“…We rented a truck and loaded up
all the metal cabinets and brought them home.
All they really needed was a good cleaning
and then we attached them to the walls.”
I count five cooking surface, two refrigerators, four Mixmasters — and a whole lot of lovin’ fun — in Lori and Ed’s super happy aqua, pink and yellow retro kitchen. Lori seems to be a woman who knows her mind and makes things happen. She also is not afraid of color, and of mixing it up. This is a good one — one of the happiest kitchens ever! Lori writes:
Hi Pam,
I’m so glad that you liked the pics of our house. It’s really been a labor of love. My husband was transferred from his job in Atlanta to North Carolina ten years ago. So when we started our house hunt we decided to look for a house built in the 50’s that we could redo. We found this house almost immediately and saw tons of potential in it even though the current owners had pretty much destroyed any of the original fixtures and finishes in the house. There was carpet on all the floors and cheap vinyl peel and stick tiles on the kitchen and bathroom floors. And the walls were all painted a drab shade of beige.
I have to admit our toughest renovation project was the kitchen. Our kitchen is huge and runs almost the full length of the side of our home. We’ve got two working 1950’s fridges and my Turquoise GE LIBERATOR stove is used on a daily basis. And our kitchen opens onto our outdoor patio. We literally gutted everything out including the cabinets, sink and floor. It took us over a two-week period to gut the kitchen and then install the metal cabinets. And then it took us two weekends to put down the Marmoleum floor.
We started searching on EBAY (love EBAY) for metal kitchen cabinets and were fortunate enough to find a complete set of YOUNGSTOWN KITCHEN metal cabinets in AQUA from a seller in Detroit. Our family is from Ohio, so on a trip to visit them we rented a truck and loaded up all the metal cabinets and brought them home. All they really needed was a good cleaning and then we attached them to the walls.
Also I found a complete grouping of GE TURQUOISE cabinets from an EBAY seller in DAYTON so we picked up that set as well. And we just combined the Youngstown and GE cabinets to add lots of extra storage space and counter space.
The counter tops are all original YELLOW/AQUA boomerang laminate that came with the GE cabinets.
I also bought on EBAY all the yellow/aqua tiles, they are HOMART ORIGINAL 1958 tiles, that you see on the walls and we designed a pattern and then put them on all the exposed walls. They had wood paneling originally in the kitchen that someone had painted, so it wasn’t useable so we decided putting tiles up were the way to go.
As for my 1956 AQUA GE LIBERATOR stove I bought that on EBAY as well from a lady in Cinncinnati Ohio. It was her original stove.
And the Yellow FRIGIDAIRE fridge, another EBAY buy from a gentlemen in Columbus, Ohio.
And my pride and joy the 1956 PINK GE KITCHEN CENTER from a gentleman in New York. Again it just needed a good cleaning and my husband wired it up for the lights and we’re working on getting the stove, dishwasher and dryer/washer combo working. He’s an electrical engineer so that comes in handy.
As for the flooring we had originally put down black and white VCT tiles when we first moved in, but they were so hard to keep clean so last year after seeing the Marmoleum on your website we decided to put that down on our kitchen floor. We bought the black and white click loc Marmoleum tiles and then we put them on a horizontal slant rather than just a black and white checkerboard design. I think it really sets the kitchen off.
Our light fixtures we got from a seller on EBAY from Arizona. They were actually in a CHURCH cafeteria that had been built in 1959 and they were original. And they were in like new condition.
And then all the little details from the SUNBEAM mixers, waffle irons, cannisters, etc. we pretty much have bought those along the way..where else but EBAY. And my little kitchen table and chair set was a great find at a local flea market for $50.00 and even though it was not in the best of shape with a little elbow grease and wax it came out really great.
I hope everyone enjoys the pics and our TALES of KITCHEN RENOVATION.
Consider us “addicted” to your FANTASTIC RETRO RENOVATION website.
Have a great day!
Ed and Lori
Yowza. I spy and ask Lori if she and her husband painted the vertical blinds. She says:
Yes we did. We bought Krylon Plastic spray in Butter Cup yellow for the kitchen. And in the living room we used the Ballerina Pink in Krylon Plastic.
