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!
Jennifer Kepesh says
Going in a different direction: A book that has been a great influence on me is Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language. (He’s a major influence on Sarah Susanka, who wrote The Not So Big House, and beyond architecture has been an inspiration to programmers and engineers.) What Alexander did was to study architectural spaces that worked and those that don’t, and from this study, he developed a short list of design principles that make a room or a house feel right. When we bought our MCM/adobe house, we did renovate some things before we moved in, and I relied heavily on Alexander’s principles in making decisions. I also relied heavily on Retro-Renovation’s wisdom. The result is that our kitchen, which was a gut renovation, fits harmoniously with the rest of the house, is very functional, and is a great space to wander into.
While we didn’t “live with” the space, I have lived with the Pattern Language design principles for about 25 years, observing the truth of them in man other spaces, before applying them to this space.
pam kueber says
Thank you for this awesome tip, Jennifer! I am ordering the book right away!!!
MissyN says
This book sounds so interesting. I looked it up in our library catalog and found that A Pattern Language is actually the second volume of a two-volume work. The first volume is called The Timeless Way of Building. In the introduction to A Pattern Language, the author suggests reading both volumes in order to gain “full insight.” Just offering this in case it is helpful to interested readers.
I work in a university library and both of these volumes appear to be in heavy use by our architecture school’s instructors. They sound fascinating. Thank you for the suggestion!
Tom says
My main advice in addition to the great ideas I’ve read so far is to take a slew of pictures, send them to Pam, ask for advice from the Retro Renovation community, and then cogitate on it for a while.Someone here is likely to come up with an intriguing idea you’d never have thought of on your own!
J D Log says
I left my kitchen renovation to the very last as I knew it would be a bear of a job. The kitchen and bathroom seems to be the show piece of every 50’s house no matter how humble it is. So did the rest of the interior first. When I bought my 1959 house it had a modern granite style kitchen which I really hated. I was able to sell the kitchen for $$ on ebay which helped with funding what I wanted to do.
The downside was that the modern kitchen was hiding poor condition walls the good side was gutting the walls I could get my electrician to rewire and upgrade the electrical side and plastering is cheap and easy to do these days.
In Australia we did not really have those metal kitchen cabinets but were built in wooden ones which were attached to the studs of a wall these take at least a day with 2 people to remove and can damage the Formica and existing walls, it takes 1 hour to sledge hammer them out. I followed up 3 years worth of leads to find these wooden built ins, but they had been already been smashed up or beyond restoration.
So I have used stand alone wooden cabinets ranging from total originals to ones I have restored. The plus side is some of them have beautiful etched glass and because they were different sizes they were able to fit in my kitchen and dining room easier. The down side is I have several different colours of Formica in the kitchen.
I am now on to the floor and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The easy option was to get the black and white checker board, it does look good and easily available. I wanted something different so I have decided to get rubber. Commercial rather then residential seem more retro friendly and durable as a train driver you would not believe the punishment our floors experience on a Friday & Saturday nights. I do not need underlay they are pet friendly and low maintenance after installation, and softer on your feet. The downside is it is expensive to buy, harder to find and prone to damage from grease.
I have also found that when I have been in a rut on a big project like this I went on to other projects such as extending my back verandah and building a garage alternating these jobs gave me time to approach the problems with fresh attitudes and ideas and not ending up h****ing to work on the kitchen as a burden.
pam kueber says
Yikes. Yes: Taking this approach is not taking The Easy Way Out! Can’t wait to see your kitchen when it’s complete, J D Log. I also like your mention of the rubber tile flooring. I mentioned this once, long long ago on the blog. Yes, it’s another great alternative. Many thanks!
Kristen says
Hi!
My husband and I just bought a 1957 single owner home! It really is a time capsule — and we love it! We moved from a (much smaller) 1912 farmhouse, so we really feel like we are “living in the future” hahah.
The kitchen has awesome pink! ovens (2) stovetops (2) a great ceramic drainboard sink and a good dishwasher (not original circa 1980s, I think). We floor was in bad shape and we replaced it with bamboo, which was cost effective but seems a bit delicate. We replaced the fridge with the one we had in our basement because it seemed to be leaking oil.
