Retro Renovation » kitchens

That 70s house — 3 interiors

pam kueber — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:01:02 +0000

Could there have been a more creative period in American design history than 1974? Methinks not – as evidenced by the three interiors today… and by my memories of the era. And folks: This look is back with a vengeance, so no whining, go look for your old David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman posters and prepare a place for them.

The image above is a “garage getaway.” As in, refinish the garage for mom so she has some space of her own. Do you watch That 70s Show? Seriously, it is really funny and has wonderful interiors, too. All three images today are from the ever-ingenious interior designers at flooring manufacturer Armstrong World Industries.

This is “The Picnic Kitchen.” It’s adorable, don’t you think? It’s such a pleasant shade of red…and the white and gold go so nicely.

And downstairs — we have our own personal family Irish Pub. This is really truly impressive. Remember, readers, with old floors: Get informed regarding the environmental and safety issues that may be present – consult with a professional.

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Octagon and dot floor tiles in 13 color combinations

pam kueber — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 12:00:30 +0000

OCTAGON FLOOR TILES are great for pre-war homes — 1920s, 1930s, 1940s — and then some colorways came around again in the 1970s. This tile style can work, I think, for either a vintage style bathroom or kitchen floor, and that dot gives you a nice flourish of color to play with.

Nemo Tile has the largest selection that I’ve seen yet of colors for the main tile and the dot. Looks like they have a glossy and satin white, a glossy and satin black, and for that 70s house, shades of beige and shades of gray. What a hoot, I love ‘em. For dots: white, black, navy, cobalt, red, burgundy, green and the 70s beige and gray. Nemo Tile octagon ceramic floor tile.

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Youngstown Kitchens Monterey cabinets

pam kueber — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:00:26 +0000

Finishing up my Youngstown Kitchens 1957 mini-series, here is their Monterey line. The unique selling proposition of this line: Sandalwood-colored steel base cabinets and doors…. with wall cabinets with Sandalwood-stained wooden doors on steel bases. Reading through this marketing material I see: Industry concern about color fatigue, oh no! “Give us a color we can live with for years” and “that goes with everything,” consumers asked, Youngstown explained. Again…as we’ve discussed before…the move away from enamel-painted steel, which was difficult to repaint (and likely getting more expensive), to wood cabinetry (which was easier to re-paint and also had the “furniture look” of adjoining spaces”, was under way.

At the same time we get a new beige color, we get a bunch of other neat-o features approved by all these folks.

I really like these angled slider cabinets that use the space between the countertops and the wall cabinets. I wonder why they never caught on… perhaps a kitchen can be jammed with *too much* storage… cabinets everywhere? Truth be told: The more storage space you have, the more stuff you accumulate, and stuff can become oppressive.

Here’s more detail on the slider cabinets.

Oven cabinet, dishwasher, garbage disposal. Those Youngstown dishwashers were really something.

Different cabinet combinations possible…

Lovely graphics.

And the complete front page. Love the coppertone brown oven. And dig the black lacquer Early American dining set. We haven’t talked about that. Yet.

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Soffits: Midcentury kitchens need them

pam kueber — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:00:22 +0000

I AM AN ADVOCATE OF KITCHEN SOFFITS, or as some readers call them, bulkheads. The postwar era was all about the introduction and spread of “fitted” kitchens. Long runs of base and wall cabinets and countertops, with an integrated stove and sink and fridge. This “scientific” design was an outgrowth of the efficiency movement earlier in the century, married to the postwar industrial economy that needed to find consumer outlets for the built-up wartime production. To me, while they are an additional hassle and expense if you are renovating, soffits are a no-brainer for a 1940s, 1950s or 1960s kitchen.

Soffits aren’t only authentic retro, they: (1) keep the tops of your wall cabinets from getting filthy, (2) are the perfect spot for vintage wallpaper, and (3) can hold and hide wiring. One of the other great benefits of soffits is that you can use them to deal with a variety of design challenges.

