Bonnie is the proud owner of a 1958 “dream-home time capsule” and sent us some photos of some of its awesome original details to ogle and envy. I am particularly loving the coral countertop and cast-iron painted planter box — this color looks just lovely with the classic, 1950s natural birch plywood cabinets, don’t you think? Boo to the hoo that Formica discontinued the coral boomerang laminate, but I bet we can find something close in a solid for sure and maybe also in a subtle tone-on-tone pattern. Oh. Bonnie’s kitchen features these fabulous fold-down electric range top burners. Another 1950s innovation that… didn’t make it longterm. We see this occasionally in the wild. So cool to see them in this time capsule kitchen. Party on for more photos … and Bonnie wants our advice on regrouting the pink (of course) bathroom tile –> PAM! Hello!! My husband, boys and I have just moved into our very own dream-home time capsule from 1958. Also attached are images of our original 1958 kitchen with orange counter tops, space age wall oven from Fridgidaire, and flip down range…. We plan to work on the kitchen to gain more storage space and counter space in the future. Currently, though, we are going to live with it to make sure whatever design we come up with is thoughtful and meets our needs. We plan to keep it as original as possible to honor the architecture and time period… We will also be working on an original galley kitchen to make it more large-family friendly. It’s outfitted with a chrome flip down range, fridgidaire space-age wall oven, original cabinets, and orange laminate counter tops with metal edging…
Also, I noticed you love original lighting. All but one of the fixtures in our home is original. We are going to try to restore the finished on the lights to original brass (they are pretty dingy right now). Yet another idea for the blog… 🙂
It has a classic pink, baby blue, and black bathroom that must stay…the problem is MOST of the grout in the shower is cracked. A lot. Any suggestions on how to save the tile and repair the grout? I hunted around for some suggestions on this site but didn’t find anything specifically about the grout situation. Would love to send you some pictures, if you are interested, and possible do a feature about this “save the pink bathroom”. :)Here is my pink bathroom in need of some repair…the grout in the shower and around the vanity is cracked. I was wondering if you had seen this before and if you knew of any way to fix it…we really love the original tile and want to keep it!!
Thanks so much for the inspiration from the blog. We love being in a home with a past! Bonnie
BONNIE! Thank you! What a lovely home, and you are SMART to take your time contemplating any changes (that aren’t related to enviroment and safety, of course).
Regarding fixing the old grout:
I don’t know about the grout. I am pretty sure that I have read that old grout can be Dremeled out. Very painstakingly. Then regrouted. *Some therapy*.
Replacement tile:
If you want replace that edge piece, my key suggestion is to work with World of Tile. Chippy always needs a real live sample to make a color match. But maybe she can tell you before you have to remove the piece to send to her, whether she even has something in the family. Golly, it looks like only a teensy chip. This may be a really lame idea but: Build it up, little by little with nail polish? That color of dark burgundy chocolate brown is popular today, I think! Again: I ain’t no properly licensed professional — on both these questions, best to consult with one.
Readers: You ever dremeled out old grout and then regrouted? Did it work out beautifully, or not?
Regarding your your kitchen:
You didn’t ask me for decorating advice, but you know I can resist: Wallpaper — vintage or reproduction vintage — for those soffits, dear? And the kitchenette wall? With coral in it. Note, I’m calling your countertop and the cast iron decorative piece coral, not orange.
xoxo
Chris says
PS The Boeing engineer family men were all building their PNW contemporaries during the 1950s and many of them ordered these “state of the art” ovens and stoves… they assessed them as the top of the line in quality and of course, great modern look with brushed stainless steel! They were expensive but the guys knew they would last a life time of cooking- and these guys’ families were on tight budgets- employed yes but rich no.
