In this week’s Retro Design Dilemma, reader Melissa wants our help with ideas to lightly update her 1954 kitchen. She and her husband have just purchased a 1954 mid century modest ranch — which they love. However — the kitchen is in need of some TLC. Although Melissa and her husband don’t mind the current flooring, she says that it is in poor shape and must be replaced. Struggling to decide on a floor replacement — as well as what to do with the walls and counter tops — Melissa contacted us for ideas.
Continue for Melissa’s story –>
Hi Pam & Kate,
We just purchased a MCModest home. A ranch built in 1954. We fell in love with the house immediately, mostly for the flat roof, the large kitchen,and the huge basement (with a built-in “love couch nook”!) I’m looking for some help with the kitchen! (I don’t have to stay in the ’50s era, I just want it to be kind of retro.)
We will be keeping the cabinets white with the black hinges and pulls. Our appliances are black (I’m saving for the black Big Chill fridge). We have a stainless steel topped kitchen table (wooden legs) with white chairs.
1. The floor is in horrible shape and must be replaced. My husband likes the black and white checkered look, but for me its a bit too harsh. Even if we did that we would be better off without a solid color tile because we have 3 big dogs (2 black and 1 white that shed like crazy.) We also would like ceramic tile so the floor won’t be ruined by their combined 275lbs running through the house. Ideas on floor?
2. The countertops are black with gold flecks. Since we have the stainless steel Nutone range hood, and a stainless steel table — I don’t think the gold flecks really go all that well. I was thinking of replacing with stainless steel counter tops. Good idea? or keep the black and gold?
3. What the heck do I do with the walls? My husband says a bright dark blue. I have no idea.
4. Do you have any idea what those things are above the kitchen window? Built in speakers? They have been painted over, so we can’t tell until we get in there to paint and unscrew them from the wall.
If you and your readers have any ideas: I’m all ears. Also I know I sent more pics than suggested, the kitchen is so large and interesting with its different level counter tops, I wanted to show you the whole thing.
I also couldn’t pass up showing you the built in love couch nook!
Thanks sooo much!
-Melissa
After Melissa’s initial email, further research of her own — and moving into the house to live alongside the laminate — Melissa began to rethink replacing the counter tops.
In a subsequent email, Melissa wrote:
Hi Pam and Kate,
I wanted to update you on the fact that now that we have moved in, I have fallen in love with the black laminate with gold flecks and don’t want to change to stainless steel counter tops (#2 on my list). I wish they still made the flecked laminate — as the section next to the sink is very faded (probably from the previous owners leaving a wet towel there when drying dishes). I have searched a bit on the laminate and all everyone talks about is white with gold flecks — is my black with gold flecks rare? Or maybe not from the original owner and put in in the 70’s or 80’s?
Pam confirmed that she believes Melissa’s black laminate with gold flecks is indeed rare — even more so than the coveted white laminate with gold flecks. We also applaud Melissa’s choice to live with the laminate for a while before just ripping it out to avoid any remodeling regrets.
This leaves us to solve the following dilemmas in Melissa’s vintage black and white kitchen.
Let’s help Melissa… Readers, what are your ideas for:
- What material/color to use on the floor which will stand up to large dogs and hide footprints and fur?
- What should be done with the walls?
- What are the things in the soffit above the sink?
Pam’s design and decorating ideas for Melissa’s 1950s kitchen:
Melissa, I love the Azrock Cortina Autumn Haze VCT floor in my kitchen. Several other readers have used it as well – see their kitchens here. Good news, in 2012 Azrock introduced an additional 15 colors. This expanded line is called TexTile — and from looking at the website, I though the “Raw Silk” color would work well in your kitchen. It looks like it has dark charcoal streakies — good to coordinate with your counter tops. Of course, you’ll want to get a sample first. I find this streaky floor great at hiding dirt. But, it does require maintenance — regular stripping and re-polishing, which I pay to have someone else do. My little dog — Astro, 20 pounds — slips and slides a bit, on occasion. I’m guessing bigger dogs wouldn’t slip and slide as much due to their weight — but I am NO expert on this question. Isn’t ANY kind of floor — except carpet — going to be slip and slide, to some degree, for a dog?
I am also a wallpaper lover. In my three mood boards (fun!) I found both reproduction and vintage wallpapers that had enough “value” — strength of color — to hold their own in our kitchen, considering the graphic boldness of your striking black counter tops — which I LOVE.
