
Maribeth’s kitchen points to another excellent idea for retro styled kitchen cabinets: Have your kitchen cabinets built out of MDF, then paint them. Heck yeah there is more…
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From the category archives:

Maribeth’s kitchen points to another excellent idea for retro styled kitchen cabinets: Have your kitchen cabinets built out of MDF, then paint them. Heck yeah there is more…
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Oooooh, look at this great color chart – for Motorola television consoles in 1956. Click directly on the photo to get to the flickr photostream of What Makes the Pie Shops Tick – who has some additional images of vintage Motorola’s straight from the 1956 catalog. But back to the color chart — I liked this in particular, because it provides a good reference for paint, stain and finish options for anything wood – furniture, cabinetry, even paneling. Thanks, Pie Shop!
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I LOVE KNOTTY PINE KITCHENS. They were very popular in the postwar era — they fit with our interest in both western ranch and early American interiors… they were were affordable… and the material was available.
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ARMSTRONG — THE FLOORING COMPANY – also sells kitchen cabinets — and I really like the look of their Moderno line. These maple slab doors with a “slight radius” look like pretty good modern day proxies for classic vintage styles from the 50s and 60s. The finishes — including “natural” above and “toffee” and “cafe” in the gallery — are also quite nice. Replace those Euro-style cabinet pulls with… spotlight pulls from Rejuvenation… and you have a lovely and appropriate retro renovation kitchen. Heck yeah there is more…
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I WAS EXCITED TO SEE AN ALL-NEW DOOR STYLE from Omega/Dynasty: “The Lodge”. Who doesn’t want a cottage with a warm, cozy, rustic-style kitchen? Fortunately, there are a lot of great products today to pull one together. How about starting with:

Wonderful Scottish- plaid wallpaper from Thibaut… Adirondack-style barkcloth for drapes from Full Swing Textiles… a schoolhouse lighting shade from Rejuvenation… wrought iron cabinet pulls from Crown City Hardware… Marmoleum flooring… a Capel braided rug… laminate countertops … and more.{ 4 comments }
Do you love prewar bungalows and cottages and want to update your kitchen in that charming style? I bumped into this wonderful Clarion farmhouse sink again – an exact reproduction of a stand-along pre-war sink. Oh my goodness, wouldn’t this look fabulous with Bradbury Sunnyside wallpaper… yellow straw linoleum from Armstrong… an Elmira Stove Works range… a vintage dinette… subway tiles… and… hmmm, how about oak Arts & Crafts style cabinets? The daydream of waking up to this sweet sweet kitchen makes me want a prewar bungalow!
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Midcentury kitchens started out “any color you want as long as it’s white” in the immediate postwar period, until about 1953. Why? Materials were still tight after the war – and the war in Korea stretched capacities, as well. In fact, did you know that there were actually rules that made it difficult to add a second bathroom? Something called Regulation X. I keep seeing reference to it — must do more research.
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Glamorlux Nancy in Fairfax, Virginia, is updating her 50s kitchen and has her inspiration photo all ready to go. The kitchen is already quite nice looking – the overall feel of the space is terrific, and the cabinets are well-made. Nancy’s chosen her countertop and has her hardware… but she still is pondering what color… or colors… to paint her original 50s cabinets…and the accent – or not – for her new Azrock Cortina floor tiles.
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Anne and Gary’s 1959 ranch home in Oregon is a wonderful work in progress and I love checking in with their blog as they settle into their new old classic and continue to make it their own. Currently, they are planning a kitchen update. When I saw their existing kitchen and its layout, I thought immediately that it had “Mondrian” potential. Mondrian = color blocks, like the famous artist. This style had a following from about 1955-1965.
Anne is sort of interested…and I know she’s already working a plan. Whether she goes with this look or not, it’s fun to know about this kitchen design.
Even so – isn’t Anne and Gary’s kitchen great already? I love the picture windows, the brick wall, the way the wall cabinets look built-in and the overall open concept.
Here is some additional Mondrian inspiration:
Notice how the oven is used as one of the color blocks:

While this is a woodtone kitchen, a bit of Mondrian is added with the combo of pain and shelving:

A 1966 color combo with a colonial (!) feel:

And even – today’s modern fashion, in this snazzy Yves St. Laurent number!

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