Is it possible to create a flirty kitchen worth of Dita Von Teese — in a rental apartment? In this week’s Retro Design Dilemma, reader Candace asks us to help her make her basic brown kitchen feel a little more feminine and — yes, retro-sexy. To give us an idea of the look she wants, Candace pointed to burlesque star Dita Von Teese’s retro kitchen (go look online readers, we don’t have photos to post here). Well, hello, pink! Of course, paint would be ‘most anyone’s first idea to begin to channel the Dita. Alas, Candace is in a rental, and the landlord will not allow her to paint the cabinets or the walls. So, we need to recommend creative decorating ideas that she can remove easily.
It’s time to play decorator, readers — what do you recommend to spice up Candace’s kitchen in pretty pin-up girl style — on a budget, no pink paint in sight? Continue on for Candace’s quandary –>
I was referred to you by your Facebook page. So here is my dilemma. I absolutely love Dita Von Teese’s kitchen — if you’ve seen it, that’s what I’m going for. This is just an idea that I have, but I am open to suggestions. Unfortunately, I can’t paint the the cabinets. I’m hoping that I can tape or nail in a design — for example, diamond shapes. I want something that would last long — something that I could buy and/or reuse over and over again. I want the kitchen to be in pastel colors… I can’t wait to see what ideas you have.
It’s nice that Candace has a large dining area on one end of her galley kitchen — with plenty of room for a table and chairs. She also has a fun pass-through in the kitchen — peeking into the living room — where she can place a collection of decorative objects. It’s challenging that no paint can be applied, but I think that with readers’ help, we are up to the challenge to suggest ideas to emulate the feminine, flirty vintage feel of Dita Von Teese’s kitchen <– see it here.
Readers — what would you do to add some Dita Von Teese sugar and spice to this rental kitchen?
Pams mood board for a Dita Von Teese kitchen — Posies and Polka Dots
1. Vintage pink club aluminum dutch oven — Ebay seller r-great-stuff
2. Pink KitchenAid mixer — Amazon.com
3. Jessie Steele pink polka dot apron — Layla Grayce
4. Ticking stripes tailored valance in pink — Country Curtains (company now closed)
5. Vintage metal Tole Dome chandelier embedded Crystal shade light from lampdoctor32 on Ebay
6. Vintage head vase with original plastic flowers — from Ebay seller 2010hamjam79
7. Pink ceramic lady head vase from Ebay seller iisiss
8. Vintage pink dinette set — reader Wendy’s from the uploader
9. Geometric Floorcloth — CanvasWorks (other options are this wool runner on sale at RugStudio or one of these black and white runners at FoFlor.com). Or, you could paint your own faux “linoleum rug” — reader Lauren shows us hers, and we also link to several online tutorials.
Kate’s mood board for a Dita Von Teese: Saucy and Sweet
1. Pink KitchenAid Mixer — Amazon.com
2. Vintage Martex kitchen towel — Etsy seller fuzzandfu
3. Pink Hostess Vintage-Inspired Apron [link now gone] — Sur la Table
4. Pink Vintage Boudoir Slippers — Etsy seller SusanHaywardVintage
5. Pinwheel Pink Fabric Blended Accent Rugs (2×3 and 5×8) — Overstock.com
6. Vintage Pink domed glass ceiling light fixture — Etsy seller ivorybird
7. Too Cool for School Retro Modern Wall Clock — Amazon.com
8. Park B. Smith vintage inspired window valance [product no longer available/link gone] — Macy’s
9. Vintage pink dinette set — reader Laurie’s from our uploader
In addition to our mood boards — Pam asked her friend Margaret from AWayToGarden.com about the pretty pinky plant that Dita keeps on her windowsill. Margaret’s response:
Caladium. Not really a houseplant — it is an “annual” up North, grown from bulb-like tubers, and can be used in shady pots or the shady garden beds. Down South it can grow in the ground.
Head over to Caladium World to see their pink illusion Caladium, which looks like a pretty close match to the variety on Dita’s windowsill. Adding this bit of “greenery” or “pinkery” if you want to call it that to Candace’s ledge in her pass through would be one more way to make her kitchen a little more like Dita’s.
Finally, Hannah is a super-reader who continually researches terrific etsy finds and gathers them for us to ogle and maybe even buy. Coincidentally, she just told Pam about her latest treasury — pink kitchen finds: Click here to see all of Hannah’s etsy treasuries, curated with Retro Renovation readers in mind. Thank you, Hannah!
