Mary and Duane’s 1948 time capsule house is a sweet little Cape Cod. Quintessentially post-war New England, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a Royal Barry Wills. I need to go through all my books and see if I can find the plan — wouldn’t that be something? Oh. I’m writing about the kitchens. Yes: This house may be small — but this house is mighty! There is an original kitchen downstairs… and a second equally useful kitchen upstairs. Both have original vintage steel cabinets — and more.
The main kitchen downstairs:
The downstairs kitchen is most notable for its fantastic stainless steel combination countertop + double sinks + backsplash. This must have been SOMETHING back in the day! Remember, the original owner was a plumbing contractor, we are told, so we see lots of little extra something in this house.
This is my third story on Mary and Duane’s house. The other two:
The original metal cabinets remain. I can’t identify the maker on sight, I might be able to find these in my vintage marketing materials. Don’t hold your breath, though, my piles have piles.
No more photos of this kitchen. The rest of the space is taken up by a small kitchen table ‘where I’m standing while taking this photo’. As you can see, the original flooring is still in place, and the stove and refrigerator have been updated.
But wait til you see…
The upstairs kitchen:
Above: An original steel sink cabinet unit with dual-drainboard enameled sink.
To the left of the sink, a vintage Universal stove!
To the right of the sink: A cute little vintage GE refrigerator.
To the right of the refrigerator, there’s a door to storage in the attic eaves. But lookie close: There’s a can opener attached to the door frame!
Photo dump:
Note: A while back, I did a lot of research going through brochures. The most popular color for countertops in the 1940s, I decided: Black. These countertops are some sort of plastic or vinyl or… ? … mashup. They are not laminate.
Floor is original. Molly let me help her choose colors for new paint in various parts of the house. In this room, I recommended a beige that was found in the floor tile (she wanted something neutral). The new color looks very nice!
Bonus photos: Vintage Maytag in the mudroom downstairs. Doggonit: Even the washers were prettier back then!
Alison says
My sister’s house in Seattle circa 1948 also had two kitchens originally, upstairs and down. The original owners lived in the semi-daylight basement and rented out the upstairs. I don’t know how that worked for zoning or code compliance because the downstairs didn’t originally have large enough windows in the bedrooms for fire egress, but it sure was frugal!
Sue K. says
Re: Countertops: There is also a material that has been around since WW2 called “Richlite”. It is still manufactured today. (We used it in our new house, just not on the countertops.)
You can look at their website:
http://www.richlite.com/applications/residential-countertops/
Pam Kueber says
Woah, very cool! Thanks for the tip!
Sue K. says
🙂 No Problem!
Alison says
Sue K., I have heard of Richlite, I believe many school science classrooms have it in the lab areas. May I ask, what did you use it for other than counters?
Sue K. says
Although I LOVE mid-century modern, not having the fortitude as some of you guys to undertake a renovation of an original 40’s-50’s home, we built a ‘modernist’ style house when we downsized. We used black Richlite as a back splash in the kitchen and also on some walls as an accent. (With maple cabinetry.) Thanks for asking! 🙂
Jane says
I think some of the black countertops were linoleum.
Amber Dawn says
My kitchen is from 1948, but was updated in the 60’s. We assume that the original floor laminate was a VERY interesting, almost rainbow-colored design that we still have in the cabinets. It’s so different that I don’t even know what to call the pattern.
CAN ANYONE HELP IDENTIFY IT?
https://flic.kr/p/e6kvf6
https://flic.kr/p/e6rbgW
Note that the big black areas on the bottom shelf are not part of the design, but instead where the top layer has worn away revealing a rubber-like base. There is, however, a bit of black (and a lot more grey) mixed in with the original design, seen mostly in tact on the top shelf.
It tested negative for Asbestos. I don’t want to peel it up again to double check, but I remember it saying “Congoleum-Nairn” on the bottom. It is most likely from when the house was built in 1948.
Pam Kueber says
Very pretty. So many patterns… needle in haystack maybe. Gold star for asbestos testing!
Amber Dawn says
Is “Needle in a haystack” the name of that type of pattern, or the nature of my search???
That laminate is the reason I discovered this website, which was the reason we had it tested for asbestos. From what I read, it was a surprise to find it was negative!
Amber Dawn says
I found it!! Congoleum by-the-yard Gold Seal Flooring, “Sequin” in Cloud Grey. From the 1955 Catalog. (Assuming it was available in the late 40’s as well.)
https://archive.org/stream/GoldSealFloorsAndWalls_808/GoldSealFloorsAndWalls0001#page/n89/mode/2up
Pam Kueber says
haha, yes, “needle in a haystack” was the nature of the search — but you found it!
Jacquelyn says
I’m smitten!!! Both kitchens are to die for!!!!
MB Higgins says
We had a stove with the burner that retracted into the stove, too. The original crockpot, I guess!
Pam Kueber says
Yup: The original crockpot!
Cindy says
That is the piece I am missing from my old stove and am needing a replacement.
Jamie says
Love the little upstairs kitchen, that attic space could make a wonderful finished large pantry!
valerie says
the best happppppppy happy home.
Sue says
What a treat it is to see those kitchens and appliances! Some of the appliances remind me of my little plastic sink and stove that came with my Marx metal dollhouse. I swear that even as a kid, I was enamored with my mid century mod toy kitchen while I was actually growing up with the real kitchens around me! Thank you for sharing with us!!
Donal steinbach says
No no, Just get a long cutting, preparing board or glass cutting board. My aunt had a 1950 kitchen white and pale yellow I remembered I just loved it. It’s really nice to see people keep the original home, just brings back so many good memories when you enter there home …