So this week I made a new Retro Kitchens Page aimed at helping helping readers get started with a kitchen remodel. Importantly, it shares some of my experienced aimed in particular at folks who are NEW to their OLD house and contemplating a kitchen makeover. My kinda major focus is… take your time. I came up with eight items. But, I want to make this the best page/advice possible. So today, OPEN THREAD: Readers, what else can we advise folks who are new to their old house and who are contemplating what to do with the kitchen? Above: Reader Rebecca recently finished a retro remodel; her story is in the pipeline. I bet she can add to the 411.
Here’s my start at it:
Some of my thoughts if you are NEW to your OLD house and contemplating a kitchen remodel:
- Environmental and safety issues come first. Vintage houses can contain vintage nastiness such as lead, asbestos, and more. Consult with properly licensed professionals to know what is in your house, and how to make informed decisions about how to handle.
- If you are new to your old kitchen — go slow. Before you proceed thinking you need a gut remodel, for instance, get to know your kitchen first. Live in it a year to get to know its flow. Get to know its original style and features. Get to know your “Retro Kitchen Style” — because not all retro is alike. It may turn out that, once you learn about the original features in your retro kitchen, you might come to love them — and you may not need to spend the money, and endure the aggravation of a major remodel.
Consider updates that are in harmony with the original architecture of your house. Sure, an original retro kitchen may be “dated.” But every kitchen is dated. For example: Don’t kid yourself: Put a 2013 kitchen in your 1955 house… and in a few years that 2013 kitchen will be “dated”, too — and, dated to the wrong year. But, put in a kitchen that is harmonious with the original 1955 architecture – and at least its date will match the date of the house. “Yes, but what about ‘resale’?” folks always ask. Well, my point of view is: Mid century houses are now old enough to be considered “historic”, either officially or non-officially. “Historical restorations” or period-appropriate remodels are desirable to folks who are “into” old houses. And, you can do a period remodel that isn’t “over the top” — one that’s kind of “flexible” (this is what I did with my three bathrooms.) On the other hand, going back to our example, a 2013 kitchen in a 1955 house is unlikely to appeal to a shopper 10 years from now who is into what’s new in 2023; in reality, your financial loss* (*See item #5, below) on your fabulous 2013 kitchen remodel will only grow each and year thereafter, especially if you put in “trendy” 2013 stuff. And finally, mind you, “trendier” has a shorter lifespan every year. Disclaimer, thought: All this is IMHO, do not consider this financial advice, this is something you need to do your own research and consult with your own professionals on, based on your market conditions.
Humble materials – This point kind of goes with the one above. Many — probably “most” — mid century and older houses were decorated with materials that *today* would be considered kind of… low brow. Things like: Simple wood kitchen cabinets… laminate counter tops… vinyl flooring… even knotty pine. This is pretty much opposite of what the “mainstream market” wants to sell you today — (more expensive) granite… marble… blinged out cabinetry. I personally found it a relief not to have to spec out my kitchen to “Keep up with the Joneses.” My kitchen “fits” with the rest of my (humble materials) house. And by skipping the luxe, I think I saved a lot of money.
Recognize that most major remodels are a bad financial “investment”. Data indicate that most homeowners will not recover the cost of a major kitchen renovation when they to go re-sell. Read my story looking at the annual research — and be aware.- Save your time, energy and money for the final fix. Unless there is a safety or environmental issue involved, I am not one for putting a drop of money into a space as a “stop gap measure” while we agonize over the big picture plan. Okay, I might paint the wall (off white), so that I can “see” the space better so I can figure out what I want. My husband is really good about reminding me: An old house is a time and money pit constantly presenting costly surprises. Be careful about squandering on half measures. ‘Invest’ in making plans that will endure for years… and then spend the time, energy and money — once.
- Get a subscription to Consumer Reports. When you are in spending mode like this, your head will spin. As far as I know, Consumer Reports is the only resource out there to do testing to try and really triangulate to “value”.
