Dave and Frances bought a wonderful single-owner 1938 home last year, and have just finished up some modest yet gorgeous updates to their kitchen. The most dramatic improvement: Marmoleum linoleum for both the floor and countertop, edged in stainless steel. Dave writes:
Hi Pam,
Just thought I’d drop you a note. Thanks to inspiration from your site, we just recently, i.e. in the last 24 hours, finished rejuvenating the kitchen in our 1938 house. It didn’t take much, the cabinets were in great shape and the 1958 GE range looks brand new (we’re only the second owners of the house), but the very neutral vinyl floors and formica had to go. We replaced the floor with a medium blue Marmoleum with a dark blue stripe and did the countertops with the same dark blue Marmoleum and the same stainless steel edging you did your countertops with. We finished off with a new Kohler sink with hudee ring.
We’ve been in the house for right about a year. We outgrew our 900 sq ft 1931 brick house by the time our twin boys turned one and casually started trolling the real estate sites. We knew we wanted another brick house and were fond of the late 20’s through early 40’s architectures. We found this one at about 10 p.m. one night and I promptly drove over that night to check out the neighborhood. This house was about 2 miles west, right in the neighborhood we were most hoping to find something…. We put in a contingent offer and our old house sold the same day it was listed! This house is about 1,700 sq. ft. excluding the unfinished basement.
We bought it from a lady whose dad originally built the house and she had been living in it since she was 12. I even found a copy of the building permit in the basement dated 1939 with her dad’s name on it. We love it when old houses look old and have their original elements so needless to say we instantly fell in love with this house. My wife took a slight bit of convincing since the exterior architecture has a bit less whimsical character than our old house. Being late 30’s, it seemed to be gaining some of the minimalist traditional lines as opposed to the revival era cottage/tudor look of our early 30’s old house. The house was in impeccable shape. Prior to us moving in, the original owner had just removed red shag carpet covering the red oak hardwoods and douglas fir softwoods (upstairs).
I believe the only real non-original elements were kitchen floors and countertops and the light fixtures save for a fantastic deco chandelier in the dining room. We’ve gone through and replaced the non-original light fixtures with a combination of vintage and reproduction. We also replaced the switch plates and outlet plates with NOS brown bakelite plates, but many of the original brown bakelite tumbler switches are still installed and working. We haven’t taken many pictures of the inside of the house since we moved in, but I posted the staged real estate pics from last year if you would like to see them.
You can tell that the stove desperately needs a big white and chrome Big Chill fridge next to it, I’m still trying to convince my wife of that though… (Even so,) you’ll see my wife decided to get in on the whole retro thing with an attempt to recreate one of the campy vintage ads 🙂
If you’re interested, here are the particulars for the rejuve:
- Marmoleum field color: “Sparkling Lake”, this seemed almost identical to the color in the Armstrong ad
- Marmoleum stripe and countertop color: “Deep Ocean”, this too seemed nearly identical
- James at Nielsen Bros. Flooring (Seattle) did the install work (James was very patient when it came time to do the metal trim)
- Light over the Fridge: Rejuvenation “Atlantic” fixture with “Streamline 8 inch Opal” shade
- Light over the Dinette: Rejuvenation “Arcadia” fixture with “Streamline 8 inch Opal” shade
- Kohler Triton Facet (K-7776) and Kohler Triton Cross Handles (K-16012-3)
- Kohler Bakersfield White Sink (K-5834) — I found out the hudee ring is sold separately.. (K-6599)
- Stainless steel edging from New York Metals — One nice hint, too. Wherever I ended up with cracks in the mitered corners and whatnot, I used silver/gray gutter sealant as a filler. It blends in fairly nicely with the stainless. Soldering would probably be best, but this was far easier.
- We got inspiration for the color palette from a 1941 armstrong ad I found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanvintagehome/3331401646/
I asked Dave in our email exchange whether he had considered Bradbury and Bradbury’s 1940s wallpaper line. He responded:
It’s funny you mention the wallpaper. I was just showing my wife some of the deco wallpaper on their site last night. You can’t see it in any of the photos, but as you leave the kitchen toward the hallway and head out the back door, there is a wall about 6 feet long covered with some wallpaper from the 70’s. Some of their wallpaper there would be perfect.
Fantastic work, Dave and Frances — the linoleum with the contrasting trim is fantastic, the countertop looks great, and you know I love that Kohler sink. Clearly, you show how making just some minor updates made to fundamentally sound original features can make for a charming (and not too expensive) renovation that makes the house truly feel like your own. I do have two questions I forgot to ask: I was under the impression that today’s linoleum in not particularly recommended for countertops. What were you told about this issue? Also, did you have to adjust the size of the countertop substrate material in order to accommodate the increased thickness of the linoleum vs. laminate? Thank you so much for sharing — this story will be very popular with readers whose homes or styles tend more toward 1940s sweetness than 1950s atomic.
Jamie says
Love it!
I also used marmoleum on my counters and am curious as to what product Dave used to add extra coats of “finish” ?
