Here’s a good one — and a good followup to yesterday’s story discussing “when is it *okay* to let go of something original?” and introducing the Retro Renovator’s Creed. Karen wants our help. She wants to brighten up her 1954 kitchen … should she replace the ceramic tile countertops with something more sparkly? Read on for her entire story and question… then let’s confuse her some more with all our ideas and opinion –>
Pam, You ROCK! Thank you so much for hosting this retro reno PARTY!
I’m throwing my hat in the ring. While my dilemma is not new or particularly unique, I could sure use some help from all your retronistas. The simple problem is whether to replace a perfectly good, original, 1954 tile countertop with one that will add pizzazz.
We bought the house 20 years ago from the original owners. It had not been touched since a year before, and sneaking into it late one night, we were truly caught in a time warp. Back then, we were too busy raising three daughters to make any changes to a perfectly usable pink bathroom and all original everything else, apart from new carpet and the addition of a dishwasher. When I began to breathe and look around, I had no idea what I had or what to do with it.
Then, I found this Brown Saltman sideboard in a dirty old junk store. It had amoeba handles and the glass top, and I HAD to have it. After we squished it into the dining room and I saw the flow to the corner fireplace, it truly hit me as an epiphany: This house was one of those fifties retro houses! Seriously, this is 15 years after we moved in.
Then came a year of mad ebay, yardsale and junk store shopping. I’ve settled down on the buying, but still pass the counter tops with a sigh. While replacing them seems sacrilegious, the grout is a germ magnet, and the colors are drab next to the gorgeous ash cabinets, well, they will be gorgeous once I steam and refinish them.
I have my eye on some of that new glass tile for the backsplash and maybe a black formica counter? So, help. What do you think?
Any suggestions are soooooo much appreciated.
Thank you, Karen. But no: You ROCK. Your house is just lovely!
What do you think, readers?
Should Karen replace her original ceramic tile countertops?
If yes, with what?
If no, how to add the ‘pizzazz’ she seeks to this kitchen?
I will hold back and see what you say… but I for sure have some ideas.
Carol says
Isn’t it amazing how much tile countertops bring out strong opinions? My husband and I both have strong opinions on them, on the opposite side of the spectrum! I love them. I want one, but he refuses to put it in. (He’s usually mild-mannered and affable!) We’re gutting a late-forties cottage kitchen, and I just repainted the cabinets cream. I want a subway tile counter with black edging. Alas, I guess I’m going with soapstone instead. So you see, where my sympathies lie–with your beautiful tile countertops. I say paint your cabinets! (Love your house, though…Do what you want!)
Jennifer Kepesh says
I am late to the party on this one–I was sans internet last week so missed it. But I feel strongly on this issue: If your kitchen doesn’t have Historical Landmark status, and if you actually cook in your kitchen, get rid of the tile. I have lived with tile in three different kitchens, and it is NOT a surface for cooks, and everyone else has given lots of reasons why. You can get around these issues if you love the look, but if so, it’s for looking not for cooking.
Jim says
Adding to my previous comment. The Heywood-Wakefield table is really nice but if you rarely open it you might want to replace it with something that fits the space better. At the risk of being too presumptuous, there’s a fantastically beautiful red antique kitchen table on sale on ebay that might fit the space better and would add some color. They also have a green one that’s equally as nice. And there’s a really pretty art deco hibiscus print that I think you might like.
June Cahill says
Beautiful – everything. Ripping out tile – you may live to regret – it’s really perfection with your appliances and will NEVER be ‘dated.’
Add glass insets to the upper cabs – and some colorful dishes. Some color to the wall in the dinette – and I agree with Pam – if you don’t have a fun, funky light fixture add that to the same area – and smile!:) You’ve got a ‘winner!’ –
Jim says
Although your kitchen is from 1954, the color scheme is more Art Deco 40’s than 1950’s. Art Deco was still very popular in the 50’s. The color schemes of the 40’s (dusty rose, fern green) were more subdued than the flashier 50’s (Mamie pink, mint green, aqua) but also more serene. Before you tear out your tile, you might want to look for some Art Deco objects that would compliment your existing kitchen. You can search on ebay for Art Deco pink and Art Deco green. Art Deco flamingos and hibiscus were very popular themes. Art Deco flamingo paintings are quite beautiful and usually have the shade of pink in you tiles. There’s also Streamline and Art Deco bamboo furniture. And you can add color to your kitchen with some Fiesta dishes and/or a colorful rag rug for the floor.
Nancy says
Of course, you may do as you wish…BUT, they are so nice! I personally love them and wish they were mine! Other products will go out of style, but this look is now a classic and can never really be “dated”.
Mike S says
I say that if you want to replace a counter top, cabinet, floor, or whatever, it would be perfectly proper for you to do so with an item or style which matched, paralleled, or very closely simulated what would have been available at the time.
Your counter tops, for instance, can easily be replaced with a modern product that looks like the old Formica, but is much easier to maintain. Mid Century Modern, to me, is best described as simplicity, minimalism, clean lines, and neutrality. Stick to that ideal, and you’ll do fine.
Laurie V says
Do whatever you want to do with your counters. You are the one that lives there, so do what will make you happy.
Laura says
I have a hunch that you really want to replace them, but feel that you need “permission” to do so. Don’t feel pressure to keep something you do not like, just because it is original. Scrap them! It will be a messy, but you will be happier in the end.
Remember, ‘to thine ownself be true”.
Laura
Kristi says
I understand what you are saying about the tile…I’ve lived in a rental with a tile countertop like that, and being a bit of a germaphobe, I was always nervous that the spaces between the tiles never got clean enough. I do know, though, that you can get stuff (sorry I can’t be more specific with the name) that fills and evens out the spaces and refreshes the old grout.
If you honestly really don’t care for the tile, and looking at it every day bums you out, go ahead and replace it. I agree with all the folks who are anti-black, though. You would think that it would look cleaner longer and show less dirt, but for some reason it is the exact opposite, especially with pets. And tile will be difficult to remove, and could damage the countertops underneath and the wall behind the backsplash. If you’ve got the time, the willingness to do a hard job, and the extra money in the budget to deal with potential hangups when they happen, I say go for it.
There were some great ideas from people though who were pro-tile, so if I were you (because I’m lazy) I might try some of that first and see how you feel about the look of the kitchen after that. Good luck! You have an amazing home!