Still don't know how to embed, but my husband helped me make turn the url into a link, here they are:

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I'm thinking maybe a Birch plywood? There was a lot of used in mid-century houses. Nice original kitchen!

Thanks jakebedy. We like the cabinets and are planning to keep them. We are updating some things though, new sink/counter/floors/paint. Trying to freshen it up while keeping the original feel.

Are there any other types of wood you think it might be, other than birch? I should probably try to find a cabinet-maker and have them figure it out, since they'll be the ones replicating them anyway!

I second birch plywood. They look very much like the cabinets I just took out of my kitchen. The cabinets were solid and in great shape after 55+ years, but the layout didn't work.

I had refinished my cabinets about 10 years ago by stripping off the old varnish and putting a fresh coat on. It was pretty easy to do and they looked great afterward.

Yep Birch plywood

Should be relatively easy to make/replicate those.

I scrolled thru flicker - gotta love that carpet in the bath! - looks like that home has good bones, just needs some love -

In any event, if you are updating kitchen I would suggest to do a separate posting on here "50's kitchen needs updating, please advise pics " Lots of very creative people here that are helpful.

- I think removing all the uppers over the peninsula would be a great start - you could easily do that & utilize those elsewhere. Updated light fixture, new flooring, counter and new paint - is that ceiling painted blue as well? High gloss too! I would also consider painting those cabs that would really breathe some new life.

Best to you

I call it birch. Very typical of mid-50s. If the house were late 40s or early 50s, woodwork in our community in modest houses was often pine, because the nation still hadn't kicked into strong consumer mode and the better wood was used elsewhere. Dad was a builder and he had to use painted pine a lot for doors, cabinets, woodwork, even if he wanted something stronger and less dent-able.

I would be surprised if that U configuration were original to a 1952 house, although if it were a fancier house, perhaps. The hanging cupboards over a peninsula was generally a later phenomenon, esp. that long, artsy run of wood on the outside of the peninsula cabinets.

Thanks for the input everyone! This is really helpful.

Katsmah, what did you use to strip your cabinets? We'd like to do this as well. No ventilation means all kinds of sticky grease build-up on the wood, plus if we build new ones to match, we might as well start with a clean slate for them all!

Jejvtr, yes, that's what we thought too, it has good bones. And it does, but the plumbing and electrical problems we've had since buying the place have used up all the money we thought we'd be able to spend on the cosmetic stuff, so the house looks much the same now as in the pictures! We did get rid of that gross carpet in the bathroom though :)

We had a kitchen planner come in earlier this week, she is helping us figure things out. We DO plan on moving the cabinets over the peninsula to a different wall, so we can open up the space. Right now both the working and eating areas feel very cramped and closed off, and I think it will help a TON just moving those out of the way.

We are going to replace the flooring and put in some Armstrong Excelon Imperial Texture VCT tiles, in a medium gray color. The "speckly" pattern will give some interest (but in a neutral color) and also help hide the dirt and pet hair between sweepings and moppings. Those high-gloss blue walls and ceilings are so awful, we are going to repaint with a nice warm white. The lights will all be replaced as well. I'd like a nice single or 3-light pendant over the dining table, and more and brighter lighting in the working area. The counter is going to be plain white Formica.

We can't afford much, and most of this work will have to be done ourselves, hence the inexpensive materials like VCT and Formica, and the re-use of the original cabinets.

We've got a white elliptical-shaped dining table, and some wood chairs with a curved elliptical back (teak or walnut, similar in color to the cabinets) that are from the late 50's or early 60's. We're trying really hard to keep a mid-century feel to the space.

Florantha, I don't know a lot, but I can tell you that beginning at the back of the cabinets over the peninsula, where you see that long run of wood veneer, everything behind there (ie the eating area) is an addition that was put on the house about 2 yrs after it was built, so around 1954. I don't know if the U-shape was already there but was backed by a wall, or if they just added more cabinets in 1954, or if it was a different layout to begin with... although it would seem odd to do all new cabinets just two years after the house was built.

Anyway, thanks again everyone!

Birch is easy to match. I changed out the doors for my mom's kitchen (1960 kitchen) in 1984.

I gave the cabinetmaker a couple of the old doors and had him stain some samples of his wood with several colors he thought blended. We brought all the samples into the kitchen and held them up to the existing frames and a couple of them were really good. It was one of the mid-range tones.

I had it done while my parents were on vacation, and mom was home a week before she noticed the new doors; the match was that good.

alst, I used a citrus stripping kit from Home Depot. It came with a few plastic tools to scrape the finish off. It was pretty fast and easy and I was pleased with the results.

Alst - I really love your kitchen, it takes me back to my mom's 1965 kitchen. She never replaces the cabinets, just refinished them in the 1980's. They were warm, and streamlined and solid. I hope you do keep the the mid-century look. Do a search on "mid century modest" and you will find some interesting stuff. Ideas for light fixtures and counter tops to keep it the period. My mom had laminate counters with gold speckles in her kitchen (and bath.) Good luck.

Thanks lazygardens, it's good to know someone has experience doing this same type of thing!

Katsmah, was the stripper you used mild enough to use indoors? The weather is rapidly getting colder and winter is approaching, so I don't think we'll be able to do this outside.

Sparklekitty, thanks for the heads-up on the "mid-century modest". I'd never heard that before, even though I've visited Pam's Retro Renovation site many times.

alst, we had to do some of the stripping indoors on the cabinets, but the bulk of the work was on the doors and drawers outside. I had a lot of ventilation during the process. They may have newer products that you can use indoors without the fumes.

Thanks Katsmah. When the time comes, I'll check the hardware store for some strippers that give off fewer fumes.

Good luck with the project! If your cabinets are built as sturdy as my old ones were, they will be good for another 50 years.