Lora’s vintage style kitchen makeover — inspired by a single Franciscan Starburst dinner plate

After we ran our story about the new colorful Wilsonart Laminates, reader Lora flagged Pam down on Facebook to let her know she had recently installed the Kiwi Go Wavy laminate profiled in the story. What a bright and cheery kitchen. I can’t imagine you could ever feel sad when cooking, eating or entertaining in such a happy and inviting space.

Above: Lora’s “before” kitchen.

Lora’s old kitchen was pretty cute too — decorated in red, white and yellow with lots knick-knacks. I had to ask her — why the change — and what was her inspiration for the new kitchen design? Apparently it all came down to one plate:

Lora wrote:

Before I renovated, my kitchen was more in the reds with a lot of Formica cherries…my new design was inspired by the star burst plates! I loved my red kitchen, but after 8 years, I wanted to change our interior style to more mid century!

The process of renovating my kitchen went good and fast! I painted the walls with the star burst pattern, and colors from my inspiration plate. Just the paint made such a change, plus de-cluttering and changing the room from the warm color collectibles to cool colors. Most things were found at thrift shops, Ikea (flower hanging lamps) and Ross were I get some nifty odds and ends. I wanted to do the boomerang counter tops, but knowing the re-sale of houses in the future, boomerang might not be something the next owner would want. I went to our local counter top biz and saw the Wilsonart Go Wavy in kiwi and fell in Love! Two weeks later, the new laminate was installed in only one day! Hurray!

Lora’s effort to replicate the googies on her Franciscan Starburst plate onto her walls was quite impressive indeed. as Pam would say, that must have been *some therapy* — but certainly cheaper than wallpaper, and easy to paint over if you move:

What a great way to add some mid century pizazz to your dining room, Lora — those starbursts really help tie all the colors in the kitchen and dining area together.

When I asked Lora about her love of all things vintage, she replied:

I’ve been into Vintage for years! I’ve owned my own Vintage Boutique since 1991. A Friend offered her Vintage Boutique to me after supporting her shop for years! I do Retro Chi Design for Vintage renovations, run my Boutique for Fashions and Collectibles, and also do window design for theaters, local businesses and movie sets, in period pieces. I even drove a 1956 Mercury for 16 years-which added to the fun!

Lora’s next project for her kitchen — to install a mosaic tile backsplash (pictured above).

What do I love most about Lora’s kitchen designs — past and present? She was able to pull off two completely different looks. She started with basic white cabinets with a vintage feel — and with just a little bit of paint, changing around her accessories and installing different laminate countertops — all inexpensive fixes — Lora has a totally “new” kitchen. That’s creative folks — and fits into the mid century mantra of working with what you have. Bravo on a job well done, Lora — and thanks so much for sharing your photos and your story!