of a “purist” and completely understand Bonnie’s desire to return the kitchen to the house’s era, I would have had an astoundingly difficult time making the decision to remove this kitchen! Kudos to her for saving the cabinets and to Pam for buying them.
Can’t wait for the rest of the stories/photos!
Beauty, beauty! Mrs. Davis certainly did have fabulous style. But I can’t wait to see the cabinets’ new digs in buyer Pam’s house.
This reminds me of a bathroom my mom designed for our split level in 1963. Heard tell it was lavender (I’m too young to remember). The builder told her she was making a mistake and would never be able to sell the house. When my parents sold the house in 1967 (oh, the hey-day of corporate transfers), they sold that house quickly! And the wife said it was the lavender bathroom that clinched the deal!
I love this–so beautiful, so timeless.
More, please.
Wonder which Crane bath fixtures these were?
Hi! Bonnie (the new owner) here. Thanks Pam for the great article. Yes, we love our new house, and YES I am still pinching myself! To answer a couple of your questions:
1. We are redoing all the bathrooms too. Except the one with the shower. (It was the only shower in the house, and we are shower people!) I really wanted to save the gold damask wallpaper and the metallic in the downstairs bath, but the demo made that impossible.
2. I have the gray fridge, matching dishwasher, sandy pink toilet and sink on Craigslist. Just do a search on Nashville CL in appliances for “Columbia.” They should be near the top.
3. Listing the blue/gray toilet and sink soon and possibly that awesome turquoise stove (I may already have a buyer.)
We are SO excited about this house and are trying to make good design decisions to honor it’s past. Be glad to have Pam do a follow up in a few months!
I’m lusting for this house!
Just look at the ceiling height in these rooms! That alone says “not 1950s” to me. Indeed, I would say the kitchen and bathroom fixtures, cabinets, etc., look out of scale in these rooms. This “old house” is going to be magnificent, and anything moved to a mid-century building will look even better than it does now. Kudos to all involved.
What exquisite taste she had! The subtle colors are really elegant. It’s great inspiration for my reno. I’m using similarly soft tints.
How absolutely beautiful! I can’t wait to see the renovations you make. The only thing that makes me sad is that I’m an apartment dweller, and can’t buy any of the appliances. (I’m also in the Nashville area). I NEED to buy a house this year!
In our 1952 ranch, we have the beautiful wallpaper featured in the above blue/green bath with the gorgeous pink sink. I’ve always wanted to know more about it, such as the designer or year it was issued. If anyone knows anything, please do tell.
Wow! Lucky you! I will ask Mrs. Davis next time I talk to her if she remembers.
Can’t do the flooring in that first kitchen, but I will take everything else!
I LOVE the visual complexity of the cabinets/countertops/wallpaper/flooring/trim — SPECTACULAR!
Although I love the kitchen, I agree it doesn’t belong in an 1900 home, so win-win for the new and former owners. Looking forward to both remodels!
One thing in particular that I love about all the bathrooms is the privacy half wall next to the toilets. A simple thing, but it lend a touch of elegance, I think.
These color palettes are so timeless and absolutely breathtaking. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!
I am still drooling over the kitchen cabinets:-) Agreed that they are not period with the house. So glad she is saving them for someone else to love! You can see that the owners loved and took care of their home. I also have a little tiled half wall in my main (hall) bath between the toilet and original location of washer/dryer. It does help with privacy
Wow! That’s is one AWESOME HOUSE! The ceilings, OH MY! They’re so high!!
I do love the heat registers in the on the baseboards. Never seen anything like it.
We have the exact same registers in our house in every room. When I first looked at the house during the buying process, I couldn’t figure out what they were!
If there is a pretty hole in the wall, it’s definetley a heat register.
Oh how I wish I was Mrs. Davis’ daughter. First, I would have got to grow up in that fabulous house and learned all about tasteful decorating at a young age and secondly, I might have been named something cooler than Janice. I love the name Starling almost as much as the house!
Pam,
Would it be ok to pin this gorgeous kitchen to my MCM time capsule Pinterest board? This is seriously the most stunning kitchen I’ve EVER seen. My absolute dream!
I prefer not. Thank you for asking, Kristine – major points for that.
Just saw that gorgeous stove come up on Craigslist this morning. Will post to the forum.
The ivory-yellow bathroom makes me happy beyond the telling of it. Just a great look. From the hex tile floor to the square tile walls to the damask wallpaper.
Soft, and warm, without being strident. It can be hard to use yellow in a bathroom without going too strident, too jaundiced, or yucky. But yellow is my favourite colour of all and I love seeing it used well and even managing to be subtle.
