I think I found Lauryn from one of her comments. I chased after her when she said something about the new countertop she’d just had installed… and crikey, it wasn’t just a countertop, she and her husband Dennis had just completed the most charming Retro Renovation of their 1939 kitchen. No — the kitchen in all these photos is not original. Almost all of it is new — with the ‘updates’ including linoleum floors, an undercounter Big Chill fridge (bye bye, dishwasher) and new cabinets put in place to solve for a variety of issues that Lauryn and Dennis had been living with for a while. What a wonderful job! Read on for their complete story — and 20 photos courtesy their friend Radim Schreiber — a professional photographer, so these are awesome photos. Oh, and there’s more: Lauryn and Dennis are a singing-songwriting duo aka Truckstop Souvenir,so we get a concert at the end. I love this story in so many ways. 🙂 –>
The kitchen “before” its Retro Renovation:
And after:
Lauryn writes:
As I’m sure is the case with many of your readers, my husband Dennis and I are what you might call accidental retro-renovators. We’re a songwriting duo who left Seattle for a simpler life in Fairfield, Iowa (the coolest town in the universe), and we both had our hopes set on a lovely Craftsman, of which there are so many gorgeous specimens in Seattle. We were unable to find one, but instead fell in love with a little Minimal Traditional cottage from 1939, knowing nothing about that era nor that style of architecture. And while we have always had a penchant for older things, particularly from the 30s and 40s, we did not set out to do a retro-renovation on our charming but tiny kitchen, we just wanted it to be more user-friendly (we actually use our kitchen) and were already into the process when we came upon the whole notion of retro-renovating.
When we first started, one of the main issues was the breakfast nook, which while adorable, was freezing in the winter and hotter than blazes in the summer. Not to mention that it was a bit cramped for my long, tall Texan husband. Another was the space that housed the stove and the refrigerator: no room for countertops, no food prep space, the (cold) refrigerator inefficiently placed next to the (hot) stove and just enough space in between to catch all sorts of grease, dust, pet fur, and dirt but not big enough for a broom or a mop to clean it. We had limited storage, and I couldn’t stand the off-white ceramic floor tile — hard on the body, cold in the winter, and never clean. The final issue was old wood drawers that I had to brace my feet on the cabinets while sitting on the floor to open.
We talked to a few designers, all of whom had crazy ideas about knocking down interior walls, moving basement staircases (yes, really), pushing out exterior walls, and putting the stove or sink in the breakfast nook, but we didn’t like any of their ideas (and especially didn’t like the price tags that would have accompanied them). We originally thought of (gasp!) replacing the original cabinets so we could accommodate an apartment size fridge on the sink side and build new cabinets around the stove, but when, like good little homeowners we trekked off to our local Menard’s, we left the place a bit numb. Neither of us said anything on the ride home and then both of us practically burst out with “I just can’t do it” (me) and “how hard can it be to build a box?” (DH). The idea of ripping out the original cabinets was suddenly horrifying to both of us, so it was back to the drawing board.
Which was when we made a radical commitment to both our kitchen and house by doing something every realtor would be appalled at: We decided to remove the dishwasher, put in an under-the-counter refrigerator in its place, and have new cabinets, built to match the old, installed around the existing stove, resale value be damned. It was our kitchen, after all. We already had a chest freezer in the basement and who really knows what’s in the back of those behemoth refrigerators? We found a local carpenter to match the cabinets (who also sanded and evened out those pesky drawers) and got the remodel going.
In the meantime, we ripped out the breakfast nook bench. It was not an easy decision, as it was part of the original kitchen and had the original naugahyde on it. But previous owners had ripped out the back of the bench and replaced it with flimsy cushions, then painted a good chunk of the burgundy naugahyde white. And the space was drafty and uncomfortable so out it came. With the help of a friend, we insulated it, dry-walled it, and the temperature of the kitchen went up ten degrees (in an Iowa December).
But it wasn’t until we hit the countertop decision that we officially became retro-renovators. We had access to free (yes, free) granite. We looked at soapstone and quartz and butcher block and countless other surfaces but no matter how many countertops we looked at, I just kept saying, no, it’s not what our humble little kitchen wants. What it did want, I had no clue, until on the way out the door one day, my husband said, “What about those old diner style countertops?” And that was it. I jumped on the computer and found cracked ice and boomerangs and metal edging … and I knew we had found the countertop my kitchen wanted. And of course, it was how I stumbled upon your wonderful site.