Finally, I went to the uploader full of readers’ dinettes to find dinettes that pull the entire look together.
Mixing and matching these ideas — one versatile flooring with an infinite possibility of wallpaper and dinettes — you can achieve quite a wide variety of retro looks.
Above: Mood Board #1 Atomic Doodle:
- Wallpaper — turquoise Atomic Doodle from Bradbury & Bradbury
- Flooring — Azrock TexTile in Raw Silk
- Vintage dinette — readers Tim and Stephanie’s dinette from uploader — 217 vintage dinette sets in reader kitchens
Above: Mood Board #2, Oh So Charming Red:
- Wallpaper — 1940’s vintage wallpaper from Hannah’s Treasures
- Flooring — Azrock TexTile in Raw Silk
- Vintage dinette — reader dinette from uploader — 217 vintage dinette sets in reader kitchens
Above: Mood Board #3, Inviting Blue and Brown:
- Wallpaper — vintage wallpaper from Hannah’s Treasures
- Flooring — Azrock TexTile in Raw Silk
- Vintage dinette — reader dinette from uploader — 217 vintage dinette sets in reader kitchens
Kate’s design and decorating ideas for Melissa’s 1950s kitchen:
The vintage Sears kitchen catalog that we featured had one illustration that instantly reminded me of Melissa’s great vintage kitchen — which is what inspired me to create my mood board.
Above: Mood Board #4, Cheery Cherry Red, Brilliant Blue and Sunny Yellow:
Melissa’s husband had suggested using bright blue on the walls — which Melissa wasn’t sure about. Instead of putting the blue on the walls — this blue Armstrong linoleum flooring (Update: Armstrong no longer carries —see this list for other possible suppliers) would be durable for the dogs as well as hide fur and footprints. Instead of painting the kitchen deep red like the inspiration kitchen — a light buttery yellow lightens the space — while working nicely with the blue floors. To add more color to the room — Melissa could paint some small areas of deep red as shown. Since Melissa’s kitchen has a large window and eat in area similar to the inspiration — these vintage yellow 1950s curtains from ebay seller 954kathys (link now gone) or something similar would work well in that area — as well as pick up some of the other colors in the room. To finish it off a retro dinette set — like reader Jamie_abe’s new, vintage looking red dinette which was featured in our story 23 red dinette sets — vintage kitchen treasures would look retro-tastic and would be easy to track down if Melissa can’t locate a vintage dinette set.
Audrey says
there is a doorway in the pic, that seems to block the entance to the back area of the kitchen if you remove it , thus creating a more mod ern less boxy flow it appears on the left of the pic, seems to block the flow or chi it is not that big a deal to remove a dooway that does not have a door attached it would look a lot better. Regarding floors, try roll linoleum without seams that can lift or separate in a small pattern (retro perhaps the atomic biosphere shapes they make theses days ( new made to look vintage) easy to clean with just soap,water and a damp mop larger a bit in color the white will show the pets paws! not black and while tile you will hate the busy look if it (just my .02) and it is a lot of work to keep clean! or go with the new bamboo laminate they are easy too just the same damp mop hope this helps!
Angie says
So, I agree with the earlier comment, marmoleum! It is a natural product, so earth friendly, and I think it looks appropriate for the age of the house. I would stay away from the sheets unless you don’t mind seams. They have tiles, and you could even put in an insert strip like the classics.
Countertops, someone mentioned the recycled glass. You could do the http://www.ecobycosentino.com/, or a cool soap stone. To compliment, you could do a subway tile backsplash in either glass or ceramic or depending maybe even a marble subway tile.
You could bring in a cool retro booth in the open space, and you would have a very cool kitchen!
Robin, NV says
I love those countertops! It’s too bad they’re faded next to the sink – maybe a drain board sink would help cover up the damage? I have to agree with others who think bright colors are the way to go – yellow, red, and pale green would look fab! I’m stuck on yellow these days but I do think pale yellow walls would look great against the white cabinets and black countertops. Minty green and/or red kitchen accessories would be adorable.
I’d go with VCT on the floors becuse of the durability and the amazing array of colors and patterns. With as much floor space as you have, try some of the flooring patterns we’ve seen in the kitchen brochures Kate has posted – diagonal patterns, random patterns, borders, etc. Checkerboard would look OK too but it’s been done to death and you have such a great opportunity to play around with different looks. Perhaps black and yellow VCT tiles in a pattern of your choosing?
