In this week’s Retro Design Dilemma, reader Melissa wants our help with ideas to lightly update her 1954 kitchen. She and her husband have just purchased a 1954 mid century modest ranch — which they love. However — the kitchen is in need of some TLC. Although Melissa and her husband don’t mind the current flooring, she says that it is in poor shape and must be replaced. Struggling to decide on a floor replacement — as well as what to do with the walls and counter tops — Melissa contacted us for ideas.
Continue for Melissa’s story –>
Hi Pam & Kate,
We just purchased a MCModest home. A ranch built in 1954. We fell in love with the house immediately, mostly for the flat roof, the large kitchen,and the huge basement (with a built-in “love couch nook”!) I’m looking for some help with the kitchen! (I don’t have to stay in the ’50s era, I just want it to be kind of retro.)
We will be keeping the cabinets white with the black hinges and pulls. Our appliances are black (I’m saving for the black Big Chill fridge). We have a stainless steel topped kitchen table (wooden legs) with white chairs.
1. The floor is in horrible shape and must be replaced. My husband likes the black and white checkered look, but for me its a bit too harsh. Even if we did that we would be better off without a solid color tile because we have 3 big dogs (2 black and 1 white that shed like crazy.) We also would like ceramic tile so the floor won’t be ruined by their combined 275lbs running through the house. Ideas on floor?
2. The countertops are black with gold flecks. Since we have the stainless steel Nutone range hood, and a stainless steel table — I don’t think the gold flecks really go all that well. I was thinking of replacing with stainless steel counter tops. Good idea? or keep the black and gold?
3. What the heck do I do with the walls? My husband says a bright dark blue. I have no idea.
4. Do you have any idea what those things are above the kitchen window? Built in speakers? They have been painted over, so we can’t tell until we get in there to paint and unscrew them from the wall.
If you and your readers have any ideas: I’m all ears. Also I know I sent more pics than suggested, the kitchen is so large and interesting with its different level counter tops, I wanted to show you the whole thing.
I also couldn’t pass up showing you the built in love couch nook!
Thanks sooo much!
-Melissa
After Melissa’s initial email, further research of her own — and moving into the house to live alongside the laminate — Melissa began to rethink replacing the counter tops.
In a subsequent email, Melissa wrote:
Hi Pam and Kate,
I wanted to update you on the fact that now that we have moved in, I have fallen in love with the black laminate with gold flecks and don’t want to change to stainless steel counter tops (#2 on my list). I wish they still made the flecked laminate — as the section next to the sink is very faded (probably from the previous owners leaving a wet towel there when drying dishes). I have searched a bit on the laminate and all everyone talks about is white with gold flecks — is my black with gold flecks rare? Or maybe not from the original owner and put in in the 70’s or 80’s?
Pam confirmed that she believes Melissa’s black laminate with gold flecks is indeed rare — even more so than the coveted white laminate with gold flecks. We also applaud Melissa’s choice to live with the laminate for a while before just ripping it out to avoid any remodeling regrets.
This leaves us to solve the following dilemmas in Melissa’s vintage black and white kitchen.
Let’s help Melissa… Readers, what are your ideas for:
- What material/color to use on the floor which will stand up to large dogs and hide footprints and fur?
- What should be done with the walls?
- What are the things in the soffit above the sink?
Pam’s design and decorating ideas for Melissa’s 1950s kitchen:
Melissa, I love the Azrock Cortina Autumn Haze VCT floor in my kitchen. Several other readers have used it as well – see their kitchens here. Good news, in 2012 Azrock introduced an additional 15 colors. This expanded line is called TexTile — and from looking at the website, I though the “Raw Silk” color would work well in your kitchen. It looks like it has dark charcoal streakies — good to coordinate with your counter tops. Of course, you’ll want to get a sample first. I find this streaky floor great at hiding dirt. But, it does require maintenance — regular stripping and re-polishing, which I pay to have someone else do. My little dog — Astro, 20 pounds — slips and slides a bit, on occasion. I’m guessing bigger dogs wouldn’t slip and slide as much due to their weight — but I am NO expert on this question. Isn’t ANY kind of floor — except carpet — going to be slip and slide, to some degree, for a dog?
I am also a wallpaper lover. In my three mood boards (fun!) I found both reproduction and vintage wallpapers that had enough “value” — strength of color — to hold their own in our kitchen, considering the graphic boldness of your striking black counter tops — which I LOVE.
Finally, I went to the uploader full of readers’ dinettes to find dinettes that pull the entire look together.
Mixing and matching these ideas — one versatile flooring with an infinite possibility of wallpaper and dinettes — you can achieve quite a wide variety of retro looks.
