Retro Renovation » cabinets

Vintage heart pine vs. today’s knotty pine

pam kueber — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:00:11 +0000

When I originally discussed using knotty pine in kitchens, there were comments expressing concern about the wood’s appropriateness in the relatively humid kitchen environment. When I was at the Southern Spring Home & Garden Show last week, I ran into this company, Union Church Millworks of Covington, Virginia. They had some really gorgeous woods on display including “vintage knotty pine,” so I asked Kim Bennett Powers, the sales and consulting manager on hand, the knotty knotty pine question.

His response, which was very illuminating: In the 1950s, we grew our pine trees bigger… the centers got very hard as the tree aged, and we were able to use this center — it was called “heart pine” – for cabinets and other applications where we wanted hard, dense wood. It still looked knotty. Today, we do not grow our pine trees as big, so the wood never never gets as hard. So, much of the 1950s knotty pine really is a particular sub-category called heart pine. Kim says that Union Church Millworks can still get you vintage heart pine for cabinets or panelling or even floors — it’s reclaimed from demolitions and the like. But it costs something like $12 a s.f. vs. $3/s.f. for plain old knotty pine. While we didn’t have a belaboured discussion about it, Kim thought that even considering the differences then vs. now, today’s knotty pine should do fine in a kitchen. That said, there are other wood species that have a knotty look but which are naturally harder.

One more thing: Woah, the woods they had on display for floors, paneling and cabinetry: Gorgeous!

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Kitchen cabinets for a late 60s to 70s kitchen

pam kueber — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:00:11 +0000

A reader recently wrote to ask, “Would these cabinets be considered retro for my 1965 mid-century modern style kitchen?” Drats, I cannot find the email with his name, but my answer was: “Yes, I think they could work just fine.” These Merillat Essential Northport cabinets are laminate-on-melamine and actually, quite similar in feel to the circa-1975 cabinets that I took out of my 1951 kitchen. I’d say that they have a 70s look – but remember, the 70s really started in the mid-60s… well, the periods, they all mush together. I quite like the look of these cabinets — the full overlay door, with its tone-on-tone trim, and the fact that it needs no pulls, all convey a late mid mod feel.

Here’s my mood board for a late 1960s early 1970s groove kitchen. It includes the MerillatM Northport cabinets, Armstrong’s Saguaro vinyl sheet flooring, Bradbury’s Mod Generation Daisy wallpaper in Sunshine, and currently on ebay: rust-colored Club Aluminum, a Burke dinette and mod globe pendant lights. What do you think? Are we ready to bring back all the best of the 70s?

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Mod Squad kitchen cabinets

pam kueber — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:00:28 +0000

Just about the time Rebecca asked me for some suggestions for renovating her 1964 Ann Arbor kitchen, I ran across these mod 60s 70s style cabinets online. These doors have a baked-on thermofoil finish, which enables durable, high-gloss colors. The orange looks very pleasing indeed … the “olive” by any other name would be called “avocado”… and their red looks pretty authentic 60s 70s. In fact, neighbors of mine — who updated their kitchen in the mid-60s in a very high fashion, high-end style — have red cabinets just like this. I declare this style and these colors: Smokin’ hot!

These mod squad kitchen cabinets — “Norara” door style with Pull #1 — are from Holiday Kitchens. Cindy used Holiday’s laminate doors for her kitchen and bathroom updates and is quite satisfied. I’ve been featuring a number of their door styles, and have a few more yet to add to our list of mid-century appropriate kitchen resources. Note: I keep an archive of all core resources in the “Product Guides” section — here’s the page for cabinets, sinks, faucets and more products available today for your retro kitchen update.

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Kitchen cabinet doors for knotty pine or painted “coolonial” kitchens

pam kueber — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:00:46 +0000

Continuing to build our portfolio of choices for retro style kitchen cabinets, I spotted this Jamestown plank door style from Holiday Kitchens. Holiday offers this in hickory, and I think that with the right finish it reads “knotty pine.” A few years ago, I also saw a kitchen with this door style in an ivory painted, antiqued and waxed finish. The kitchen was in what I’d call a mid-century coolonial home in Stockbridge, Mass. Yes, another new term I think I just invented: “Cool-onial”. Hip colonial, and in the Stockbridge case, a rambling ranchy country house but one that very very clearly had a colonial pedigree. The kitchen was much like the coolonial kitchen below — one of my all-time favorites. Finally, I think that this style also could look very nice tinted — another option with mid-century precendents.

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Where to find kitchen and bathroom cabinets made from laminate

pam kueber — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:00:29 +0000

Several readers have asked where to get cabinets faced with laminate, a style very appropriate for mid-century kitchens and bathrooms. I checked my notes from Cindy — who used laminate cabinets in both her kitchen and her bathroom renovations to very good result. She reports that her cabinets were made by Holiday Kitchens, which turns out to be a relatively large national brand with production in the U.S. Their doorstyle for laminate kitchen and bathroom cabinets is called “Geneva” (you will have to scroll through the door styles to get to it.) I am presuming that you can specify any particular laminate you like. Check out my Fast & Easy Product Guides page for Countertops for my list of laminate manufacturers.

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Steven’s Mondrian kitchen

pam kueber — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:59:40 +0000

Those of you in modern homes, remember to consider a Mondrian-style kitchen if you need to renovate. This one – from Steven’s 1957 Alcoa Aluminum house in Rochester, N.Y. — is original. Well, the part in the foreground is. He needed to replace the cabinets and backsplash along the back wall, and did so in complementary style. The original Mondrians are laminate-over-wood. In the back, Steven combined black-painted wood base cabinets, and blue-painted vintage steel wall cabinets. If you have trouble choosing a color — hey, what a solution. Click on the photo above to see Steven’s entire house, on his flickr photo stream. And click here to see my other posts showing Mondrian kitchens.

