“…We rented a truck and loaded up
all the metal cabinets and brought them home.
All they really needed was a good cleaning
and then we attached them to the walls.”
I count five cooking surface, two refrigerators, four Mixmasters — and a whole lot of lovin’ fun — in Lori and Ed’s super happy aqua, pink and yellow retro kitchen. Lori seems to be a woman who knows her mind and makes things happen. She also is not afraid of color, and of mixing it up. This is a good one — one of the happiest kitchens ever! Lori writes:
Hi Pam,
I’m so glad that you liked the pics of our house. It’s really been a labor of love. My husband was transferred from his job in Atlanta to North Carolina ten years ago. So when we started our house hunt we decided to look for a house built in the 50′s that we could redo. We found this house almost immediately and saw tons of potential in it even though the current owners had pretty much destroyed any of the original fixtures and finishes in the house. There was carpet on all the floors and cheap vinyl peel and stick tiles on the kitchen and bathroom floors. And the walls were all painted a drab shade of beige.
I have to admit our toughest renovation project was the kitchen. Our kitchen is huge and runs almost the full length of the side of our home. We’ve got two working 1950′s fridges and my Turquoise GE LIBERATOR stove is used on a daily basis. And our kitchen opens onto our outdoor patio. We literally gutted everything out including the cabinets, sink and floor. It took us over a two-week period to gut the kitchen and then install the metal cabinets. And then it took us two weekends to put down the Marmoleum floor.
We started searching on EBAY (love EBAY) for metal kitchen cabinets and were fortunate enough to find a complete set of YOUNGSTOWN KITCHEN metal cabinets in AQUA from a seller in Detroit. Our family is from Ohio, so on a trip to visit them we rented a truck and loaded up all the metal cabinets and brought them home. All they really needed was a good cleaning and then we attached them to the walls.
Also I found a complete grouping of GE TURQUOISE cabinets from an EBAY seller in DAYTON so we picked up that set as well. And we just combined the Youngstown and GE cabinets to add lots of extra storage space and counter space.
The counter tops are all original YELLOW/AQUA boomerang laminate that came with the GE cabinets.
I also bought on EBAY all the yellow/aqua tiles, they are HOMART ORIGINAL 1958 tiles, that you see on the walls and we designed a pattern and then put them on all the exposed walls. They had wood paneling originally in the kitchen that someone had painted, so it wasn’t useable so we decided putting tiles up were the way to go.
As for my 1956 AQUA GE LIBERATOR stove I bought that on EBAY as well from a lady in Cinncinnati Ohio. It was her original stove.
And the Yellow FRIGIDAIRE fridge, another EBAY buy from a gentlemen in Columbus, Ohio.
And my pride and joy the 1956 PINK GE KITCHEN CENTER from a gentleman in New York. Again it just needed a good cleaning and my husband wired it up for the lights and we’re working on getting the stove, dishwasher and dryer/washer combo working. He’s an electrical engineer so that comes in handy.
As for the flooring we had originally put down black and white VCT tiles when we first moved in, but they were so hard to keep clean so last year after seeing the Marmoleum on your website we decided to put that down on our kitchen floor. We bought the black and white click loc Marmoleum tiles and then we put them on a horizontal slant rather than just a black and white checkerboard design. I think it really sets the kitchen off.
Our light fixtures we got from a seller on EBAY from Arizona. They were actually in a CHURCH cafeteria that had been built in 1959 and they were original. And they were in like new condition.
And then all the little details from the SUNBEAM mixers, waffle irons, cannisters, etc. we pretty much have bought those along the way..where else but EBAY. And my little kitchen table and chair set was a great find at a local flea market for $50.00 and even though it was not in the best of shape with a little elbow grease and wax it came out really great.
I hope everyone enjoys the pics and our TALES of KITCHEN RENOVATION.
Consider us “addicted” to your FANTASTIC RETRO RENOVATION website.
Have a great day!
Ed and Lori
Yowza. I spy and ask Lori if she and her husband painted the vertical blinds. She says:
Yes we did. We bought Krylon Plastic spray in Butter Cup yellow for the kitchen. And in the living room we used the Ballerina Pink in Krylon Plastic.
