Who was the most influential residential architect of the 20th Century that you never heard of? Royal Barry Wills. Who was the most influential residential interior designer of the 20th Century that you never heard of? Hazel Dell Brown. I wonder if they ever met each other. If I had a dinner party time machine, these two would be At The Top of My List! Above: Let’s discuss Anatomy of a Kitchen Design — Hazel Dell Brown for Armstrong Linoleum, Kitchen Design 1941.
Mrs. Dell Brown was an Indiana art teacher / supervisor hired in the 1920s by Armstrong to create aspirational rooms for their advertising. To understate it: She knew how to pull together a room.
In this little piece of 1941 taffy delight, she shows us how to judiciously combine colors with a bit of eye-popping pattern — polka dots done positive and negative in two colorways, oh my! — to create a happy, airy kitchen.
Hey, there’s even room for the Mrs. of the house to write a novel in between her time spent cooking and sewing up some more … ruffled upholstery.
Dell Brown also gives us an alternate color pattern that includes a ceiling “painted delphinium blue”. I have just decided: Somewhere in my house, I need a ceiling painted delphinium blue. Note: The mood board above illustrates how ya build a room’s color/design palette: START WITH YOUR PATTERN. In this case, it’s the plaid on the curtain. Ya pull all the colors for your room from that first piece. Ta da. Thank you, Mrs. DB!
- Do you remember the story I did about the drawings of Louisa Kostich Cowan, the protege of Hazel Dell Brown?
lynda says
What a cute, tidy room. Today’s houses, in addition to a kitchen, have a designated office and a sewing/craft room!
sherree says
My 1952 ranch home has a huge window (5 1/2 feet wide) in the hall bathroom / laundry room made of those glass blocks. The very center has a tiny window that opens for ventilation. I love how much light it lets in without having to worry about privacy.
Eliza says
This makes me wonder – what happened to these old floors with these cool designs? Did homeowners really use these cool designs? I never see anything like these, and would think that at least a few would have survived. Our family home was built in 1950 and had those shiny asbestos tiles, the kind you find in old high schools.
CarolK says
Recently I saw an episode of Restored on the DIY Network where Brett uncovered the original linoleum in a 100 year old house. He asked the couple if he could restore it and they said yes! The lino looked lovely and did have some of these details of design shown in the top photos. Linoleum will last and last if properly taken care of.
Mary Elizabeth says
“Linoleum will last and last if properly taken care of.” Yes, I remember helping my mom properly take care of it growing up. You need to sweep up several times a day (tracked in sand and grit can stay there), wash and wax it once a week, then watch the discoloration from the wax accumulate around the edges. This is where striping the wax comes in. I think we did it four times a year. Then the chemicals in the wax stripper (unless you use the vinegar and cream of tartar formula, which she didn’t know about then) damage the surface of the floor so that you then have to re-seal it with a special sealer recommended by the manufacturer. My dad did most of the DIY work at home, but I remember my mom’s glee at ripping up the old linoleum so he could replace it with easier to clean no-wax vinyl tile. I admire the folks on this site who have uncovered and restored linoleum floors. They are committing to a daily relationship with that floor.
Retroski says
New Marmoleum linoleum is much easier to care for. It comes with a sealant TopShield coat.
https://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/Learning-Center/Flooring-Marmoleum-LC/How-to-Maintain-Marmoleum
Mary Elizabeth says
Thanks for that info. Marmoleum is not the squishy floor covering that can be cut accidentally with a knife, is it?
I assume, however, that when one restores the original linoleum you have to take care of it 1950s style. 🙂
linoleummy says
At the back of the flooring store where catalogs of commercial stuff is you can find linoleum. Look for Armstrong or Forbo (marmoleum) or Johnsonite. Probably rings of samples there too. Like the song says, “love at first feel” ! The store can tell you who can Install it or the manufacturer will have a list online. The guy that the store recommended to me had a lot of pictures of his work which had some complicated multiple color inlays.
Directly after install I applied 3 coats of acrylic per Armstrong’s instructions and that keeps wear & tear down. And keeping a dust mop nearby.
Carolyn says
I’m not going to go so far as “cool” designs but the house I grew up in had two tiles in from the wall of light with green splatters, then one course of dark green with light splatters and the center light again. That, for sure, was the dining room and possibly the living room also (Mom decided to put peel & stick carpet down in the late ’60’s) but I really can’t remember the foyer. Likely it was there when my parents bought it in 1956. Built in the early 1900’s, I think, as a riverside cottage (how we fit 6 kids and 2 adults?!), it had a cistern (I think, although I remember my dad kept his minnows in there) and another outside near the house.
So, yes, at least one modest home used linoleum tile to fancy up floors.