Pamela H. says
What a beautiful kitchen!! Should you ever decide to redo the countertops, you might want to consider recycled glass countertops. As durable as granite, but retro in feeling, and can be produced in colors you would like. They also give countertops a very upgraded look. I also think you could showcase the beautiful dining space using shorter curtains, or shutters. What a great cooking and dining space!!! Hope you enjoy your living quarters for many years to come, and, btw, the basement couch area is another wonderful feature.
Jay says
Nice Kitchen! I’m partial to the mint green on the walls or light yellow. Coordinates with the black counters ( sharp looking – glad they can be rescued!). I agree on the all over pattern for the floor, I have a light colored sheet vinyl floor that shows dirt – sweeping is practically a daily chore, especially with pets.
Pam, I think it should be a requirement that all design delemma folks submitt “after” pictures. I sure would like to see this one.
Lauryn says
What a fabulous nearly-blank slate to start with. Here are a few of my thoughts. I would avoid ceramic tile; we had it in our kitchen and it was really hard on the body, the grout has to be properly sealed or it gets filthy and if you live in a cold climate, it is freezing in the winter. We replaced ours with a Marmoleum sheet linoleum in Red Amaranth and it has been great in terms of “hiding” dog and cat fur, etc. It is also lovely on the feet and durable. All of their colors are multi colored so it helps with dirt. If you do not need to paint the cabinets, DON’T!! We did, and I am glad we did because they look so much better, but it was a long, difficult process. Because yours are white you can have fun with color on the floors and the walls. I personally love yellow, white and red, but that’s me. Here is a link to our kitchen: https://retrorenovation.com/2012/07/09/small-kitchen-makeover20-photos/
Janice says
I have always loved your kitchen. It was nice seeing it again and being reminded why.
Lauryn says
Thank you, Janice!
Lauryn says
Here is a link to Marmoleum: http://www.forboflooringna.com/Residential-Flooring/Products/Marmoleum-sheet-tile/
One thing I would recommend if you do use Marmoleum is to have it installed in warmer weather. The day ours was installed was one of the coldest days of the year and the glue was really hard to work with. That’s one thing I wish we could do over.
Jay says
Beautiful kitchen reno. Don’t know how I missed that post.
Kate says
I second that! I also painted all my kitchen cabinets about a year ago. Ours were really in bad shape, so the paint was badly needed, but it took WEEKS and was so much work — if your cabinets are looking good, I’d stick with them the way they are and keep the painting to the walls! 🙂
Melissa says
Sadly even though we are keeping the cabinets white, they need repainted 🙁 They’re chipped in quite a few places.
Lauryn says
Well, if I can do it, anyone can. You just need some patience and a lot of elbow grease. Definitely wait until spring when you can open the windows and in the meantime, research how to do it correctly.Since you’re keeping them the same color, it will probably be a lot easier. Mine are from 1939 so they definitely needed a lot of TLC. Good luck with the project … all aspects of it!
pam kueber says
Ahh! May I make a suggestions about paint: Get really really high quality… and I’d tone down the brite white a tad.
Chris Knippa says
Love the built in love couch nook! Great idea for my next home. You should definitely keep the countertops and the hardware on the cabinets.
JKaye says
Great home. Congratulations to Melissa and husband.
OK, Pam, I’m ready to see if you’ll work your color of the year into your suggestions! Any lime green in Melissa’s future?
Adrian says
My suggestion would be having yellow linoleum floor with red borders. Walls, high gloss yellow. So basically a yellow and red theme.
Eartha Kitsch says
I’m so glad that they’re keeping those fabulous countertops! I would pick out the flooring before deciding on a wall color since flooring is a much more expensive, long-term purchase.
I love VCT to death and have it in my own kitchen but I’d be careful when considering it with lots of pets with nails and claws – unless you want to wax it a lot. If you don’t mind seeing scratches in the finish, it’s fine but if you’re a stickler for that stuff, remember that you’ll have to keep a smooth, clean top coat for it to continue looking nice. I have cat claw marks in my kitchen floor right now and that’s with us keeping their claws trimmed back. It will be less evident on a lighter colored VCT but if you go with any dark tiles, you’re liable to see the scratches that they leave as they haul butt to the dinner bowls.