That is amazing attention to detail. And I must add: One of the reasons that this kitchen *works* so well even though it is chock-full of color and accessories, is that it is so tidy
Beautifully done, Lori and Ed. Thank you so much for sharing.
So perfect!
This is absolutely beautiful and a credit to Lori and Ed. It’s very inspiring. The colours are just fantastic.
Love ever inch of the kitchen! So Happy! I’ll bet you love to be in there! Looks great!
Cool kitchen! Is your aqua refrigerator a General Electric? From a distance it looks like my parents’ first fridge, a 1959 model with swing-out shelves. It had a push pedal on the bottom left to help open the door which had a handle the length of the door.
Hi George,
I’m so glad you like our colorful kitchen. And yes my fridge is a GE from 1959 with the toe pedal and swing out shelves. It also has the bottom freezer. And it works better than a new fridge. Very quiet and the top is self defrosting so I only have to defrost the freezer on the bottom every couple of months. Thanks again and have a great day!
As pretty as an Easter basket. Very fun.
I really like the use of color -bold and lots of colors- yet it works very well. You deserve a medal for your service in the war against Greige.
I LOVE all the appliances! SO AWESOME! Especially the stove and the pink sink area! Great Job!
Wow! What a beautiful collection……thanks for sharing!
OMG – I am in love! What a fantastic job they did. Totally jealous.
Absolutely breathtaking!
I LOVE this kitchen! Retro is it! It’s so much fun to see all the Retro kitchens and bathroom etc. Thanks for sharing …
Would you two like to hire a cook?
Seriously, there is no way you could have a bad time in that cheerful kitchen. I don’t care if you burned the roast and blew the lid off the pressure cooker, you’d end up smiling.
Just love it!
“There was carpet on all the floors and cheap vinyl peel and stick tiles on the kitchen and bathroom floors. And the walls were all painted a drab shade of beige.”
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen this in a home, I’d be pretty well off! Great story!
Wow! Such a happy kitchen! All the decor is lovely! How do you keep it clean? It seems that when I leave my mixmaster out, it gets dusty so fast! Do I need to make more cakes?
The combination of those colors works so nicely! It’s a bold move, and it worked! The yellow formica is fab!
Thank you for perking up my Monday morning!!!
all I can say is WOW. I am jealous. Just great!!
Looks like a happy place! What a cute kitchen.
Amazing! The size of the kitchen alone, the parties I could have in that kitchen!!!
No mention of the fabulours aqua Fridgidaire Flair stove???? My grandmother had one in white and she literally was misty eyed having to get rid of it. Her and I still talk about it, I recently bought her and myself a print of the users manual and had them framed. I’ve considered buying one for my kitchen, but I don’t have room for a 40″ double oven and it’s the only Flair I’d have.
Also – those lights look to be what we had in our elementary/middle school cafeteria. Which is also where my other grandmother worked.
All the new schools they build have no style!
Hi Jason, Sorry that the Frigidaire Flair didn’t get a mention. It’s a fantastice stove and I love the way the burners pull out so you can cook on them. The stove works great and yes I bake and cook on that stove as well. We bought the Flair on EBAY from a gentleman in Virginia and he delivered it to us. It was his Mother’s. Glad you like our kitchen. Have a great day!
The Flair is the crown jewel imo. I have a 40″ and two 30″ Flairs. I am currently using one of the 30″ Flairs in my kitchen. I bought it for 25 dollars. I went through the wiring, cleaned it and it works great. One of these days I will make room for my 40″ Flair in place of my 30″. I will always keep all three ovens for spare parts.
If you like these ovens/ stoves I would suggest buying one as soon as you can. I started looking for these a few years ago because of my fascination with Bewitched. At that time no one wanted them and they were super cheap. Now, more people want them and they are becoming more expensive. I would also suggest buying more than one when you come accross them. You are gonna need spare parts eventually. My wife and I agree that our Flair works better than any stove we’ve ever had. Anyways Good luck if you decide to buy one! Remember, they are built like a tank so they are super heavy to move.
Lori – I’m glad to know your Flair is used!
