keeping my 50's upper cabinets

16 years ago

OK, a week or so ago I told either this board or decorating that I had decided to keep the 1950's upper kitchen cabinets my dad built, and will have mis-matched lower cabinets. Good news is that I visited a local custom cabinet shop that does very fine work and will be able to build whatever I want. They rattled off a list of local names of people they've recently built for who either a.) could buy anything they ever wanted (this is oil country, so I mean that), and/or b.) are people I have loved and respected all my life. Don't need any more references than that.

This is my first attempt at posting pics. The first one is the cabinet door that, as we were demolishing the others, I realized - wait, I love this door. There is a VERY cool curved class towel bar that goes underneath that is in safekeeping.

And this one is just the rest of the kitchen. We tore down the upper cabinets that were over the range top.

There will be fairly medium-to-dark hardwood floors, and the counters against that far wall will be cherry butcher block. That's the baking/storing side. I want to put soapstone on the peninsula/range top/bar, and probably around the sink. I have purchased a Price Pfister faucet but haven't chosen a sink. I'm open to re-staining the cabinets if necessary.

I will mosaic the backsplash myself, with a green/blue palette (with touches of silver and copper), in a combination of smalti & other glass tiles I purchased in Italy (Ravenna and on Murano) and Mexican smalti, and some others, as well as a plainer field tile. (Yes, I will stop lurking and be a regular on the mosaic board)

So, I'm doing brushed nickel finishes for the hardware, and am thinking off-white lower cabinets?????? I'll probably get a white dishwasher and new white built-in oven. I'll paint the big wall-o-closets whatever color the lower cabinets are. The fridge is pretty new, and I plan to live here for the rest of my life, so I'm not worried about resale. My inheriting nephews will just have to deal with it.

I'm fine with the whole mid-century look, I don't want to try to make my 50's ranch into a cottage or Tuscan Villa, but I do want it to be warm and friendly.

opinions, advice welcome!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

bettycbowen
Original Author
16 years ago
I meant "Curved Glass" of course. You can see on the floor where the peninsula was, I'm going to move it out about 8 inches so I can incorporate a built in dishwasher (the first in this house!).
Fori
16 years ago
Those are definitely nice cabinets! I kinda like the hardware on them, but I've been spending too much time admiring 50s kitchens so I'm biased.

