Spanish Colonial Revival - 1930s

15 years ago

My son and his wife just purchased their first house (Southern California).

It is a pretty typical Spanish Colonial Revival and sports the original kitchen. From what I can gather, they plan to work on the kitchen first. The cabinets are original (currently painted a light green) and will HAVE TO BE REPLACED.

Mercifully, although most of these houses are greatly lacking in bedroom closet and storage areas, they were often built with an adjoining laundry room/pantry area. The couple plans to push out into the existing pantry/laundry room when they upgrade the kitchen.

I am wondering, since I did not see this style of kitchen in the Finished Kitchen Forum, if any of you have any suggestions for

1. cabinet styles,

2. flooring,

3. countertops, and

4. backsplash?

I would like to (nicely) suggest that they avoid tile on the countertops (despite the fact that this is not staying true to the period), emphasizing the Spanish influence in the backsplash instead.

Anyone have any pictures to share or links to this style. All I've been able to Google is the outside of the houses.

Thanks.

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Comments (4)

elizpiz
15 years ago
Check out yesdear's absolutely gorgeous kitchen, linked below. A great person to ask questions of as well.

HTH,
Eliz

Here is a link that might be useful: Yesdear's 1930 Spanish Kitchen
jdesign_gw
15 years ago
Oldalgebra - Hi. I live here in LA also. I design and build custom furniture and cabinets and living out here I've done a lot of work in the Spanish style. I see you didn't get a lot of response to your post so I'll rant on a bit about Spanish style if you don't mind. I guess the first question I would have is how true to period they want to stay. That, and of course the budget, are the first determining factors. The space, the size and how much light the room gets also come into play.

I agree with you about the tile counter tops. They are the worse to clean... not to mention to work on. One solid surface is the only way to go. However I do love vintage Spanish tiles. The real ones "cuerda seca". There are some good reproductions but nothing bets the patina of the real thing. Used as accents in the right places they can add an authenticity and really pop a design.

Counter tops... soapstone like in the picture can be OK. It shouldn't be too busy though. Honed black granite or slate. Any natural stone on the plain side can work. The key is the finish. Nothing shiny. Limestone with a antiqued textured finish if you want something lighter. On the center island you can go with oiled wood. I did a copy of an antique French, end-grain butcher block with metal brackets on the corners that would work really well. I made top top slightly wavy to give an appearance of age.

Cabinets... hardwood. Subtle distressing. Oil/wax finish. Rustic alder is used often. For a more sophisticated look Wm Ohs does something called "Spanish Revival". It's glazed with stepped detail, light distressing and rub-through. And believe it or not, green/blue painted pine(but it has to be done really well). Also white like the picture with the right elements works.

Floors... of course terracotta pavers are traditional. Here again smaller accent tiles mixed in can really add to the look. I'd also through some heat strips under it to warm it up. Reclaimed wood or really well done distressed wide plank hardwood flooring works well. I've seen antique natural-edge limestone tile used and there some very good imported new antiqued ones but both of these are going to be at the higher end of the price scale. Maybe if there's not a lot of square footage.

Other elements like rustic beam ceilings, coffered wood ceilings and the right wrought iron lighting fixtures really add to the look too.

I could go on. I have a ton of pictures. You really have to narrow down the design first. One doesn't want to go off looking in the wrong direction. The taste of the people who are going to live there, what they imagine it to be, and how they respond to pictures of different looks is what I would go off of.

John
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oldalgebra
Original Author
15 years ago
Oh, John! Thank you so much. As I watched my post drop farther and father down the list, I imagined I'd seen my one and only response. Thank you for writing in such detail.
I should think others might benefit from your descriptions.

What is the name of your design business? I tried a search, but too many popped up. Is there a way I can contact you directly?

Again, thanks for your informed input.
jdesign_gw
15 years ago
Oldalgebra - I'll be happy to answer any questions. My email is:johndisanto@earthlink.net Cell: 818-693-3777.
John

Spanish Colonial Revival - 1930s

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Spanish Colonial Revival - 1930s

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