- Disclaimer and clarification to all of the above: I am not a contractor, an architect, a designer, a real estate expert or variant of some such profession. I am writing this from my perspective as an owner of four old houses over my lifetime, and as a blogger who has been writing on this topic for about six years. Do your own research… identify and engage your own properly licensed professionals… make thoughtful decisions that are right for you.
As you can see, I’m focused on the “planning” stage — not on prescribing specific solutions or “what to do’s”. Readers, I welcome your thoughts and experiences!
Wayne in Aurora says
I’ve never agreed with the renovate for resale philosopy. In my neighborhood, the few flips I’ve seen are either builder grade yuck, or Tuscan style-in a mid-modest neighborhood! With that said, I chose to keep my remodel “period appropriate” rather than going completely modern or time capsule. Just my personal preference, I suppose.
I ended up with something that reflects my tastes, but kept true to the size and scale of the house. And you know what? I get more compliments on my house than I thought possible.
pam kueber says
Yup. It’s like: Others just need to see How It Can Be Done! Way to go, Wayne!
Mindy says
I do have a confession! When my husband and I bought our 1955 ranch home we were talking about gutting the kitchen and tearing out walls. We are so glad now that we didn’t have the money to do it and waited! We really fell in love with our house and after all was the reason we bought it. I would tell anyone to wait at least a year before you make any big decisions. Most of us bought older homes because we wanted character and charm. I feel like I see so many homes being flipped and all looking the same these days. Pam it is so true you have to love the home you are in. We are now talking about taking the paint off the kitchen cabinets and hinges! We want to restore to original glory. Thank you for your website and helping us appreciate our older home!
pam kueber says
YAYAYAY, this makes me so happy, Mindy! Be sure to test old paint for lead first!
philq says
I hear ya, Mindy. When we bought our 1957 ranch it was all original except for paint/carpet/drapes. Our plan was to gut the kitchen. I’m so glad we didn’t. I’ve grow to love it and get many oos and ahs for all the original built-ins!
Kimberj says
We bought a 1971 severely neglected time capsule. It hadn’t been touched/updated since it was built. The rest of the home was gloriously 70’s/ Hollywood Regency but sadly in such bad shape the only thing we could save was the original woodwork, staircase, railing, and stunning sandstone fireplace. However the kitchen and bathroom cabinets were not in tune with the rest of the mid cent design. They were all a bastardized mediterranean style. Due to decay and water damage we ripped everything out and put the Danish Modern style cabinets that should have been installed originally. We couldn’t “sit” with our house (it was seriously uninhabitable) but fortunately we feel we did it “right” looking back. It looks more like a Danish Modern time capsule home now than it did then.
That being said its easier for some people to see the end result in their heads before they begin. I can do that but I had to hold my hubs hand through the whole process, thank god he trusts me. I would save a massive pinterest page of ideas and go from there. But keep tabs on the budget because it can balloon out of reason quickly! Good Luck 🙂
PS Its critical that you trust your contractor implicitly.
pam kueber says
Congratulations, Kimberj, your house sounds lovely. You’ve made some great points here that I can add to the list. In particular, you’ve reminded me: Take the first year to do some small projects with a contractor… or contractors… to assess whether she or he is the right one to help you with the larger, more expensive projects. Because I agree: Once you’re into a major remodel, you and your contractor must be seeing eye to eye and communicating well, or it’s going to be awful.
I also love your point about figuring out who (if anyone) in the relationship has the “big picture” view. Also – how hard that person is going to “fight” for it. I bet a lot of marriages are really tested by renovations!!!
Lynne says
As I was once told by an elderly neighbor, when we moved into our first home: “Ain’t nuthin wrong with old, as long as it’s clean”
pam kueber says
Lynne: I LOVE THIS! I LOVE IT! Thank you!
Jay says
Nice phrase!