Above: Mood Board #1 Atomic Doodle:
- Wallpaper — turquoise Atomic Doodle from Bradbury & Bradbury
- Flooring — Azrock TexTile in Raw Silk
- Vintage dinette — readers Tim and Stephanie’s dinette from uploader — 217 vintage dinette sets in reader kitchens
Above: Mood Board #2, Oh So Charming Red:
- Wallpaper — 1940’s vintage wallpaper from Hannah’s Treasures
- Flooring — Azrock TexTile in Raw Silk
- Vintage dinette — reader dinette from uploader — 217 vintage dinette sets in reader kitchens
Above: Mood Board #3, Inviting Blue and Brown:
- Wallpaper — vintage wallpaper from Hannah’s Treasures
- Flooring — Azrock TexTile in Raw Silk
- Vintage dinette — reader dinette from uploader — 217 vintage dinette sets in reader kitchens
Kate’s design and decorating ideas for Melissa’s 1950s kitchen:
The vintage Sears kitchen catalog that we featured had one illustration that instantly reminded me of Melissa’s great vintage kitchen — which is what inspired me to create my mood board.
Above: Mood Board #4, Cheery Cherry Red, Brilliant Blue and Sunny Yellow:
Melissa’s husband had suggested using bright blue on the walls — which Melissa wasn’t sure about. Instead of putting the blue on the walls — this blue Armstrong linoleum flooring (Update: Armstrong no longer carries —see this list for other possible suppliers) would be durable for the dogs as well as hide fur and footprints. Instead of painting the kitchen deep red like the inspiration kitchen — a light buttery yellow lightens the space — while working nicely with the blue floors. To add more color to the room — Melissa could paint some small areas of deep red as shown. Since Melissa’s kitchen has a large window and eat in area similar to the inspiration — these vintage yellow 1950s curtains from ebay seller 954kathys (link now gone) or something similar would work well in that area — as well as pick up some of the other colors in the room. To finish it off a retro dinette set — like reader Jamie_abe’s new, vintage looking red dinette which was featured in our story 23 red dinette sets — vintage kitchen treasures would look retro-tastic and would be easy to track down if Melissa can’t locate a vintage dinette set.
Maryanna says
Wow! I LOVE YOUR KITCHEN! I’m personally a HUGE fan of black and white kitchens. (My own has a checkerboard floor.) If you’re not a fan of checkerboard, you might try doing a border around the perimeter, like in some of the Armstrong flooring catalogs Pam has posted. I would suggest using VCT flooring, which is really durable, and usually has a lot of speckling. You could use the white for the large central areas, and black for a border. Or you could stripe it or make some other pattern with the tiles. Sticking with black and white on all the permanent fixtures (floor, cabinets, counters) will allow you a lot more versatility with color choices for walls and other decor.
As for the walls and other decor, I second the idea of choosing your colors based on curtain fabrics or china patterns. You could find a great retro fabric to make your curtains, and then pull a color from them for the walls. Good luck! I hope to see your finished project, whatever you decide. 🙂
Jill Van Denburg says
I second the vinyl commercial tile suggestion. That will hold up and has a great look..lots of wonderful colors, too!
Ashly says
For counters: http://www.labdesignlaminate.com/laminate-collections/abstract-laminates/ebony-retro/
For Floor: go with a checkerboard patter!
Walls: Turquoise or mint green! Bring in some red accents!
pam kueber says
Thank you for the reminder about this company. I will try to find out if they have any interest in detail with retail. I’m on it!
Ashly says
I ordered samples and they were super helpful!
pam kueber says
That is great to know. I just talked to the person who answered the phone — they say most laminates should deliver for $1.90 – $2.10 per square foot. For a 4×8 sheet, that calculates to about $64, if I’m not mistaken. Be sure to check specifications — certain of their designs say “Vertical” only. You want “Horizontal” for a countertop.
Mary Balles says
I love a brick red flooring. Walls would look good in blue. Maybe turquoise.
Sarah g (roundhouse) says
So Melissa I love your kitchen and the couch nook with blue paneling is to die for!!! As far as a color choice I’d say anything goes. You need to find what speaks to you, what are your favorite colors? Maybe get inspired from curtain fabric or your china. The kitchen is the kind of room where it’s totally acceptable to get a little wild and bold with color. If you are leaving cabinets white and countertops black and the flooring isn’t something precious and worth saving I would put my boldest color right there on the floor! And maybe a much lighter tone of it on the walls. Good luck!
Patty says
Did there used to e exhaust fans above the sink? Lights at one time? Heat registers? Hard to see from these pictures. If there are similar houses in the neighborhood, look for some older folks and see if they have them or know what they are.
Patty says
You can now buy a beautiful sheet vinyl that looks just like hardwood flooring. Perfect for pets and sloppy people (me.) You could match to the adjoining room.Will go with anything you decide to do in the future. That would be my choice if you decide to change the floor.
