Jon and Trixi — we’ve seen portions of their project under way — have finished remodeling their kitchen, and are mostly done with the bathrooms. And in a twist that I am sure the folks at Rust-Oleum were not anticipating, the epicenter of their “Retro Renovation story” is that they freshened up their kitchen cabinets by painting them warm brown on the top — and avocado on the bottom — using Rust-Oleum’s Cabinet Transformations kit. No, avocado ain’t a stock color in the Rust-O kit — Jon is intrepid, and had it custom-tinted avocado at his local store. Jon wants me to emphasize that all of the work they did throughout the house cost less than $2,000 — because they (1) used their existing, functionally sound cabinets (2) uncovered the vintage countertop and floor (3) hunted down salvage and vintage fixtures and furniture and (4) did the work themselves. I luv it! Click on through for their compete story along with 21 photos live from the scene. Photos by Glenn Suckow and Trixi Hunt — many thanks!
Jon writes:
Dear Pam:
This here is a folder full o’ photos of our house — kitchen (before and after), living room (before and after), bathroom (before and after) as well as our office, bedroom and exterior — including our next project, the rec room in the basement!
The one thing I’d love to stress if you write about us is that we did this ENTIRE THING — I’m taking furniture, paint, accessories, etc –for UNDER TWO GRAND. Almost every single item is from a thrift store or a salvage yard or a Reuse Center. The hard work, of course, came from me and Trixi!
Some notes, room by room:
[Pam adds: Jon says this 1966 St. Charles kitchen featured on the blog in 2008 was their inspiration. Great job!]
KITCHEN: In these photos, you can finally see the finished cabinets, using the Cabinet Transformation Kits from Rustoleum. You can also finally get a good look at the dining area, with our 1967 Chromcraft dining set which we LOVE. There’s also a great shot of the “corner o’ chrome” — our cool Lincoln Beautyware canisters and paper towel dispenser, plus the NuTone food center and cutting board.
BATHROOM: The countertop is a reclaimed counter from the Reuse Center with gold fleck formica which we cut to fit. The sink is from a salvage yard. The American Standard peach toilet (which matches the tub exactly!!) is from Reuse Center, we got it free to take it off their hands. The floor I put in myself, just some cool hex tile from Menards. [Pam corrects: That’s call octagon-and-dot — super affordable and available at most of the big boxes.] The wall has groovy stencils done by Trixi which match the atomic design on our light bar. The curtains are vintage, from Etsy. The wallpaper is also vintage, from Etsy. Still to be done: tiles in the tub area.
LIVING ROOM: Our pride and joy is the vintage Preway cone fireplace, which we haven’t yet hooked up but which we HOPE will eventually work. You can see, in the general shot, our cool surfboard-shaped coffee table. The chair in the one shot is a Jens Risom from 1968, we got it for FOUR DOLLARS from a thrift store. The end table is Adrian Pearsall, and IT TOO was under ten bucks. The only non-vintage stuff in there are the armoire (which is Baker — Trixi used to work for ’em) and the couch, which is a Daffa.
OFFICE, BEDROOM: The office is just the one shot of the main office area, with our vintage stuff, and another of a weird 70s vinyl chair that sits on the other side of it. There’s also a shot of our bedroom, which has the curtains Trixi made with vintage fabric from Etsy.
BASEMENT: This is our next project! We’ve got a full set of JC Penney whiskey barrel furniture from the late 60s and that cool vintage fake fireplace, plus the Shag prints on the wall. We still have to wallpaper and paint down there — it’s a-coming.
OUTSIDE: A couple good shots of our house (PINK AND BLUE!) plus our DIY rock and flower garden. All the materials in the garden were salvaged from various sites in the Twin Cities — we have bricks and such from demolition sites that used to be cobblestones. Even the rocks are vintage — Trixi’s folks got them from the Mississippi
riverbank in the 1960s.So there you have it! THANK YOU — of course we couldn’t have done it without you!