In my kitchen, I made the refrigerator look “fitted” by bringing the soffit out 24” to meet its profile (whereas the adjacent wall cabinets are only 12-13” deep. I can also mention here that I specifically chose my wicked expensive Sub-Zero refrigerator because it is 24” deep (fitted) and 84” tall – the exact height of the wall cabinets. Yes, it cost a bundle. To pay for it, I chose to wait four years to get the new car that I needed, and ran my beloved Taurus right into the ground, yes indeedy. This is a great refrigerator for a retro renovation kitchen.

Back to soffits, you also want to continue running your soffit over windows and especially that one over the sink. That one: You can either keep the horizontal line or notch the soffit up. Like an arch, but keep it squared off. Put one-to-three can lights underneath.

Note, though, that I do NOT like those soffits that come out 24” over the sink or base cabinets. I had those in my last kitchen, I really thought they made the place feel smaller. I do understand how tucking can lights into the extended space can be beneficial. Even so, I am not a fan. (See below about ‘building in’ features like fridges with extended soffits, that’s okay.)

If you have soffits in your kitchen, you also can then use the same idea to fix other design issues. In this image, a 1961 Hotpoint kitchen, the wall framing the refrigerator is like a soffit and gives it that “built in feel” so important to this design.

Another example: To get my three pantry cabinets to fit just right, I had about 3 inches of vertical wall space remaining (far left of photo). So, we made a vertical “soffit,” which I also wallpapered. Interestingly, a lot of people say these three pantry cabinets and the way that they are built in are what really “make” the kitchen. Another a-symmetry thing, too: Three, much better than four.

Hope all this is clear. The point: Frame things in finished drywall – whether above in a soffit or to the side like a wall – and they look “fitted.”

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Fun facts from America’s Kitchens

pam kueber — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:00:52 +0000

I’m traveling, and have brought my newest book — “America’s Kitchens” — along as bedtime reading. It’s a keeper, really nicely done. Some tidbits:

Introduced at the turn of the 20th century, the Hoosier cabinet was a huge step forward for homemakers and the first move toward “fitted kitchens.” Not only did it bring commonly used tools into one cabinet, it included containers and a table surface of porcelain enamel steel — much easier to keep food fresh and clean. 2 million Hoosier cabinets were in action by 1920.
In the first half of the 20th century, efficiency experts promoted small, step-saving kitchens. But as domestic servants left for factory jobs and mom moved definitively into the kitchen nearly fulltime, the kitchen got bigger. This reflected her desire for a pleasant work space and the fact that everyone wanted to gather there.
By 1940 only a third of farm households were electrified.
As late as 1945, three out of five farm households did not have a sink with a drain, and any water carried in had to be carried out.
In 1942 sugar became the first rationed food item…followed by coffee, meat and canned foods (to save tin.) A year later, ration books were issued to every man, woman and child….Hence our Victory Gardens.
The percentage of American families who owned a mechanical refrigerator jumped from 44 to 80 percent between 1940 and 1950.

“America’s Kitchens” is available via Pamazon

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Vintage 1954 yellow kitchen designed by Armstrong

pam kueber — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:00:38 +0000

IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER INSTALLMENT of a vintage Armstrong interior from my large collection of Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, Inc. advertising comps. This one: a small, very efficiently designed 1954 yellow kitchen. And the cabinet style shows that authentic retro doesn’t have to be all radius-edge slabs — this is an important reference / proof for even me! In fact, except for the floor and appliances, this kitchen could have been put in place by a designer today… I’m guessing that in 1954 this would have been considered a formal Early American kitchen…today it would be called “country” not particularly “retro.” The kitchen also shows how careful use of accent colors – white, black, red – can make such a difference. Not too much, not little, just right.

Note how the stove is built into the backsplash. What about that wonderful looking washing machine tucked into the adjacent laundry room – with a box of Lux! And don’t miss the baby’s high chair with its little stuffed toy in the left/foreground. My goodness this photo was well staged.