Sarah g (roundhouse) says
If the sheet vinyl tears from doggie claws or moving appliances you will have to replace the entire thing… That’s the state of my mother-in-laws kitchen floor… Wouldn’t recommend it
Patty says
My sister’s dogs don’t scratch her vinyl. Mine is 12 years old and it doesn’t have any scatches.
Like anything you buy, you have to be careful when you move furniture, and quality can vary by manufacturer. And when you drop things on it, it doesn’t hurt the floor. Also, easy on the feet.
You may get tired of your retro look, but hard wood is pretty timeless – so the vinyl hardwood floor look will probably continue to suit your eyesight.
tammyCA says
When we had our old dishwasher taken out and a new one installed the workers tore the sheet vinyl floor and no, they obviously didn’t care so we still have that ugly rip…it is also the worst floor to get clean…I have to use an SOS pad to get the dirt out of the textured design…evil floor.
lynda says
I agree that the counters look nice and that if the floor is terrazzo, it should be refurbished. Maybe the counter problem could be solved with one of the fiberglass drainboard sinks that this site featured a few days ago. Or an Elkay stainless sink with the drainboard could cover the damaged laminate counter. I think lots of red, or lots of color like fiestaware dishes should go in the glass cabinets. i agree that a pale yellow on the walls with green and red accessories would be nice. If the floor is vinyl and needs replaced, one option would be the luxury vinyl planks that are floating floors and click together. I have a couple of friends that have used the product and they have been very pleased.
There are lots of wood looks, tile looks, or even a cork look that would be good for a 50’s house. Quite a few companies have them. No idea what the strange things are by the ceiling. Is there duct work in the soffit? I guess until you explore, you will not know what they are.
Very nice kitchen, and it will be wonderful!
SusieQT says
Our kitchen is very similar. We have white cabinets (with that same adorable scalloped valance above the sink!) and a B&W checkerboard floor. We mixed in some accent colors- pale yellow on the walls and red and jadeite green accessories. It seems to work pretty well. Of course, a lot of chrome or Kromex accessories will really make things pop as well.
There are some photos of ours here on my blog:
http://practiceintime.blogspot.com/2010/04/peek-inside-chez-qt-pt-2-my-vintage.html
Janice says
Susie QT, your kitchen is adorable! I love the changes you made to really brighten it up and those glass front cabinets are fabulous!
SusieQT says
Aww, thanks! Those photos are a few years old now; I should do an updated post. I’ve moved some things and added a lot more Pyrex! 🙂
One thing I would add to the ceramic tile discussion- our checkerboard tile is commercial grade 8×8″ ceramic, and does not show dirt at all, even with 2 small kids. (Unless you spill something like tomato sauce, and of course, that’s easily wiped up.) We used a gray colored grout, which was a great decision- never needs bleaching like white would. We did not have to “seal” it with anything.
tammyCA says
You have a sweet kitchen…very much my style & colors and I sure envy your original glass fronted cabinets. I have so many pretty, colorful dishes/pottery all hidden from view. 🙁
Meredith says
Is the Kitchen floor terrazzo? if so, dont replace it. Have it professionally restored. It will last forever. It is one of the most environmentally friendly materials (mixture glass, marble, quarts, granite, etc) and it does not release indoor air pollutants that almost every other material will. It was very common in the 60s, but prices in materials have made it a very expensive option today.
here is an example of some restoration work.
http://greenwiseflooring.com/terrazzoRestoration.htm
Sarah g (roundhouse) says
Yes I agree with Meredith, lets figure out what the present flooring material is. Is it terrazzo? Torginol? Or just a vinyl sheet… If its one of the first two I’d try to save and restore it.
pam kueber says
It appears to be some sort of sheet vinyl or composite. You can see a seam in the photo just about #3. — where the fridge goes.
Chris says
Oh wow! Talk about icing on the cake! This is a pretty fabulous cake as it is!
If it were me, I’d hop on ebay and find some cool accessories — then let my purchases guide my color choices for paint, curtains, etc.
This is a wonderful kitchen — can’t wait to see what the end product is!
jen says
i would totally agree – pick some fun retro towels and accessories (pyrex bowls and counter top flour/sugar/coffee canisters) and then let the paint flow from there.
for flooring – i have been so happy with the cork we put in – we did 1×3′ tiles in a “crushed” look that compliments the flecking in the countertops. you can’t even see the seams. it holds up to our two large dogs and was really easy to install and cheap (we did it ourselves for about $800). see photo: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YpsdN9Eo61wHt6iMmsXPztMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
congrats – it’s lovely!! so is that bench!
pam kueber says
BEAUTIFUL job! Yes — I love the idea of cork, too!
Lauryn says
Yes, BEAUTIFUL!!!
Melissa says
I’m glad to hear that the cork holds up well with your 2 dogs. I can now throw that type of flooring into the mix of ideas!