For starters, if you haven't read it already, get your hands on a copy of Jane Powell's excellent book Bungalow Kitchens. It is copiously illustrated and has advice on both 'Obsessive Restoration' and 'Compromise Solution' tracks -- her terms. It is a lovely book, and quite humorous too. The author is unashamedly fond of puns.

Rosefolly

I'm also restoring a 1929 kitchen (in black, white, and yellow). The 1950's appliances can look quite at home, even though they are technically "too modern." Our familiarity with actual 1920's kitchens is usually limited enough that when we see an old stove or fridge, even from the 50's, we just think "cool old fridge/stove."

Here is my 1955 stove, looking quite at home in my 1929 kitchen (which is still under construction/renovation and far from done so the following photos span 2.5 years of work!):

And here is a lovely kitchen with a 50's style fridge. I love the way these fridges echo the curves of the often used Shaw's farm sink:

However, if you are doing stainless monogram appliances, it might come together better if you instead put a panel on your fridge to hide it in the cabinetry. If doing a retro fridge, I would include either a vintage stove, or a retro looking stove. But the latter can be VERY expensive. So that depends on your budget. To get the look you want, you might be better off with the faux panels. (Luckily, I've been spared the fridge problem, since my kitchen is too small for a fridge! So I've got an ugly one in my gargage!)

Depending on budget, FYI, some companies are now making retro looking dishwashers (previously, our only option for making the dishwasher blend in has been to hide it behind a panel). Aga and Smeg both make retro fridges and dishwashers. Aga, of course, makes lovely retro looking stoves. Smegs stove doesn't look retro, and the Smeg line, in general, is not well known in US markets. If I had oodles of cash, all Aga retro appliances sure would be nice!

My dishwasher is hidden to the right of the sink (pardon the mess and missing cabinet door. I'm currently painting.):

Do you have a picture of your tile? I'd love to see it. I'm replacing a damaged subway backsplash with reproduction tiles, and I'm thinking about a black bullnose or top row.

Is your question re: black whether you need a blackish counter to coordinate with your tiles, instead of marble? If so, it would certainly look lovely, but isn't necessary. Soapstone and marble are fabulous counters, and each have their merits. One of the reasons I chose soapstone was to echo a black accent strip in my subway tile. Ironically, I might not use the accent strip now.

Do you have Bungalow Kitchens, by Jane Powell? If not, run and get a copy!

Hope that helps a bit!

:-)

francy

Francy, I love your kitchen!

Rosefolly

I'm drooling over your stove, Francy.

Francy your stove is gorgeous, soft and white and so antique looking. I wish I had room for one. Thanks for your suggestions. LaScema

I love the magazine Old House Interiors. Check out their back issues at your library. There are so many beautiful inspiration pictures for old house kitchens (of most every vintage). And don't forget to look at all the pics in the finished kitchens blog. Good luck with it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Finished Kitchens Blog

Oy--just to clarify--that super luscious ginormous kitchen with the farmhouse table isn't mine! That's from a magazine. Mine is the little yellow kitchen with the monster vintage stove (well, 40 inches).

:-)

A past poster, jgarner, did a lovely vintage kitchen. She used a modern (but classic looking) stove, paired with a vintage style hood. Then, her fridge and dishwasher were paneled. I would either go that route, or go all vintage looking with the appliances. But I wouldn't mix a vintage style fridge with monogram stuff. Here is a link to jgarner's fabulous kitchen.

francy

Here is a link that might be useful: Gorgeous in green!

bayareafrancy, I will take pics of my subway tile and bullnose. I have never put pics on the site. It will take me a while to manage this but I will try. I guess the white-gray marble would look as nice as the soapstone in black. It seems you are all so much more comupter savy than I but will ask my bro for some help. Thanks for the input.

My first two thoughts were bayareafrancy's totally yummy kitchen and jgarner53's kitchen, and you all beat me to it!

I think you cannot go wrong with either marble or soapstone, and just recently tinahollywood posted her finished kitchen, and then there was someone else ... I'll have to give it a good think. Oh, lleet's kitchen is also in a 1920s house, and ecoleman251's kitchen might also be interesting to see.

But I love bayareafrancy's most of all -- it's a kitchen you want to spend time in, and you can tell that the people whose kitchen it is are kind and easy-going.