Our old basement fridge is not very effective and i’d like to replace it ASAP because food goes bad so quickly. Other than that I can wait.
The original formica countertop was was pink (i think) but has faded to grey. The dark wood cabinet are damaged but my handyman says he can salvage them, but that he would recommend painting them so the repairs don’t show (fine with me, i love a white kitchen!).
My dream at the moment is to paint the cabinets white, replace the countertop with a concrete/glass or stainless countertop, and put in a new fridge. It has a dropped ceiling and florescent lighting which is interesting but I’m inclined to replace. The wallpaper is an awesome brown-silver-pink floral, but it’s really discolored in parts, and I think I would like to replace it with a retro paper in pink and turquoise.
Given I’m not really into the gut remodel, and I want to respect the basics of the kitchen – do I really need to wait?
ChrisH says
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d like to see pics.
Marty says
This is appearing just in time. I’m hoping to redo my ’59 kitchen this summer. A pretty basic job–cabinets are in good shape, so really just new floor, new counter, paint and hopefully a vintage range.
Biggest issue is finding a way to retain/redo the metal trim on the counter.
chris says
I don’t have time at the moment to go through all the other posts — but can’t wait to do so.
I’m probably repeating what others have said — but — do NOT let the shows on HGTV sway you. If you have an old house and you bought it because you love old houses — then embrace it. There are so many shows on TV that do show lovely, new, sleek, open-concept (Oh, my, what an over-used term) kitchen and living areas. But have you noticed that after a while, they all look exactly the same??? Don’t allow these shows to brainwash you! (Allow US on the RR site to have that honor! Hee hee!)
Get to know your house and don’t jump into anything without lots of research. This sounds really woo-woo “out there” but I think a house will tell you what it wants. (I mean this figuratively, of course. Your house should not actually be talking to you.)
The RR site is a super-wonderful resource — take lots of time to explore it!
🙂
Karen C says
Really loved your article!
Thinking before you redo anything is a good plan.
It is best that a look ‘fits’ a house.
I had no cabinets in this old kitchen, and since it was a farm house, I did very traditional white painted ones and Formica in dots of gray/white/black because any color can be added for accents then. This won’t be more forever home but it is the best kitchen ever and too bad I can’t keep it.
One older friend of mine was selling their 50s house with a 1980s kitchen they put in and she never did understand that they ruined it really. Now it is outdated, like you stated.
lisa says
A shout-out for ventilation. Most likely you won’t need the restaurant-strength vent hoods that are all the rage, but many older houses don’t have a vented hood at all. Or they used to have one, but it was closed off when someone installed an over-the-counter microwave (which usually can be vented, but often are not). Think about the stove you have, the one you hope to have in the future, and plan the ventilation accordingly.
I never knew how important this was until moving into this house, which did have a wall-mount vent fan in the kitchen, but an underpowered one in a spot that did little good nowhere near the stove.
pam kueber says
Good one! Check building codes, too.
Beth C says
Totally enjoying this thread….
As far as waiting to do anything goes, you can benefit from my experience. 2000: I was a newly single mom of 3 teenagers, knowing that one by one, very soon, they’d all move out. That was 13 years ago. I bought a 1977 ranch (huge yard so I can play in the dirt) that was built from early 60s floor plans. I LOVE IT. I walked in and my heart nearly stopped at all the unpainted wood gloriousness.
First impressions: The realtor gestured towards the pony walls dividing the DR, LR, and foyer telling me to rip that ‘mess’ out. (Whuuu???) She saw my expression and said that at the very least I should paint the 5 foot turned posts that ascend from the pony walls to the ceiling white. (Whuuu??) She ignored me after that.
The house was festooned in pink and blue floral wallpaper, every square inch. The foyer has this totally retro-cool linoleum that looks like slate. EVERYONE comments on it to this day.
