Lately my head has been full of kitchen renovation dreams as I think that maybe, possibly, this could be the year of my much fantasized about kitchen reno! Fingers crossed.
I know the popular thing in kitchen renovating is to tear out old cabinets and install something new, but I have a special fondness for my 1940s original cabinets. I think more people should give them a chance. Given the right touches, I think they can look downright stunning. Like in the little gem above from Better Homes & Gardens, for instance.
So in an effort to bring vintage kitchen cabinets back I present the first of a new weekly feature, the vintage kitchen.
p.s. For those of you wondering what the heck happened to the Your Money or Your Life Book Club last week, I apologize for taking an unannounced week off. We'll be back on schedule with a new post this weekend.
I have to admit that we are one of those "tear out the old" and in with the new cabinets. In our defense, they were horribly 80's. And we adore sleek and modern. And our reno cost maybe $4k at most. So basically I'm trying to sit here and justify spending that sort of cash because I'm vain and not a fan of vintage 80's.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I look forward to seeing more in this series...and even more want to see you renovate your kitchen!
You were able to do a whole kitchen remodel with new cabinets for $4k? Wowza! I need to know your secrets! Seriously, you should blog this if you haven't already. Inquiring minds wanna know more!
DeleteOh and I couldn't live with just *any* cabinets either. Mine look like the ones above, which have really grown on me in the seven years I've lived here. They're still super sturdy and functional which are two more pluses.
DeleteMy house still has its original built in cabinets from the 1950's. Every year I fantasize about remodeling the kitchen... or even just restoring it. It was originally done in turquoise and copper, but half of the copper stuff was ripped out and replaced with chrome/silver... and the copper tiles were removed and replaced with white... half of the counters are original, but there's one section that's a cream color. The vinyl floor tiles were once white with flecks of copper and turquoise, but now they're hopelessly yellowed. Result... NOTHING matches. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking that even a fresh coat of paint would help, but in truth the floor is the part that really needs attention. But I'm far too cheap to pay anyone to work on it, and when I start to think about trying to do it myself... well in pretty short order I decide that I can live with it!
Frugal or just lazy... hard to tell sometimes!
I'm frugal AND lazy, and don't do well with messes and chaos, which is why I haven't done much to the kitchen in the seven years I've lived here. Maybe this year...
DeleteI also have cabinets (from the '50s) like the ones in the pictures. I love them because they have no crevices to catch greasy dust--you just have to deal with the top edge (plus anything that just drips down the side). And I love how the top ones go all the way to the ceiling. Sure, I might not be able to reach the stuff on the top shelves without a chair, but there's plenty of storage space for those lesser-used items and they are hidden away and protected behind the doors.
ReplyDeleteMy colors also don't match. I had white walls and cabinets, orange counters and backsplash, dark orange curtains with tan pinstripes, a brown oven, and a harvest gold fume hood when I bought the house. The floors are mostly white with a little black. Not too bad--all earth tones. The refrigerator and washer I brought in were white (yes, I have a washer connection in the kitchen). When the oven died, I got a big period white one. I replaced the curtains with lacy white valences. I need to replace the fume hood with something that works (and it won't be harvest gold with little orange flower stickers around the edges).
I fantasize about building a separate laundry room and putting more cabinets where the washer is. And about replacing the cabinet between the sink and fridge with a dishwasher. These would require doing something with the counter, so I used to fantasize about a black corian counter--so smooth, so easy to clean. But I've read that dark counters mean you end up needing more light, and my formica counter has held up very well for a fifty-year-old counter, so I might just get that again in a different color. I fantasize about painting the cabinets red and installing a classic black and white checkered floor. I might replace my double sink with a single sink that's just as wide so that giant pots fit in better and then I can simulate two sinks if I want by using a dish bin half the size of the sink in one side.
I like a little color, and black, white and red sounds perfect to me, but your white and grey picture above is so beautiful and soothing.