The kitchen in Steven and John’s Palm Springs house — designed by midcentury architect Herbert W. Burns — had been pretty nicely updated, albeit, admittedly “tastefully bland.” Once in the house, there was no question that this creative couple — Steven Keylon is a landscape historian, and John De La Rosa, a metal sculptor — would revive the deserving space with a period kitchen remodel befitting its provenance. Very interesting to me: Steven and John also have been restoring the original colors used inside the house, which drove their choices for the kitchen cabinetry. This level of attention to detail is not something I have seen very often — a true restoration mindset — I’m extremely impressed!
We bought our Herbert W. Burns designed house in the Deepwell Estates neighborhood of Palm Springs two years ago. We actually moved to Palm Springs from Los Angeles for the house!
We had long loved Herbert Burns’ Late Moderne style, and it fit our collection of Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller furniture perfectly.
The house was pretty much a blank slate. It had been a wreck 10 years before, but our friend Jacques Caussin, one of the co-founders of Palm Springs Modernism Week, had bought the house to save it from flippers who didn’t know what they were doing.
Because the kitchen had been badly redone in the 1970s, and that later kitchen was in deplorable shape, he quickly put in an Ikea kitchen with granite countertops, to keep it “tastefully bland,” since he was planning on quickly restoring the original features to flip the house himself.
In the last two years, we’ve been restoring the house, including returning the paint palette to the original colors Herbert Burns chose for the house. One of the primary colors is a wonderful muted pinkish-tan color, he used to harmonize with the Arizona sandstone chimney.
When we bought it, we knew we wanted vintage steel cabinets, but it took two years of searching to find a set nearby. John found a set of pink General Electric cabinets in Beverly Hills, so we rented a big truck and grabbed it all.
We were up against the clock, as our house was scheduled to be on a big tour for a weekend celebrating the work of Herbert Burns, which the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation (PSPF) planned a few weeks ago. I’m on the Board of PSPF, and wrote Burns’ biography for the event.
Sink:
We worked like mad to get the kitchen done in time, and did it, with minutes to spare! We seriously were hanging cabinets an hour before people were going to arrive.
The kitchen was originally GE’s “petal pink,” but had been repainted at some point in the past in a color that was almost identical to Herbert Burns’ pinkish-tan. So we sprayed them in the same color, polished the hardware…
…and had Formica Skylark countertops in gray, with stainless steel trim installed.
Formica boomerang laminate in charcoal, so thrifty too, and in various sizes:
Your blog was a wealth of information, so we thank you! That’s also how we sourced the kitchen faucet. I painted the stainless steel dishwasher to match the cabinets.
Kohler Delafied sink with metal (hudee) ring:
Central Brass kitchen faucet:
Our 1948 Tappan DeLuxe stove was in storage, as was our 1950 Hotpoint refrigerator, so we are happy to have them back again. We’ve still got to work out the vent exhaust situation…
Thank you, Steven — what a great project. Your research also is making me fell the pinky-beige love. I don’t think pinky-beige gets much love. This is literally a “Pinky Beige” in our first-and-best Sherwin Williams Suburban Modern paint color collection. Pinky beige is a fine color!
Nicely played.
Jennifer says
This is such a beautiful outcome, obviously a great labor of love. Thanks for sharing it.
Dan O. says
This house is now museum-worthy, great job. Early postwar modernism is so subtle that you really need period colors to get the full effect, doesn’t get any more period-correct than pinky-tan and chartreuse. That your typical flipper would have no idea what to make of this place is the best possible compliment.
Carol says
What love to know how you painted the cabinets. Type of paint, brush or roll, etc.. I have fear of paint chipping off of them.. I have some that need re painting but can’t find anyone to paint them in my home.
Pam Kueber says
Be sure to Renovate Safe — https://retrorenovation.com/renovate-safe/
STEVEN KEYLON says
Thanks Carol! Both John and I have a lot of experience with spraying paint and lacquer. We had the color mixed and sprayed it on the cabinets ourselves at home. It’s an epoxy-based undercoat, and then I sprayed them all with four coats of nitrocellulose lacquer. The benefit to that being that the clear finish can be renewed periodically without stripping the cabinets again.
Julie says
Stunner! Love that you re-located just for the house, and I have so much respect for the true restoration effort. It’s beautiful!
Nikki says
Hello Steven and John! What a knockout renovation, the historical accuracy is astounding. And how gorgeous is Palm Springs, it’s killing me (on the cloudy east coast) to see the sun and the blue sky. Hope we get to see more pictures.
Lynda says
This kitchen is just wonderful. I agree with everything already said. Just a joy to see this very creative and perfect kitchen redo. (The Ikea was not bad, just not quite perfect!)
Cynthia says
I love the chartreuse and pink combo! Fantastic and so eye-catching. Well done! The kitchen is beautiful!
STEVEN KEYLON says
Thank you Cynthia! I never would have thought to put those two colors together, and it took some convincing to get John to agree to it. But now that it’s done, we both love it. Herbert Burns did some very interesting color combinations, he really knew what he was doing.
Wendellyn says
I know you guys already know this, but what a wonderful kitchen!
Wow!!
Eartha Kitsch says
Steven and John are the best! Houses are definitely better off for having known them. Beautiful job, guys! As if we had any doubt…. xo!
STEVEN KEYLON says
Thanks Eartha Mae!!!! XOXOXOXO
Gretchen in Greenwood says
Fantastic job of giving this house thekitchen it deserved! Not to be greedy-but is there any chance we can see the rest of the house?
STEVEN KEYLON says
Thank you! I’m happy to show you the rest of the house anytime!