Tracy wants our ideas on how to perk up her knotty pine kitchen. What do you think, Retro Renovation Squad? Tracy writes:
Hi Pam! My husband and I bought a 1962 ranch house in Nashville about 3 years ago and I’ve been wanting to somehow “update” the kitchen but still keep the mid-century feel. It’s a knotty pine kitchen with aqua formica countertops and a sort of aqua, peach, and ivory speckled linoleum floor. Everything is in really good shape and functional and the layout works for us. The thing we’re having some discussion about is the knotty pine on the walls and cabinets. I’m not a huge fan of it. I mean, I like it, but I just don’t like so much of it. Honestly, I’m not really sure what direction to go with it. I was wondering if you or your readers could make some suggestions of things we could do to kind of brighten the room up without changing the character, which we appreciate and love.
Thanks,
Tracy
Tracy, you may be new and not quite know it yet, but we are generally nutty for knotty in these here parts. So be forewarned. See this post about Eartha Kitsch’s knotty pine kitchen. And, you might like this story on “heart pine” — the expensive stuff, which I tend to believe you have in your kitchen, given it still looks so great.
In our email back-and-forth to get prepared for this post, I ask Tracy some more questions. First, with the pics, she says:
Yay! Thanks! Here are some pics. The area with the microwave/cart/mess of rubbermaid storage containers is the bane of my existence. Storage is an issue for us in the kitchen and we want to get some sort of behind-doors storage instead of that open microwave cart with all the pet food/crap thrown in the bottom. And the red/green/clear rubbermaid containers are for recycling, but we need to figure out another solution for the recycling/garbage that is functional and sort of funky and visually pleasing at the same time. The ceiling fan hasn’t worked since we moved in – the light is broken on it, so lighting will have to be addressed as well. Thanks again!
Then, I ask her to tell us more about how she and her husband (as yet unnamed, along with the doggie) got into the house. Ahhh! Ford is involved again. They should sponsor my blog. She writes:
Sure…we live in Nashville and bought our house about 3 years ago after an EXTENSIVE house search. We were looking for over a year before we found the house actually. In the beginning of our search, our agent was taking us to newer subdivisions, I guess because that’s what most people she works with want, but we didn’t really care for any of the newer homes. They all seemed the same….didn’t have any character or any sort of story to tell. Then we stumbled on this neighborhood called Charlotte Park and totally fell in love with it. All of the houses are mid-century ranch homes, built in the early to mid 60s for employees of the now defunct Ford Auto glass plant. Ford built a plant here in 1956 to provide glass windshields and windows for their cars and our neighborhood, Charlotte Park, grew up around it for employees of the glass plant. I believe that Ford even provided some money to help build some of the homes. The streets are all named after Ford products….Cougar Drive, Edsel Drive, Thunderbird Ave. and, our personal favorite, Mercomatic Drive. Our street is called River Rouge Dr., named after the original Ford River Rouge Complex in Dearborn Michigan. Anyway, we love the story of this neighborhood, we love the people, and we love the homes. We particularly love our home – it’s not too big (we love the “not-so-big” home ideas), it’s solidly built, and it has a lot of character and just feels warm, if that makes any sense! We knew it was perfect for us as soon as we saw it.
So, gentle readers… whatcha got for Tracy?
TappanTrailerTami says
Wow, what a kitchen!!! Tracy, lots and lot of ideas posted here – I haven’t been able to read through them all! I agree with A) more undercabinet lighting…. B) Ditch all of the micro cart stuff, and love the idea of a really large painted antique armoire or farm cupboard (maybe coordinate with your floor/counters) and C) This is my idea for the soffit area above the cupboards:
Not sure if this was mentioned but…….I’d get some cool retro/vintage print curtains and hang a valance attached to the ceiling tight to trim board at the top of the soffits (think hospital curtain track to hang them from), so when you want something a little different, you can slide your short curtain/valances around to cover the knotty pine soffit – it would give it a different look, without resorting to paint/wallpaper/etc which are more permanent.
