6 ideas from Karen’s retro kitchen remodel — including pink terrazzo countertops!

There are at least six different things I like about Karen’s kitchen Retro Renovation. #1: …

Life is a big canvas — throw on a lot of paint! Karen had a big (kitchen) canvas to play with, so she very happily married four pastel colors — aquamarine, pistachio, pink and yellow. 

The floors are more neutral — hardwood and black-and-white floor tile. The big mash up works beautifully — what a happy space! Karen explains:

This was our first house. We lived there 15 years.  We have since moved from this house, although we still own it.  It was a 1300 sq ft. ranch built in 1961.  Small house, but fantastic open kitchen.  Every other house we saw in that price range had galley kitchens. 

#2 — FABULOUS idea: The craftsman who made Karen’s wood kitchen cabinets recommended removing the clock panel from a built-in oven that had been original to the kitchen — and making it a built-in work of art. Karen said they never got the clock to work. But I am sure that’s do-able and when complete, would make the piece functional as well. Obviously, if you can re-sell vintage ovens to another person who can use them, that’s a great thing to do for both the environment and for Retro Renovation colleagues in arms. But if you can’t save ’em, “this is a great way to preserve a part of them,” Karen points out.

#3 — The countertops are pink terrazzo. Wow!  Karen lives in Florida — terrazzo-land, if there ever was one. The counters look to have aluminum edging like the kind available from RetroTrims.com. She says:

 …Our guy had never worked with terrazzo before but they came out great.  We picked the color and even the aggregate that was mixed in.

 Here is a close-up. Tee hee, a photo that Karen kept of a cute note written by her daughter. 
 #4 — The fluted or reeded glass (I never know which is which, I think they are very similar) is great and serves the purpose to adds visual interest and light to a kitchen that has A LOT of cabinetry. (In fact, my kitchen could use some glass-front doors to break of the never-ending facade of aquamarine, scrumptious as it may be. Time to start looking methinks. Geneva did make glass front doors.)

Another design point about Karen’s long green wall of cabinets: It’s all long drawers on the bottom, which creates a long low horizonal buffet feel. And, the unit transitions from the cooking area of the kitchen into the eating area of the kitchen, with a sit-down desk at the end. This kitchen was designed very very well.

#5 – Karen had these cabinets custom-made. As a result, it was easy to add fabulous touches like modern metal legs or feet. The legs further “lighten up” the space — but mind you, the trade off is knowing there are, and always will be, dust bunnies lurking below. And #6, Karen points out that her backsplashes were made of marker board — endless fun for the kids. What a great idea!

In fact, it sounds like Karen is a creative dynamo. I asked her about her new house. She responded:

Pam,

Thanks! We are now in a custom brick  ranch that was built in the ’80s.  It’s 3,000 sq. feet of “blank canvas”.  It’s in great shape, and we got if for @ $67 a sq. ft.  All the paint is fresh but completely “oatmeal”.  I’m trying to figure our my color schemes now.  I definitely want to stay in the mid mod way of living. 

Also, we have a nice screened-in pool and lanai.  My dream would be to find a way to make the pool area  mid century roadside pool “MOTELesque” out there.

I plan on making one of our guest rooms look like a motel room complete with chenille bedspread and a magic fingers coinbox decorative piece.

I also love to make paintings of the old neon signs.  I’ve attached a couple for you to see.

I will be visiting your site and blog a lot for inspiration for this new house!

Thanks again!

Karen

Thank you, Karen. You got it goin’ on, girl!