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Painted MDF kitchen cabinets: Another great choice for a retro renovation

pam kueber — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:00:12 +0000

Maribeth’s kitchen points to another excellent idea for retro styled kitchen cabinets: Have your kitchen cabinets built out of MDF, then paint them.

I’ve actually mentioned this idea before, and it’s listed as a way to go with bathroom vanities, but I’ve never done a full blown post about it for everyone considering kitchen cabinets.

All about painted MDF kitchen cabinets:

Resists moisture: MDF is the acronym for Medium Density Fiberboard. I think that means wood particles and glue all melded together really solidly. Don’t be put off. The stuff is heavier than wood, and the beauty part in particular, is that it resists moisture. I have MDF cabinets in my bathroom for that reason.
You can paint MDF slab doors: You can paint MDF slab doors — but you cannot paint all-wood slab doors. Real wood, when it is pieced together, expands and contracts when exposed to moisture or humidity. The paint chips/cracks along the joints. MDF, on the other hand, is manufactured in big pieces, 4′x8′ pieces, if I’m not mistaken, so it can be cut to size — even pantry doors — then painted any color. I’m telling you, you will not know it’s not wood.
Versatile: As you can see from Maribeth’s photos, a slab style door is very vintage, yet also very classic — you can dress it up either way.
Specs for an authentic retro door: Vintage steel kitchen cabinets all have slab doors with what is called a “radius” edge, and the doors are installed as “full overlay” — that is, you don’t see any of the cabinetry behind the doors or drawers. This set up – full overlay – also gives you the biggest drawers.
Virgin adhesion: There’s more: You can paint these guys any color, and since you’re going straight onto a virgin MDF surface, you should get great adhesion.
Retro and custom touches: Under the sink cabinet, carve those horizontal ventilation slats… paint your cabinets a glossy color…and install retro or vintage pulls…
A good cabinetmaker can replicate these ventilation slats in MDF

and people won’t know they aren’t metal. Add a cookbook shelf. Build in a desk. If you get the right cabinetmaker, he or she can craft these things. It’s flat wood – you can do anything. Scour all my vintage galleries and posts for ideas.
Affordable: As Maribeth points out, these cabinets can be built very affordably. She had her entire kitchen and laundry room done for $6,000, including painting. And she has A LOT of cabinets. But note, before I found my metal cabinets, I had my kitchen also specked out for MDF cabinets. I bet I had as many cabinets as Maribeth, and the store wanted $14,000, and painting was not included. So, shop around, recognizing of course, that getting a quality, reliable craftsmen is another story altogether…
Be conscious of cabinet construction, too: The construction of the cabinets (what you don’t see) also matters. When we were shopping, I bought an online subscription to Consumer Reports to get their tips. Tips I still remember are: Dovetailed drawers. Slides and glides matter. And so does the thickness of the “box”. Thicker plywood is better. As Maribeth pointed out, she originally was just going to repaint her old cabinets. But when they took off the countertop, the boxes were in such bad shape, they were not worth saving. That was the state of my 70s cabinets, too. The boxes were, like, one step above cardboard…the doors were basically falling off them within 30 years. Even if you don’t think you are going to be in your house 30 years, I think it is wise to save up and pay for better constructed boxes up front. It’s probably better for the environment and for your house karma, too.

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Colors for a 1956 Motorola tv console – a good reference for midcentury wood paints, stains and finishes

pam kueber — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:59:18 +0000

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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Knotty pine kitchens – a look that’s due for a comeback

pam kueber — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:00:25 +0000

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.

In fact, in researching this post I read a 2001 story from the New York Times that said knotty pine has its fans again today – and also appeals to fans of the Scandinavian tradition.

And of course — Betty Draper’s kitchen on Mad Men is knotty pine!

As far as I can find, there are not too many mainstream cabinet companies making knotty pine cabinets today. Luckily, one company that does is: Cabico. They are a large Canadian company, and I had a positive experience with their product when I retro renovated by bathrooms a few years ago.

Their knotty pine – honey finish – is shown in the first door.. This honey colored finish looks pretty good, I believe, for a retro renovation knotty pine kitchen. But something even more amber/orange could be even better. Note the image above — a 1952 Formica ad — for one reference for door styles.

I’d also recommend a planked door like this traditional (3/4) overlay design from Dynasty/Omega. Reference only, I do not believe that Dynasty/Omega offers knotty pine. Cabico also says that they can make a full-overlay plank door.

My concern about a slab style like the third door (also a reference from Dynasty/Omega), is that pine might split from expansion/contraction as it is a pretty soft wood.

Best, if you are truly interested in pursuing this look, to consult with a cabinetry professional.

Final note: I recently saw “knotty cherry” cabinets at the Eugene Home Show. They were really nice looking — definitely had the knotty-pine groove going on — and cherry is a harder wood, an even better material for cabinets.

Want to see more knotty pine interiors? Check out this slide show linked directly to the flickr group that I started, Knotty Pine Interiors:

This post has been updated from the original, which ran Dec. 26, 2007.

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Retro style kitchen cabinets by Armstrong

pam kueber — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:00:05 +0000

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.

Moderno kitchen cabinets at Armstrong.
Cabinet pulls from Rejuvenation.

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