Will the lowers be the same style, just painted? I think that'll work very nicely. I don't think you'll need to restain the cabinets although it's hard to tell from pictures. Hopefully they can be freshened up without stripping to maintain that lovely ambered glow (and I am NOT being facetious--it's a wonderful warm color and perfect for a 50s kitchen, or any kitchen. In my kitchen adventures I've yet to see a cabinet company offer anything close.)
Related Discussions
what style is this silver and what matches my '50s china?
Q
Comments (21)
Beautiful china & silver - service for 12, WOW! Regardless of the ornateness, manufacturers of every generation of sterling prior to the 1950's had heavy weight patterns, light weight patterns, everything in between, & some gave a choice of weights within the same pattern; the quality of the finishing was not affected. It mostly depended on how much the consumer was willing to spend & what the jeweler had in stock. All the new silver that I've seen recently seems heavier than it should be - maybe trying to compensate for mediocre finishing to justify the price. I'm not a fan of silver-in-the-d/w but I know people who swear by it with no ill effects but I definitely would NOT put old hollow handle knives in there. You don't want water getting in the handle causing rust on steel parts or melting filler that holds the blade in place. LindaC, do the newer knives & replacements with ss blades have heat/detergent proof filling?
...See More
Help me remodel my 50s bathrooms please!
Q
Comments (27)
I feel your pain. It is just so hard to know what to do with this stuff. And in my bathroom, all the little extras are in that peachy pink color. Toilet paper holder, towel bar holder, toothbrush thingy.... Looks like we have the identical tub: and maybe toilet, too. Ours is American Standard: Different sink - yours looks like there might be storage somewhere under the sink. Instead of exposed plumbing. "You can't get a mud job like that these days" I tried to take closeup pictures of this weird paint job on the walls, but really the second to last picture in this post shows the colors best. Pink, peach, mint, and LAVENDER. I really detest this paint job, although I'm sure it took forever to do. So now I'll prowl through savethepinkbathrooms.com and elsewhere to get ideas about what to do with these walls. I'd love to know what you come up with! bean
...See More
Kickoff - Debtex's 50's ranch kitchen refresh
Q
Comments (2)
I am keeping all the cabinet boxes, including the open shelves. (This pic is from a while ago, they are more organized now.) I have a specific question about finishing the sides of the boxes. I was planning to wrap the stainless counter around the side of the cabinet and down to the floor next to the pivoting peninsula, because the kids kick the crap out of the wall there and that side of those drawers are all chipped. I would do it on the other side by the pantry to keep it parallel. Will it look strange to wrap it there and not wrap it on the island (the island will be on stainless legs about 9" high, so it wouldn't go to the floor anyway.) Also, will it look strange to have the boxes on the perimeter painted white, but the boxes on the island laminated with Lyptus veneer?
...See More
"Blind" corner in upper wall cabinet - what do you keep in it??
Q
Comments (7)
In the last kitchen that I had a blind corner upper, that's where the giveaway vases went. I tend to buy them at thrift stores and garage sales, and when I have an event that dictates that I cut flowers for it, I grabbed one out of there to give to the recipient and no one ever needed to worry about returning it to me. My laundry room cabinet serves that purpose now that the blind corner is gone.
...See More
mahatmacat1
16 years ago
Since I am an amateur mosaicist, you can imagine how my heart jumped when I saw the word "smalti" on a non-mosaic board! I'll look forward to that backsplash--one question: smalti are usually mounted without grout--are you planning not to grout your backsplash?
perel
16 years ago
That color is mostly the wood + oil or shellac (NOT POLY). I'm refinishing 50's cabinets, and they really do need to be stripped.. the old varnish tends to wear off in spots, and is intermingled with old grease. Pretty much the only thing I've found that gets that old baked-on greasy film off ANY old cabinets is to strip them entirely. Keep in mind that 50's kitchens often had NO range hoods, and when they did the CFMs were very low by modern standards.

I use Soy-Gel to take all the old goop off, then use a cabinet scraper to smooth the wood down. Personally, I'm using several coats of tung oil for mine, which gives a very similar warm glow. It's actually coming out a lot warmer because there isn't that thin layer of old grease bonded to the wood anymore.
bettycbowen
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks perel, I will look for Soy-Gel. You're right, this kitchen didn't have a range hood, and I really am going to have to totally strip them. I've been testing mineral spirits on a drawer I saved, but the Soy-Gel sounds less noxious.

Sorry for the delay in my reply, we're in a major ice storm and haven't had heat or power since Sunday. Of course the house we're remodeling does- but we've torn out all the plumbing. So, one house with power and no water, and one house with water and no power. My school has been turned into a red cross shelter so I decided to try my classroom internet.

On a good note, this is giving me extra time to work on the house!
Fori
16 years ago
Eeek. Save the brain cells and strip in the spring when you can open some windows or do it outside!
perel
16 years ago
Here's a link to the Soy-Gel.. I've been very happy with them. And it's almost odorless too, you can actually use it indoors without needing windows open. (And this IS okay per the MSDS)

I would not use any other stripper indoors in the winter, but this specific one is okay.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.realmilkpaint.com/soygel.html

keeping my 50's upper cabinets

Comments (7)

bettycbowen
Original Author

Fori

Related Discussions

mahatmacat1

perel

bettycbowen
Original Author

Fori

perel

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

keeping my 50's upper cabinets

Comments (7)

bettycbowenOriginal Author

Fori

Related Discussions

mahatmacat1

perel

bettycbowenOriginal Author

Fori

perel

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

bettycbowen
Original Author

bettycbowen
Original Author