“We have been told that the kitchen is a cross between ‘Betty Crocker’ and a morgue,” reader Alan says, adding a “haha” in his email to us. But maybe… not so funny. So today, a Retro Design Dilemma: Let’s help Alan with ideas to make his 1953 kitchen more homey, less clinical. Ooo la la: Lookie all the Vitralite glass wall tile — this one will be fun!
Alan writes:
Help! We have an original 1953 kitchen featuring Apple Green Vitralite glass tile. The tile is in almost perfect condition — but we’re at a loss as to what to do with it. Part of me says “gut” and start over, but many tell us to “save the Vitralite.”
We’ve been in the house for five years and have been stumped for five years as to what to do with this kitchen! The green Vitralite is so overwhelming — even though we’re used to it. We have been told that the kitchen is a cross between “Betty Crocker” and a morgue. haha.
Above: Adjacent laundry room, with more of the tile, and some black trim.
Nom nom, we adore that vintage Vitralite! Hmmm… We spy a very interesting-looking clock in the initial photos that Alan sends and ask him for some closeup. Oh my word, look at this stunner:
Alan replies:
And yes, the clock in the soffit… omg, it’s wild. At 12, 3, 6, and 9, it shows pictures of what families in the 1950s should be doing! 3 p.m. is playtime… 6 p.m. is dinner… 9 p.m. is dancing… and 12 p.m. is sleep!
I’d love you to help update this kitchen by giving us some ideas about countertops and floors! Currently, the counter tops are a Formica that is probably late 70’s — off white and a mess. The floors are a “plastic” laminate – trying to look like hardwood.
Our thought is to replace/upgrade the counters with stone (but we can’t figure out what that would go with the green vitralite), replace the cabinet hardware, remove the original light fixtures and install can lighting, replace the gold dishwasher for stainless, replace the white stove for stainless and call it a day! We just cant figure out what to do with countertops and the floor.
Vitrolite bathroom!
Readers, let’s hear your ideas for this Retro Design Dilemma:
- Okay, readers: Let’s hear your ideas for this dilemma! We will be back tomorrow morning with our design board and analysis.
Jenée Libby says
…….and keep the cabinets as is. They are perfect.
Jenée Libby says
DO NOT GET RID OF THE VITRALITE! It’s giving me life! So jealous. How gorgeous is that?
I’d replace the counter with a nice cream yellow formica, replace the stove, fridge, and hood with more retro items, and go with a neutral speckled floor laminate, midcentury style, with maybe some green or yellow to pick up the colors in the counter and walls.
Some nice kitchen curtains would look great as well. Get rid of the ceiling fan. Not sure if that light fixture is original or not, but it kind of doesn’t go. I’d replace that with something more suitable.
Also like Jennifer’s suggestions to search Jadeite kitchens and using ruby red and black trim with the yellow. It won’t look like Christmas, kitchens and bathrooms in the 1930’s had a lot of green…
Jennifer says
I tried to comment before, but don’t see the comment at the moment. I also tried to add links to lots of web pages with pictures of Vitrolite kitchens–which maybe isn’t allowed 🙂 At any rate, do a Google image search for “Vitrolite” “Art Deco Kitchens” and “streamline” moderne, and you should get lots of hits. What I saw in those was a lot of mixing of yellow and green, with ruby red (and it doesn’t look like Christmas), black accents–and a tendency to have a bit more contrast on the walls–with liner tiles or paint above a certain height.
Even a search for “jadeite” kitchens–though most won’t have the large (and gorgeous, BTW) Vitrolite tiles, will give you some sense of the color schemes others have used with that background color.
Looking forward to seeing what Pam and Kate come up with.
pam kueber says
With a lot of links, ya mighta got caught in the spam catcher. I’ll see if it’s there…
pam kueber says
Yikes. We spelled Vitrolite incorrectly. Guess we will get the google juice for Vitralite!
Also, found a photo of a yellow Vitrolite bathroom we featured on the blog a while back! Will add it to the story in a moment.
Diane in CO says
I would start with Green/White/Black as your concept and palette. Love the black stripe, but I might not go with black on the countertops, but use black somewhere, like the b/w floor suggested or add a black band to the kitchen tile as well, if possible. Consider white countertops like Blizzard Caesarstone (I have – LOVE!) with black countertop appliances. Since tile is so shiny, I might select all the new materials in matte or low luster finishes for contrast.
On second thought, a friend has Wilsonart laminate countertops in a black/charcoal matte color and it’s smashing. That might be a good look — and paint the cabinets a grayish-white (not yellowy-white).
And, I didn’t see morgue – saw veterinary clinic! Seriously, though, I think the vitrolite is unique and you can definitely work with it to make your kitchen very swanky. 🙂
Diane in CO says
The smashing laminate is Wilsonart “Oiled Soapstone.” It reads “black” in the room but is much softer and has “shadowing” – hard to describe. I liked the look so much I used it for the vanity top in a small black-and-white bathroom redo. It’s so good-looking!
