Here’s a timeless question: Readers Kate and Tom ask how to approach a Retro Renovation of their 1960s kitchen — which was updated by previous owners in another decade’s style — but, with an eye toward being thrifty and toward resale some day. What is your advice? Note: I’ll let readers comment for a while, then, I will follow up with my thoughts and what I learn from you!
Update: My followup story with my ideas is here.
Kate and Tom write (edited from two emails for flow):
Hiya,
This truly is a great resource! I’m pondering ways to re-vintage our 1960s house, which we bought a couple years ago from a couple who had done painstaking renovations of their own (not the original owners) in the 1990s. The house has their flesh-toned fingerprints all over it, and he was a master woodworker, so it’s a very professional 1990s vibe that we have to contend.
We have both lived in older homes that looked more true to their era, and we long for that midcentury look which seems to match the house’s soul. Here is a photo of the kitchen. We just added paint color but dislike hardware, granite, backsplash.
I’m still just in the visioning stages of trying to picture some remodeling, and need some input about our granite countertops/stainless steel/wood cabinets (cherry? oak) with their wrought iron pulls….Worried about resale value, and expenses just to create an aesthetic when what we’ve got functions well and is “up to date.”
What are your thoughts? How can we accentuate more of that 1960s vibe in a way that won’t detract from potential resale value?
–Kate and Tom in Minneapolis
Readers, what do you think?
How should Kate and Tom approach a Retro Renovation — also with an eye toward resale and unnecessary expenditures?
Vic says
I think you can get the kitchen to look great without and more in tune with the 60s without spending
a fortune. If you are thinking resale, you should not do anything that can’t be reversed or is so customized to your taste that it has limited appeal.
Leave the cabinets alone. If you feel you must change them, just swap out the doors for flat ones. The color of them is fine for the era. Splurge and invest in some great hardware to bring in the 60’s vibe.
The floor could be redone not replaced, think about having it painted like a checkerboard or in big blocks like a inlaid linoleum installation.
Countertop and short backspash – replacing the granite countertop will limit your resale value. Think about replacing the backsplash with four by four tiles in a retro inspired design up to the cabinet line. Pick out one of the colors in the granite to match one of the tile colors for continuity then also can use that color to tie in the floor design.
Bring in the 60s with great curtains, countertop accesories in colors.
Good luck.
Jon says
Leave the cabinets as the focal point. Swap out the handles for a mid-mod bar shape. Replace those noisy countertops with a solid color quartz (then you get the resale value and the retro look). Do a 4×4 tile backsplash in a bold retro color, or do a colorful tile floor. Sticking with quality materials but using colors and textures of the 60s is the key. As much as I love formica and metal edging or retro appliances, they turn buyers off immediately.
Kelly Wittenauer says
This right here!
Carolyn says
Let’s start with low-cost/no cost – leave the cabinetry alone, especially if it’s doing its job and had been done by a craftsman. Your other choices are custom-made which costs a fortune or big-box junk.
Low-cost: change out the drawer pulls plus paint the cabinets (gag) white or cream unless you’re adventurous, then whatever color you wish. If that panel in front of the sink tips out, saw 3 lines in for “ventilation”.
Sell the granite and stainless and put the proceeds toward laminate counters and backsplash as we’ve seen in several stories (if you have a dog or cat to supervise, this seems to go much easier. If not, it can still be done.)
My personal opinion on new fridges is that they are huge contributors to the nation’s food waste. They are too big and too deep. In this instance, they are also out of scale to the room. Because we all like banging our elbow or shoulder on the (naughty words) refrigerator that dominates the traffic flow.
Check out apartment/small space appliances if you can’t find things to match/coordinate each other on craigslist, appliance store trade-ins, ReStores, thrifts, estates, etc.
If, after everyone chimes in, you decide to rip the whole kit&kaboodle out, either sell it or move it to the basement – another option I’ve seen in older homes. Who can’t use an extra oven, especially at holidays or keep the upstairs cool by cooking downstairs during the dog days of summer.
