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Home / Kitchen / Readers and Their Kitchens

Bonnie Jo Campbell updates her ‘swamp house’ kitchen — and talks about living modestly to pursue a dream

pam kueber - February 27, 2012, Updated: June 23, 2021

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

Bonnie Jo Campbell in her updated kitchenOnce Upon A RiverWe have a famous author in our tribe — and she shares her Retro Renovation story with us today.  Bonnie Jo Campbell‘s recent book of short stories, American Salvage, was a National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, and her 2011 novel Once Upon a River: A Novel (affiliate link) continues to earn rave reviews from virtually everyone who reads it. For example, in July 2011 the New York Times Review of Books, reviewer (and famous author herself) Jane Smiley wrote:

As in “American Salvage,” her celebrated story collection from 2009, Campbell has a ruthless and precise eye for the details of the physical world…. Campbell so intently scrutinizes Margo’s [the teenaged protagonist] inner life that she does not seem to be asserting any larger point about American culture or human nature — but she is…. It would be too bad if, because of Campbell’s realistic style and ferocious attention to her setting, “Once Upon a River” were discounted as merely a fine example of American regionalism. It is, rather, an excellent American parable about the consequences of our favorite ideal, freedom.

kitchen countertop before and after
“Before”
red kitchen countertop
After: Bonnie’s kitchen updated included replacing the original, worn countertop with Arborite Red Xabia. She trimmed it with aluminum trim from RetroTrims.com. And she added a Kohler Delafield sink with hudee ring and a new faucet. Retro Renovation help her point her local retailers to these products.

The reason I choose this particular excerpt of Jane Smiley’s review, is that I sure would pay attention to any renovation done by an acclaimed writer with a “ruthless and precise eye for the details of the physical world”! Bonnie’s story is that she waited 24 years to replace the worn countertop original to her Kalamazoo house, using resources found here. Read her books and you would never doubt that, of course, she would keep her updates in line the midcentury modest design of the house. Moreover — and here’s another place I  pay big attention — she underscores the benefits of “modest.” Bonnie writes:

Hi Pam — A bit about our house:

I call it a swamp house, and my husband and I bought it in 1987 for $24,500. I always tell my students that if they are serious about writing that they should live in a very modest house and try to keep expenses low so that they don’t have to work themselves too hard to pay the mortgage. They think I’m kidding, but I’m not. It’s very hard to make time to write in any case, and so if there’s a way to spend less time earning a living, then follow that way. I also am honest when I say that my poor housekeeping is part of the plan.  I can have a clean, well-kept house or I can get books written, not both.

And that was a lot of the reason why I never took the time to improve my kitchen, because I wanted to keep my focus on my writing.  And it paid off.
My last two books American Salvage and Once Upon a River have gotten quite a bit of critical acclaim. So I was able to take some time out to make my kitchen a nicer place to be. I still might not have done the improvements had my brother Tom the plumber not been unemployed.  I had done some babysitting for him a few weekends, and he wanted to pay me back by helping me with the sink and counter.

The house was built right after WWII, as were many of the houses here, and I know the house was built by a single man, because it was built without a single closet. The kitchen is fairly small, with a modest amount of storage. There’s not really room for a refrigerator in the kitchen, so I keep it in the utility room. When my husband’s mother moved in with us a few years ago, we put on an addition, so we now have a four bedroom, which allows us both to have offices, which is a great luxury.

red countertops before
“Before”

I’ll say up front that my goal was just to get a new counter and sink because my old one was just terrible. And I  lived with the old one for 24 years.  I’ve been pretty distracted in that time, first studying mathematics as a grad student and then becoming a Novelist.

red countertopred kitchen countertopI had a pretty challenging time getting the sink I wanted since all the plumbing places around here told me I could not get a sink to install with a hudee ring. From these photos you’ll see that the sink was hopelessly stained because all the porcelain finish was gone. The countertop laminate was a travesty. The wall behind the sink had shelf paper on it. (Yes, I lived with it for 24 years.)

kitchen counter installationHere are some before photos of counter plus my husband Chris Magson and brother Tom with Hudee Ring (before cutting plywood).

kalamazoo stoveThe stove is a Kalamazoo brand stove that my husband became obsessed with. It’s sort of a museum quality piece, a replacement.

red microwave ovenI also have an amazing red microwave… not sure how I lucked into that at Sears. Maybe it’s not retro, though the food processor beside it is.

red kitchenred kitchenred checkerboard floorAs for the wide photos, I truly regret that I didn’t sweep my floor and polish it a bit.  I’m attaching a kitchen floor picture, one that shows how nice the floor looks when it’s waxed. We’re kind of a farm family here. We burn wood and keep donkeys, and so things can be pretty messy.