My Mommom’s was down to 2 burners and 1 oven and in the early 90s she had to buy a new stove. Unfortunately we didn’t have the internet then to find all the Flair fans and repair and parts help. Either way, it wouldn’t have fit in her new small home, but at least we could have kept it maybe.
Ethan – I am tempted all the time to buy one when I see them online – even if I have it in my garage- but so far I haven’t. I would love it. But, even my Mommom said just get a new stove, don’t deal with the parts issues like I did. Plus the weight of it is ridiculous – believe me I know! But, I think I’ll end up with one – even if it’s in the garage!
I have a 30″ buttercup yellow Flair. Best $100 I ever spent. I drove 3 hrs one way to pick it up. I want a 40″ as well and I would put them side by side. In my opinion, there is no better stove than the Flair!
What a Beautiful start to your day…and to mine also! Thank you for sharing your lovely kitchen!
Wow! What a fantasmic kitchen! The colors are so sunshiny and lifting! It is just perfect the way you have done everything. I, for one, would love to see close-ups of all of your collections–along with pix of the rest of your home!! Ooh, I’ll bet it’s a treasure-house!!
Love the Holt Howard kitties guarding the GE Kitchen Center. With this kitchen, I have to ask, what dishes do they use? Lu-Ray? Boontonware?
Hi there Rosemary,
We actually have BROOKPARK, BOONTONWARE and several other Melmac sets. And our dishes range from PINK SALEM FREE FORM to BLUE HEAVEN. Glad you like our kitchen! Have a great day!
This fabulous kitchen resembles Barbie’s Deluxe Reading Kitchen from the 60′s!! Wonderful!
Hi There! Funny you should make that observation as I also have the Barbie Deluxe Reading Kitchen displayed in my Barbie Room. So glad you like our kitchen. Have a great day!
Are you a diehard Barbie Collector? I’ve been collecting for years and I too have that awesome kitchen!
Guilty as charged. Yes I love vintage Barbie. Particularly the ponytails. I started my collection years ago so the dolls were a little less expensive than some of them are now. I have a couple number three ponytails but sadly no Number one. Kind of out of my price range.
Take care!
As soon as I saw the first photo, after the initial WOW the song Isn’t She Lovely? started playing in my head.
Lori your kitchen is awesome. If I may give you some advice though…I recommend that you do not let your husband work on your GE Kitchen Center without a service manual. I have been told by a guy I know that has one that the Kitchen Center (the washer/dryer in particular) is very hard to fix without one. I also recommend that you join automaticwasher.org. The people who are part of that site (me included) are really into vintage major appliances and the fixing and maintaining there of and are always willing to give advice and share information. When you join automaticwasher.org get in touch with the guy who goes by the name of Turqouisedude (aka Paul Linell you find his info in the members profile section), he has a turquoise General Electric Kitchen Center and the service manual that goes with it. He is a really nice guy and I am sure he would love to give you and your husband some tips on how to fix up your Kitchen Center as he had to do the same to his. Oh and I also recommend you buy the service manual at the link below….it contains information pertaining to Your Liberator Range.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GE-Electric-Ranges-Wiring-Diagrams-1951-1956-Manual-/160618644930?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25659e05c2#ht_1549wt_1180
Oh and one last thing…the jadite juicer on your turquoise Mixmaster is from the 30′s or early 40′s, Color Mixmasters were not introduced until February 1955 with the introduction of the Model 11 and color Mixmasters were not available with juicers You had to get a white one or a chrome one with glass bowls to get a juicer……PAT COFFEY
Thanks Pat for all the info. My husband is an electrical engineer and we have a manual for the Kitchen Center. And thanks for the info on the link for vintage appliance repair.
The Jadite juicer on my Aqua MIXMASTER was a gift and even though it isn’t from the 50′s I just love it. For me it’s about the color and the design.
Glad you like the kitchen. Have a great day!
Some of your “touches” bring back fond memories of the 50′s and 60′s. Thanks!! We should have kept our 50′s mixer. May we see your “Barbie Room” sometime?
