take two!

Here is a link that might be useful:

JMHO, but I think that a 'wood-look' paint with hardwood floors might look a bit dated, too.

What about painting them white? It would be a nice contrast with your green paint, HW flooring, and whatever treatment you decide for the backsplash.

third time's a charm!

Here is a link that might be useful:

I can't see either link. :(

Thanks parma, you helped me see the light! LOL!

Yes, white might be nice. COuld you take a look at the other pictures I just posted and let me know what color you think would look good over the paneling in the ajoining eating area? I was thinking the wall would be Rosemary as well, since the kitchen/eating area is smallish. Would white be too much with the white cabinets?

Thanks so much for your input!

Sorry if that was unclear. I meant to say I was going to paint over the wood paneling to hid it and wanted to know if white cabinets and white paint on paneling (with Rosemary sprig up top) would look weird. Any advice welcome!

White would be nice. If you want wood look, then stripping and staining would be called for, assuming the wood is stain grade. What look are you going for? Since the cabinets are are pretty plain I would consider modern hardware if that is your preference, whimsy like in animal shapes if you like that, or even glass if you want to go more old fashioned and to add a little sparkle. Is the wood floor oak or pine or something else? If oak, red or white oak, stained or natural? Wide boards or standard 2 1/4 inch? All have different looks and would have to look ok with what look you pick for your kitchen.
I am not good at decorating in vintage or mid century styles but others here could help you if you want to be "true" to the time the house was built. Truth be told, I need a lot of advise myself, although I have looked at a lot of kitchen makeovers while doing mine. Browse the kitchen forum, also.

Sue

I can only see the one kitchen pic. Your album won't open for me.

Do you know how to embed multiple photos onto your post?

Thanks for those comments Sue. We aren't 100% on the wood floors yet, but the rest of the house is oak I think, standard 1/2 inch.stained. Not too exciting. I'm actually not sure what look I'm going for. Inexpensive with a punch? LOL! We don't have tons to spend and need to make do with the counter and cabinets for now. We could also change the vinyl in the kitchen to a darker shade. It's pretty heinous right now. I think our overall look is contempory...but we need help! Thanks again! I'll keep you posted.

Any advice on painting the wood paneling in the adjoing eat-in kitchen?

Oh, and does anyone think I should consider keeping the lower and upper cabinets 2 different color, and if so, recomendation? Hey, if anyone wants to completely redo the kitchen for me in a photo shop thingy I'd be sooooo excited!! I'm not too gifted in that kinda stuff....

Parma, no, I do not know how to embed photos and would love to know!

Let me check to be sure my privacy level isn't set on high for my kitchen photos....

Ok, this is a link to the whole album of 6 photos which shows the eating area....as you can see the house is begging for new paint and floors, but is in otherwise great shape. We are trying to be frugal in our renovations (I use that term loosely) so please bear that in mind when commenting.

Thanks so much to all of you already who have helped me so far!

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Album

I'm adding my comments below your photos on Photobucket, but linked to the BM color for others to see.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

SM
Congrats on your newly purchased home! The kit looks to be a nice size -
Cabs appear to be plywood construction - painting them should not be a problem -I would not rec brown family - as I think it would just date the cabs/kit - I would suggest a light color

PO - made an odd choice w/different uppers & lowers
what is the existing flooring? Is it vinyl? lino? - It appears to be in good condition - and has the possibility of working with your paint/s - I would leave it until you paint if it is in good condition & budget is tight.

Other suggestions-
remove the valance over the sink - that should be easy
-Not sure if you need all the uppers btwn kit/eating area - but removing just the uppers would help the space a lot -
- It's hard to gain full perspective of the kit space so not sure about fridge placement -
- The hood - If it works well - It may be worthwhile to having it painted white to match other appliances - it will stick out like a sore thumb w/the cabs painted light color - You could take it out & spray paint it w/a paint that will hold up there - perhaps Stove paint - I'd ask your local paint shop
- A simple backsplash would be a nice addition - look in the finished backsplash slide show that may give you inspiration subway or 4x4 tile are easy & you could DIY
-Painting the trim BM Dove white would also brighten up your space - make sure to use the latex version - I didn't & regret it. If you do paint trim white - I would rec doing the paneling & the door as well
Paint does marvelous things - just get painting & then you can decide if you need to do anything else -

