Retro Renovation » yellow

Are you looking for vintage metal kitchen cabinets?

pam kueber — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:59:39 +0000

I love this photo posted on our vintage steel kitchen cabinet Forum…and I fussed with it to make it look like an old polaroid. These are 1957 yellow GE cabinets, for sale in St. Louis. How many readers have steel kitchen cabinets — are installing them — or on the hunt?

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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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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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Flower power 1960s Drexel bedroom set

pam kueber — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:00:01 +0000

Thanks to Puddletown aka Cheryl for spotting this 60s flower-power Peter Max-style Drexel bedroom set on Craigslist. It’s in Minneapolis, and it’s not cheap, but oh my goodness, this is the greatest bedroom set in the world! And, thanks to seller Molly for the photos — [link expired]– and click through to the next page for 5 more photos.

Click first image to launch slide show:

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Nancy completes her yellow 50s bathroom

pam kueber — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:00:15 +0000

From Nancy’s yellow 50s bathrooms

Maryland Nancy has completed the retro renovation of her 50s bathroom – and it’s spectacular. Nancy gutted two small, worn bathrooms to create one larger guest bath. She was intent on maintaining the mid mod feel – and incorporated original yellow fixtures. I recall at one point, she emailed me that she had finally chosen her tile colors – and was so happy that the blog gave her confidence to embrace color. This bathroom is a testament to take some chances! Nancy, you have a beautiful eye, way to go!
Nancy writes:

Pam- Thought I would send you some pictures of our new bathroom (we combined 2 half baths). We are very pleased & everyone that has seen it thinks it looks just like our other bathrooms. We can’t have a better compliment! Still looking for that perfect chenille rug & scales. The lighting of the camera doesn’t allow true color but I hope you can tell what it looks like. So pleased w/ the tile selection & the different patterned floor. Please notice the great lights over the sink & in shower area- one of your ebay finds! Great & I love them! I like the Vera hand towel & monogrammed towel ( actually from the previous owner’s- haven’t gotten it copied yet).

All of the worry & concern over details are not apparent but I guess made for a good final results… I tried to use everything that I possibly could that was original. The yellow sink & toilet were in one of the original baths. The tile is Moonbeam & Crisp Linen (Dal tile) & the floor is the Square Random Biscuit. The before pictures are very hard to tell what is what- not a very large space.
Readers, notice how Nancy used the two tile colors to great effect — e.g. Moonbeam behind the sink and as a trim color, Crisp Lemon elsewhere. The brick / rug / woodbeam are a perfect color complement to the yellow. And, I love the bird prints – terrific graphic punch!

I asked Nancy about the great little tiled shelf next to the sink:

That was kind of funny (looking back). I told my young painter (who had never done this large a project & was doing everything) that the boomerang shape was very big back then. Thought we could maybe do that. When I came home he had taken the ironing board & cut out a top. He had tiled it & everything! It looked like I could go straight from the washing machine to the counter top & get my ironing done. I labored over whether to tell him how much it was bothering me. I got up the nerve & he was relieved because he hated it too. The previous bath has that dressing area (w/ the great Formica top) & this bath needed to have someplace for guests to put their things when showering… I had thought it would be much larger- then we ran in to the brick wall (literally) which housed the incinerator in a closet on the other side. So, that is the story of the little counter. I wanted to use both of the tiles we had used on the walls.

Thanks so much for all of your help with this project!

Nancy

(you can click on slide show to view much larger images)

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A 1956 yellow-pink-aquamarine Youngstown kitchen – so sweet

pam kueber — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:59:07 +0000

Several readers have asked about color combo’s for their yellow kitchens, including what I thought of a turquoise/aquamarine floor. Hey – this works fine, don’t you think? Aquamarine actually has more yellow than blue in it. And how about the pink walls – including the butterfly wallpaper.

Another readers asked about installing boomerang/chevron pulls on cabinet doors vertically. This looks great, too!

Finally, re the floor – notice the three stripes of darker green vinyl tile interrupting the mass of floor… nice, without overdoing it.

Altogether… such a well-designed kitchen!

Thanks to Java1888 from flickr for the photo — he has TONS of great vintage images on his photostream, he’s one of my very favorites! Image: Youngstown Kitchens.

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A yellow 1961 GE metal kitchen for sale in St. Louis

pam kueber — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:59:43 +0000

Carrie has this amazing yellow 1961 kitchen for sale in St. Louis. Great oven, stovetop, dishwasher and fridge, too. I don’t talk about it enough – but oh, how I love the control panels on these old appliances – especially the dishwashers. Check out this Potscrubber II – it has kind of tortoise shell background. Fantastic!

Oh, and this kitchen has speckled gold dust countertops, our favorite.