*blush* Thank you erm!

lascema: for pictures, it is quite easy. First, take some. Then put them on your computer, and on to photobucket (it's free). Once they are on photobucket, you simply copy the html link under the photo, and then paste the link into the body of your post. Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Now show me those subways!!

:-)

francy

Check out Mission Tile West. They have a revival line that are styles from the 20's and 30's. I just drool over their stuff every time I see it. Makes me wish I could have 20 different kitchens so I could have one in every style I wanted from modern to rustic to period.

I think either a black or marble for the counters would be great if you can swing it. Otherwise tile would work as well. You do have to see the Mission Tile design boards in the Revival tile. They may give you some inspiration, although, what you have planned sounds gorgeous!

BTW, white is always a classic and a neutral. It goes with anything!

Here is a link that might be useful: Mission Tile West

Welcome, and ooh ooh ooh! I want to see your subways too! Love all your ideas. The marble sounds scrumptious. How do see incorporating the black bullnose? [Pictures! We demand pictures! ;-) ] And I can second (third? fourth?) the strong recommendation for the Jane Powell Bungalow Kitchens book. I know she has at least one black/white/cream kitchen in there, as well as some examples of marble counters. Another book I've found super useful in terms of really clever period-appropriate remodelling ideas is Peter LaBau's The New Bungalow Kitchen.

I agree with Francy that a 50's appliance style, as long as it isn't too hyper-chrome-laden, is perfectly fine in a 20's kitchen. Modern eyes just see 'vintage' and it all works very nicely together. Check out the Smeg fridges as well as the Northstar, they come in a cream color that you might like? Dig those rounded edges!

I've got a 20's kitchen too, and my 1949 vintage gal is just like Francy's stove but has yellow knobs. And after spending months searching for backsplash tile that matches them, this weekend will finally be the Yellow Subway Tiling Fest, so stay tuned... :)

Lacerna,
Can't wait to see pictures! Sounds like you are looking for ways to incorporate a bit more black to tie in with the tile edging. You don't need a lot of black just some small touches. What about using black glass pulls and knobs on the cabinets? You haven't mentioned your choice of flooring but you could also use a checkerboard floor or if it's wood get a rug or 2 with black in the pattern.

Hi lascema,

DW and I are just about done with our period remodel and sooo happy we finally did it. Ironically, we took out the same cool '50s O'Keefe & Merritt range that bayareafrancy has (we still need to find it a good home!) and pulled up the checkerboard linoleum that is featured on the covers of kimkitchy's Old House Interiors. We went with soapstone counters and original wood floors. Appliances are all hidden except for the range.

Here's a link to our photos. The kitchen is in a 1930 Spanish Colonial Revival home. Our advice: get a great KD who respects old homes!

Here is a link that might be useful: 1930 Spanish Kitchen

Thanks to everyone here for the encouragement and help. Working on photos. LASCEMA

Although my cabinet choice is different from yours, you may like to look at my granite. It is called "Amadeus". Charcoal with platinum streaks and garnet inclusions. Lots of movement. I love it and am not tired of it after 3 years.

Here is a link that might be useful: Amadeus Granite

Hi everyone, I managed a photo of original subway tile in my 1927 dutch. This runs on two walls. It is in excellent condition. I am sorry there is only one, am taking more. i HOPE YOU CAN ACCESS THE PHOTO. If not, sorry, like the commercial says, "I'm working on it." Like many old house folks, I will be torn between convenience, being true to the period and my old kitchen, function. etc. (mostly the appliances.) I have an idea for a 4 person breakfast nook with a 5 ft. work area and pot drawers below (I have no counterspace now, well,hardly no workspace, as I like to bake breads.) the people on this site are more helpful than any designer or shop. Thank you!!!!
Thanks to Bayareafancy for lesson in photobucket. Will try to post more pics. Lascema

Here is a link that might be useful:

Thanks for the photo!

I'll put it in the body of a post for you:

Now, of course we are all waiting for photos of the whole kitchen! *grin* To get them directly into your post, just insert the html link thingy from photobucket.

fwiw, although many folks seem to struggle with convenience vs staying true to period, I haven't found it to be too much of a struggle at all (and I definitely fall on the side of staying true to period, at least to the extent that I oppose removing original, antique, irreplaceable features from old homes). Of course I have to have a dishwasher, but it is well hidden. I have almost no counter space, and that is a struggle for me. But then I read here (and also know in real life) many professional and amateur chefs who turn out fabulous meals with little to no counter space. And when I ask them about it, they usually tell me that more counter space just serves as a "dumping ground" and less counter space just forces you to be more efficient. So I hope that makes you feel better. I make bread weekly on approx 2 sq feet of counter. I am also careful to have my counters empty so that I can use them for food prep (so no appliances or decorative things on them).

