Reader Emily and her husband Drew fell in love with their 110-year-old Victorian house immediately, even though it needed a lot of work. With a small budget that had to stretch to cover remodeling expenses for several rooms, they had to get creative. With their latest project — the kitchen — they worked with the plain Jane stock kitchen cabinets already in place, made a few strategic investments, styled to give of a colorful vintage vibe — and rolled up their DIY thrify sleeves. Months of hard work painting, building upper cabinets, installing a vintage drainboard sink and loads of other projects paid off for the couple. Their kitchen is so sunny and happy.
Emily made the time-lapse animation above to show how the kitchen sink area progressed over time.
Emily writes:
The house is a 110 year old Victorian, and was literally falling apart when we bought it (think: plaster chunks falling out of the walls, electrical cords duct-taped around doorways, peeling paint, etc.) But it had great bones and lots of details that reminded me of the house I grew up in – maple floors, decorative trim, tall ceilings… I was smitten. Honestly, even the disrepair seemed like a not-altogether-bad thing – it meant we’d get the house super cheap and that we’d make it our own.
We got a housing rehabilitation loan in conjunction with our mortgage. Our budget was $30K, which we stretched to cover moving one bathroom, adding another, and creating a hallway on the second floor. Anything we could do ourselves, we did…. The house was in bad shape when we moved in (110 years old, with virtually no maintenance done in the last 30 years), so we’ve gut remodeled almost every room now, but on a budget, doing most of it ourselves, and using salvaged wood/trim/fixtures whenever possible. The ReStore is my friend. I re-plastered and painted every room in this house (plaster as in lathe and plaster, not drywall repair). To anyone doing the same: I’ve tried every plaster compound known to man. Quickset45 is the only way to go. Trust me. [Editor’s Note: Precautionary Pam reminds: Remember, readers, vintage houses can contain vintage nastiness like lead paint and asbestos — get your own trusted properly licensed professional to help you determine what’s in your house and its layers so you can make informed decisions.]
The hardest part of that initial renovation was being without a bathroom. For a shower, we connected a hose to the basement slop sink and hung it from one of the rafters. You had to stand in a cement mixing tub to shower, and then run across the concrete floor to turn the water off. Did I mention this was December, in Wisconsin, in a 110-yea- old house? Yeah, that hurt.
Since the kitchen and back room were fairly new, those weren’t part of the first remodel. That turned out to be a good thing, because it gave me three years to figure out how we used the space and what really needed changing. Retro Renovation has been my morning read with coffee all that time, so you can imagine how it affected the final outcome. Super helpful!
The kitchen and back rooms were a remodel/extension done in the 90’s (the architectural equivalent of bachelors buying a new pack of tee shirts instead of washing the ones they have?), so those were last on our to-do list.
Well, we finally tackled these last two rooms this spring. Our big goals for the spaces were to make the kitchen brighter, the cabinetry more practical, and the back room warmer. It had a Mediterranean style tile floor, which made the space look and feel cold, and we really only used it for storage. We wanted to make it a family room.
My favorite kitchen photos on this blog are always from the 1940s, and I wanted to capture that bright, clean, cheerful feel in the kitchen without it screaming ‘retro’ so loudly that it’d clash with the Victorian elements of the house.
I think we managed that, using a farmhouse sink from the 40s, a 1954 Universal oven (yay, craigslist!), beadboard, school house light fixtures, and jadeite knobs. But we broke with the period by opening up the wall between the two rooms, installing butcher block counters, and keeping the wood floor.
We couldn’t afford new cabinets, but the existing uppers were making me crazy (I found the corner cupboards really annoying – you have to take out half their contents to get to anything in the back). I’m an art teacher, so I took advantage of my spring break to build new ones. We kept the lowers, but painted them and added knobs.
I’d fallen in love with the jadeite knobs offered by Rejuvenation, but they were pretty pricey. I ended up finding nearly identical ones online at D. Lawless Hardware. For the lights, I dreamed of milk glass with painted stripes, but these Schoolhouse Mini-pendants were close enough and a better price.
It really does feel like a whole new room now.
You’ll notice in that last shot, the kitchen is finished, but the family room to-be isn’t quite. We put in a wood floor to match the rest of the house, but have yet to paint the trim and walls.
[Precautionary Pam notes: Readers, please consult with local building codes — with properly licensed professionals — to ensure your stove placement conforms with local building codes.]
As you can see, we’re not afraid of color in this house 🙂
Well, that’s our story! Thanks for letting me share!
Emily, you and Drew did a fabulous job. We also want to underscore to everyone: You waited three years to remodel the kitchen, and were happy you did. This affirms a key piece of advice we have here: GO SLOW, people, in making big remodeling decisions. (Unless the changes involve environmental or safety issues, of course.) Take the time to study and learn how you use the space… how you could use it more effectively… and what style of retro speaks to you.
Mega thanks for sharing your story and inviting all of us in to take a peek inside your cheery and colorful home.
Read more about Emily and Drew’s kitchen remodel on Emily’s blog, prairie loon.
