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.
Sara says
Wow! I love your kitchen…love the different height countertops, and especially the glass front cabinets! It’s very charming. Just wanted to put in my two cents on the flooring. I just re-did my kitchen floor using a vinyl plank product from a certain well-known big box store. It was super easy to install…no glue, has sticky edges, etc…but it is showing marks from my dog’s toenails. You can pretty much rub them out, but it’s still annoying. Just something to think about. When I bought the product, the salesman said he had it in his house and his two labs weren’t marking it up. Liar liar pants on fire! If you have the budget for ceramic, there are a gazillion design options these days and I think I’d choose that route. Good luck…and we can’t wait to see “after” pics!
Jay says
I think I know the product – wanted to put it in my basement but found so many negative comments I passed on it. Was exclusive to that store. Armstrong now makes something similar might be better. Certainly a good concept – the floor floats over existing materials.
Sara says
Yes, it’s probably the same product. I was seriously restricted by budget and this fit the bill. It’s a lot better than what was there before…80’s cream/country blue/mauve floral sheet vinyl. In general I’m happy with what I got for the price and I figure it can always be easily removed and replaced in the future. My house was built in 1950 and we found four layers of lino/vinyl and an additional thin layer of particle board, so I’m glad that what I added was a floating floor system.
Barbara says
Forgive me if this has already been suggested, but I’d go with a VCT floor. You can get them in just about any color (personally, I’d go with a black/white checkerboard and leave the colors to the walls) and installation is a breeze.
I’m sure the things in the soffits are some kind of exhaust, but until you get up there and unscrew them, you’ll never know. It’s also possible you may be able to remove the soffits for a more uniform look.
I have a 1953 kitchen, and one cabinet isn’t even deep enough to hold modern dishes!
Janice says
It’s been a bonus seeing other retro lover’s kitchens during this discussion!
Todd A says
I love the the classic black and white look, colors can always be added in other items. My utility room had a badly damaged counter, so I tiled it with currently available tile from Dal tile, but installed it just like it would have been done in the 1950’s including the proper bullnose, feature strip, and 45 degree diagonal counter surface. I picked a floor to match. Looks like it came with the house:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q120/toddwallen/IMG_1229.jpg
pam kueber says
I love how you did this, Todd A!!!
Lauryn says
Wow, Todd. Well done!
Jay says
WOW! I am in awe of anyone who can do these sorts of projects – great end results!
Jeanne says
That counter is fantastic, Todd! The kitchen I grew up with had an all brown tile counter set the same way (on the diag with the bullnose). I love your black and white!!
Marta says
Another, brighter version http://www.armstrong.com/commflooringna/product_details_toolbox_magnify.jsp?item_id=114424
Lauryn says
Those are fantastic, Marta! They seem to be fairly similar to the original floor, too.
pam kueber says
I like it!!
JKaye says
I love this flooring suggestion.
Marta says
Something like this, from Armstrong, is what I think would look nice for the floor: http://www.armstrong.com/commflooringna/product_details_toolbox_magnify.jsp?item_id=47272
Marta says
What a wonderfully blank but sturdy canvas of a kitchen this is! It’s got so much appeal, but is open to just about any direction in decorating!
My favorite choice for the floors would be a reverse of the countertops, gold (a goldy yellow) with black flecks. I think that combination would be lovely but neutral, so you could change other decoration colors as you like over the years. Also, having Border Collies, the black and white version, our experience leads me to say that black and white checkerboard would be a no-win situation, lol.
As far as VCT being prone to scratching by dog nails, as long as you go with the commercial grade VCT, you won’t have any problems. It’s the lighter version that might not stand up to heavy dog traffic.
Jeanne says
Nobody mentioned this, but I could see some Modwalls tile in the area between the backsplash and the cabinets. You could do a solid (like avocado or aqua) to compliment a combination-color VCT floor pattern – or create a color combination tile to go with a more subtle solid floor and paint color and add some pattern in a wallpapered-accent wall in the eating area and fabric window treatment. You have such a great basic canvas to work with!
Melissa says
oooh! I like the idea of glass tile on the walls!
Wendy says
Why not take a bit of time and search ads from the time period for inspiration – I have a color called Kiwi Squeeze on my walls, Swiss Coffee for my cabinets & trim – redid my 1980s faux leather counter tops with countercoat in a black with gray/white & silver sparkles – added aluminium trim on the edges – doing the floor in VCT tiles of black with white flakes.
My accents are RED and I collect Jadite and things. My window treatment is a ruffle that runs around the edge of my window I picked up from an ad.
My colors I picked from ads…
Janice says
Wendy, interesting that you should mention this idea as that is exactly what I did for my master bath reno of which I’m in the beginning stages. I couldn’t settle on a color scheme and looked at some old bathroom ads for fixtures and towels and voila! I found my inspiration. I figure it has to be an authentic color scheme if it appeared in 1950 ads!
Lauryn says
Where can we see this gem of a kitchen, Wendy? I too spent hours pouring over ads and catalogues from the period. I’m very grateful for the amazing collection of these images — and all of the wonderful people who post them, including Pam and Kate — on the internet.
Wendy says
This the progression of the redo. I will move my inspiration photos over as well. Have not done the floor yet – what it to get to spring so I can put our hounds outside and work on it in peace.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150510264506684.393126.799011683&type=1&l=e80a735ec4
Kate says
Cute kitchen and cute hound too! 🙂
Lauryn says
Thanks, Wendy! Looks great and I ove the lighter color cabinets, really opens up the space. And I love that I came across so many of those same old ads for my kitchen inspiration. But I especially love that your dog Bella has the same name as my cat!
Wendy says
Thank you both!
Bella is training with me to do human search & rescue – goal is to be a certified search team by the end of this year.
The downstairs kitchen is yellow (including the counters) jade green & black tile and white cabents – my dad said it will be time to switch the up to down stairs after i finish upstairs (in other words I get to redo the down stairs when we move down)
MbS says
Geraniums in the window, come spring. 🙂
pam kueber says
But of course! 🙂