I'm babbling....

:-)

francy

:-)

francy

Hee--I double smileyed myself. I need a sig line...

:-)

francy

Francy, You are so right,it is true that if you are good at cooking or baking you can do it anywhere on any stove or workspace. My grandparents and parents cooked for tons of people in tiny kitchens and it was always great. I am learning about clutter, the more things off the counter, the better. Tell me the pros cons of your retro stove. I actually was contemplating a 1924 "Glenwood insulated" I love the open look on the bottom, it was a beautiful cream and green but my DH is leery and says no way. Compromising is so hard to do. Lascema

Oooh--I just googled that stove. How beautiful.

Let's see now. For my 1955 O'keefe and Merrit I would say....

Pros:
1. High btu's (for a residential--non "pro style" stove). Burners up to about 13.000. Not sure how low the simmer is, but there is a teeny weeny little simmer burner on each of the 4 burners. You can also adjust the flames easily. Everything is accessible.

2. Fold down top. Many vintage stoves have covers to make up for the lack of counter space in vintage kitchens. I use this "counter" allllllll the time. So my stove is closed more than it is open.

3. Style (of course!). A vintage kitchen needs a vintage looking stove.

4. The pilot light in the oven keeps the oven at about 100 degrees, which I love for rising bread dough. Also works to keep food warm.

5. The high end of the temp spectrum is great. My oven goes to about 600 degrees, so it makes great pizza (I keep a pizza stove on the bottom all the time.

So, excellent looks and cooking performance. And mine was "only" 800 bucks. She is definitely the star of the kitchen. Visitors gravitate toward her, pet her, and gush.

Cons:
1. All those pilot lights raise the gas bill a bit. But I have no idea how much.

2. All those pilot lights heat up the kitchen. I live in Northern California. In the fall and winter and spring, I love this. In July and August, it can really add unwanted heat to the kitchen. What I usually do when a heat spell is coming is turn off the gas, and gook via grill, electric kettle, and microwave. The only hassle to this is that I have to slide the 400lb stove out from the wall to shut the gas off.

3. Smell. I don't know what is going on with my stove in this respect. But the exhaust smell (it isn't a "fresh gas" smell) that comes from it when I use can be unpleasant. It isn't horribly strong, but you can smell it. It really bugs my husband. We do not have a stove pipe (which the stove should have), nor do we have a vent hood. Once we have a hood, this problem should be solved.

4. Tiny oven. I can fit a half sheet pan in there, but nothing much larger than that. I can fit a roaster, but it is tight. I cannot fit a ginormous family size pizza. So, big thanksgiving style meals would be tough (I haven't attempted any.) I really really really wish I had held out for a stove with 2 ovens. Two ovens would be a lifesaver, and many vintage stoves have 2 ovens.

5. My stove isn't well insulated, so it gets friggin hot on the outside!! When my youngest was 2, I was a nervous spaz about having him in the kitchen when I was cooking. Especially if I were making pizza! Thank goodness my boys are older now. Unfortunately, I can't really afford to have the stove taken apart, and reinsulated. (Actually, I have no clue if it even has insulation in there.)

I think that's about it. There might be other concerns with a 1924 stove (it may not have continuous pilots), but if you are working with a good dealer, he or she can advise you. I have a friend with a 1920's Spark stove (yellow with red knobs!). She is an awesome cook and baker (and has the tiniest amount of counter space I've ever seen!). She adores her stove, and raves about its performance. She has a stove pipe, and I've never smelled any exhaust in her kitchen. But that remind me: older stoves with a stove pipe sit at least a foot (or more) away from the wall. this is a problem in a tiny kitchen, so you might want to look at younger stoves...

Hope that helps! Feel free to email me if you have any questions!

:-)

francy

the before kitchen. the after will be happening around Thanksgiving. Hope before.

Here is a link that might be useful: ttp://s466.photobucket.com/albums/rr30/LASCEMA/