TamirR says
What sink did you use? Love the look!!
Mindy says
Absolutely stunning! I love your entire house!! Can you tell me more about the beautiful kitchen sink? Was that craigslist also? I would love a farmhouse sink, but I am so worried about chipping it.
Emily says
Yeah, that was a craigslist find, too. I can’t really imagine chipping it, unless maybe if I dropped an iron skillet on an edge – the thing is a beast. I have broken some glasses dropped while doing dishes in it, though.
Mindy says
Thanks Emily!
Becky from Iowa says
LOL. Never mind. I should have read the whole thread. Thanks! Of course it would be a daffodil. So cheerful.
Becky from Iowa says
Hi, Can you tell me the name of the yellow paint in the kitchen? I, too, have an (original) 1940’s kitchen–but with fewer cabinets, alas–and I painted it what was meant to be a cheery yellow like yours, nine years ago…but it looks more like a Post It Note. Gag. It’s been long enough that I can justify re-painting but I’m terrible at choosing paint colors! Really. I just spent $90 in paint samples, simply to find two colors for my dining room! I love your yellow and you might save me a lot of time and money if you could share the manufacturer and name. Thanks!
pam kueber says
Hi Becky, if you read thru the comments, I think that Emily gave the pain brand/color.
Karin Jeffrey says
Wow, what a fresh and pretty house! A great example of real-world decorating. Love the colors, they just sing. I have almost the same dining chairs, and I’m in Canada, LOL. !The desk is perfect, is it vintage?
AFL says
Emily, I have a feeling you’ll get more visits from neighbors looking to borrow sugar, given how inviting you have made your kitchen! The other rooms look fabulous as well.
Regarding the other renovations you’ve done in your home, as a fellow Wisconsinite and owner of a one-bathroom home I can relate to the inconvenience and discomfort of a mid-winter bathroom remodel. Your description of the hose/shop sink shower you set up in your basement made me chuckle, because we once had to have a similar set up in our basement while we had the plumbing in our bathroom replaced. It was December, and “bathing” in a utility sink was not very much fun. :>D
Emily says
Ha, yeah, I nearly joined a gym just to avoid it!
julia-lifeonchurchill says
I love their space! It all looks great, and I like their color choice in the living area too.
Derrick Lawless says
Emily & Drew!
Great job on the kitchen, we are so glad our knobs helped you complete the project on a budget! I checked your blog and couldn’t find a place to contact you. If you e-mail me at derrick (at) dlawlesshardware . com I’ll be glad to help you complete a few more projects.
Thanks!
Beth says
I’d love to know the brand and names of the paint colors used in their house.
Emily says
The paints are all Behr brand. The living room is ‘balmy seas,’ the kitchen is ‘pale daffodil,’ and the office is the same hue of yellow, just one shade more saturated. I want to say it was called wildflower honey, but I’m not positive. Unfortunately I can’t find the can of orange to check that name, which is a shame, since that one was the most difficult to choose. We must have gone through 9 samples…
Mike says
Thanks for the recommendation of Quickset 45 – where is that available? Home Depot and the like or will I have to go to a more specialized supply house?
I have a water-damaged area of plaster in my spare bedroom and I’ve been dreading the repair, but knowing there’s a recommended product makes it slightly less scary to try on my own…
Emily says
Home Depot doesn’t carry it – I had better luck at a local lumber store, since they carry more materials original to the old Victorian houses in our neighborhood.
My advice is to be brutal when tearing out the damaged plaster – pull out anything that’s loose at all – and then screw the remaining plaster firmly to the wall with these special thin, perforated washers. I don’t know what they’re called – again, they don’t carry them at home depot – but they should have them where you find the Quickset. Here’s a post I did about the process:
http://prairieloon.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/tackling-the-nursery/
Good luck!
Mike says
Thanks, that’s so helpful! Unfortunately it’s not lathe-and-plaster, it’s an exterior wall so it’s plaster-on-brick. The brick was previously wicking in moisture (it has since been fixed) and I’ve been waiting months for everything to fully dry out. Now I’m just procrastinating.
pam kueber says
Precautionary Pam reminds renovators: Check for vintage nastiness such as lead and asbestos etc before demo’ing stuff. Get your own properly licensed professional to help you understand what you have so you can make informed plans.
Robin, NV says
Major props for tackling the plastering yourself. Pam is right about getting old materials tested for nastiness but I’m still impressed that you did the work. I looked at a 1940s house before I bought my ’62 ranch. My husband took one look at the plaster walls and said “no way, they’re too much work.” Good to know that plaster isn’t outside the realm of a DIYer.
By the way, I liked the comment on your blog about how, upon finishing one room, you carefully ignored all the other rooms that needed replastering. I feel the same way about my yard – “Yay! I just finished X! But I’m so not looking over at the next area right now!” If I think about everything I want to do, I get overwhelmed. You eat the elephant one bite at a time.
Emily says
That’s a great line! Yeah, it takes a long time to eat an elephant 🙂