Oh and one other thing Lori, If you get me the model # of your 1959 GE I can send you the actual brochure page for your fridge. I have a bunch of dealer catalog pages For GE Fridges spanning from 1948 to 1963 and I have multiples of many of the pages and I would be glad to send you one so you can frame and hang it in your drop dead gorgeous kitchen….PAT COFFEY
OMG, two aqua, pink, and yellow kitchens filled with vintage appliances in a row! First Robert and Fred’s, and now Lori’s! I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. Except that in heaven I don’t think you’re supposed to feel as envious as I do! What a joy it must be to walk into that kitchen every morning. Well done, Lori and Ed!
I wish you ‘d have a closeup of the Frigidaire Flair. For some reason I am obsessed with those. I have a white 40″ I am not using right now.
I am in love with this kitchen! I am wondering about using the old frig, are they condidered to be energy hogs? I just saw a pink one and an aqua one at a sale this weekend for what I thought were pretty cheap. I wondered if our electric bill will triple with these old appliances? What is considered an average price for one that works? Should I just shut up and go buy one of them?
We had a big discussion about this issue in the comments here: http://retrorenovation.com/2012/02/20/retro-refrigerators-7-places-to-get-them-in-pink-and-other-colors-too/
Our vintage appliances do not seem to have much effect on the cost of our electric bill. I think one of the secrets is if it’s not a self defrosting model be sure and defrost at least every couple of months. And also be sure and vacuum the coils to keep them free from dust every month. Some of the fridges have the coils sealed in the back, the older ones are not covered. Also some of the fridges have a vent in the front on the bottom, my turquoise GE fridge does, that you’ll need to keep dust free. So in my opinion the old appliances were so well built that they shouldn’t adversely affect your electric bill. SO ENJOY!!
This is the most beautiful kitchen I’ve ever seen. It has everything a person could possibly ask for, including a magnificent size and enough light to fill a whole house.
Well done, Lori and Ed! If your kitchen hasn’t been featured in a major magazine, it certainly should. Just marvelous.
Stunning!
Love love! I can never find stuff like that in Birmingham!!! Evidently, everyone was Early American in Birmingham… almost no fun stuff like this!
This kitchen is fantastic. Would you consider changing that white door to pink? Then the kitchen will be perfect.
This kitchen is absolutely amazing!! I love the two fridges and the many mixers. The many colors are so beautiful and I love the bright blue table/chairs. So much attention to detail with the flooring and especially the awesome tiling on the walls. My absolute favorite part of this kitchen is the GE Kitchen Center. When I buy a home I am going to devote my time to finding all the wonderful oddities that are no longer in vogue.
Just WOW!!!! Everyone has already said everything I would say, except:
Finally, a set of vertical blinds that I love – the color is great, and the vertical lines really help offset the squares of the tile and floor, well done!
So much fun! I love it.
Oh, what a happy, happy kitchen! What a pleasure it must be to walk into it every morning! Thanks for a post that made my day!
Love, love, luv, LOVE. LUV, love, LOVE!!! What more can I say.
I am green with envy! THis is just so cheerful and beautiful! You have a real gift for creating a lovely space!
Thanks so much Chris, I’m so glad you like our kitchen. As you can tell I’m not shy about using colors. My grandmother taught me not to be afraid to put colors together. Have a wonderful day!
Wow! That’s one cute kitchen!
Your kitchen is gorgeous!!
Wow!, Wow, Wow
I just love how you were not afraid to use different color cabinets. I have a huge set of off-white Geneva Cupboards ready to go in my kitchen. I hope I can do half as good a job as you guys did.
I finally know what’s on the other side of Heaven’s gates. This kitchen.
Oooh, I love their super cheerful kitchen…some of my very favorite colors…and, it’s so huge! A great job they did!
I just posted this as my desktop backgroud. AMAZING work. Love the burst of color!
I am in love! And inspired. I’ve already started trolling ebay with renewed vigor – LOL! Couple of questions. Do you remember what you searched for when you found the ceiling lights from the school? I LOVE those – I need two! And are the Homart tiles ceramic or plastic? I found some plastic ones and wonder how those hold up. Thanks!