KStacey says
Oh WOW. I have a wall in my breakfast nook the same size of that window wall, which has been plaguing me. Paint? Wallpaper? No, GLASS BLOCK THE WHOLE THING. Brilliant! And I just happen to have a palette of salvaged PINK glass block in my garage… (Oh my husband is gonna LOVE this one!)
Marilyn says
If you do the pink glass please share…I lived in a two story townhouse from the 1940’s with a whole two story wall of that glass and I loved it. I would love to see pink done.
KStacey says
Well it’s going in somewhere. Always best to buy your building materials, and then decide what to do with them, no? Haha! I had thought an interior dividing wall, but now I have to figure out how to talk my husband into this amazeballs idea! (and my “talk” I mean, well… ahem.)
Jay says
Pam, the old sketches and/or photos of the vintage kitchens you share are the cat’s meow. Who wouldn’t want a glass block wall full of geraniums – a “taffy delight”. Nothing says 40s like the glass block and inlaid flooring, the streamlined modern look before MCM went full tilt.
Rick S says
The Armstrong company has been doing the same kitchen design layouts highlighting their products for years. I remember seeing them in the Better Homes & Gardens and others in the 60s-70s and most likely later.
Armstrong had a way of incorporating their flooring into bathrooms and sunrooms and family rooms in stylish ways. I want to look at the Armstrong archives now.
Pam Kueber says
Yes, it all started with Hazel Dell Brown.
lynda says
Yes, and in the 70’s, Armstrong owned Founders Furniture and would feature the furniture in the flooring ads. I wrote to them about some of the furniture and they replied with the names of the pieces and where I could buy them. I bought a Founder’s wall unit with woven rattan on some of the doors. The wood was light elm. It is still in use today in our home.
Kathryn Asbahr says
I need to save this one! They really knew how to utilize space very efficiently. Kitchens were really a women’s space then and they incorporated everything in there. Love the use of the pull-out shelf for the typewriter. The use of the glass block to pull in as much light as possible it brilliant. I am building the putz houses as quarter inch scale dollhouses with interiors and lighting. This kitchen will go into one of them. We are going to have a whole neighborhood under the tree this year.
Retroski says
I totally love this room too! It’s so workable and such a great layout of combinations and textures…you could also easily adapt this layout in a modern 21st century kitchen, like that nifty desk area, only imagine a laptop/tablet/charging areas, inspiration boards and one’s cleverly stored work accessories there. And maybe a “creating” area in place of the sewing machine for any creative hobby.
This would be ingenious for a SAHM–or any parent–who works from home since it provides a dedicated workspace AND helps you to be right there when it’s time to switch to parenting mode.
Or anybody, who works from home and needs to maximize space.
Karin says
This kitchen would be amazing to work in. The colours and styling are gorgeous. I don’t believe I have ever seen a window inserted into a glass brick wall before.
Lynne says
I have a 1942 Sherwin Williams paint and interior decorating guide. Its a great big, oversized counter book from a store I think. There are pages full of decorated rooms, and it gives the colors that were used. Interior and exterior. Gorgeous book. It has the actual paint chip for Delphinium Blue glued in it. It was a special mix color.
Pam Kueber says
WOW!
Lynne says
I could try to send you some pictures, if you’d like.
Kathy says
#4 in the mood board above is a sample of what delphinium blue looks like. Pretty color, quite intense for a ceiling, but could be dramatic!
Janet in ME says
Several things about this kitchen really jumped out at me. I absolutely adore the glass bricks, or do we call them cubes now? But I don’t think they would work in the frigid cold of New England. I wonder if she designed this kitchen with herself in mind, with the desk workspace and typewriter. And keeping the sewing machine right handy is so typical of housewives back then. There is a lower cabinet and dropped down counter to the left of the sink, and I think I see a stand mixer there. This was also a typical “concentrated” workspace as she calls it, but what we would now consider “dedicated” This lower counter area is perfect for people who knead bread and do a lot of hand mixing – easier on the back. The house across the street from me was custom built for a home economics high school teacher and she had an L kitchen with one long counter space just like it. The description under the photo says it uses “Rose Coral Linowall” which must have also been one of Armstrong’s products – I love that color. I always wondered how they put that floor down. Did they have to make a lot of seams for the inset borders? There must have been a lot of skilled floor installers back then! Very interesting design and designer, thanks Pam.
Pam Kueber says
There are still folks today who will do linoleum cuts like the ones shown here… a real art form, I think…
Retroski says
Yes, Marmoleum comes in sheets and can be installed like that, but the trick is to find someone who can do it. I considered Marmoleum Click flooring (linoleum tiles that click together) which is a somewhat similar look but doable for DIY install, and comes in lots of colors, too!