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.
Dawn Singh says
I have cream colored 4″ ceramic tiles and I love them. I just cleaned the grout with 1part bleach to 3 parts baking soda and scrubbed with a toothbrush and they look clean and fantastic. I would not change them unless you’re going contemporary with the whole kitchen, and it sounds like you’re not. If you do change the countertops keep in mind that the kitchen is already somewhat dark and black formica will suck all the remaining light out of the room.
Karen says
Dawn, thank you for the recipe! I’ve used bleach, of course, but not mixed it with the baking soda. Gonna do that right this very minute. Thanks again.
Lynne says
Try a Clorox bleach pen on the grout. You just draw a line right down the grout. Hence, “bleach pen”. That tile is in fab condition, no way would I tear it out.
I would keep the tile counters and try the other updates already mentioned. Paint the walls your favorite color, get those cabinets refinished , if you don’t replace the floor, some snazzy area rugs to match your wall color, and replace the light.
Paul says
Karen, you’ve got some amazing stuff there!
I vote to keep and regrout/seal the tile. As others have suggested, spend that money on new flooring and look at different lighting options. Good under-cabinet light will brighten those surfaces, too. Definitely consider a new wall color.
Computer monitors are tough to get a good feel, but I think a very pale orange or even a blue (blue and brown can be amazing together) would be terrific.
Refinish the cabinets as planned and the counters won’t have to be the only starring attraction in the room. I love the continuity with your other tile in the baths and I think you’ll miss the durability.
As to flooring, I am much more a fan of sheet linoleum than I am of squares. If you find a good installer, they can even do patterns in the floor with a contrasting color. A popular style in the period was to lay a “feature strip” about 1.5 or two inches wide just a few inches out from the cabinetry, following the contours of the room. The small area between the feature strip and cabinets could be a darker version of the “field color” of the main floor, the same color as the main floor, or the feature strip could run to the base of the cabinets. It’s a neat look, but it can make a room feel smaller. Strips or a diamond in the center of the floor might be another alternative.
Karen says
Ooooo, that strip around the floor sounds fabulous. I have marmoleum in the pink bath and I wanted to get that in the kitchen. Maybe I will! Blue? Blue and orange are contrasts and the cabinets are golden, or will be soon. Wow, I totally never thought of that. Thank you so much!!
Lauryn says
Paul, I tried so hard to find someone to do that for me! Lots of people were willing to lay the sheet marmoleum, but no one would touch my idea of replicating that feature strip. In the end, it’s okay, because it’s a very small kitchen and that might have made it look even smaller, but I was so disheartened trying to find ANYONE who would even consider it (which wasn’t so surprising in small town Iowa).
The Atomic Mom says
I have never been a fan of tile for countertops, but that’s me. I would replace them, however that stove is great with the ring around it — did they do hudee rings for stoves? I would replace it with a period appropriate laminate.
Karen says
Blue boomerangs, maybe?
Nicole says
I think your tiles are lovely! I think you have just begun to realize how lucky you are to have stumbled into such an amazingly well-kept design– do not let yourself regret making permanent changes before you try every single option. I like the idea of adding yellows, oranges or reds to the room in the form of paint, lighting, and other things that can be changed if you find they’re not exactly perfect. Your tiles and your cabinets can also be the warm background to some eye-popping backspash choices as well.
Lauryn says
Nicole, that is a great idea. Kind of like a doctor’s “first do no harm” motto. Karen, if you’re going to go ahead and spruce up other aspects of the kitchen, it would make sense to make small changes (paint is just not that expensive) and see if the new “setting” makes you like the countertops more. I can’t imagine it will be any small feat to remove all that tile without damaging the tile (though I don’t know that for sure).
Lauryn says
Not the worst kind of dilemma to have, I suppose, but still a dilemma. If you are really not in love with the tile (and I think you’ve lived with it long enough to have given it a chance) have you considered (or is it even possible) to replace the countertops but leave the backsplash? Kind of a best of both worlds scenario where you get to keep something original but get the countertop you really want. It might actually make the original tile backsplash stand out even more.
Karen says
Definitely a great idea to add to the many others. Thanks so much.
JKM says
Although I’m not a real fan of tile countertops, yours look to be in perfect condition and they “go” with your home. My initial thought when looking at the pictures was not how drab the tile is but how dingy the cabinetry is. I think it might be the yellowing that makes the tile colors look bad so your idea of refinishing them is probably a good one. I’d refinish the cabinetry, brighten up the flooring with something more lively, paint the walls something complimentary, replace all the pulls/knobs for sparkle (maybe nickel or chrome) and add new lighting (ceiling and undercabinet). After doing all that, the tile may come to life. Your bathroom is gorgeous, by the way.
Karen says
Absolutely, JKM, Those cabinets first, then the floor. I wonder which is more expensive? (Sheer determination will find a way.)
Lindsay says
Save the countertops. Paint the walls.
Lee in Florida says
I agree with the tile being hard to keep clean. Love the tile in the bathroom, though! However, if it can be sealed, why not keep it, and do the new floor thing… that will do wonders for perking the place up.
Completely random observation: I have that exact same white cooktop. Same hood, too, only mine is brushed aluminum.
Terry says
How about replacing with a different color tile and something that is still of the period? Formica is nice, too. I, for one, H*** [edited} granite counter tops. I don’t know how that trend got started, but I predict 20 years from now people will look at a house and say “Ugh, granite!” Who am I, Fred Flintstone? Leave the granite outdoors, where it belongs.
Karen says
Haha, You’re so right.
lisa says
I’m seeing the drab, but also reminded of a cute new kitchen I saw in Kitchen and Bath Ideas (the BH&G publication). It was all new, but retro in style. They used the colors of your tile with a beautiful true linoleum floor and a mix of wood and light blue cabinets from Ikea. The appliances were white like yours. I’d definitely look for that publication — I think it was around November 2011. You could adapt many of the ideas in that kitchen and it would all look great with your tile.
I think the tile looks drab now because you don’t like it so your accessories and paint color are fighting it rather than complimenting it. OTOH, maybe you just don’t want a tile counter anymore! Once you consider all this input if you still want to change, go for it!
Karen says
Lisa, thanks for the tip! I’ll look for that, but I don’t think I could paint the cabinets. I’ll definitely refinish them, sooner than later. I once opened the oven and a ton of steam escaped. When I wiped down the door above it, the grime melted away revealing a beautiful finish. So, steaming them soon. It’s amazing what I don’t know.
lisa says
Oh, I didn’t mean you should paint the cabinets! In the kitchen I referenced they put all-new cabinets from Ikea. The wood ones have a similar tone to your MC originals. They also used some in light blue — it made me think you could pull in that tone somewhere to good effect, not necessarily on the cabinets. Maybe the walls… The linoleum brought in the blue and that maroon like what is on your counters plus I think a yellow, and they include a map of how he did the floor!