I’d also make a fairly concerted effort to shift some of your counter items to storage areas in the new armoire/farm cupboard, just for the sake of uncluttering a bit. As for recycling, I’d invest in pull out bins that fit in a lower cupboard. In my kitchen I will have butcher block on the cupboard my bins will be located in, so I can cut veggies etc, and then pull out my bin underneath to scrape the waste off the butcher block right into the bin.
Have fun with all of the ideas here – back to reading for me.
Tracy says
This has been amazing. Thanks everyone so much for all the of comments, feedback, and suggestions. This has definitely inspired me! I’m going to start with the decluttering/purging and keep my eyes open for a hutch/cabinet/storage unit to replace the microwave cart and hide the recycling. I’m looking forward to finding accessories to add a pop of color also! Thanks Pam and I’ll send pictures after the updating is done!
pam kueber says
What fun readers had, Tracy! Thanks for sharing. Note: I think I will do a “mood board” with my own suggestions — they are mostly all covered in the reader suggestions, so I just have to call out my favorites! I think I’ll aim for posting this tomorrow, but I have work-work to do so it might come later!
bepsf says
I love your kitchen – I wouldn’t touch the existing cabinets, paneling, etc except to add undercabinet lighting and perhaps replace the stove hood with one that’s white to match your other appliances.
What I would do is to replace the clutter of the cart and storage bins with built-in floor to ceiling pantry cabinets – they don’t have to match your existing cabinets, just stay with a nice country style. I’d painted them a nice cream color and choose upper cabinets with glass doors – the insides could be illuminated and painted the nice aqua color you have for your countertops – The microwave could be built into these cabinets with a pull-out board beneath.
I’d also replace the woody breakfast furniture with something non-wood – Say a vintage white-painted metal table base w/ a glass top and matching white metal chairs with bright aqua vinyl seats. Then get some pinch-pleated draperies on that window – again, in a bright print in predominantly aqua and white, and have a roman shade made in the same fabric for the window above the sink. Finally, I’d use the back wall to display a collection of plates – perhaps some fun & kitschy vintage souvenir plates?
jkaye says
On your street names — how cool. In our neighborhood, Gardenside, most of the streets are named after battles in American history: Yorktown, Blue Licks, Gettysburg, Antietam, Appomattox, Manassas, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, Normandy. Ours is Meridian, after the battle at Meridian Mississippi. Then there’s Traveller Rd., after Robert E. Lee’s horse.
Caleb L. says
Love this. Nice work guys!
David says
Growing up, every room in my house was knotty pine, except for the bathrooms. “Never have to paint,” my Dad said. I would love to have some element of that in my home, but not sure I could live with it every day. Other than the “paint it white and call it beachy” motif, I’ve wondered about pickling or whitewashing knotty pine. I’m sure it would be labor intensive, but it would lighten and brighten it without losing the character. Here is a room by Sarah of HGTV with ligth knotty paneling: http://www.hgtv.ca/sarahscottage/episodes.aspx?sectionid=300&categoryid=8211131934201546917&postid=67416
Janet Gore says
Okay, okay … from someone who had a very similar kitchen back in the early to mid-70’s as a young wife and mother: loved the cabinets, the backsplash, the walls … everything was knotty pine. The floor, however, was a “brick” look vinyl (of some type put in when the house was built in late 50’s early 60’s probably). My windows had white curtains … and my furniture was dark. I had a table with four chairs in the dedicated eating area, and along the blank wall was a beautiful cabinet that matched the table and chairs (dark). The original counter was yellow, and was in very bad shape so we had a new one put in and replaced the peninsula, which had been “hacked” off by the previous owner. It was replaced with a nice shade of yellow/gold (what we could get at the time). The ceiling was white, we had some undercabinet lighting, and an original light over the table (a brick colored metal shade, as I recall … probably to complement the floor). I know “lighten up” seems to be the feeling here, but, honestly, my darker table and chairs and cabinet actually helped to tone down the golden color of the knotty pine. I do think, though, that containing the clutter is extremely important with the busyness of the knotty pine — containing that ‘softens’ the knots! Of course, I didn’t have a microwave to contend with (as I do in my present 1961 kitchen … it’s on the countertop) since they were not yet common. I speak from experience (I turned 63 yesterday).