good luck - looks like a nice space just needs a little love, labor

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I would paint all of the cabinets (upper and lower) plus the panelling in the eating area a creamy white. Rosemary sprig sounds very nice for the walls, including the area above the backsplash and below the upper cabs. I would remove the cornice and the cabinets above the peninsula. Add roman blinds on the windows in a punch color and a few accessories, and you'll be well on your way. At that point, you just have to figure out what to do about the floor...if budget is an issue, maybe an updated vinyl or even peel-and-stick - a laminate like pergo would be a little more expensive but something you could DIY.

Good luck, you have tremendous potential there!

Thanks, justgottobeme! I just came back to embed the photos, as I just learned how!

Jejtvr, thanks for all you kind comments. The floor might work, you're right and it is in fantastic condition. Someone on the kitchen forum posted this link which I think is fantastic! Maybe I should paint the cabinets on the upper half white and take the doors off. I love the retro blue color in the link. It may work with the floors, if I stick with a creamier color for the walls....ok forget the floors for now....if I did paint the bottom cabinets in that same blue, what color for the walls?? I think I'm going to embrace the retro here afterall!

Maybe I should just paint all the cabinets white for now on second/third thought. And what do you all think of taking off the cabinet doors? I do have colorful and pretty Vietri dishes....hmmmmmmmm

But yes, the hanging cabinets have got to go!

Here is a link that might be useful: retro kitchen

Justgotabeme,

Thanks for all your comments. The fridge is on a wall directly to the left when you enter the kitchen from the lr. If you follow down to the small wall where you (like me) wondered if you could put the fridge there facing out-you can't by the way, you come to a protruding closet with the washer and dryer. And further down another closet, smaller. This is what you'd see if you were sitting on that outside bench with your back to the window. I was thinking down the road we could have the washer dryer relocated to the mud room and take out that protruding wall/closet and make an archway into lr. I'll post more pics in a minute if I have them.....

I love the inspiration kitchen!

Vietri, :)...definitely showcase it.

Justgotabeme:

This is the doorway to hall, out of kitchen. Fridge is directly to right upon entering.
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This is a view from bench in kitchen with back towards window:
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Metromom, Thanks for your comments! Did you think I should paint all the way up to the top of the upper cabinets to the ceiling in white? I guess if I removed some doors I would have to:
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Also, notice the wood paneling on the other side of the breakfast area....what do I paint that: white or Rosemary Sprig?
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Parma, isn't it great??? Not sure I would do the blue....maybe all white for now. I just love the Rosemary Sprig. What do you think?

Well, the best thing about simple slab doors is that they can go in many directions. You have to consider the white appliances, so I would really consider painting cabinets white so the appliances blend in instead of sticking out. I love the rosemary paint color and I would add some black accents and very simple, modern silver hardware and I think it would look 100% better. Now in my area houses like yours built in the 50's and 60's had slab pine door cabinets, not plywood. I don't know which yours are. I have also seen slab doors done in sparyed lacquer black for a very modern look. I personally like white cabinets, so I would go that direction. Black and white is also a popular color scheme that can be done in everything from modern to historical houses and look nice.

Sue

I'm back. Had to take time for diner and a bit of conversation with my hubby.

I see what I thought was a just a wall was the closet. That blows the ideas I had out of the water. I would think about using the upper cabinets you'll be removing from the kitchen for over the washer and dryer. Make for a great pantry area plus a place to hide any laundry aids. I might even remove the doors making that more of a part of the kitchen (since you'll be going a bit retro) and paint the cabinets and walls in a lighter color.

As for the the ispiration kitchen, you could easily get that feel with painting your lower cabinets in the Rosemary Sprig or a shade or two lighter with the uppers in the dove white you mentioned. Only I'd want to route out the centers of the upper cabs and add glass of some type instead of removing the doors completely.

Oh and I like the valance over the window. It would certainly add to the vintage/retro feel you are going for.
I'd do virtuals for you, but I don't have the option of transparent color.

