Products and ideas to remodel your mid century home in authentic vintage style
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home design inspiration… thrifty finds… and a generous
community of people passionate about their vintage and
postwar homes – “modern” and “modest” alike.
I'm Pam Kueber, your mid mod mad guide. Read more
How is this one, Retro Renovation readers? I recently scored a full box of est. 1960-65 era GE Textolite laminate samples, absolute mint condition unused. This is the first bunch — the others aren’t so over-the-top FABULOUS, but still are great gauges of what to look for. OMG. What else do I need to say. We can all eat our hearts out, together, on this one. This post originally ran on Jan. 4, 2008
A look at 1968 – yes, the era of avocado green, harvest gold and other very distinctive designs. I have to say, I really am growing to adore 60s and 70s kitchens, bathrooms and interiors. These people were having a lot of creative fun. Imagine owning a 1971 split level and outfitting it with a red and black rumpus room… bedrooms with multicolored shag carpet…a Nutone intercom throughout, a Drexel Mediterranean dining room set. Hey! That was my house in 1971! A triumph. Cut to the chase: 70s decor is back – big time. Avocado Oak ad: Georgia Pacific.
Isn’t this Moenique bathtub/shower faucet terrific? Those are “persian” tiles behind – very popular in ’68, as far as I can see. Ad: Moen.
In the kitchen, it’s Andy Warhol pop colors all the way. That’s wallpaper on the fridge. This kitchen is so well done. Ad: Armstrong.
Those panels lining the tub and shower are Formica laminate. I don’t think the stuff turned out to be very waterproof. Pretty, though. And I really like the mirror and framed print arrangement above the sinks. Tip: Look for unusually-shaped mirrors like this – they can work in so many possible spaces. Ad: Formica.
I really have a hard time believing that many women put wallpaper on the front of their appliances. But, it certainly is an idea…. Ad: Frigidaire.
I adore this style of wallpaper. The gold, green, orange colonial motif – just makes me so happy. And this is a wonderful Frigidaire. I am quite partial to side-by-side refrigerators. They are particularly good when space is tight. Note, they are not as energy efficient as fridge-on-top styles, I believe. Ad: Tappan.
Speedway Ron is on the lookout for ideas for really terrific 60s kitchen designs, so we will be on the lookout, too. My goodness, these are chock full of ideas!!! Ad:Vintage Hotpoint.
These designs today showcase some of what was going on about 15 years into the postwar era. Ad: Texboro
Click thru for 5 kitchens in all, along with a little primer…. Heck yeah there is more →
Longtime readers will recall my fixation with 50s and 60s electric plug-in devices to organize all the wonderful wife-saving appliances on the top of your kitchen countertop. Remember these previous posts?:
This time around — a whole cabinet! Yummy! Anyone have one of these, I wanna see it live! Image: Vintage Sunbeam.
Source: American Home, April 1959.
In working with one reader to solve some kitchen issues, I came across this company — Summit, out of New York metro – that makes several appliances that have a real retro feel, at prices that are not so horrific as most “specialty” items like this.
For example, their 36″ range has that second storage drawer to the left that mimics the 40″ stove so common during the 50s and 60s. The wall ovens are pretty simple, too, not all stainless steel commercial. Maybe they’d even give you chrome handles from the wall oven – to put onto the range, much better than those white plastic ones.
This company seems to specialize in smallish appliances. Take a look at their narrow refrigerators, and dishwashers. And, they have those cool all-in-one kitchen units like Dwyer, too. Sorry, I can’t vouch for the quality. When I’m next down near the city I will try to go visit. summitappliances.com 
How about this fabulous 1966 St. Charles metal and wood kitchen? Heck yeah there is more →
Florida Leslie sends this very excellent 1961 stove/fridge/cabinet/sink combo. I’ve seen these before, but never in this great shape. Someday if I make an apartment in my basement, I will install one of these. Hey – from the day when someone thought people might actually like COMPACT kitchens. Haha, that’s a good one!
San Diego, $1500. Manufacturer: Dwyer. With original paperwork. Thanks, Leslie!
Okay, I admit that I really may be losing my mind, but I love this kitchen! There are so many elements that come together so nicely:
The laminate countertop is what pushes this kitchen design into kitsch (especially when combined with the wallpaper.) If you used something more neutral — a white washed woodgrain would be great — I think the room would be more timeless. That said, so ’66!
The new crop of laminates suitable for mid-century kitchen countertops continues. Reader Jon gets snaps for spotting this new “Motion” series of laminate from Pionite. Jon writes: Hi Pam, First, I love the site. I’ve been reading it since December when I purchased my teeny tiny 1946 house (originally a summer home) on the shore [...]
Where to find speckled gold laminate? Also called “lame” (with an accent on the “e”, as in “lam-ae.”) A typical reader question, like this one:
Wow, does anyone know about countertops like these? Becky recently bought a time capsule and her french provincial kitchen (I’d call it) includes these countertops. Reminds me of these Fritz floor tiles. Anyone work with this back in the day who knows? Kind of, an early-days version of Silestone or the other composite-quartz countertops sold [...]
I spotted this vintage salesman’s sample showing different styles of metal edging for a kitchen countertop, and it reminded me that I wanted to do a story showcasing some other varieties beyond the stainless steel edging that I used for my kitchen. First off, thanks to Hard to Find House Parts for letting me share [...]
Retro Renovation’s Countertop & Metal Edging Design Tips from pam kueber on Vimeo. Laminate countertops with metal edging are among the most popular choices for homeowners updating the kitchens in their mid century homes. In this video, I show you the Formica Skylark boomerang countertops in my aquamarine kitchen… We take a look at the [...]
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