Sarah loved the vintage charm of the original kitchen in her 1950 mid century modest home, but after years of service it was looking tired and worn. An avid cook and writer of the food blog Undercover Caterer, she wanted to maintain the charm — but add function and freshness. too. Starting with vintage cabinets found at her Re-Use Store, she was able to create a well organized, new-old kitchen that looks like it’s always been there and which will last another 50 years. Yummy “after” photos — including the one above — by Chantel Elder of Eleakis & Elder Photography.
Sarah writes:
Hi Pam and Kate!
We re-did our kitchen about 1 1/2 years ago. My house was built in 1950 and is a classic mid-century modest home. When we came to tour this house, I knew it was ‘the one’ when I saw the original details in the living room, the pink powder room and the coral laminate counter tops. After living here for nearly 10 years, I knew what had to be done in the kitchen. There just wasn’t enough storage or work space! Luckily I stumbled upon a giant cache of cabinets at the local Re-Use Store and I snapped several truckloads of them up. All for $200. I was able to use most in the kitchen, some in the pantry, and I have a few more that will be used in the bathroom when that eventually gets its makeover. Everything else was done super economically, but without sparing attention to detail.
Before:
Cute, but aging badly. Not enough workspace — we had to use restaurant shelving, but it always looked so cluttered! As you can see, none of the cabinets doors would stay shut either. Excellent coral squiggle laminate, that sadly, was too far gone.
Also: NO EXHAUST FAN. So gross. Everything got greasy, then dusty, no matter how much I cleaned.
After:
Dream kitchen! New-to-me cupboards, courtesy of the Re-Use Store. They were taken out of Beale Air Force Base housing, so there were A LOT — I got to choose how many I wanted. On the other side of the window/wall there is another bank of cabinets and a counter that I use for prep and pantry. Great for parties too when people are gathered around the bar and hi-fi.
I also found wall-mount exhaust fan at Re-Use Store–what a difference that makes.
The paint color is the exact color of my old laminate counter top. Since I could no longer get the coral boomerang, I transferred the color to the wall (I took a chip to Home Depot and they matched it for me). Cheery!
The fridge is a counter-depth from Samsung. Much less expensive than the Fisher Paykel, and it has an ice maker (the FP did not). We like it a lot.
We kept the sink and hudee ring we already had, but added a Dishmaster — and later I was able to get one of the vintage faceplates after they were featured on RR. If you are wondering what that bright circle on the ceiling is, it’s a solar tube. I put in two. They let in a lot of natural light we were missing since the previous owners built the rec room onto the back of the house. There is only one small window on the far end of the kitchen. There are lights inside of them too, in case we need extra light for something.
I have been writing a food blog since 2008, and have written about food for a couple of local publications, so obviously my kitchen is USED.
It is so much more functional now, I did write a blog post about the kitchen: My kitchen, unveiled. Finally.
Anyway, I hope you like it–I just love it!
(Pink bathroom make-over to come! I’ve already found the Venetian pink toilet and sink that match my tiles!)
Sarah’s resource list for her retro kitchen remodel
- Cabinets: Found vintage at the Re-Use Store.
- Round dish cabinet pulls: Original on the vintage Re-Use Store cabinets. Lucky!
- Laminate for counter tops: Wilsonart Blue Agave.
- Aluminum trim: Sarah is not sure, she says the counter tops with edging were fabricated by Bob-Leon Plastics.
- Butcher block next to stove: Ikea.
- Faucet: Dishmaster.
- Flooring: Armstrong Classic Black VCT tile, white accent is also Armstrong white, right off the shelf at Home Depot. Turquoise accent floor tiles were from the Re-Use Store.
- Refrigerator: Counter-depth Samsung. “Much less expensive than the Fisher Paykel,” Sarah said, “and it has an ice maker (the FP did not). We like it a lot.”
- Orb pendant lights: Process lighting from Home Depot (only $60, Sarah said.)
Sarah, you did a fabulous job sourcing and reusing vintage materials and maintaining the kitchen’s vintage appeal, while at the same time enhancing the function of the space. Bravo. I’m in love with the color palette — coral, teal, white and warm wood are just gorgeous together — and the dark flooring really makes the whole thing pop. Kudos to you on a job well done, and thank you so much for sharing your remodeling story with all of us! We can’t wait to see how your bathroom turns out.
- Sarah’s blog, Undercover Caterer
- Photographer: Chantel Elder of Eleakis & Elder Photography
Renee says
Great job! Love the spice cabinet!
Mary Elizabeth says
Yes, love the spice cabinet–just the right depth. And I’m glad you kept the little 1950s quarter round shelves, albeit on the other side of the cabinet, for your marvelous teapot collection. Happy cooking in your new space.
June Cahill says
Just perfection! I LOVE the carmel color of those cabs, the little rounded set of side shelves, the saucer pulls. The floor is fabulous – the countertop – how functional – yet beautifully ‘authentic’ looking is that? Love the vintage exhaust fan – and of course, your ‘Dishmaster’ faucet. You DO have a ‘Dream’ kitchen. I’m certain cooking is oh, so much more FUN in this! Congratulations!