Elaine says
I have a friend who did this, lacking a window in the kitchen she hung a window frame mirror (found on ebay). She then hung Vintage curtains in red and white on a curtain rod.
pam kueber says
Terrific idea. Some window frames even have ledges — great for tchotchkes.
Bandita says
People are pretty obsessed with decorating temporarily with washi tape. You could try that on cabinet fronts or walls.
They also do make removable wallpaper. Not sure if it would work on cabinets, but you could do an accent wall or all walls. From what I hear, it is worth it.
Then, just like everyone else said.. colorful accessories! I see a metal wire shelf with painted pots of colorful plants in them (whew, say that 10 times fast!) Vintage pyrex can do a number too, it is so classic and bright!
Bright rugs will help a lot too.
Sarah g (roundhouse) says
Oh man I was so out of the loop on this washi tape you speak of but a quick google search and wham! Love it, will have to get a few rolls!
pam kueber says
Thanks for these ideas, Bandita, I have never heard of Washi tape!
Kate H says
You could also hang a curtain with a retro print over the little window or over the doorway to (what may be) the washer/dryer. And get some fun rugs — Target had flower rugs that were sort of retro and you might check The Company Store, they sometimes have good colors. You could replace the cabinet pulls with something glittery. You might find a retro light shade at the ReStore, too — a light fixture could make all the difference.
Totally off topic … but this would be an easy kitchen to Go Hawaii! in. You could hula girl it up really easily and inexpensively with a beaded curtain, maybe some grass skirt stuff over the soffits, and a couple of prints of Gauguin (which aren’t in Hawaii, but look like they could be.) Add a little grassy rug and there you are.
Kate H
pam kueber says
Thanks, Kate — I agree, Target has retro decor and the Company Store is a great tip, too. It’s also good to hear ideas about non-Dita ways to go! I agree, this kitchen could “go tiki” in a heartbeat!
Mary says
First I would pinkify the floor with removable carpet tiles like these from Flor You can mix in some black ones for checkerboard. http://www.flor.com/catalogsearch/result/?order=relevance&dir=desc&q=pink&search_submit=Search The advantage of this is they can be lifted up and washed and they won’t slip on the tile. You can get some magnetic panels printed for the fridge. Find a cool retro design and take it to a place where they make them for cars. I’m not sure how they would stand up to the heat of an oven.
Go to a fabric store and check into removable adhesives that you can spray on fabric so that you could attach it to the insets on the cupboard doors. You need something like they use on post-it notes that won’t leave a residue…be sure to test! Then you can find a cute print and cover the center part of the cupboard doors. I envision poodles or a retro Paris theme. You can make a table cloth out of the fabric to tie in the dining area.
Next you need some pink or white appliances. I have seen Kitchen Aid blenders and mixers in pink. You can also find some vintage stuff but check the wiring!
For the pass-thru I envision some vintage planters in pastels. Be sure to get them big enough that the plants stay healthy.
Looks like a fun project!
Kristal says
I’ve heard you can use spray starch to attach fabric to surfaces. When you’re done, you just peel it off and wipe clean.
Janet in CT says
This one is a real challenge! For starters, I think those are the contractor basic cabinets with pressboard doors and drawer fronts covered with contact paper that were common in the seventies and eighties, and you can’t paint those. You can see one drawer next to the stove already disintegrated or broke and was replaced by a blank drawer front. They really are best left alone. I am not the least bit decorator minded but I can’t see pink in this kitchen at all. The brown and almond leads me to earth tones. The rental company started off wrong with that color floor, in my opinion, which is too gray or pinkish or whatever with the brown cabinets; it is hard to tell from the photos. If it were my place, I would go with COPPER! My first house had copper cabinet hardware and hinges and I put in alot of copper and wrought iron accents and it came out stunning. Find a copper legged table or spray a black legged wrought iron one with that copper fleck paint, either for dining or for that wall by the living roon. I would decorate the soffits with trivets or copper molds and you can use those stick-on things rather than nails. There are alot of neat mirrors, sconces and big copper trays around too. You can drift off into orange and bittersweet/rust colors too, which are hot right now and maybe even blend in pink here and there. And put down a multi-colored runner with copper and maybe pink as the main colors. Go with Penny’s and Hannah’s further suggestions for accessorizing. This is not your pink dream kitchen, but copper/salmon is close and I think a better choice. I apologize for deviating from the pink, but I would save your dream of a hot or pale pink kitchen for your next place! Rentals are hard to decorate when there are limitations.
Patty says
Pink and brown are good together. This is a common color combination for modern mothers-to-be for their baby clothes and nurseries.