Hi Karyn, So glad that you like our kitchen. It was tons of fun to do. As for our ceiling lights I brought up the collectibles group, searched under Lamps, Lighting using Mid Century Modern as my search word. And the tiles in the kitchen are the Homart PLASTIC tiles and they are wonderful to work with and they clean up beautifully and I’ve not had any problems with them holding up. As a matter of fact all we’ve put the vintage PLASTIC TILES in all three of our bathrooms. Pink/Blue in one, Pink, Green, Gold in another and Blue/yellow in one. Thanks again and have fun with your kitchen!
What’s the tall appliance opposite of the turquoise fridge? Looks kind of something between an incubator and a Hoosier, but I know it’s not!
Frigidaire Flair! As here: http://retrorenovation.com/2009/02/19/vintage-frigidaire-flair-the-all-time-favorite-for-a-60s-kitchen/
WOW! We love those kitchen’s wish they were available in the Netherlands Lowlands.
Hi Lori,
Great job!!! I was wondering where you bought your flooring? I’ve had a hard time finding the black and white marmoleum.
Thanks,
Ellen
Hi Ellen! I’m so glad you liked our kitchen and the flooring. The best price we found on the Marmoleum is a website: coolgreenfloors.com
Jane is the customer service person there and she is fantastic. You are buying directly from FORBO through Jane so the price is the best around. The flooring we used is called: RAVEN (black) and BARBADOS (off white). WE bought the 12×12 square tiles that click together and it was pretty easy to put together once you got the hang of it. And of course we placed our floor in the horizontal pattern so that made it a bit more challenging. I’ve had it for over six months and it looks as fantastic as when we put it down and I use my kitchen a lot including spills on the flooring, which wipe up like a dream. And once you place the order it usually only takes about a week to ten days to recieve it and the shipping costs are very reasonable. Hope this helps and good luck with your flooring project! Lori Tevis
Hi Lori:
I am considering buying a 1957 home with original St. Charles white metal kitchen cabinets. I’d like to keep them but how to clean them best? Yours look amazing.
Thanks for any advice!
Best,
Ro
Ro, I have lots of stories on steel kitchen cabinets including, as I recall, original instructions from St. Charles. See my Kitchens/Steel Kitchens category up top. Good luck. By the way: St. Charles cabinets are AWESOME.
We recently went to an auction at my old high school which is being torn down and a new one is being built. When we got the home ec room, I about died. All around the room, the cabinets were Geneva Kitchen units. But they wouldn’t sell them because of some contract with the demolition people. But I did convince them to sell me the hardware. So I now have a box full of the handles from these cabinets, plus a few of the Geneva medallions from the panel under the sink. If anyone needs them, please put them in contact with me.
Karyn, we have a buy/sell Forum all about steel kitchen cabinets — I am sure if you leave a message there you may find lots of interested folks. Once there, can you post a photo of your handles? There were two different types for Genevas. http://retrorenovation.com/forums. THANK YOU!!!!
I just LOVE IT! But need to know, why hoard so many Sunbeam Mixers?
Is that a turquoise Frigidaire Flair that I spy in the background??!!
This kitchen is absolutely amazing. It’s like stepping back into the fifties but better! WOW!! When can I come for dinner?? Kudos.
I like the pink shelf under the window. Mine would be full of clutter but oh well it would still look kewl.
Love this kitchen so much.
i am considering using my parents’ 58 refrigerator but I don’t know how practical and difficult it is in modern times with the whole defrosing thing and of course the small freezer space. What is your experience and opinion of this?
I love your kitchen, it is beautiful and wonderfully designed. You are a genius in retro decorating!!
Hi Kathy D,
I’m so glad you like my kitchen. It is my favorite place in the house and I love to bake there. It is a bit of a challenge using vintage fridges to store your foods, particularly the frozen foods. I have a small chest freezer in my laundry room I use for most of the frozen food. And thankfully this fridge is self defrosting so all I have to do is keep a watch on the spill pan beneath it to be sure that there’s not excess water in it. Thanks again and have a wonderful evening. Lori T.
Love your kitchen the colour and the way you were able to build it. You would think on paper it would not work but it so does.
If I asked my kitchen designer they would faint. We are doing a kitchen renovation. But we are using modern materials to emulate the look.
I only hope our kitchen in a small way can emulate the style you have achieved.