READER STEPHANIE sent in photos of her wonderful vintage stove — an O’Keefe and Merritt newly restored by Antique Stove Heaven. Doesn’t it look great with her vintage chrome crackle ice vinyl and laminate dinette. I just wanna pull up a chair and have a cuppa with her right this very minute.

Stephanie writes:

Pam –

Your recent email about your birthday present reminded me to share my birthday present, due to be delivered next week: a completely restored and working 1946 O’Keefe and Merritt stove: gleaming chrome, salt and pepper shakers, and all!  It has red trim and knobs, which will go with my mother’s kitchen (now my kitchen), where we are taking everything back to the 50′s.  Just bought light fixtures from Rejuvenation.

As we have been cleaning, renovating, and stripping down my parent’s home, my favorite time capsules have been the little notes written by my father found inside appliances, electrical boxes, and tacked inside cupboard doors — !  Things like, “garage door opens best when spring is adjusted…” and “this outlet is connected to the bedroom system, because…etc, etc.” Our current stove even has a note inside the storage space, stating when it was purchased, how much it cost (including taxes and other hidden fees), and where it was purchased.  What a dad, huh?

Regards,

Stephanie

Thanks, Stephanie – love that floor, too. We can’t wait to see the rest of the kitchen when you are done. Even more importantly: What wonderful time capsule messages left by your father. You are so lucky… and your house is lucky, too, to have you updating it with so much thoughtfulness and care.  See Stephanie’s blog, dollymamas.blogspot.com here.

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I have a 1952 kitchen that I’ve restored.  The walls and ceiling are covered with 8″x8″ silver pearlescent Tilemaster tiles.  It’s a mind blower. I inspect houses for a living (10,000 and counting…), and I’ve never seen anything like it. When I bought the place, I had originally planned to gut the kitchen, but once in, I became entranced with the stuff.  It’s magical………I bought the house from the home’s (built in 1922), second owner, who remodeled the kitchen in 1952.  The tile is held in place by the old crappy tile setting adhesive they used then; periodically, tiles will come loose, and I resecure them with modern adhesives. I put the cabinets in, and moved some of the tile around to fill in holes left from removing some stuff so I could fit in a real refrigerator.  I worked pretty hard to keep the flavor of the original remodel in ’52.  I want to put in boomerang formica when I change out the countertops next year. There’s a little eating nook/banquette built into the corner (out of the photo) that’s equipped with some Thonet chairs from the early 50′s.  It’s a pretty tight little composition.  If I had a better camera (wide angle lens), you could get the feel of it better. Note the original Nutone fan over the door @ the left.  The sink is an original Elkay Lustertone with draining sideboard.  I think you get the idea.  It’s pretty wild in real life with the correct lighting.

Kurt, while I have not seen a kitchen quite like this one, I have seen a few with larger, Marlite- (laminate-style) walls and ceilings. I think this was an uncommon midcentury renovation for older homes and farmhouses. Case in point: See this vintage kitchen with Marlite covering the walls and ceiling, just like yours. If, for example, you had troublesome plaster walls — you could just cover them over with these miraculous manmade plastics. Thanks so much for saving this little architectural gem – and for sharing it with us. And yes, Kurt, we also need to see your 1959 American Standard bathroom, in seafoam green when you get a chance!

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