Yesterday we took a look at two rockin’ 1970s-style bedrooms that Ben Sander designed for a client. Today: The apartment kitchen and bathroom, equally amazingly transformed — and glory be: using World of Tile tile scooped up before WOT closed. I repeat (and forewarn): “Statement interiors” are not for the faint of design heart, so prepare your eyeballs for some eye-popping style.
From 1980s blah to 1970s fabulous — the kitchen before and after
Ben Sander describes the project:
My client didn’t want to spend as much on the kitchen. To keep costs down, we reused the melamine cabinets, which were in perfectly good shape. We removed them, pulled up the old tile floor and put down sale tile from World of Tile. I found an amazing deal on enough vintage wallpaper to do over the entire room on Craigslist, then got the idea to paper the ceiling as well in a gingham pattern vinyl found on eBay. We put it up on the diagonal. The stove and dishwasher are the GE Artistry line that I discovered right here on RR. When we reinstalled the cabinets, we painted the honey colored oak edge pulls in a green enamel to match the laminate counters, which are Decotone Surfaces Verde Acido.
A granitized 80s bathroom — gone disco
Ben tells all:
The master bath was the single most expensive room in the remodel. It’s totally tricked out in World of Tile, top to toe. Chippy helped us collect the wall tiles and all the associated trim pieces for windows, bull nose, soap dishes and toothbrush holders, as well as the beautiful floor tiles that look like the inside of a blast furnace. I had the vanity custom made and clad in glossy laminate, with a top in the suede texture. We kept the existing bath tub to save money, but put in all new fixtures from Vola. The original bath faucet was designed in 1968 by Arne Jacobsen, and the line has subsequently been expanded to include both bath and kitchen fixtures in a variety of colors. That original faucet has been copied endlessly and is now somewhat ubiquitous in chrome. What makes the fixtures we used special is the color. You’ll notice we also used the black and white Chevron wallpaper in here.
We love the amazing creativity and design daring — thank you, Ben, for sharing!
Link Love:
I didn’t think I would like this and I was right; I LOVE this! The kitchen takes me back to my 70s childhood in a good way, just missing the brick laminate on the floor. And I totally dig the Studio 54 bathroom- so fun!
Oh yeah! I was there, and remember these rooms…
That’s because you’re defining retro as a very narrow era. This is The Seventies. Milo Baughman and Hollywood Regency. A lot of what younger Retro Renovators think of as Fifties or Sixties is actually from the Seventies, by far the grooviest of post war periods.
Yes, as we like to say, “There is more than one way to retro!” Our 12 archetypes (and even so, missing a few new ones that have come up!) https://retrorenovation.com/2014/06/09/vintage-retro-design-style/
Well done, Ben! You showed us how to have to have some design fun without spending a fortune.
That green kitchen is fabulous! Painting those horizontal cabinet strips green was a stroke of genius. And that bathroom is brilliant in more ways than one.
This is full of happiness! Great work.
How did you get your cabinets green? Love it!
I appreciate the idea of restoring & adding a little flair. This pic gave me so many ideas how to add a little flair to my kitchen. Keep these pics rolling!????
Beautiful green kitchen! This pic won me over to the possibilities! Love this so much that I’m looking for homes with these cabinets!
Love, love, love the green kitchen!
But please, folks, for the love of all that’s holy, **never** put curtains anywhere close to a stove like this! It’s just begging for a fire.
Neither cute nor beautiful is worth risking your life and those of your loved ones for – not to mention your home.
Wendy
interior designer/aging-in-place specialist and retired paramedic
I generally don’t allow readers to give safety advice but I will leave this up as another issue for readers to be aware of. Readers, consult with pros about safety issues like this.