Today — our fourth design board to create a 1940s style kitchen. This one uses Lauryn and Dennis’ 1939 super-successful kitchen makeover as inspiration. The key starting point: Buttercream yellow cabinets.
Inspiration: Lauryn and Dennis’ 1939 sunny kitchen makeover
- Red trim cafe curtains from Country Curtains (company now closed)
- Black porcelain “Rufus” wall sconce from Rejuvenation
- Walls are painted in Alabaster by Sherwin Williams, a warm white
- “Sunnyside” wallpaper from Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpaper
- Backsplash tile — B&W Tile 4″ x 4″ field tile in White, trimmed with 2″ x 6″ bullnose in black.
- I love the idea of adding coordinating liner tile — how about a B&W liner made up in black field, buttercream flourish, and maroon diamond dot?
- Vintage buttercream and rich red metal kitchen canisters from PrairieVintageFinds on etsy.com
- Countertops — Black Alicante laminate countertops from Wilsonart
- How about a Strom Plumbing old fashioned style faucet
- Kohler Delafield sink with hudee ring
- Cabinet pulls in Chrome from Hickory Hardware American Diner collection
- Original wood cabinets are painted in Sherwin Williams Belvedere Creme — and remember: Yellow can be the very trickiest color to get right — see this story on LRVs and why
- Metal trim from New York Metals — 1 3/16 tee moulding, 3/4 inch tee moulding, and mirror moulding
- Vintage red Cosco kitchen stool from etsy seller Salvage Dreams
- GE Artistry retro-styled stove, refrigerator and dishwasher (update: discontinued) — hey, we know these may be a bit too modern for ’40s, but they are relatively compact and have a look that close enough
- Dimunitive gray dinette from etsy seller TNTvintiques
- Armstrong sheet linoleum in Cherry Red
Other stories to look for 1940s kitchen ideas:
- Our mood board #1, anchored by white cabinets
- Our mood board #2, anchored by wood cabinets
- Our mood board #3, anchored by steel cabinets
- Lauryn and Dennis’ sunny 1940s kitchen makeover
- Dave and Frances’ 1938 kitchen
- See how the tile is done on the wall in Kristen’s original 1940s kitchen.
- Maile displays her dishware beautifully in glass-front wall cabinets in her 1940s style kitchen.
- Vintage metal cabinets are appropriate, too — and lookie the best cafe curtains ever in David’s kitchen.
See all of our 1940s kitchen design boards here
Jody says
Has anyone used the Belvedere cream paint color? I love how it look on the kitchen photos, but the sample is very apricot looking. I want that creamy butter color. I actually have the original cracked ice countertop with the teal trim. I love it.
Pat says
If I didn’t have original oak floors in kitchen, I would definitely go with red. My kitchen has a 40’s look, lots of red accents and an original Cosco stool. Every house we purchased has had an ALL yellow kitchen and we immediately repainted it with white cabinets and creamy yellow walls. I cannot handle yellow EVERYWHERE, including the ceiling, lol!
lorraine says
Beautiful and sunny! I just finished my own kitchen (tried to upload photos but they didn’t appear 🙁 I went for a more “country-farm house look since I’m in the country in the woods.
Eliza says
ha! I have those same country curtains in my kitchen right now and I’ve been struggling to decide what to do with the walls to go with them. I had just looked at this page and thought “that yellow on the cupboards would actually look ok with my red and white curtains”, then scrolled down to see my curtains! I had actually been debating about going with a wallpaper like the one shown but I dread the thought of taking off the wallpaper that is there now, after taking it off it’s hard to put it back up again.
Birgitte says
Ha! My husband and I was just talking about this kitchen last night as something we wanted to use for our own tiny, tiny 40s kitchen.
Yellow is tricky indeed! I can’t believe that Belvedere Creme is so dark in the samples and so light on the cabinets. I wonder if it would be too dark for us. Our kitchen is so small that the fridge is in the hallway.
Debbie in Portland says
I really, REALLY love that floor! I’m trying to do a 1940’s-style kitchen in my 1923 house, and have been totally stumped by the floor style. This has the “swirly” marbleized look that was so popular then.
Robin, NV says
This is definitely my favorite of the bunch! I love a sunny yellow kitchen with red accents. I think the GE Artistry appliances look perfect!
lynda says
Very pretty. I think the “Costco” stool from Etsy is a Cosco brand.
There are some newly made retro looking stools from Cosco still made.
pam kueber says
Good catch, lynda. We will fix this typo right away. Thank you!