The woman I bought my house from uttered “It is what it is” in other words take it as you see it and I did not knowing what lie ahead.
chris says
And then there’s “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Becky says
My grandmother said that too! My kind of philosophy from my kind of folk! 🙂
Nutella says
Keep cost comparison lists and do your research! Of course, this goes for any major remodel or home project. The more work you do in advance, the few surprises later. If there are things that work for you in your existing kitchen, consider keeping them or recreating them in an updated fashion. We did this with the kitchen in our 1937 home. We loved the simple look of the white flat faced steel cabinets and the curved deco handles, so our new design incorporated those features.
http://greenbeltlive.com/another-kitchen-renovation-story/
Diane in CO says
Nutella, I would love to see your story about a kitchen re-do in a 1937 home, but the link you posted seems to be a story about a different kitchen, right? Where is yours?
Nutella says
Hi Diane in CO, nope that kitchen is mine. The one with the blue glass subway tile backsplash. I wrote that post as a guest on that woman’s blog. She also posted about her own kitchen renovation, which wasn’t really a very “retro-inspired” design.
The 1600 homes in old Greenbelt were built by the federal government from 1937-1941. As old as our homes are, there are very few that retain any portion of the original kitchens, and as they get renovated, they often need extensive updating on the electric and plumbing. Over half of the costs of my renovation went towards updating the infrastructure.
pam kueber says
Hi Nutella, some great builds here! I agree — start a spreadsheet with cost comparisons! And, I love how you saved the old cabinet pulls — seems like good karma to me!
Wendy M. says
I agree with everyone else- wait on major changes until you have lived in the house for a while! Prior to moving into our ’64 home, I was certain I wanted to open up our pass-through wall so we could have barstool seating on the other side. Now, everytime I close up those pass-through windows to block the sound of the dishwasher (or the kids) I’m so relieved we didn’t change it.
Give older (even non-period-correct) appliances a chance. The only things that had been updated in our kitchen when we bought were the range and dishwasher (they are from 1983.) While they aren’t the color I would choose, they work better than the brand-new appliances we had in our last home (and show no signs of slowing down.) IMHO, it would be a terrible investment to replace them before they give out because they might outlive any appliances available now.
Based on my experience in our last home, I would personally never paint wood cabinets. I understand the desire to “lighten up” the kitchen, but it is a never-ending battle to keep them looking nice. I’m so happy to have stained wood cabinets again.
pam kueber says
Thanks, Wendy M. — I love your build about not knee-jerk tossing the old appliances. I totally agree with you: From my personal experience, the older stuff was built to last. And, even if it uses more electricity – it may be a better net carbon footprint etc. to keep the old.
Regarding painting wood cabinets, I also like your point. I am going to venture: Painting with real oil enamel — which is a sticky mess to do — might be the “solution”. But are folks prepared to go to this length? I probably would not be…
Brian T says
When we bought our 1954 house from the brother of the original owner, who was executor of her estate, he mentioned that the kitchen cabinets had been painted with oil paint, so that’s what I used to repaint them. Unscrewed 44 cabinet doors and drawers so they could be painted lying down flat. It took months, but worth it. Oil paint is very cleanable. I remember being horrified in the past that I had scrubbed away not only a stain but the latex paint the stain was staining.
pam kueber says
Yikes – “months”! Good on you!
Hillary says
I love that my kitchen cabinets are painted with oil paint. I can use a magic eraser on them and all the dirt comes off. The surface oil paint forms is very hard and durable. Good thing you didn’t paint latex over the oil as someone did on the trim in the rest of my house – I can peel it off in long strips!
Annie B says
You are so right about the durability of older appliances. In 1982, I was a little less than in love with the 800 pound white gorilla in my kitchen; after all, it was nearly twenty years old at the time. Now, after almost 50 years, it keeps on ticking.