Just last week, my 40-year-old daughter found a picture of me in the kitchen … from when she was a little girl … and asked if she could have it. She loved the warmth of the kitchen … how cozy it was!
Gavin Hastings says
I’m with you, Janet. Your ex-kitchen sounds lovely and very mid-century “home-ly”.
We saw this all the first time around!
Tonja says
One more comment: I don’t think that a tile backsplash is the answer. The knotty pine cabinets are busy and a tile backplash is busy, so it may be too much.
Tonja says
I always wonder why the majority of people prefer new homes. I am the minority in my friends and family to love old houses and old cabinets! But that’s good because there are more people than old houses, and if everyone loved old houses, I wouldn’t be able to have one!
I wouldn’t change anything about the pine cabinets. I love it, as well as the countertop and flooring.
I think that many ideas that others have posted are great, like lighting up the kitchen with a ceiling fixture and under-cabinet lighting, adding a white or chrome dining table and chairs, adding a cheery bright yellow bouquet of flowers, adding a cheery fabric curtain, and de-cluttering. I really think that will do wonders for you and that’s probably what I would do if it were my kitchen. Remember that clutter alone can make you feel claustrophobic or over-stimulated, so that might be part of the problem you feel.
I love Eartha Kitsch’s kitchen as well, and I see what you mean about how the painted drywall backsplash keeps it interesting and light. As much I love all of the wood, I do wonder if I would start to feel claustrophobic over time because there’s so much of it–like being encased in it.
You could actually remove the cabinets carefully, remove the paneling from the walls and replace it with drywall, and then re-install the cabinets. You can probably find a buyer for the paneling so that its history isn’t wasted.
Or you could remove the paneling from the far dining room wall. Replace it with drywall, and paint it the dark red that I see on the wall in the adjoining room for a natural flow.
jkaye says
Hi. Thanks for allowing us all to comment on your kitchen. Your kitchen is reminiscent of Sara’s kitchen from a few weeks back, and very similar to a picture Sara was inspired by:
https://retrorenovation.com/2010/04/16/help-sara-add-retro-flair-to-her-country-kitchen/
You might get some great ideas from going through the suggestions on that kitchen, too. A theme in the comments for Sara was, Don’t paint the cabinets, leave them as is. That’s my suggestion on your cabinets as well. Personally, I would look for storage solutions and add some touches with fabric before making any big changes to the cabinets themselves. Once you solve the storage problem, the knotty pine might not seem like an issue.
For storage, I think I’d try to find a big hutch to put where the cart and plastic bins are now. Something like this:
http://www.qis.net/~lauer/hutch1.html
This hutch, while pine, has been whitewashed, which makes it a pleasant change from all of the natural wood in your kitchen. You could paint it some other color, even black. You could store the pet food, recycling, etc behind closed doors in the bottom, and put cookbooks and other display pieces in the top. A trestle dining table with benches would look good with such a hutch. (But the suggestion of a chrome dinette set sure is a good one.)
Don’t see anyplace for wallpaper in this kitchen! But, fabric would be a great way to bring in some color. If you could find a barkcloth with aqua and coral in it, that would be pretty.
Oh wow, look at this cool barkcloth that has guitars in it — perfect for Nashville!
http://www.barkclothhawaii.com/big/jetson.html#
As for lighting, I will let Pam, who’s more of an expert, weigh in on that topic.
Have fun with your wonderful kitchen. (By the way, recently I looked at two houses for sale in Lexington KY with knotty pine kitchens. One had the same flooring, but white counters with the boomerang pattern. It had knotty pine cabinets, with plaster walls. The other kitchen was all knotty pine like yours (well, not sure about the backsplash), with dark green counters, and the floor had been covered in industrial grade carpeting. Your kitchen is in much better condition than those kitchens.