It’s my favourite room here. The kitchen is nice, especially the grey cabinets, and very inspiring for other possible themes (now pondering grey and yellow actually), but the bathroom? So much love.
Wow! I wouldn’t change a thing.
The gold foil bathroom wallpaper is fabulous!
There is nothing wrong with wanting to create a kitchen that is original to the era of the house. After all, isn’t that what we are all enthralled with? The house needs a 1900s kitchen to bring it back to its original intended style. That being said, that kitchen is amazing! Love the color scheme and the wallpaper. It makes me want to bake and cook yummy meals. It’s one of those kitchens that makes me happy and dreamy at the same time. Kudos to Bonnie for making the choice to sell the cabinets rather than hauling them off to the dump. THAT is the beauty of retro renovating — finding people who recognize the beauty in all sorts of design and are willing to take the time to find a new owner who need items for their own retro renovation.
I do struggle with these sorts of decisions — I’m sure the “final” house will be drop-dead gorgeous. In my own house, I couldn’t find anyone local who was willing to tile the counter to match the existing 4×4 wall tiles (very very pale beige; looks off-white until you put off-white next to it), and I couldn’t find tiles to match, either. So I went with marble — which would have been completely out of place in 1965 when the addition was added, but *not* completely out of place in 1940, when the original house was built. So I’m having to choose in my remodeling whether to go with the 1940s cottage-style roots of the original house, or the 1960s mid-century modest roots of the addition. It’s been a hard decision to make but I think I am going to go backwards in time on the kitchen and the “kids” bathroom, as well, rather than trying to shoe-horn in a 1960s kitchen and bathroom into the original 1940s footprint.
Have to say, though, if my bathrooms were as perfect as the ones in this house, I would really struggle — just due to the environmental aspects of throwing away all of those pristine building materials. I try to save everything I can just so I don’t have to throw anything in a dump (paint is a wonderful thing!), so I guess if the majority of the fixtures etc. can be re-used, I might be able to do it with a clear conscience. But it would be darned hard!
The house is gorgeous and it will be interesting to see what Bonnie does with it. I hope we get to see all of the “after” photos!!
that is by far the most breathtaking kitchen I have ever seen in my life…
AMAZING kitchen!!! I love it top to bottom. What kind of linoleum floor is that?
The bathrooms are just as exquisite! I will use as a guide for my new 1930′s cottage I just purchased.
Keep up the good work Pam:)
Thanks again!
The flooring is original to 1956. I did not ask about it specifically. Nothing today as strikingly similar, that I know of…
http://www.windermere.com/listing/WA/Seattle/5185-S-Spencer-St-98118/12652612?refer=map
I went to this open house yesterday and loved it! A 1956 swanky, HUGE home in Seattle’s Seward Park neighborhood. The new owners will get to keep the hanging chairs in the living room. The agent said that the kitchen cabinet colors are original, along with the GORGEOUS linoleum. Fun, fun house!
It’s a shame modern linoleum doesn’t have that awesome atomic streakyness that the old asphalt-asbestos tile had. Armstrong VCT tile comes close, but it still doesn’t quite have the look. Glad to see the cabinetry is going to be saved though.
See my Azrock Cortina Autumn Haze, it’s a fantastic proxy: http://retrorenovation.com/2011/11/07/azrock-cortina-autumn-haze-flooring-in-four-kitchens-any-more-of-you-out-there/ … Congoleum also has some designs, different colors, thinner. I think that you can replicate the look in rubber tile, too.
that kitchen is gorgeous!! i can not wait to have a 1950s kitchen in my dream home one day! I love the turquoise
I don’t blame her at all for wanting the right period style in her home. I’m glad that she saved the cabinets, though. It’s all beautiful–and so clean! Makes me feel guilty my house isn’t tidier.
As a designer, I applaud her for renovating her new house. As wonderful as all of these items are, they are probably as out of place in a 1900 house as brand new granite is in our beloved mid-century moderns. Thank you for recognizing their value to others and passing them along rather than sending to the landfill – they are wonderful items!
We did have appliances painted back in the ’50s & ’60s. In fact, Denver Buick had a big business doing that here in Colorado. They would pick up your appliance, take it apart, paint it just like a car (including the baking booth), put it back together and deliver it back to you. We knew lots of folks that had it done. And yes, you’re right, back then, we didn’t just throw things away simply because we didn’t like them any more. Since they were made in the god-ol’ U S of A to last, it was worth it to refinish & re-purpose them.
I love these pics, and the turquoise appliances! I have often thought
how much I love some of the 50′s styles, and the colors – and the large ranges -