Jon & Trixi — yay on you! Just yay! I wish I were closer, I’d for sure be over the mix you up some Margarita celebration. And, Jon, thank you so so much for all the sharing you’ve done as you’ve worked on your house. A bundle of stories from last year were all due to you:
- The first story about Jon & Trixi — and how they came to Love the House You’re In.
- Another update on the un-remodel from J&T.
- Jon finds the manufacturer who still makes hudee rims today.
- The same manufacturer makes drop-in cutting boards / trivets — hudee-rimmed, of course.
- I interview the owner of Vance Industries, the company that makes hudee rings.
- Jon finds some inexpensive retro cabinet hardware.
Caryn says
Wow! I love this site but this has got to be my most favorite post ever!!! I LOVE LOVE your kitchen, what a fantastic job y’all did! Last summer we moved into a 1970 brick ranch, nothing had been touched since 1970… seriously… kinda cool but kinda nasty (they weren’t big fans of regular cleaning) at the same time LOL! Unfortunately the glorious avocado appliances had not been taken care of (plus there’d been a small electrical fire involving the cooktop) so after making sure there was truly no hope for them they got recycled 🙁 We found suitable and electrically-safe white alternatives on Craigslist but I always have my eye out at Habitat ReStore and thrifting for the perfect avocado appliances. The one appliance we kept was the avocado KitchenAid dishwasher! It’s not mint on the outside, but on my long kitchen to-do list is to spruce it up with avocado paint for sure!!
Here’s a kicker to my story: my in-laws redid their MINT condition all original 1970 avocado kitchen less than one year before we bought our home. No kidding, my MIL takes immaculate care of stuff and everything looked brand spanking new. At the time we had no plans of moving and didn’t think much about it, but just assumed as usual they stored all the original appliances & sink in their basement (they never throw anything away). But no, once we found this dream home of ours and inquired about getting the old kitchen goodies from them, we VERY sadly found out they had the installers of the new stuff just haul off the originals!! I don’t think I’ve ever been so shocked and disappointed!!
On a side note, we are still enjoying the fabulous 1970 white & avocado countertop, crazy harvest gold & multi flecked linoleum, harvest gold carpet and avocado tiled Jack-n-Jill bathroom!
Anyway, I could ramble for hours… just so exciting to see someone else embracing the avocado and this particular time period!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
veg-o-matic says
Wow. Just wow.
Let me say right off that I’m not a fan of ’70s decor–90% of it is just plain ugly. I don’t know what voodoo you used, but you guys managed to incorporate ONLY the remaining fabulous ten percent! Kudos to you.
That stenciled wall in the bathroom is one of my favorite parts. I’d love to do that in one of my bathrooms, but I fear I lack the artistic talent required. Could you provide a life-size picture of the stencil and maybe I could trace it?
And maybe then you could come over and do it for me? 😉
I love love love the rug in the living room! Where did you get it? I’ve been looking for a decent blue rug for my den, and can’t find one I like anywhere.
I also love the little touches throughout the house that you just sort of sneaked in–the leg lamp in the basement, the Singer Genie, the Regal Poly Perk. All just fabboo.
Oh, cute doggie, too!
veg-o-matic says
Wow. Just wow.
Let me say right off that I’m not a fan of ’70s decor–90% of it is just plain ugly. I don’t know what voodoo you used, but you guys managed to incorporate ONLY the remaining fabulous ten percent! Kudos to you.
That stenciled wall in the bathroom is one of my favorite parts. I’d love to do that in one of my bathrooms, but I fear I lack the artistic talent required. Could you provide a life-size picture of the stencil and maybe I could trace it?
And maybe then you could come over and do it for me? 😉
I love love love the rug in the living room! Where did you get it? I’ve been looking for a decent blue rug for my den, and can’t find one I like anywhere.
I also love the little touches throughout the house that you just sort of sneaked in–the leg lamp in the basement, the Singer Genie, the Regal Poly Perk. All just fabboo.