Anna says
I so agree! We moved into a condo in an old building last June. I was planning to replace the old appliances (1972 according to the serial numbers) but other things came up and we were unable to do so. The GE electric stove, hood and dishwasher (with groovy green interior and racks) work great while my friends who have bought new have done nothing but complain about all the repairs they’ve had to make. Now I’m planning to replace the appliances only when they’ve died.
pam kueber says
I don’t even think you need to replace them when they die. They can be repaired. Stuff was also less complicated back then, for the most part, I think! See this story when that day comes — https://retrorenovation.com/2011/08/29/parts-service-and-advice-to-fix-old-stoves-and-other-vintage-appliances-a-list-of-9-online-resources/
Chad D says
To be fair, new appliances can be repaired, too. My parents just needed a new $200 motherboard after my mom spilled water on her oven.
Sara says
Great post! I moved into to 1950 house last summer. I have a case of an unfortunate wall removal that created a great room concept, but it doesn’t work well in this house. First problem is they re-oriented the front door. It used to open into the living room and there was a window in the kitchen. They moved the front door to where the window was and sealed off the wall where the door was. So now the front and back doors both open into the kitchen and there is no window in the kitchen that will open for ventilation. And when you walk in the front door, the first thing you see is the refrigerator. The second issue is that now there is no place to put a table in the kitchen. Before the wall was removed, there would’ve been a nook under the old kitchen window for a small table (and boy would I love to have a place for an old colorful laminate top kitchen table!). Now that space is an open area between the kitchen and living room and it’s a complete waste of space. The third problem is that the living room doesn’t have enough wall space. There are two huge picture windows (which I love) and a fireplace which take up a lot of two walls. Another wall has a closet and needs to be kept bare because you have to walk between that wall and the back of the couch (no place else to put the couch) to get to the bedrooms. So finding a place for my piano, china hutch, bookshelves, etc. has been a challenge. I love this house, but I wish they’d left it original. It would’ve been a much more functional design with that wall there, and someday maybe I’ll be able to afford to replace it. Luckily I still have the original kitchen cabinets so it retains a lot of its vintage feel.
pam kueber says
Yup, sounds like you have a remuddle on your hands, Sara. So sorry, hand in there!
Chad D says
Have you thought about putting the wall back yourself? Finishing it takes a little trial and error when you’re not adept at it, but framing one short wall and cutting/installing wallboard is pretty straightforward and I’m sure you could find a YouTube instructional video. I also found a place that makes prefabricated framing for an oval arch in standard and custom sizes, so you can replicate an authentic mid-century modest look for probably like an extra $100 or less.
Sara says
Yes, I’ve thought about it but the biggest problem is that they moved the front door. If I put the wall back, I’d really need to move the front door back to its original location and put the window back in. My handyman father could do this for me, but it would be a much more involved project. I think I’ll do it someday though. I always look at the wasted space they created and dream about amazing red laminate and chrome tables with matching red vinyl chairs. Someday…
Lynne says
Okay, so where do I read about Rebecca’s “pictured above” kitchen remodel? That kitchen is fabulous!
Kelly Wittenauer says
Second that!
Rebecca Prichard says
Monday!
Lynne says
Thanks! Looking forward to it!
Annie B says
Love your house, Rebecca, but I LUV your dress!
pam kueber says
It’s in the pipeline…
Jeanne says
I can’t wait! It looks fabulous!
midmichigan says
I like the kitchen photo! Very nice job!
As icing, I would only hope that the handset she’s talking on is connected to a vintage, rotary dial, Western Electric wall model.
Rebecca Prichard says
Why, of course it is!
And, we’re Michigan, too!
Jay says
Western Electric!!! Someone’s age is showing. Who can forget the commercials stating ” WE, Heart of the Bell System”.
Kelly Wittenauer says
You will be the one living with the end result, at least for awhile! While being able to find a buyer when it’s time to resell is important to those of us who’ve had to move often – don’t create something you dislike for the sake of easy resale. And don’t get so enslaved to being “period correct” that it results in something that’s irritating for you to live with. For example, I don’t want to spend time scrubbing away the grunge that collects around Hudee rings and along metal countertop edges. So, while mid century correct, that look is not for me.
pam kueber says
Thanks, Kelly, good points. Although I must defend: I don’t have any problem whatsoever with grunge around my Hudee rim or metal cabinet edges!