Just to add – If you paint cabinets white, include door jambs and then paint all the doors black! (Scroll these gorgeous pics in Houzz article on the snazziness of black doors http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/29576535?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u579&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery8 ) Your laundry room door going to the outside will be terrific in black!
Bette Jean says
My front door is black on the exterior and I thought about painting the interior black, but wasn’t sure. Now I am…thanks for the idea and the link.
Maria says
PSS
Personal pet peeve: non counter depth fridges. The old ones of this era did not stick out into the room – and if you put this one in the garage you will still have plenty of fridge space and the whole room will open up!
Be careful of the idea of putting down a checkerboard floor, it would repeat the grid pattern you already have going on the walls, which IMHO is a lot already. If you repeat the grid pattern anywhere I’d make it on a much smaller scale. (It’s one of the reasons the windows look busy.)
Yes, you can make your dishwasher white with either a new panel or appliance paint.
I agree picking a new dishwasher given the choices today is hard (GE Artistry again would be one to look at). I wasn’t sure what to do given I have pink appliances, so I decided on a white Bosh with hidden controls. I watched CL till I found one (they can be cheap because people pull new ones out to put in stainless when buying a house) and got it for pennies on the dollar. Later, if I decide I want it pink, it’s easy to paint. Even if it’s already installed it can be painted in place electrostatically (been there, done that worked great).
Hailey says
I would probably take down some of the tile, maybe the upper half of the wall without cabinets, and wallpaper it with something vintage (Hannah’s Treasures on etsy is a good place to start). I would definitely bring in some yellow, and either red or turquoise (depending on how “minty” the green is, it’s a little hard to tell in the pictures). I think just changing the flooring to something lighter would go a long way in brightening it up.
Heidi Swank says
Counters: I would stay with formica but go with a lighter shade of the same green. Our kitchen has a grey counter and backsplash and it looks great. But then you shouldn’t have green anywhere else.
Flooring: I agree with the person who said to do a black and white checkerboard floor. I would use 12″x12″ or 16×16 tiles for this. And then put in a black trim around the floor.
Light Fixtures: Get rid of the ceiling fan. All these things do in a kitchen is spread cooking grease around. I LOVE the vintage fixture in there.
Windows: Get rid of the window with the fake muntins in it. Try to keep to the look of the original windows. And try to avoid vinyl windows. They just don’t last.
Appliances: I am personally a big fan of stainless. We had a vintage thermador stainless cooktop and bought a vintage thermador wall oven to match it. But I think that white appliances could also look really good here. I’ve just never found a white dishwasher that I like.
Cabinets: Keep them just the way they are, handles and all. I just spent a bunch of money to have mine put back in after several unfortunately remodels. What you have is beautiful!
Kitchen Table: The one end of the kitchen with the cool radiator/vent cover calls out for a high kitchen table with two stools. A high table wouldn’t obstruct the heat flow but would give that end of the room something to do.
TLK says
The other very important thing that kitchen ceiling fans do is keep me from dying when I have a hot flash from hell while preparing meals. I say keep them! The’ve been around for ages.
Dan says
More thoughts: Bring in another color, but not red – too Christmassy. I would go with a butternut yellow or pumpkin orange. (Fall is here!) Use that for your countertop. Sheet marmoleum in a neutral for the floor with an accent border to match the countertop. I would still paint trim and doors to blend in with the wall tile.
A stone counter would look completely out of place.
You say the dishwasher is gold. (I don’t see it in any of the pics.) If it still works fine, could you have it refinished in white? If so, I’ll bet you could make some of the other changes suggested here and live happily with a white stove and dishwasher and stainless fridge.
Au33delarue says
As Dan says “the vitrolite is not the problem – there are just too many other things going on in this kitchen, including two wood tones, two styles of window, two styles of ceiling fixture, and different color appliances. Embrace the vitrolite and simplify everything else”.
I would not add more green, the vitralite is really nice but more green would be too much.
I am not a fan of green and red scheme. I prefer green/white and black. As extra colors, I would try a deep blue (Klein Blue) if you get ride off some tiles above the doors and the windows or on the ceiling, and lemon yellow for the towels.
I really like the black trim in the laundry room so I would install a black countertop, to match
For the floor, it could be a checked pattern, in white and black.
I would keep the furnitures but I would paint them in white.
Hope it would help you and sorry for my english !
Katie says
Figure out something for the floor so it isn’t the same color as the cabinets. New countertops, maybe in a lemon yellow or cream. Keep the cabinets as they are, including the pulls. Don’t change the lighting, nothing will ever look as well as what is in there now. White or black appliances, no stainless in this kitchen.