Sara D says
I too have your kitchen floor, in brown. My kitchen was an early 80’s redo so I think it must have been a popular pattern for some time. I believe it’s called river rock or something of that nature? Anyways to those looking for some I will probably be taking it out so if you can get to Ottawa Canada it’s all yours! (it’s going because there are some bad wear spots and we have to redo our entire kitchen unfortunately)
Jon and Trixie that is a fabulous job you’ve done, I must say I specifically love your bathroom 🙂 Also I am coveting that big yellow lounge chair! There was a couch similar in style to that on Anthropologie last year so you are totally on trend for the modern set as well as those who love the vintage 🙂
pam kueber says
Hey, Anthro is on trend with us!
Retrosandie says
Congrats Jon & Trixi!!! What a wonderful job you guys did! Everything looks awesome! Your kitchen reminds me of what I had in the early 70’s. Everything was avocado-the painted cabinets, the same Armstrong flooring, appliances, double sink, barn wood paneling. I put those Decor bricks in white on the back splash and under the cabinets-it was in style then, LOL. I loved the avocado green because I could put any color with it and it looked wonderful. Which I did! I had 3 windows in the kitchen and different sets of ruffled cottage curtains (Country Curtains) depending on the season. Used yellow gingham for Spring, plain white or light blue gingham for summer (cool), a brown tiny print with bittersweet for fall, and cheery red gingham for winter (beautiful for Christmas and warm for the winter!). I would change out my kitchen towels, dishcloths, pot holders, etc. with colors to match each season. The decor would match, too, according to the holiday! I also had avocado walls in the living room so I could change things according to the holiday in there too! (Not the windows, though; I had draw draperies on the bow window with sheers and shirred sheers at the 2 little windows on each side of the fireplace. I liked to celebrate every holiday because my 2 children liked it!! Of course, the outside of the house was painted a nice shade of avocado green so it looked lovely no matter what season!! Ahhh, see….you two have sent me back in time! Thanks for your pictures, I think you have done a wonderful job on everything. It makes me so happy to see young couples embracing these retro time periods. I LOVE them because I lived through them!!! Keep up your good hard work and please continue to share with us!!! 🙂
Carole says
I’m not a 70s fan either (having grown up during that time), but you did an amazing job! And on a budget too!
When I saw the ‘before’ picture of your kitchen I got a stab of regret. It looks very similar to the kitchen in my first house (a 70s split level ranch). We had started in on remodeling and updating, but never got a chance to work on the kitchen before moving five years later. We had such big plans for that house. I still miss it fifteen year later.
Your office/bedroom wall color looks to be the same as the color hubby grew up with in his parents 1950s ranch.
Enjoy your home. 🙂
Eartha Kitsch says
This house makes me SO happy. All of the hard work and inventive solutions are so impressive and it just seems like such a joyous place to live. I am mad for avocado so I did some cheering in the kitchen photos. And I love that they’re not afraid of color. And here’s to barrel furniture and fake fireplaces!
Jon Hunt says
Thanks, Eartha!!! Oh, and hey — one room not featured is the back stairwell down to the basement rec room, which has all knotty pine walls, just like your kitchen cabs and ceilings! I’m glad you dig the remodel!
retrojunkie58 says
Looks great! I used to have that flooring in red brick and I sure wish I could get it again!!! Bathroom looks very cool. Good job!
lynda says
Just so much fun! A lot of thought and hard work went into this darling home. I love the avocado wall phone. I have the same Colony thumbprint glasses on your table tucked away in some box!
Better quality vinyl flooring has color inlaid all the way through the vinyl. Cheaper vinyls have a design printed on top. Of course the inlaid vinyls could last a long time, as you have found.
JKaye says
Great post on what looks like a fun place to live. There’s so much wonderful going on, but I’ll stick to commenting on the kitchen. As a teen in the 70s, I can say that the kitchen looks authentic. My parents did an overhaul of the kitchen in our 40s era house in the late 60s/early 70s, and avocado was the main color. They antiqued the wood cabinets in avocado (but I much prefer Trixi and Jon’s un-antiqued look), and we had an avocado range. My parents kept the white fridge and sink, but, we had Formica counters in a white and gray marble pattern, which were already there, and I think that must have been what helped tie in the white appliances. All of the chrome in this kitchen looks just right. We had metal trim on our counters, and we had one of those bun warmers like the one on top of the fridge in these photos. We used it almost every night at dinnertime to keep rolls or biscuits warm. (Pretty sure my sister has it now, lucky dog.)