White for sure.
And because I find them to be a total distraction, too busy looking, and not decorative at all, change the hinges to white ones or, at the very least, paint them to match whatever color you paint the cabinets so that they blend in and aren't a focal point.
That way any cabinet hardware you choose will be highlighted.

Oops I was stuck on the contemporary comment and thought rosemary sprig would be a grayer green. I should have looked at the paint color link first. You definitely don't want modern silver finished hardware and black accents with a retro design. But that is why you need to decide which way to go before making other decisions. The retro kitchen is very pretty, also.

Sue

sue, I know, I probably gave everybody whiplash, I changed my mind so fast! : ) I think in general I wouldn't have chosen a retro kitchen but upon reading all these posts and seeing the inspiration kitchen it really does make sense to work with the bones and style of the kitchen, not against it! I'm not sure what kind of wood the cabinets are made of but the are most definitely wood and not plywood. Very sturdy and well-made. Great condition! Thanks for your comments!

Justgotabeme, yes, I think repurposing the cabinets and removing the doors might be best. Maybe painting them white, along with that wall/paneling? And adding glass would be ideal, but may not be in the budget. I could certainly keep the doors for now and do that down the road. Thanks for the tip! And What would be your preference: all white for cabinets, upper and lower, or white on upper and a ligther color (Soft Fern) for lowers? You wouldn't recommend going darker green on the cabinets?

Joanie, yes, I agree with you that the hinges in particular are very busy looking. They are all in great shape so I'll paint them white and whatever other color I decide.

Hey I just read all the posts here and on Kitchens. I love the exposed hinges. I paid a good bit to get them as have others with retro kitchens. Several folks have changed the finish on them with different products...either paint or Sophisticated Finishes ( it is a real metal produst in a bottle ) . At any rate I don't think they look busy and would really hesitate to paint them the color of the cabs. JMHO of course.

There are a lot of pics out there of retro kitchens and I think it would be so good to look at as many of them as you can. It is great that you have so much time before starting. There was a wonderful one posted last year that was in the NW and had bright colors all over the place and was simply gorgeous. I don't remember who it was but the link for all the kitchens posted here on the GW might have it as well as other retro kitchens to give you ideas of how to do the hardware.

Also I love the idea of the lowers being a couple shades darker than the walls and done in a complete contrast to the uppers.

I also think saving the doors but leaving them as open shelves is the best idea for now at least. I am a big fan of open shelves...I have some in my kitchen. Folks here either love them or hate them LOL.

Looking at TONS of pics will be your best bet for now. If I think of anything else I will post. Good Luck ! c

There is lots of great advice and support for vintage/retro kitchens at the Retro Renovation website. I found it when I was searching for pendant light ideas, and ended up surfing nearly every link and page. Very fun :-)

Joanna

Here is a link that might be useful: Retro Renovation

You have a kitchen with something different than most of the kitchens you see now. Celebrate it - most definately! I love the inspiration kitchen with its blue (aqua?) and creamy yellow colors.
Diane

I like the idea of different, darker paint on the lower cabs for several reasons. It does suit the retro, "unfitted" kitchen look, but it appears you have kids, also. We painted the cabinets in our last historic house BM White Dove, and I love the color but it definitely shows smears, smudges, dust, and dirty little hand prints. Something darker would hide this better, I think. I love black lowers and white uppers, but I recently painted our 70's bathroom vanity black (in the avocado bathroom makeover) and I've noticed it really shows dust and pet hair. Kitchen cabinets may get wiped down more often than a bath would anyway, but it's something to consider.

I also love your idea of open shelving above, if you have pretty things to display and enough pantry space or closed cabinets to hid the not-so-decorative necessities. Glass inserts may not be nearly as expensive as you think. If you have a router, you can cut the upper doors out yourself and insert either decorative wire or inexpensive glass. I went to a local stained glass shop and got cheap obscuring glass that they custom cut to my size for free. I bought some clips and caulk and inserted my own glass.