Can’t wait to see what others say here.
Natalie Curtiss says
What an interesting challenge! If this were my project I would start with just the decor of the room to give it more of a retro vibe. It’s hard to see exactly what is in the photo, but it looks like there is some modern decor on the counters and wall above the sink. A vintage 1960s clock (or reproduction) above the sink area and vintage or retro canisters replacing the stainless steel ones on the counter would add some color to the space, brighten it up and add a bit of retro flair without making the space to over-the-top. Changing out the hardware on the cabinets and maybe putting retro wallpaper behind the backsplash area might also help and would be a relatively easy and inexpensive thing to change back, if you need to resell. I do think the bones of the kitchen are quite nice, but there is currently a lot of grey and brown and I would love to see a bit more color. (Of course, my kitchen is bright red and mint green so I’m a bit partial to bright colors. ;-))
Amanda Kretchun says
I think some wall paper, new hardware, and some fun accessories could really help to give the room a vintage vibe without costing a whole lot. The cabinets are lovely and seem similar enough to the wooden ones from the 60s to pull off the look.
Leeann says
I suppose a couple of questions for clarification; you mentioned looking toward ‘resale value’ when doing your kitchen renovations. How quickly are you planning to re sell this home? Is this a house you are flipping? Or are you looking to sell after (ill use a standard long term here) the kids are grown?
This is the first and really big question you need to ask yourselves before you begin, and for the reason you are looking at this kitchen right now: the previous owners made themselves happy with their kitchen. If you are in it for the long haul, I recommend you do the same. The next buyers will ask themselves ‘can I live with this until it’s my turn to gut it?’ Best of luck, and I know you are going to get some killer design advice from everyone at this site!
Carolyn says
Leeann, after reading others’ comments, I realized my first suggestion should have been yours – how long are you planning on staying? Obviously Kate & Tom aren’t happy with what’s in there now, and if they’ll be there longer than 5 yrs, the style should reflect them, not some misty future buyer.
Do any of us buy cars or clothes with an eye to resale? No, we buy things for US and our homes should be OURS – until the next people make it THEIRS.
Beth says
Depending on when your looking at resale would be my first thought….I just sold a house and am pretty sure it wouldn’t have moved without granite countertops. The built in 1952 home I moved into had the original cabinets and as hard as I tried, they weren’t going to be revitalized and saved. My kitchen isn’t true to the 50’s but it’s what I like. The bathroom has its original tile and I have no plans to change it….the walls were torn up so I did cover them with vertical narrow boards….still debating what color to paint them and the walls.
In too many words, guess the bottomline is your house – your rules
Brian Seelar - Retrotomic Antiques says
I would suggest using modern sleek cabinets that have a vintage vibe. Also, use vintage hardware to help with the look. For resale, the hardware could be swapped out easily to modern hardware. The countertops, could be in a light quartz that look better than granite. If they have a accent wall to put up some vintage wallpaper to help with the look. It could be easily taken down in a small area. Rock you’re style.
Stelly says
Leave the counters and cabinets as they are. Change the floor to something more eye-catching and retro (right now the eye is drawn to the counters). Change the cabinet pulls to something more true to the age of the home. Accessorize in bold colors and I’d add something kitschy and retro on the soffit above the cabinets – some plates or cuckoo clocks, or something really unusual. Add some cafe curtains. I would not mess with the updates, or the appliances. There are very few buyers who have a true mid-century appreciation so it would be wasted money, and also environmentally irresponsible to take out perfectly good items.
SS says
The layout looks good, the appliances and the counter tops look good. I would either paint the existing cabinets and put updated hardware on them or get new flat panel doors if you want a wood tone. Replacing the valance above the window with a plain board would give you an instant update. The floor doesn’t look bad I would work with the floor and counters to decide on a cabinet color. You have a lot to work with.