Jane (aka) Elvis says
What a wonderful and beautifully understated renovation! I was looking through the pictures and saw the “before” picture of the kitchen (only I didn’t realize it was the before-kitchen). I thought: how unfortunate the floor choice was. Then I realized what I was seeing – the transformation was amazing!
BTW, Rejuvenation’s Portland store has linoleum counters that appear to be working and wearing really well. We were told by our linoleum installer (an old-timer) that linoleum preceded laminate as a countertop treatment and is totally period-appropriate.
Paul says
That’s true, Jane. And it’s warmer to the touch, which I appreciate more than I ever would have thought when working in the kitchen.
Dave M says
ellen: We used the same marmoleum on the counter as we used for the stripe on the floor. It is “Deep Ocean”
ellen says
i have a question for the owner . . . did you use the same marmoleum on the counter as on the floor? just wondering if there’s a different product from marmoleum for the counter.
RetroSandie says
It all looks very nice. The blue floor and counter-top look beautiful and one of those wallpapers Pam showed us would look fantastic! Looks like a cute house – should be fun decorating to taste. Can’t get over how CLEAN that basement looks!!! 🙂
Larry says
I love the kitchen, very nice indeed and even though the furniture was for staging, the living room is a spectacular room!
Joe says
I want more info on where you got the Hudee Ring and which Kohler sink you used. I just put my order in for a 5×12 sheet of Formica Vivvarr white and it should be in next week. Then the trip up to NewYork Metals for the chrome edging.
pam kueber says
Joe – the info on the Kohler sink is in the post. Kohler still offers this — see my blue nav bar “Find PRODUCTS” for retro-style sinks identified to date.
gavin hastings says
I certainly understand…I only asked to help some of us “daydreamers”. Kind’a gives me something to live for….
Annie B. says
A beautiful family in a wonderful house!
Dave M says
Thanks all for the wonderful comments. Some answers to the questions…
Regarding the linoleum on the countertop, I spent a fair bit of time googling for instances of people using linoleum on countertops, but didn’t ask Forbo specifically. The guys at Nielsen Bros didn’t look at me too strangely when I asked for it to be installed there though. I talked to James the installer a bit about it and he just suggested avoiding standing water for prolonged periods of time. I also put a couple extra coats of finish on it to give it a little extra protection (the marmoleum comes pre-finished from the factory). Other than that, I suppose we’ll just wait and see. I don’t *think* there is much difference between the linoleum from 60-70 years ago versus now, since there aren’t many ingredients in it to begin with. One thing I didn’t expect is that the texture of the linoleum on the countertop is very warm. I had never noticed the texture on the floor, but you do on the countertop.
As far as the substrate, we did have to replace the decking for two reasons. It was two thick to fit the stainless edging plus the linoleum and also because the sink hole was two big to fit the new sink. I ended up using a sheet of 23/32 and 19/32 plywood sandwiched together but generally found plywood thicknesses very inconsistent.
I don’t have the model number for the stove handy but will get it tonight. I’m recently confident it is 1958 because I just found a serial number decoder online.
pam kueber says
Regarding the linoleum: Whenever you buy a new material there are manufacturers’ “specifications” – meaning applications that they recommend and warrant it for. That’s where to check. When I was doing my bathrooms, I recall checking Marmoleum specifications, and it was not specified for bathroom floors and from that, I assume it was not specified for countertops. That said, I tend to think the only issue is regarding the warranty — if the product fails, they will likely not replace it because you used it in an application not specified/warranted. I certainly have seen and heard of others who have used this material on countertops…. Note: My discussion re specs and warranties today is meant in the context of something ‘innocuous’ like linoleum. Other stuff — such as exterior doors or doors between an interior room and attached garage, as just two examples, I am sure there are many many more that you need to think through — may be subject to building code issues. I am not an expert on this – this is from my personal experience, and why I suggest, yes, you’ve heard it before: Consult with pro’s.
Paul says
Nice job on the kitchen! I used linoleum on my kitchen floors, counters and backsplash when I redid my kitchen. Never heard anything from the seller or installer about lino not being specified for counters. I think, as you note, Dave, that water is the issue here. I wipe my counters down after doing anything and I don’t let water stand on them. I did a dark green floor with a yellow contrast stripe and matching yellow counters/splashes.
As to the Big Chill, I really recommend trolling Craigs List or local used appliance dealers for a good, clean, vintage fridge. The non-defrosting ones are more efficient than anything new and the scale is more appropriate for the smaller spaces in our kitchens. If you really need extra space, a new or second-hand newer fridge in the basement can work. I have a 1947 Frigidaire in my kitchen. I replaced a new unit with this one and it instantly felt right in the space in my 1939 house. It’s quiet and works like a charm. I see units on Craigs List here in Connecticut for prices well under $500 on a pretty regular basis. I also have a 1956 double oven range. The 40″ units were pretty standard then and quite often the space exists in old kitchens or a “fill-in” cabinet can be removed. I would never go back to a 30″ range!
By the way, nice vacuum coffee pot. A great touch and – in my opinion – the best way to brew coffee.
Congrats on a beautiful kitchen. Enjoy many good meals there!