For the soffits above the cabinets, you could paint them the wall color and hang vintage prints or old cookbook pages on them or stencil phrases or cooking words if you went the retro direction. Or you could paint them the cabinet color and add molding or trim to build up the height and make them look more modern and sophisticated. The link below describes it well and shows several photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cabinet soffits covered in molding

Trailrunner, I will really consider they hinges and leaving them unpainted. Up until I posted here i was ready to replace the all together so I feel good knowing I'm keeping them, since they are in great shape and fit the look. And yes, I should look at all the retro kitchen thread on here and other places. I so far only saw the one inspiration kitchen and fell in love! Thanks for the advice!

Tradewind, That's awesome! I will certainly begin my searching there for new ideas. Thanks!

Powermuffin, I really apprieciate the comment. I myself didn't see it's potential until now so I am thankful for everyone on here for helping me! I love this kitchen now! I'm really leaning towards replicating the blue white and creams she had in her kitchen....I thought I was all set with Roasemary Sprig....well, I still have time.

Equest17, yes, good point about having children...maybe an aqua blue would be perfect then...not too dark and not too light. I will check into getting the glass inserts now. I have a few handymen coming for estimates this weekend. I painted my current home from head to toe but have no time with a 2 1/2 yr old and another one on the way! I do feel a little weird about it though....I loved painting! And thanks soooooooooo much for addressing the soffits (I didn't realize what they were called). I was trying to figure out how to deal with them. I think I like the idea of adding trim/moulding up there. I've always been a fan of cabinets that went to the ceiling. Thanks for the link!

I'm so glad I found this post! I will be following it closely as I have pretty much the same kitchen - except with the original dark stained knotty pine. I've been wanting to paint them (creamy white) forever but DH likes them?!?

Please, please post progress pictures! I've scoured the web looking for photos of the type of project you're tackling and I've only been able to find complete gut-jobs. Good luck!!!!

Shawna Michelle, I tried to do a virtual for you since I found that one of the programs I have does transparent color. I couldn't get the lower cabinet color right. Looked too bright green. I do like the idea of going with the acqua like in the inspiration kitchen. Though I'm not sure a white-white would work with your counter. Did you know you can paint formica counters?

I forgot to add that since the countertops are staying, whatever paint colors you select are going to have to acknowlege the countertops, and not ignore them, as too much contrast will make them stand out rather than blend in.

A colleague of mine was once faced with lavender cabinets, that were very high quality and the homeowner could not afford to change (or paint cheaply, the finish was a beautiful lacquer). The homeowner had tried all sorts of fixes all of which made the cabinets look even more intensely purplish.

The solution was to basically use a paint color with purple undertones for the walls, brushed stainless hardware, grey countertops --everything to work *with the lavender.

The end result was that the homeowner would mention having to work around lavender cabinets, and most people would not have noticed, they thought they were grey or taupe.

Can somebody tell me how to embed pictures in a post as some of you have done? Sometimes that's really handy, as the links often go dead. Of course, I look at a lot of threads where Photobucket pictures have been removed. Not sure how that happens, either.

wishnwell all you have to do is add your photos to any photo site...Photobucket, flickr etc, that allows you to copy and paste the html code into your message. It's as easy as that. The photo won't show up until you preview the message. Before that it's a bunch of letters, numbers and symbols. When you see a box from photobucket where a picture used to be that means the person that put the picture there either moved it to a different album or removed it completely from online storage.

Hi everybody, So I'm back on here to ask for more advice. Like some of you said, white-white (upper and lower) may be too much with the counter tops (palimpsest, thanks for pointing this out!). So I need to tell you what I know for sure at this point:

1. We are painting the upper cabinets White Dove BM, as well as all the trim and paneling in the kitchen area.

2. We are replacing the cabinets pulls with vintage looking glass pulls.

3. We are removing the hanging wall of cabinets.

4. We are putting in new earthier vinyl OR taking up the existing vinyl as my carpenter friend seems to think there's hardwood underneath (wouldn't that be great!!??) Either way, the floor will be darker and more uniform.

5. I would love to have BM Rosemary Sprig in this kitchen, b/c I have it in mine now and it makes me feel happy. Plus this kitchen gets tons of natural light with 2 skylights and I think some rich paint would be nice.