That is amazing attention to detail. And I must add: One of the reasons that this kitchen *works* so well even though it is chock-full of color and accessories, is that it is so tidy
Beautifully done, Lori and Ed. Thank you so much for sharing.
Retrosandie says
Wow! What a fantasmic kitchen! The colors are so sunshiny and lifting! It is just perfect the way you have done everything. I, for one, would love to see close-ups of all of your collections–along with pix of the rest of your home!! Ooh, I’ll bet it’s a treasure-house!! 🙂
Carrie aka MIFroggies says
What a Beautiful start to your day…and to mine also! Thank you for sharing your lovely kitchen!
Jason says
Amazing! The size of the kitchen alone, the parties I could have in that kitchen!!!
No mention of the fabulours aqua Fridgidaire Flair stove???? My grandmother had one in white and she literally was misty eyed having to get rid of it. Her and I still talk about it, I recently bought her and myself a print of the users manual and had them framed. I’ve considered buying one for my kitchen, but I don’t have room for a 40″ double oven and it’s the only Flair I’d have.
Also – those lights look to be what we had in our elementary/middle school cafeteria. Which is also where my other grandmother worked.
All the new schools they build have no style!
Lori T says
Hi Jason, Sorry that the Frigidaire Flair didn’t get a mention. It’s a fantastice stove and I love the way the burners pull out so you can cook on them. The stove works great and yes I bake and cook on that stove as well. We bought the Flair on EBAY from a gentleman in Virginia and he delivered it to us. It was his Mother’s. Glad you like our kitchen. Have a great day!
Ethan says
The Flair is the crown jewel imo. I have a 40″ and two 30″ Flairs. I am currently using one of the 30″ Flairs in my kitchen. I bought it for 25 dollars. I went through the wiring, cleaned it and it works great. One of these days I will make room for my 40″ Flair in place of my 30″. I will always keep all three ovens for spare parts.
If you like these ovens/ stoves I would suggest buying one as soon as you can. I started looking for these a few years ago because of my fascination with Bewitched. At that time no one wanted them and they were super cheap. Now, more people want them and they are becoming more expensive. I would also suggest buying more than one when you come accross them. You are gonna need spare parts eventually. My wife and I agree that our Flair works better than any stove we’ve ever had. Anyways Good luck if you decide to buy one! Remember, they are built like a tank so they are super heavy to move.
Jason says
Lori – I’m glad to know your Flair is used!
My Mommom’s was down to 2 burners and 1 oven and in the early 90s she had to buy a new stove. Unfortunately we didn’t have the internet then to find all the Flair fans and repair and parts help. Either way, it wouldn’t have fit in her new small home, but at least we could have kept it maybe.
Ethan – I am tempted all the time to buy one when I see them online – even if I have it in my garage- but so far I haven’t. I would love it. But, even my Mommom said just get a new stove, don’t deal with the parts issues like I did. Plus the weight of it is ridiculous – believe me I know! But, I think I’ll end up with one – even if it’s in the garage!
Vicki says
I have a 30″ buttercup yellow Flair. Best $100 I ever spent. I drove 3 hrs one way to pick it up. I want a 40″ as well and I would put them side by side. In my opinion, there is no better stove than the Flair!
Cindy T says
Looks like a happy place! What a cute kitchen.
reid says
all I can say is WOW. I am jealous. Just great!!
clampers says
Thank you for perking up my Monday morning!!!
Kersten says
Wow! Such a happy kitchen! All the decor is lovely! How do you keep it clean? It seems that when I leave my mixmaster out, it gets dusty so fast! Do I need to make more cakes?
The combination of those colors works so nicely! It’s a bold move, and it worked! The yellow formica is fab!
BlueJay says
“There was carpet on all the floors and cheap vinyl peel and stick tiles on the kitchen and bathroom floors. And the walls were all painted a drab shade of beige.”
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen this in a home, I’d be pretty well off! Great story!
Annie B. says
Would you two like to hire a cook?
Seriously, there is no way you could have a bad time in that cheerful kitchen. I don’t care if you burned the roast and blew the lid off the pressure cooker, you’d end up smiling.
Just love it!
Linda Barnes says
I LOVE this kitchen! Retro is it! It’s so much fun to see all the Retro kitchens and bathroom etc. Thanks for sharing …