We’re now — often painfully — accustomed to house flippers whose first step is to strip charming original features to create a ‘blank slate’ that they believe will appeal to today’s potential buyers. But reader Bill, who fixes up and resells old homes in Memphis, Tennessee, recently took the opposite strategy — with immediate success.
He recently completed the remodel of a vintage cottage style home, drawing his inspiration from the one remaining bit of character in the home’s empty kitchen — a model A Vent-A-Hood. After some research, Bill transformed the space into a fun 1950s style kitchen space using white thermofoil-door cabinets, red laminate countertops with chrome edging, a checkerboard VCT floor and vintage Tappan stove.
Bill writes:
I renovate old houses for a living in Midtown Memphis, primarily Victorian cottages and Craftsman bungalows circa 1910-1930. My latest project was a 3 bedroom, 1 bath (actually no bath at the time) frame cottage. I made the middle bedroom into a master closet and 1 1/2 “Jack and Jill” bathrooms. I added a ventless fireplace off Craigslist, new plumbing, etc.
But the star of this show is the kitchen. When I bought it it was a mess with no style whatsoever, but what it did have was a circa 1950 model “A” Vent-A-Hood — a 42″ white canopy with chrome trim and backsplash. The motor sounded like it wanted to work but the “squirrel cage” was clogged with decades of grease, food, lint, and who knows what. Just a few years ago, I would probably have pulled it out and set it on the curb for scrap, but I’ve begun to appreciate old appliances, sinks, etc. more, in part due to Retro Renovation. So I decided to design the kitchen around this great old hood. (Incidentally, Vent-A-Hood makes a modern version of this hood priced over $1,000!)
The next piece of the puzzle was, of course, a vintage range. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a Chambers for several years, looked at a few, but never pulled the trigger. Of course, when I really needed one they were nowhere to be found. But on Craigslist, I did find a circa-1953 Tappan DeLuxe not three miles from the house that was in decent cosmetic and good working condition for $100. I bought it, took it home to my garage and cleaned it up, did some rewiring, freed up the frozen clock gears, and plugged it in. The clock works – and keeps good time! This is not the place for a range renovation story, but I would recommend to anyone with or contemplating a Tappan, to check out the blog called TappanTalk.
- See our story 28 places to buy restored vintage stoves
With the perfect appliances all set to go, I then set out to make sure they were in a good place, so to speak. I scoured Craigslist for metal cabinets but could not find enough in the right dimensions. What I ended up doing was getting white KraftMaid Thermofoil flush door, full overlay with 30″ wall cabinets. They look uncannily like metal. KraftMaid wanted $400 for wall and base curved bookshelves so I just made my own and had paint matched to the exact cabinet color. I also wanted authentic boomerang pulls but, as you may know, they are hard to find and expensive – about $25 each. Although there are reproductions out there, I found some readily available (not boomerang) curved chrome pulls from Amerock from Home Depot. Under $2 apiece. (footnote – a few months later I bought a large set of Youngstown cabinets for less that the 22 pulls alone are worth!)
For the countertops I went with red Formica “self edge” laminate and added 1 1/4″ stainless steel edging from New York Metals. [Pam notes, in looking at this story later, I think this edging is actually New York Metals’ Aluminum edging [not stainless steel] — the aluminum comes in this size, profile and with holes, with the stainless steel does not.] If you do this, make sure the fabricator makes the slabs 1 1/4″ thick, which is not the usual size. After installing the edging I think I now know why you see so many curves in these old kitchens — the edging is easily bent around curves but is a pain to miter for corners. I used a Dremel tool with 1″ cutoff wheels, but it is hard to keep it straight and get clean joints. I opened the wall into the dining room and installed a breakfast bar that looks more like an old time drug store counter.
I would have loved to have a cast iron sink with drainboards but could not find one at the right time, so I just went with a white porcelain over steel double sink. The faucet is a chrome “Classic Series” Delta. Rounding out the retro look are mint green walls, black and white checked VCT floor, “atomic age” ceiling fixtures, and a white GE Artistry Series dishwasher.
The house sold immediately — because of the kitchen. I’ve done some nice kitchens in other houses but, other than one in Craftsman style, they have not been as stylistically coherent as this one. I’m not going to be doing 1910 kitchens and most of the ones I find in my houses are not worth saving, so I’m beginning to think that what’s appropriate for these old houses is to do the kitchen in any period of their lives. After all, the kitchen in a 100-year-old house may have already been redone several times.
Bill, you did a fantastic job on the kitchen. We’re so glad that you found someone who appreciated your hard work so quickly, too. And, we are so glad you found Retro Renovation helpful in your search for materials and that you chose to go against the ‘beige and granite’ trend. Kudos to you for a job well done, and thanks so much for sharing your story here with all of us!
Douglas Camin @ House on Rynkus Hill says
I talk to people who have bought new houses and make all the same assumptions – kitchen has to go the latest and greatest, granite everything, etc. There’s such an untapped market for these vintage-appropriate installations. Pretty awesome you made it work and hope you keep doing it in the future!
Scott says
I like your use of the GE Artistry dishwasher. That whole line fits the style you put into your design. Looks great.
Brandy says
What color paint are the mint walls exactly? I’m looking at painting my walls mint and.it looks like the.perfect shade.
Jay says
This is great! Lately I’ve seen houses in my area come on the market that were probably owned by the the same person for years and sadly are in obvious need of extraordinary work or an estate that needs quick settlement by heirs so a realtor or flipper buys it at a reduced price and sets about tearing it apart knowing a buyer will be wowed by the “new” but probably cheap finishes as these houses sell overnight becuase they look new and shiny. If they only knew what charm might have been removed to make way for blah.
Amanda says
This is oh so very refreshing. I’ve seen too many lovely mid-century homes in Atlanta get the Home Depot special treatment. It was actually a turn off when I was looking for a home a few years ago. The contractor would put in whatever cheap granite, stainless steel appliances, cherry wood cabinets, and greige tile backsplash. I know that’s what some homeowners are looking for, and it can even be done right in some way. But even then, the kitchens usually ended up being a mess of weird browns, black, and reds.
Karin Jeffrey says
Wow. Bill, you have mad skills-your kitchen is incredible! Buyers are finally catching on to retro. This is certainly my dream kitchen, and I love that curved counter. Thank you for the tip about the counter height and edging, I will definitely remember that.
tammyCA says
Nice work! Great to hear there are some flippers who give thought and care to the project & not just throwing in slabs of granite and calling it done.
ChrisH says
Well done Bill,
I agree that kitchens in pre-war houses don’t need to reflect the ear in which the house was built.
Functionally kitchens have changed dramatically since the early 1900s. I think few would want to live with a pre-war kitchen if it were really authentic.
Beautiful job!
Laurie Louise says
Well done, Bill! Now let’s get you a TV show…
Mary Elizabeth says
Kudos both to Bill and to the buyers of his renovated house! I think he did an excellent job and shows great taste and foresight. I’ll bet the new owners are going to be looking for a red-and-white chrome dinette set. It must have been great fun and a confirmation of your efforts to get a buyer so quickly!
I have only one suggestion for you the next time you renovate a mid-century kitchen, and that is to put in a few vintage items–such as red and white or brushed aluminum cannisters on the little shelves. If the people don’t particular care for them, it still gives them an idea of how to utilize those lovely curved shelves that modern homeowners are no longer familiar with. That’s what the sellers of our current 1959 ranch home did with the shelves of my knotty-pine kitchen. They also put up some curtains, which weren’t exactly the color and print I wanted but gave me an idea of what retro styles had always been in the kitchen and would work in there.