Readers Jenny & Bob have lived in their 60 year old home for 13 years. Since the day they moved in, the duo has been lovingly decorating and remodeling, giving the house long overdue TLC. The final room left on their to do list was their tiny vintage kitchen, which had both benefited and suffered from a 1991 partial makeover. Since the couple’s budget didn’t allow for a complete gut remodel, the two decided to fix the biggest unicorns — err — elephants in the room: the missing cabinet doors, dingy counter tops and lack of natural light. With a lot of hard work and some help from the resources available on Retro Renovation, it wasn’t long before life in Jenny and Bob’s kitchen was coming up rainbows.
I discovered Retro Renovation a few years ago and truly it was the best thing to happen to our house. I have learned so much from Pam and the community, and it really helped educate me and focus my intentions with this renovation. A million thanks!
Our little house turned 60 last year. We have enjoyed living in it for 13 of those years and in that time have touched nearly every surface of the house inside and out. It was finally time to bring the kitchen (previously renovated in 1991) back to its roots. The previous owners had done some good things (open up the wall between the kitchen and dining room) and some not so good things (removed upper cabinet doors, and painted over wallpaper, outlets, hinges, and handles) to the the kitchen. Our goal was to help the kitchen better express its heritage and blend in a few shiny metallic modern updates too (apologies to the purists, I could not resist a new gas range with all the bells and whistles).
A total gut remodel was out of the question given our modest budget. Instead we focused on what we really bothered us most about the kitchen. Surprisingly, it was not our lack of a dishwasher. Mainly it was the missing upper cabinet doors, the cracked/dirty white tile counter tops, the tired gas range, and an overall lack of light.
We embarked upon a total do-it-yourself kitchen restoration project. My husband, Bob, was game to try anything. Plus he had some excellent ideas on how to improve the space, like extending a bit more counter top into the dining room. There were some surprises along the way too. Like two spots for slide-in cutting boards hiding under the old tile border. Bonus!
We spent more weekends than we want to admit working on this kitchen project, but we are both quite pleased with the results. What I love most about my “new” kitchen is that is a much more open, light-filled, and relaxing space to be in.
What we did:
- Create a pass-through bar/seating area between the kitchen and the living room
- Remove the wallpaper hiding under layers of paint
- Texture and paint the walls and ceiling
- 2 new Rejuvenation light fixtures
- New larger more energy efficient garden window
- Upped cabinet doors created
- Repaint kitchen cabinets gray
- New drawer and cabinet pulls (thanks Kate – great idea!)
- New laminate — ‘Geo’ pattern Formica — counter tops with stainless steel edging (New York Metals)
- New kitchen sink
- New gas range
- 2 new counter stools
- 2 new cutting boards
- A simple curtain made of repurposed Alexander Girard placemats in the ‘January’ (1963) pattern.
- Paint knife block shiny white
- Paint refrigerator red
- Note: We put the floor in when we got the house. Unsure if it is still commercially available. It is studded rubber tile from Congoleum in ‘Cherry Red’ and has aged well. Having an existing red floor presented me with the largest design challenge for the kitchen project. It ruled out a lot of possibilities for laminate and cabinet colors.
Great ideas that came from RetroRenovation:
- New drawer and cabinet pulls (thanks Kate – super idea!)
- New laminate (Formica) countertops with stainless steel edging (New York Metals) – Bob especially loved Pam’s tutorials.
- Budget: $6,000
Thanks for everything!
Jenny & Bob
Jenny and Bob — you two did a fantastic job “Loving the house you’re in” and maintaining the original character of your adorable kitchen while also making it more functional and beautiful. Kudos to you for all your hard work. Mega thanks for sharing your story, your awesome “after” photos taken by hobby photographer Bob himself and your unique sense of humor with all of us.
Update/addition: Pam’s video on her counter tops and New York Metals edging, which Jenny mentions in the comments and please — click here to see this story — for what pieces Pam ordered.
Roundhouse Sarah says
What a huge difference closing up the cabinets made! And the hardware on them looks so great!
I had considered that Formica when I redid my kitchen. I really liked how it looked like a crazy roadmap for ants lol. Reminded me of driving around Houston.
Great job guys!
Mary Elizabeth says
Very beautiful kitchen–era-appropriate, excellent, brilliant, innovative, and fun! The pass-through with counter seating is consistent with mid-century modern. The color and pattern choices were excellent. The little valance made with 1960s fabric placemats and the restored slide-out cutting boards were brilliant. Painting the refrigerator was innovative, and the unicorn masks were fun, and so 1960s. It is my opinion that every mid-century house should have a least one unicorn lurking somewhere–or two. In my house it’s an Erica Wilson unicorn tapestry reproduction in crewel. In your house, you seem to be embracing the inner unicorns. 🙂
Robin, NV says
Fantastic job guys. I love those counters, I thought at first they were cracked ice. I like how they soften the big contrast between white cabinets and red floor (love the red floor!!).
I will be getting new countertops soon. I asked my contractor for post formed edges and as far as I know, he’s still looking for someone who can do that locally. I’ll report back when I learn more.
Toni says
Your kitchen looks wonderful. What type of paint the refrigerator with?
We are redoing ours kind of like that too. We put new hardware on or cabinets. Added new one In the same style as the originals.
Jenny says
Hi Toni! We used a Behr interior semi-gloss (the one with the primer built in) and a smooth roller on the fridge. Can’t stress enough that you need to lightly sand every little spot you want the paint to stick. Very detailed work but worth it to not have a boring fridge. The best part about this method is you barely have to move your fridge to paint it and it can stay full and plugged in.
Janice says
Jenny and Bob, I just love a successful DIY story and this is certainly that. Fantastic job checking off all the things that bothered you about your “before” kitchen and giving your 60 year old house a wonderful birthday present with a brand new original looking kitchen!
JivenMama says
How adorable is this!! Bravo on the beautiful, gutsy red floors.
Patty says
Most of us can’t live easily with so many open shelves. Vast improvement and so cute and fun.
Happy cooking in the new stove!
Jenny A. says
Yay for DIY! Your kitchen looks great. Replacing all the cabinet doors made a huge impact. I also like the countertops and your ‘new’ red fridge.
virginia says
LOVE this kitchen and all the great red. In awe of the cabinets alone. Kudos!
miyapiya says
I love, love, love the laminate countertop pattern. It is unusual and so very cool! But I have to say my favorite thing is the red rubber floor, it makes me smile. That was a great original decision on your part!