And the rest unfolded over time, with me spending more hours than I care to admit looking at ads from the 30s and 40s, checking your site daily, and agonizing over the faucet and the sink and the fact that the new cabinets would not accommodate a larger vintage stove, because we didn’t even think about vintage stoves when we started.
Some of the highlights (for us) are the countertops, made by a local craftsman (in the end we did not use cracked ice, the replicas being nothing like the real deal, and choose to use a Nevamar linen-y thing)…
…the curved shelves I had him build to replicate those of the era (and to house our cookbooks, who lost their perch when we ditched the full-size refrigerator)…
…our vintage Kohler sink, which a friend had found years ago by the side of the road and had been using as a goat trough out at his farm, but which cleaned up rather nicely; our cracked ice table (the perfect size for our nook), found on a road trip at an antique mall we stopped in on a whim one day…
…the exceedingly cheerful Bradbury & Bradbury wallpaper (which offers a nice counter-balance to our tendency to ponder the dark side of life in our songs); and my cafe curtains (my first foray into sewing curtains).
It took an extraordinarily long time, with me unable to make up my mind about so many things, never mind being the world’s worst procrastinator and not the best DIYer. But eventually it all came together and in hindsight, given that our duo’s name, Truckstop Souvenir, was inspired by old diners and truck stops from childhood road trips, we really couldn’t have done anything but a retro renovation. We can actually cook together without stepping on each other’s toes too much and we eat just about every meal in the little breakfast nook, which, with east, west, and southern exposure, is almost always sunny.
I will admit one thing, though: We’re still not always sure what’s in the back of our refrigerator.
Let me know in the meantime if you have any questions on anything in the pictures. Your website was a constant source of inspiration for me as I went through this process.
Thanks again! xoxo, Lauryn
P.S. Because you are clearly a dog lover, I’m including a picture of my dog, worn out by the initial decision making process!
[And Lauryn follows up with another email]: Hey Pam, I just was going through a file full of artwork I found when I was visiting my parents and looky here, I found my first foray into Retro Design!! My husband and I had quite the chuckle over it and thought you might get a kick out of it too. I’m guessing I was probably in 3rd of 4th grade, judging by some of the other artwork from that “period” (hee hee). I have no idea whose kitchen this is … think it was just my fantasy kitchen!!.
Lauryn 🙂Products used in Lauryn and Dennis’ 1940s kitchen remodel:
- Cabinets were painted Belvedere Cream (Sherwin Williams), walls are Alabaster
- Big Chill Refrigerator (we had already picked out our under the counter unit and I got on Big Chill’s site to pine away for what we couldn’t have and lo and behold, there it was, less than a week on the site!)
- Minka Aire Acero ceiling fan (sadly, we have only one original light fixture in this house)
- Red Amaranth Marmoleum floor
- Nevamar Serene Stardom (now discontinued) laminate countertops with aluminum trim from NY Metals
- Rejuvenation’s Rufus porcelain light
- Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpaper’s Sunnyside wallpaper from their Modernism: Post-War Era collection.
- Hickory Hardware American Diner pulls and knobs in satin nickel
- Moen Muirfield faucet in chrome (now discontinued).
dipsterdeb says
Oh, btw, really enjoyed “Jackson” also. Thanks for sharing that!
dipsterdeb says
Excellent job! Just love it. I had those same 2 cat tiles hanging behind our stove when we lived upstairs from my parents’ place. In fact, their tenants still have the same ORANGE countertops and corner sink that we did back then, and that was before we got the retro bug.
Makes me want to go sunny up our current space a bit! 🙂
John says
Nice work guys… It looks fresh and fun. I love the Ceiling fan, dishwasher, cabinet pulls and wallpaper!
Marcheline says
You had me at “Big Chill”….. sigh….
Jim says
WOW. Fantastic! Your eye for functional simplicity and color coordination would put many interior decorators to shame. Also, I think your Formica pattern was a great period choice. Cracked ice was very popular, but Formica came in many patterns, including linen.