Chris says
Thanks Pam for showing Bonnie’s “new” kitchen. I grew up in a 1950s Pacific NW Contemporary home in a suburb of Seattle. Our beautiful, architect designed, wood paneled, large windows with deep overhangs, home has the same flip-down stove and the “dual chamber” oven- current owners still use them. The bottom half of the oven originally had 2 metal doors that could close it off and you could set 2 separate temperatures… great on the holidays. On the right stove section, the smaller, left side burner is a “speed burner,” so that is where we quickly boiled water, cooked the pan of steamed vegetables, etc. I have described the flip-stove to many friends but they always have trouble picturing them… now you have shared Bonnie’s pictures. So fun and nostalgic to see… thanks for posting. I learned to cook in that kitchen and still love to cook but miss that stove!
Tessa says
Oh it is fabulous to see a picture of the fold down range again! My grandmother had this same range until about 2000 when they repairman said he couldn’t fix it anymore. I was devastated when they removed them and put in a counter top range. Oh to have them again would be wonderful!
Gail says
I love it all! I also went nuts when I saw the illustration propped against the coral iron work. With the magic of google image, I found the link to purchase it! They have others too!
http://www.victorygardenoftomorrow.com/posters.html
Bonnie K says
I LOVE LOVE Victory Garden. They are out of Portland, OR my old stomping grounds!
Zoe says
With respect to the black tile, I have a 1960s tile bathroom that I needed to replace the vanity in. When they were taking out the old vanity, they chipped one of the original (perfect!) 4×4 bone-colored tiles. Because we’ve been unable to find any that match the exact shade of bone, the contractor who built the custom vanity brought in someone to “repair” the existing tile. She basically filled the crack, sanded it smooth, and then painted it with matching high-gloss paint. You cannot tell it was ever chipped. Might want to see if you can find someone who can just fill it and paint it to match, rather than removing the entire tile.
Jackie says
This home is a dream come true! Wow! I would not change a thing about that kitchen.
Mark says
Two words,
Epoxy grout
Costs more, harder to work with but it doesn’t stain!
You will have to get the old grout out, hard work but worth it!
Need to do it soon, the less water behind the tile the better.
Great house!
Alisa Reynolds/ Ms. Retro says
I have a set of the fold down burners that I picked up at an estate sale. They were in good working order when I bought them but how to re-install is what has me stumped. Any suggestions would be most appreciated! Thanx from Ms. Retro
pam kueber says
Hi Ms. Retro, get to know the categories, we have a story on Parts Service Advice here: https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/other-stuff-such-as-appliances-accessories/ Good luck.
Alice says
What a charmer! I covet the french-door oven and it is on my list…whenever my original 1958 G.E. gives out…darn thing just keeps on ticking!
I did a wee bit of work on our original bathroom tile grout. Yes, for dingy-ness, Zep is a miracle…just be reeaaal careful with it and ventilate the room. However, for cracked or missing grout, patience and time is in order. Make sure you get a grout that is intended to be used with your shiny tiles, otherwise your grout will scratch the surface. And stay clear of using the Dremel…I did that and it skipped and jumped all over the place. I moved to a manual tool to remove the old broken grout and left the solid grout still in place.
I am learning that to maintain this time capsule treasure, it requires patience and longer hours of personal labor – which is probably why so many folks just gut them and move on. But for those of us who must preserve our mid-century wonders, we invest OURSELVES into them and make ourselves part of their history.
Thanks for sharing the story of your home and the great photos!
Bonnie K says
Thanks so much for the suggestions! I will find something not abrasive for our shiny tile. I hadn’t thought of that!!
TappanTrailerTami says
Awesome kitchen Bonnie! I hope you are enjoying all those fabulous vintage appliances, I’m sure they were cutting edge for their time!
Who knew? I swear there is an association for everything, including tile cleaning, LOL.
I found a lot of good info re: removing and/or re-grouting on the North American Tile Cleaning Organization website:
pam kueber says
T3, your link didn’t work so I took it out. wanna try it again?
kcastle129 says
http://www.tilecleaning.org/index.htm
I just ordered what they recommend for ceramic tile and grout. I’ll let you know how it works!