If you’re new to the blog – know that there are two great Armstrong books full of great vintage interiors to ogle and learn from…our anointed retro renovation “bibles”:

And everyone, be sure to check out my Pamazon (tee hee) store now along the navigation bar at the top. Unlike this kitchen, I have not jam-packed the store. These books really are my favorite.

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18 kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms from 1949

pam kueber — Tue, 26 May 2009 08:00:34 +0000

IN 1949, home interiors generally seemed to have a traditional look, and featured a soft and pretty palette, some jewel tones carried over from glamorous Hollywood, and of course, red-white-and-blue in the kitchens. Several of these images also suggest farmhouses and updating of older homes was a marketing focus — the Armstrong “Monowalls,” for example, are meant to cover failing plaster walls, I believe. Also, you don’t see much emphasis on technology — there a very few gizmos in the kitchen. In the bathroom — well, I think that many families were still getting their first bathroom. And in the image above, the happy couple are multitasking that Simmons hide-a-bed, suggesting that this is a one-room apartment — something I think was pretty common due to a severe post-war housing shortage. In 1949 it didn’t take much to make us happy. We were still ramping up to our 1950s frenzy and the true launch of Consumer America. Click through for a slide show of kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and more – 18 images in all.

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1964 split level time capsule – great midcentury mailbox and kitchen

pam kueber — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:00:51 +0000

THE ESTATE SALE ON FRIDAY was a jackpot — the 1964, single-owner split level house was in gorgeous condition. What I really liked about it was that it was a very middle class, unpretentious house – but it had features that were clearly chosen for their high quality and craftsmanship. It was timeless in the true sense that everything about the house can endure. Oh lordy, I hope that the new owners understand what they have in hand! Today, two slide shows: The first of an awesome midcentury mailbox, recessed into the roman marble brick of the exterior. I know lots of readers will be so envious of this feature, I’ve never seen anything like it yet. And second, a fabulous time capsule kitchen — it includes two-tone cabinetry, a great little breakfast counter with original stools, and yellow GE appliances with gorgeous design features. One of my new favorites ever — like this house. 27 photos in all.

To start: Here’s the mailbox. Fabulous! Click on the first image to enlarge, then proceed through the slide show.

And here is the kitchen. I wish I’d taken more photos of the GE dishwasher. Like the built-in yellow oven and range top exhaust fan, it is a real beauty. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! The fridge is a replacement, of course, the harvest gold is a bit off the yellow, but still an uber-cool refrigerator. And notice how the wall cabinets above the breakfast counter are in a different material (darker laminate), with glass on the dining room side, and suspended. This house is all about the details! More photos to come, tomorrow.

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In praise of vintage Daystrom dinettes

pam kueber — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:00:25 +0000

These days I am quite in love with cozy vintage dinettes — like this 1953 Daystrom model. Daystrom, along with Arvin, seem to have been the two really big names in dinettes back in the day – and both seem to have disappeared from the screen altogether today.

This lovely green dinette – amidst the aqua-pistachio kitchen with its wood and white and wallpaper – has the feel of the coziest place in the world, don’t you think?

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50s kitchen and bathroom – in the pink – with Beauty Queen

pam kueber — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:58:32 +0000

Since so many readers are dealing with pink legacies, I’m on the lookout for vintage treatments. I actually wanted a pink kitchen, but the decorating gods rewarded my husband with the aquamarine that he preferred.

This Beauty Queen kitchen and lavanette are from the same company, Toledo Desk and Fixture Co., Maumee, Ohio. Oh how I wish I had a lavanette! (See one also in blue, in this 2007 post.)

And, the kitchen is pretty sweet, too. Notice the drawers that convex out – like the English Rose’s and Americans. And, the great stainless steel or chrome handles, like the GE’s. Very stylish!

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