Every faucet in the house was builder grade and leaking. The ceiling fans were really gross cheap builder grade, installed by the original homeowner. The original lighting was cheap cheap cheap and lacked character. The good news was the carpet was brand new, though I’m not a carpet fan.
Now being a mom of three teens meant there wasn’t lots of money to spend on the house and I was forced to do one room at a time. I ripped out the wallpaper and painted every wall so my poor soul could live in it for the time being. I’ve reno’d the guest bath by taking out the carpet and laying tile and replacing a bad builder grade toilet.
I LOVE the kitchen cabs (maple), but the asbestos flooring was degrading badly. I hired a team to encase it and we laid down new vinyl (cuz we had to do something). I’ll be putting tile down soon, 13 years later. The countertops were just awful, and damaged. Fake butcher-block. I pulled it out, built up the cabs with 1/2 inch ply and tiled them with Corian samples! I worked for a design-build firm and the Corian rep gave me all his disc samples for years. Interestingly, it works with the house! I’ll also add that I’m a huge fan of reusing, recycling, and reducing.
As the original gold appliances started to break down, I replaced them one by one with nice, but not pretentious stainless and black enamel.
The ceiling fans have been taken out, but replaced in rooms that require them, simple in design, so as to not compete with the lovely wood work. All the lighting eventually was replaced with appropriate (but not cheap) lights. The faucets have all been changed too. I’m a Jane of all trades.
The bath 1977 Formica tops are lovely and very unusual in color. I’d break my own arms before I’d take them out.
The lesson learned? I was forced to take my time with the house. 13 years later, I am preparing to take out the carpet and replace with wood. Then I’ll be done. Or will I?
At any rate, living with what you have (at least for awhile) causes one to learn to appreciate it, and you just might come to love the home your in.
pam kueber says
🙂
Diane in CO says
I thoroughly enjoyed your post. Been chipping away at our 1935 home for 22 years now. Can’t imagine doing it all at once and had we, we wouldn’t have the same home we have now. Would have made more mistakes and not had time to “learn to appreciate” the vintage features.
Our house was a mess when we purchased. We’re finally getting things the way we want them and with kids now grown, we can put a bit more money into upgrades.
Kitchen is next up. Not being a Jane-of-those-particular-trades, we’ll use a contractor/designer who’s done other work for us. But I will be communicating the look I want & making choices and final decisions.
And here’s my TIP if one chooses the contractor route, besides choosing one who understands “house appropriate:” BE THERE if you can for every step! Now I don’t advocate driving the workers crazy (hehe) but don’t take things for granted and “assume” you know what sub-contractors will do. You know what happens when you “assume” – you make an a$$ of u and me…. Good communication with everyone involved is essential. And, buy ’em lunch once in a while. 🙂
pam kueber says
Great tips — I work from home, so during my office remodel, was able to be home with contractor extraordinaire Kevin. We were CONSTANTLY fussing with this and that. Made a HUGE difference! I have other tips, based on experience, for working with contractors — but that’s a whole ‘nother ginormous thread! Goin’ on the list. Thanks, Diane!
Beth C says
Yes, definitely treat your worker bees. I’ve made cookies fresh, for a few of my guys. Once, I made hot coffee and took it and 4 mugs out on a chilly day. Recently took soup and a sandwich to the unemployed construction worker I hired to help me with some exterior reno. If you show your appreciation, you get better quality work. 🙂
Christa says
I 100% agree. Take your time. And think about ways to incorporate The biggest difference I made in my original kitchen was to add skylights. Getting the lighting right made a HUGE difference. These days people prefer a lot more light in the house, so see what you can do to get as much light as possible (without resorting to installing ceiling cans every 2′).
Same thing for my bathroom. The original fluorescent light fixture was yellowed and made the whole room look so dingy. I replaced it with a modern minimalist light fixture with Xenon bulbs. Holy canoli, the room suddenly felt so luxe and nice, I no longer felt the need to change anything but the paint color.
Of course when picking out new lights, you need to reflect the architecture of your home.
pam kueber says
Great builds, Christa — better lighting and voila! lots of $$$ saved! Thanks!