Our kitchen walls were simply white, But Trixi and Jon’s orangey-red wall color looks to be the exact shade of a 70s era coffee pot I recently found at a thrift store. So it’s a great color choice. It looks like the curtains have chickens and roosters, which would have been more of an 80s era touch. Our kitchen windows had metal blinds and a white valance with some avocado trim of some sort on it. (Very tame.) I think a Marimekko-style flower print with some of that red in it, or a David Hicks-style geometric, would be good in this kitchen.
(The colors in this 70s era sheet do the explaining):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Retro-Funky-70s-floral-MOD-QUEEN-flat-sheet-FABRIC-yellow-orange-/250806927186?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item3a6541ff52
I love your floor. My parents made the mistake of getting something that was in style for only a short time — kitchen carpeting. It was in a dreadful avocado print, sort of like a paisley. It was a crumb and spill magnet, of course. A daily chore was running the little Bissell sweeper across the kitchen carpet. One Christmas Eve, Mom was trying to wrestle the roast out of the oven and dropped it on the carpet right in front of the range. She scooped up the roast and we ate it anyway. We were all so amazed that none of the juice got onto her long hostess skirt. (The skirt looked a lot like this, and is something Trixi might need for entertaining, worn with a silk or satin blouse or a clingy turtleneck sweater):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Maxi-Skirt-60s-70s-Holiday-Metallic-Plaid-Knit-MOD-Hostess-Patio-14-/260934385304?pt=Vintage_Women_s_Clothing&hash=item3cc0e6be98
(Oh, and an owl pendant necklace to finish things off):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Silver-Owl-Pendant-Necklace-best-XMAS-/150738359739?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2318b4d5bb
But, the greasy spot in front of the range could never be scrubbed out, so it was covered up with a little throw rug.
(So that Jon looks just right when entertaining with Trixi — Dad would have been wearing a turtleneck under a V-necked sweater or a corduroy blazer, with khaki pants and suede desert boots, which we called “doozer” boots. He sported sideburns, which I see that Jon already has. Dad’s look was like John Hartford in this video from the Glenn Campbell Goodtime Hour, a program we kids might have been watching down in the basement family room, while Dad made Mom a whiskey sour to help her cope with the ruined the ruined carpeting):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNHqG9lPcaE&feature=relmfu
Jon Hunt says
Wo, thank you for all the tips!! Yes, I agree a Marimekko print would look great as curtains in there. I’m gonna point my wife at that fabric, she’d love it! I’m wearing a pair of those suede boots RIGHT NOW, so we’re so on top of the vintage fashion. We love the avocado — we figure hey, it’s a food color, and one that occurs in nature, too, so why the heck not? It’s warm and inviting rather than cold and emotionless like so many modern kitchens. (I grew up in the 70s, too, and ours back in the day had red brick floors and harvest gold appliances — I’m pretty fond of that color combo too!)
JKaye says
Ha ha, if you grew up in the 70s, you must mean you were born about the time I was practising to get my driver’s license. You two look like youngsters. Your dog is adorable, by the way.
Jackie says
Oh heaven help me! That description of the complete happy family in the kitchen–with outfits!!–had me breathless! That is my childhood all over again! We were a little more granola, but not by much.
All of it put me in mind of one of my favorite toys from those days–the Sunshine Family. Their little house was complete with cone fireplace, ferns in macrame hangers, a harvest gold and brick kitchen… Dad wore a turtleneck, cargo pants, and little boots. Mom wore a long calico dress, apron, and (I swear!) little Birkenstocks. Really, it’s just so evident now that I was doomed, what with the family’s little craft business (they had a shop and a gypsy van to take to craft shows), and a little spinning wheel.
Thank you JKaye for that blast from the past! I can’t believe now that my parents are bewildered by my house full of old “junk” and spinning wheels. It’s all their fault!