I think lots of pink would be great. I don’t know if you can get that material they use to cover big buses with ads, but maybe that could go inside the cabinet insets.
Shahama says
I used contact paper on my cupboards when i rented and they turned out great!!
Hillary says
I was going to suggest contact paper too. When we bought our house it even had contact paper on the counter tops…I used them for two years before replacing them and it actually held up quite well!
mary says
I actually found at Big Lots (years ago) 36″ wide heavy gauge black contact paper….guess what color my counters are and have been for over 10 years….
Missouri Michael says
I believe that there is a company that makes a repositionable and removable vinyl shelf liner, and I’m fairly certain that you can get it in pink. That would be something that could be cut and applied to the inner areas of the cabinet doors to bring in the the pink color without damaging the finish of the cabinets.
pam kueber says
hmmmm — repositionable shelf liner? That sounds promising to potentially use on the cabinet fronts, inside the trim! And I bet it’s not as expensive as removable wallpaper!
Mid-Century Mick says
Yes!!! I’m right there with Michael and Pam! Its called Contact© paper (which is actually thin vinyl) – and its your FRIEND! Even if you can’t find it in pink – my 1st thought was: Get yourself a fabulous pink Mix-Master (function AND a statement!) and then have a paint store mix up a similar color in satin finish. Roll out some contact paper, paint it pink, and I’d apply it right to the in-sets on your cabinetry. (you can also apply the Contact first, then paint it – but be careful!) I’ve done it before. Its awesome, its inexpensive, and most of all its removeable!
Next: WHO SAYS you can’t paint your kitchen walls a light sunny yellow? In “most” apartment houses, so long as you return it to white when you leave – where’s the harm ?
I’m also on board with the idea of a runner of some sort in black and white check pattern. It’ll add a spark of ‘retro’ – and the black and white will be a neat-o contrast.
Lastly: DON’T cover up those gorgeous Almond colored appliances! I gasped in envy when I saw them – they’re beautiful and they’re so unusual (now) that I couldn’t imagine living without them!
Make sure you post your results, whatever you do! That looks like a lovely apartment! Good luck! M.
Trina says
Ok, you can buy a magnetic pink fridge front, just google FridgeFronts, they have pink then you can remove it if you move. Also, I would figure out some kind of removable material for the diamond ish shape on the cabinets cut that out in pink and put that on all the cabinets and drawers. The rest is just decorations, maybe some rugs on the floor and there you go, transformed.
TerriLynn says
I am so thrilled you mentioned that fridgefront.com! I love it! They have magnetic and vinyl for fridges and diswashers… You could use that same vinyl on the cupboards. Trace and cut out the shape inside the trim like you suggested and that vinyl would be perfect. Whammo, pink cabinets.
pam kueber says
I need to research these vinyl things more — maybe removable wallpaper would be less expensive than the vinyl for so many surfaces…
B Maura says
Funny you should mention that, because the first place my mind went was temporary wallcoverings. I did a search for starched-on fabric and also got a couple of articles like this one:
http://blog.homes.com/2012/02/accenting-walls-with-temporary-wallpaper-and-fabric/
There are links to several different manufacturers, but if you scroll down and look at the Warner Wallcoverings examples, there is a perfect pink pattern that would look wonderful on that narrow wall in her dining room.
pam kueber says
It’s in one of those stories that I read the hall and foyer cost $600 to wallpaper with temporary wallpaper… worth looking at, maybe you might find it on sale.
hannah says
Totally jealous of your almond oven and fridge. <3
My advice for pink touches is visit Etsy, and do a search for 'vintage pink kitchen' and you'll get a ton of pages with kitschy, pink items. From towels (some never even used!), to dishes, curtains, appliances/utensils, dish drainers, salt & pepper shakers, aprons and more. You can do the same sort of search on eBay as well.
Good luck!
Penny says
Well my first thought was paint…but since you can’t do that, go with adding a lot of stuff. Dita’s place has a fun flirty feel with 3 major things – the pink, the flowers, and Dita herself. Since the last one is probably expensive to hire, I’d buy as many decorations as I could afford to do the job for me. Get a piece of furniture for that wall where the round mirror is, paint the piece pink. You might want to paint your fridge pink too, if it’s your own. Get a long runner of black and white lino for the middle of the kitchen, seek out decor, kitchenware and tea towels that all have pasel shades and preferrably a few pin up images, for that flirt emphasis. Also, find a dining table and paint it pink with pale green chairs, and keep a bag vase of flowers on it all the time. Once you’ve done that, you shouldn’t notice the brown cupboards.