Bonnie Jo Campbell in her updated kitchenCheers!  Bonnie

Thank you, Bonnie, for taking the time to share this all with us. (Again, readers, Bonnie can attest how I torture featured contributors with the back and forth.) Your swamp kitchen update is perfection. And no need to apologize for unpolished vintage floors — we have all been there!

Read more about Bonnie Jo Campbell’s kitchen update (and her life):

  • On her blog, Bone-Eye: A Writer’s Adventures.
  • And, here is the website for her books.

If you want to buy one or more of her books, you can also see them here: Bonnie Campbell’s books on Amazon (affiliate link).

Readers, note that I wrote about Arborite Red Xabia (now discontinued) appears to be a good substitute for crackle ice laminate. You can see the effect very clearly here. Red crackle ice is going to be much more expensive, because it is a specialty product. Also, I have a sample of the red cracked ice laminate from some years ago, and I was concerned about the pixelation of the digital printing. I know other readers have used it, though, and were happy with it. Bottom line: Get samples — large samples, preferably — before you commit.

Products that Bonnie used to create her retro red countertop: 

  • Arborite Red Xabia laminate – now discontinued but how aboutcracked ice in red?
  • Aluminum edging from Eagle Mouldings — Note, this install required three different pieces. Bonnie says she used: “(1) Face nosing 13/16″ (with holes drilled) A-274; (2) Cove E98 MFA for 1/16″ material worked well for join of counter and backsplash, and it came together nicely at the corners (as you’ve show); and (3) At the top of the backsplash, which was laminate mounted on 3/16″ plywood, we used J-caps 1/4″ E401 BA MFA.” Talk to Thor at Eagle Mouldings — he’s eager to help.
  • Kohler Delafield porcelain cast iron double-bowl sink with metal rim. (affiliate link)
  • The faucet is a Moen, Bonnie says.

CATEGORIES:
Countertops Kitchen Readers and Their Kitchens

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Reader Interactions

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48 comments

Comments

  1. Erin says

    August 15, 2014 at 9:15 pm

    Bonnie is the best! I think that’s great advice. She deserves that new countertop ;].

  2. Lydia says

    January 30, 2013 at 1:02 pm

    Love the renovation. I have the same countertops in red and a 1958 GE stove that looks exactly the same. I love my retro kitchen and wouldn’t trade it for the world!

    • bonnie jo campbell says

      January 30, 2013 at 1:25 pm

      It’s great to hear from you. Retro rocks!

  3. Laura's Last Ditch--Vintage Kitchenwares says

    May 10, 2012 at 10:33 pm

    I love the perfect imperfection. Not only is it homey and cute, but it makes me feel better for having lived with our horribly stained original counter for the last 10 years.

  4. reddit says

    May 5, 2012 at 5:05 am

    Whenever I initially commented I clicked on the Notify me any time new comments are added checkbox and currently each and every time a remark is added I get 4 messages with the identical comment.

    • pam kueber says

      May 5, 2012 at 10:14 am

      Thanks, reddit — I’ll have my tech team check into this…. Pam

  5. Susanne says

    April 24, 2012 at 4:37 pm

    Those are the exact same cabinets we had in my house growing up. My parents redid the kitchen to sell it in 1997.

    Also, that “food processor” is called a chinois strainer. Super handy tool!

  6. Jasmine says

    April 6, 2012 at 1:50 pm

    I have become disabled and i am literally dirt poor. Meaning dirt is worth more than what is in my pocket, however, I got stuck renting a house with a pink bathroom and checkered tile in the kitchen. I was happy to have a place but i cried over the decor. I have no imagination so thankyou for your photos they have given me hope and a vision.

  7. Linda Butler says

    March 12, 2012 at 8:10 pm

    Hi Bonnie! I love your kitchen counter — I’m planning to do almost exactly the same thing this spring with a green laminate. The specifics about the face nosing and other edging materials (and even a specific person to talk to!) is a lifesaver. I also want the same sink that you have. Did the hudee ring come with the sink or did you have to order that separately? The Kohler site mentions a metal ring but it’s not pictured so I wasn’t sure. Congratulations on your awesome upgrade, and I’m buying your book today!

    • bonniejocampbell says

      March 12, 2012 at 9:44 pm

      Hi Linda — I ordered my sink from Home Depot and ordered the hudee ring along with it, with the guarantee by Home Depot that everything would fit together. I think I paid $275 for the sink. Happy home improvement! BJC

    • bonniejocampbell says

      March 12, 2012 at 10:30 pm

      The Hudee ring cost about $50 in addition to the sink.

  8. Debra says

    March 1, 2012 at 10:46 am

    Cheers is right Bonnie I love what you did! What a transformation 😀

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