Mary says
Gosh, I love this! That spice cabinet must be so handy.
Mary T. says
Love this cozy little kitchen! Especially love the Dishmaster and dark flooring. Kudos- it’s beautiful!
lynda says
Great choices. Looks so nice. Cabinets are an amazing find. Your Re-Store might be interested in posting pictures on their site or in their store to give others ideas!
Robin, NV says
Beautiful job!! It looks totally authentic. Love the turquoise and coral together.
The sourcing of the Beale AFB cupboards is a good tip for those out there looking for authentic cabinets and other fixtures. The cabinets probably came out of Capehart-Wherry housing, which was ubiquitous across military bases in the 50s and 60s. The military is keen to update housing, so the Capehart-Wherry homes are slowly disappearing. They were demolished at my base in the mid 2000s. I have pictures of the homes that show they all had birch cabinets with turquoise laminate countertops. The Department of Defense is required to make excess materials available to the public through HUD or other programs – that’s probably why Sarah’s cabinets ended up at the Restore. I live in a small town with no Restore, so our excess stuff ends up at local thrift stores.
If anyone is interested in reading about Capehart-Wherry housing, a pdf can be dowloaded from this link: http://www.denix.osd.mil/tools/user-mgt.cfm?reqID=doSearch
Click on “Volume 1: Main Report.”
Please also feel free to explore the Denix website. There are loads of interesting reports in there.
pam kueber says
Thank you for the link, Robin, I will for sure go check it out!
Jay says
Thanks for sharing that bit of history and the site. you never know where RR is going to lead you.
Mary Elizabeth says
Very interesting history, Robin. I grew up near the Groton Submarine Base and the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. My dad worked for the Navy. in the 1950s, whenever they would redecorate barracks or dormitories, they would just put the furniture out on the curb for pickup. To be sure the furniture was declared broken, they would knock out the bottom of one dresser drawer or the slats on a bed. Then they would look the other way while the neighbors–my uncle and my dad included–would come by in their trucks and station wagons, load them up with dressers, desks, and bunks, and bring them home to fix up the furniture for their children’s rooms. The CGA furniture was the best quality solid maple. Am so glad now they are required to send them to the HH re-Store.
Robin, NV says
That’s basically what the military still does. Surplus furniture is set out on the curb and those of us working on the base (military and civilian) get first dibs on it. Anything left over is sent to thrift stores and charities. I missed out on getting a captain’s bed for my guest room a couple of years ago. Nowadays, the furniture isn’t very fancy or high quality but a cheap (sometimes free!) bedroom set for a guest or kid’s room is nothing to sneeze at.
Mary Elizabeth says
Yes, I doubt military housing today has any cabinets as knock-me-down-drag-me-out awesome as Sarah’s!
Robin, NV says
I love that I belong to a community (I’m talking my RR friends) that think 60 year old birch plywood cabinets are beautiful and worthy of saving. The birch cabinets in my house were a huge selling point for me. I love them. So warm and glowy.
Sara D says
I really really love the colours in this kitchen! The Before in white and coral was super cute too but the nice medium wood colour really warms up the space. I love that you kept the original coral on the wall, what a great way to remember your old kitchen 🙂 I’m also in love with your new counter. It is definitely going on my list of Awesome Colours To Consider for my own kitchen remodel! I hope you are enjoying your new space 🙂
pam kueber says
Me, too. I think the color combos are fantastic — warm and cheery at the same time!
Mary Elizabeth says
Sarah, I totally agree–your sense of color is marvelous, and doing the coral on an accent wall is very cool. Did anyone notice that what pulls the whole scheme together is the George Nelson ball clock? Whether it’s a reproduction or an original, it has every color the kitchen needs. It is lovely and warm in every respect.
Regarding the disposal switch in front of the cabinet, you can get a switch guard that prevents you from flipping the switch unless you intend to do so. They are at the big hardware stores and electrical supply places. We have them on a light switch that turns off an automatic motion sensor light and on our furnace switch at the top of the basement stairs (so people don’t turn off the furnace when they are looking for a light switch). Also works for visiting wee bits who like to play with switches.
Sarah says
Thanks! I don’t think I’ve ever switched it on by accident, as it’s just to the right of where I stand when I do the dishes, but if and when there are any grandchildren running around I will keep the switch plate thingy in mind!
Janice says
The Renovation Gods were shining upon you when they led you to the Re-Store to discover all those beautiful cabinets WITH the hardware no less! What a lucky, lucky score! I love your kitchen with all the cheery colors. Great vision and great job in bringing your kitchen back to life. Love it!
Jenny A. says
Your kitchen is lovely! The cabinets look great and I LOVE your coral accent wall. It’s a refreshing ‘remodel’ and you’ve done an excellent job.
Linda Haas says
Love what you did! The cabinets are fantastic-what a lucky find!
What is your flooring?
pam kueber says
Linda, flooring is identified in the bulleted Resource list at the end of the story, check it out!