Notice the way the ceiling is done in this kitchen – the lights recessed in the extending soffits/bulkheads on all four sides. I am not sure if I like the look or not – I think it makes the kitchen feel smaller, although the functionality of the light is probably terrific. Leave a Comment if you’d like me to connect you with Carrie – it would be great to find a happy new retro renovation home for this cuties!

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Let’s help Sebastian save his yellow bathroom!

pam kueber — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:05:28 +0000

Last week, after our “Save the Pink Bathrooms” fest, I received this sweet letter from Sebastian in Montreal:

Dear Pam,

I‘m a French Canadian living in Montréal. I bought my first house 3 years ago. The house was built in 1955 and I bought it from the very first owner. Not much renovation had been made and the bathroom is still in the 50s look, except from the sink and the ugly vanity…

Being born in 1973, I have not known the era when yellow, blue and pink tiles were “in”… But, after 3 years in my house, I have come to like my yellow bathroom and would like to renovate it respecting the style and color… an idea that pleases you I’m sure!

Attached you will find some pictures of it.

I don’t know really where to start! It seems almost more complicated to fix it rather than changing everything. I saw on your site the Olympic Tile store probably have some replacement yellow and black tiles. I would like to redo the window frame in black tiles instead of wood. What kind of sink should I buy? How can I give back some shininess to the floor? What color should I paint the walls? Do I keep the mirror? Do any of your readers have the same kind of bathroom?

Well, any help would be appreciated! And I would be happy to start the “save the yellow bathrooms” movement.

Regards,
Sébastien Langevin

Didn’t I say this was a great letter?! Sebastian – I am so proud of you for doing things the hard way – and saving this yellow bathroom. It is the right and noble thing to do!!!!! And, it will make you very very happy.

Well, Sebastian and I have emailed back and forth this week, and I have a bit more information. First – as you can imagine – storage space is actually a big issue. The vanity, as inappropriate as it is decoratively, actually serves this purpose well. But, it also turns out that there is 8″ of depth in one of the walls. This is important, I think.

So here goes in terms of suggestions:

1. Get a wall-mount sink with chrome legs and towel bars. I found this one on ebay for Sebastian, but he is rightly concerned about the shipping cost. Even more importantly, he really needs to try to match the Case yellow – this is crucial, as your eye will pick up the difference. So he is going looking today at a salvage place that may have a match. Even if it takes a while to find the right sink — I think it’s the smart thing to do — and now that you’ve put your retro reno vibe into the universe, Sebastian, the sink will come to you! With the bathroom being so compact, having the wall-hung with legs will really make it feel more spacious.

2. The mirror: See this image from 1954. I suggest creating storage space immediately to the left of the mirror – extending to the edge of the toilet, “centering” the entire installation on that wall — to provide more storage space along this wall. I think that open shelving like in this photo would look great; but would not be practical; put part of the cabinet (to the far left, shelves in the middle) behind a door of some sort. Everyone: If you have a lot of space behind a bathroom wall – use it. I did, and it’s great. 8″ is a wonderful depth, actually – nothing gets lost by being too far back, yet it’s deep enough for large bottles like woolite.

3. For over your mirror – I love this Rejuvenation Lighting “Rufus” sconce for you. It is perfect with your black trim and overall deco look.

4. Of course: Wallpaper. I searched and searched and came up with this option from Secondhand Rose. Now, I do have to qualify: This paper is directionally where I would see this bathroom going….but it may not be exactly right (background too pink? Maybe it’s just the internet…). But, I think you need to look for a print like this – one that has a deco feel, a ‘lighter’ look, and includes your core colors of sunshine yellow (in this wallpaper: chartreuse, close enough), black and porcelain white. What I think you want to stay away from is anything that emphasizes the bumble bee look — the harsh tones that this bathroom can evoke if treated wrong. You want to soften it a little. This paper or one like it, would do that. This wallpaper also gives you the ability to work in other colors – blue or merlot towels and fluffy rugs, for example. Again – you must also have some good sources in Montreal, tres chic!

5. Tile around your window? Sure, but please note, it will be difficult to match the ‘mud set’ look of your original tile unless you get someone to do this who really know what you are doing. If you can’t find someone, I would be cautious. If the wood is rotted out, as an alternative, you can replace it and use marine paint for better water resistance. I’m sure a good lumber store will even tell you a wood species to use that’s best for this situation.

6. Polish your floor tiles? Nope. I think they are meant to be matte, Sebastian. They are fantastic, btw!!!

7. Accessories: Once you get the wallpaper in, these will play out. Have fun with towels and rugs. Re the shower curtain, I tend to favor something that blends in rather than stands out, but this is not a hard and fast rule. Find vintage switch plate covers for your electric outlets and light switch. You can also find new models of chrome exhaust fans for the ceiling exhaust that I see in another photo.

So, I hope this helps, monsieur. Retro Renovation readers — what are your ideas for Sebastian?

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