We found the provenance of Dana’s kitchen cabinets yesterday — 1953 Crosley’s just like the ad! Yummy! Now, she’d like some ideas for appliance, flooring.
Readers, feel free to join in this new ‘intervention’ 🙂 , and to get us started, and in the spirit of the vintage Crosley advertisement — here goes:
- A black and white checked ‘diner’ floor? Dana asks. Well, I have to admit that while I put one into the first house I ever owned, I am actually no longer a fan of the look. I think because I have been so exposed to vintage designs and honestly, can’t ever recall seeing the black-and-white check in a real kitchen. For that reason, Dana, I would suggest you consider Armstrong Imperial Excelon or…as your kitchen definitely has the ‘sweet and streamlined’ look going on, what with all those round edges, I think I actually like lineoleum for you – from Armstrong or Marmoleum. And how about a nice strong green – inspired by our advertisement? Really, any color would be fine, your choice. But note, with those black countertops, I think that you want and need nice strong complementary colors, rather than, say, faded pastels.
- For appliances — I also never recommend this, but because your cabinets have an aged ivory color, I would in fact think stainless steel appliances would work best in this kitchen. The whites of today, are offensive when put next to those cabinets, to my eye. How about the Sears Kenmore dual-fuel (or all-electric or all-gas) 40″ range in stainless steel? It’s a nice one. And a Jenn-Aire cabinet depth french door fridge, also in stainless? The stainless steel would pick up the chrome on your cabinets….and also bring the kitchen forward to the modern day a bit. Hey, your girlfriends would approve, too, I bet! As an alternative, you could also try and hunt down a vintage stove and fridge – but again, be very very careful regarding the whites.
- Also, honey, you may not want to hear this, but you need a new sink cabinet (and other, additional cabinets, perhaps?) to match your existing cabinets! Start the hunt, Dana — and know that once you put your retro renovator vibe out there, your extra cabinets will find you!
- I do want to note, regarding the sink cabinet, that you could also go with a restaurant-style freestanding stainless steel setup. Hmmmm….. I think that this will tip your kitchen even further into the ‘industrial’ feel not just retro. It would work, though; it’s really your style choice.
- Finally — if you think you can get away without my recommending wallpaper, then you haven’t been reading this blog for very long, or religiously like you should! How about this very classic look, a pattern from Hannah’s Treasures? Of course – there are many many choices, just remember the advice of putting some “strength” in your accents. Good luck, Dana, we are so proud of your retro reno courage to bring this kitchen back to life! Keep us up to date — we want to see! You know, this kitchen has the potential to be so great — we’ll get it in a magazine just like mine was!!!