Atomic Auntie says
What an inspirational remodel! So sunny and bright and clean. I could be very very happy in a kitchen like that…
I’m going to have “Jackson” going through my head for the rest of the day now — not a bad thing!
Jen Duncan says
Lovely job. Will be an inspiration when I finally get dh on board with reno-ing our 1940s kitchen 🙂
Tricia says
We just put in new countertops last weekend. Our cabinets, and sink already look like yours. Thank goodness you’ve now stopped me before I ripped those out too! I was wondering where you got your ceiling fan? Thanks for the great article and pictures. What a beautiful kitchen!
Lauryn says
Once again, I am so grateful for all the lovely comments. It’s a bit nerve-wracking putting your kitchen out there for all the world to see, so thank you all!
Regarding the small fridge/no dishwasher, having a bigger refrigerator (though I can’t imagine going back to a full-size) and a dishwasher would be fabulous and there were other configurations we considered that would have allowed that. All of them, however, had some kind of compromise and since prep space around the stove, more storage, and preserving the original cabinets were way more important to us than a dishwasher, this one was the best compromise for us.
Before we took the leap, we cleaned out our full-size refrigerator of all the duplicate/expired/never used condiments and science experiments shoved in the back and lived for awhile trying to approximate the space we would get with an under the counter model. We realized that we hardly ever buy prepared food and that a small space was plenty for weekly produce, dairy, pet food, and condiments and we could make it work. We also have dramatically reduced food waste by eating what’s in there before we buy more!!
When we first made the switch, I panicked and bought a dorm refrigerator for 50 bucks off Craigslist to put in the basement in case of overflow, but it’s not really necessary. All it ever really houses is a six-pack or two.
I guess the bottom line is to think realistically about what you need. There are only two of us, which means less food to have to store and fewer dishes to wash. Everybody’s situation is different, but that is the spirit of this blog — Love the House You’re In — and so we just made the house we’re in work for us.
Lynn-O-Matic says
That was a really smart way to test the fridge space issue, Lauryn. We have a full-size refrigerator and yet we still have a dorm fridge in the basement for beer and overflow from holidays and parties. My husband is from Europe where small fridges are the norm. He still can’t get used to having so much refrigerator space. He’s used to eating perishables up every day and chilling watermelons in a sink full of cold water. I think I could learn a lesson from you guys.
Once again, congrats on doing such a marvelous kitchen! It’s making me want to replace the wainscoting behind our kitchen table with some of that awesome wallpaper!
Pam, could you possibly add the “before” shot of the stove/refrigerator wall? Lauryn says she has one.
Lauryn says
Lynn, there’s a picture of the stove/fridge “before” here: http://www.thekitchn.com/lauryns-bright-cheerful-retro-kitchen-small-cool-kitchens-2012-174212
Laura's Last Ditch--Vintage Kitchenwares says
I absolutely love this comment. So many people feel they need a big kitchen (or a bigger house) because they don’t think to see what they really need. We recently pared down to one of each dish per person, and put the extra dishes for guests in an inaccessible cupboard above the refrigerator. Not only do we need less cupboard space, but we our dirty dishes absolutely can’t get out of control. I think if more people in small families did this, they wouldn’t feel the need for a dishwasher, or a super-sized kitchen, or a super-sized house. Our 1000 square feet of house is plenty. It actually could be smaller.
Jamie says
I am really digging this under-the-counter fridge idea. My husband and I are currently house hunting. There is an older home that I kind of love a little, but the kitchen is a bit cramped with the fridge just sticking out of a wall. There is a dishwasher that we’d never use, so maybe an under-the-counter fridge would be the perfect solution! We’d have a chest freezer anyway, and we’re used to having a small fridge as it is right now (we’re living in a camper while we house hunt!) so I know we could handle it. Thanks so much for the brain food!
Elaine says
This is so great! Love the kitchen. It reminds me so much of the kitchens in our neighborhood when I was little. The lady across the street had a red marble linoleum floor. We all had cafe curtains, and my Dad built a set of curved shelves for the end of our cupboards. The houses were built in 1946, and my memories start around 1949 – 50.
Love the music and the artwork, too. If you ever have some time, Lauryn, you might try your hand at visual arts, you clearly have talent from a young age.