What I need your help with is this:

1. What color to paint the bottom cabinets. Would white be too much? Not if I had rich floors and green walls, right? Remember the trim and paneling will be white too so there'll already be a lot of white in the room. Turquoise wouldn't go with my green walls, would it? Maybe a certain shade of light blue would? Anybody? Preferably BM...Sage and blue? Hmm. I could give up the sage but I'd rather not.

if not white or sage than what about a dark yellowy-maybe BM desert tan?

2. What about the countertops? What color would go best with them? White, light blue (probably not), or yellow-tan? Another idea?

Justgotabeme, thanks for trying to do a mock-up. I appreciate that. Do you think the aqua would work with the counter tops?

3. Should we paint over the hinges?

So many questions, so little time!

Bumble Doodle, let's take this ride together! I'll post photos through the process. We having work done the middle of September and are moving in after that.

Thanks again for all of your help with this!

"if not white or sage than what about a dark yellowy-maybe BM desert tan? "

I meant to say if not a white or blue that what about a dark yellowy

Actually, maybe even a creamy yellow?

Someone posted their inspiration picture awhile back (Was it momto4boys?) that had the lowers painted in a soft green and the uppers in white (may have been shelves instead of cabinets) and it was so pretty. I'm not sure your current countertop would look good with that color combo, but it sure was pretty. Does anyone remember what picture I'm talking about? I did a search, but couldn't find it.

Laurie

I found it!

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Laurie

OOH! That's so pretty! Thanks for posting that msrose!

We found out today that there are not hardwoods underneath the vinyl in the kitchen. We will be getting an update stone like vinyl...warm colors. Sorry I'm being so thick, but would green cabinets on the bottom and green on the wall be too much green? The wall is half paneling that will be white so I guess it could break it up...maybe a shade lighter than the green on the walls?

Shawna- here is a very old thread of what I did to my kitchen cabinets. They are a bit different now, but I had many of the same features you do. It was work but I still love them.

Here is a link that might be useful: gel stained cabs

Never ending, that is beautiful what you did with the gel stain. Thanks for sharing this.

I'm going to give myself a break from thinking about this for a few days and maybe I'll have an epiphany!

I think white on the bottom will be just fine and allow the kitchen to look very clean and crisp with the green. It sure would feel happy to me and would be my choice. I would paint the wainscoat type paneling white too and any paneling that goes to the ceiling the same as the wall color.

lol, and i'd reverse that!
in your kitchen i'd paint the lower cabs and wainscoting the green and the uppers a bright creamy white. i like the green closer to the floor for it's grounding effect, and the light color higher for the more airy feel. plus i totally agree with removing that run of hanging cabs to create a more open feel.
and if you're replacing the floors anyway, maybe there i'd go darker.
in my bdrm i have rosemary sprig on the walls with grizzley brown on the window trim and a light yellow cream on the window detail. it's a very nice color combo--and i admit i had professional help choosing those colors!

How about a little more daring...and a nice aqua blue on bottom, with white on top?

The link below is from a blog I follow, and your kitchen made me think of hers. I adore her kitchen, it makes me smile.

Here is a link that might be useful: Edie's kitchen

Kismet, I love this kitchen too and it is my inspiration kitchen. I would love the aqua blue if I could keep the Roesmary Sprig. I am really emotionally invested in this color. Do you think I could get away with that?

Lyfia, your approach is what seems easiest to me too, white on uppers and lowers with white on panleing and Rosemary sprig on walls. But ...

Falling waters, do you think that even if I had a darker floor you'd want the Rosemary Sprig on the bottom? Maybe white on paneling and trim and Rosemary Sprig on top part of walls and on lower cabinets???? BTW, what color is the yellow cream you have in your bedroom?

Shawna - Duh, I missed your earlier post. I was scanning. My bad.

Hmm..Not sure about the aqua with the sprig. Have you considered doing the sprig on the lower cabs and a cream white on the uppers? and then the same creamy white on the walls/paneling, with a lighter green on the upper portion of the walls.

My apologies if that option has already been discussed. I'm scanning again!