1940s kitchen style....making do and getting creative
I found this on Retro Renovation and thought others might enjoy it :)
...this 1940s kitchen — with its lovely green cabinetry, bits of red
scattered about the room and that fantastic linoleum floor — is just
calling me to come inside and spend an afternoon baking pies.
Today, some of these decorating ideas may seem… over the top. But
remember, this was war-time. Homemakers likely only had paint, fabric
and — yes, flooring — to spice up their interiors. Look at ‘most any
magazine of 1940s decor aimed at the middle class, and the ladies were
painting and stenciling and embroidering and slipcovering. There was a
lot of applied embellishment. You made do.
Link to rest of article....
http://retrorenovation.com/2013/03/14/1940s-decor-design-ideas/
Comments (20)
Related Discussions
What type of flooring was originally installed in 1940s kitchens?
Comments (27)I would like to inform all that we have a lovely second home that has a full living basement that was built in mid 1940's. The floor and outer walls are cement. thick. the floors through this basement dwelling. (close to 2000 square feet.) were covered with apprx 9"x9 " Brown and beige marble looking tiles in some of the rooms and Dark green and light green marble looking tile in rest of rooms. They had to be scrubbed clean, rinsed and then waxed to look nice and they did but, anything wet ruin the beauty. While we were gone, We had a toilet water issue upstairs that run and filled the basement with 1 foot of water. Of course this soaked the tile up and also ruined the insulation and sand plaster on the walls. We rushed to get the mess cleaned up, took up all the tile without thinking about asbestos. We would like to know if any of you know what the content of these tile might have been, please inform us. It was easy to take the tile up and out. However, a lot of the tile left the black tar paper backing stuck to the floor. We are at the point of finishing this portion of this home, but, is the black stuff that is still sticking dangerous? or can we clip I t out ourselves. no one seems to know the content. we will not be putting any type of square tile back in. and do not want to have a problem with asbestos....See More1940's/1950's kitchen layout
Comments (29)Kathec, I feel your pain on the builder's oak kitchen. (I'm on the verge of finally tearing mine out, since the builder had obviously never washed a dish or cooked a meal in his life. Such a waste.) *Loved* the video and sent it on to numerous friends and we all agree that we've gone backwards in kitchen design. It's ridiculous that "all drawers" is still considered revolutionary ;-) (I also look at my friend's vintage Frigidaire Flair and realize that not only does it cook the pants off my 80s cooktop, but it's also better laid out with a wide burner spread and double overhead ovens.) I live in hope that since home cooking is on the rise, good kitchen design might be making a come back ;-)...See MoreIs anyone planning (or have) a 1940s or 1950s inspired kitchen?
Comments (7)I think of 1940s and 1950s houses being rather modest, because this was the boom era for a typical middle class income person to be able to own a small modest house. Prior to that era, home ownership in the cities was not high. People did not have the money to have a well-done craftsman-ship type of products. I was in a waterfront custom-home near-mansion from the 30s or 40s (?). The woodwork and workmanship in that house was exquisite. I don't consider this a typical home of that era. The typical cabinets from that era are slab front plywood cabinets that are site built. This was before they had modular cabinets. Modest homes had laminate/linoleum with metal banding counters. Linoleum floors were common. Slightly upscale homes had tile counters. I lived in one of these in the 1970s. (my parents' first home) and again in a rental in the 90s. I really like the feel of these homes. The way I would decribe the feel of homes is "honest" and "integrity", if left intact. There is usually hardwood floors and good tilework throughout, ie bathrooms. I presonally think that most over the top kitchens that are going into these modest 1940s and 1950s houses will scream 2011 many decades from now. If you "redo" the entire house to 2011 sensibility so everything flows in and out of the house, then the house will age better, IMHO. But redoing the entire house is very expensive. Most homes from that era are not MCM. If the house is MCM inspired, i think you need to take queue from that. MCM is a very specific type of look from that era. Dianalo, can you post picts of your kitchen. I am trying to convince my DH that we can get the "feel" and the "look" of 1940s kitchen with Ikea......See MoreUpdating this 1940's kitchen?
Comments (33)I love the kitchen! Once you cook in it for a while, you will figure out what you really want to change. You may find you just love being in such a charming place. I wanted to keep my vintage kitchen, but desperately needed counter space. I spent a lot of time figuring how to have both. Give yourself some time to decide your priorities for your kitchen. Here is a link to my reveal. http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2705950/vintage-kitchen-update Lisa...See More
Russ Barnard
8 years agoGoose - I build decks onto each house I make.. they are like extensions of my kitchen. The current one (which will be the 'last house we owned' in 4 days ) has an old cast iron stove on it.. on those cold nights, it sure does break the heat and I love setting an old camp fire coffee pot on it. The next house will have a nice firepit.. heh
Russ
Lavender Lass thanked Russ Barnard
mama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoRuss, that looks like a wonderful space to relax--and I have the perfect vintage coffee pot for the stove:
Lavender Lass thanked mama goose_gw zn6OHLavender Lass
8 years ago
raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
8 years agoOne of my neighbors discovered these original to the kitchen steel cabinets in her basement. They are teal colored (I don't know if the handles are original). Our houses were built in 1941-1950, prefabricated and shipped to the area by rail from the factory. There are several different models ranging from my 2 story "colonial" to small ranches and cape cods. I can't visualize these in my kitchen, so think they must have been in one of the other models.
Lavender Lass thanked raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
funkycamper
8 years ago
Here's the only original kitchen cabinet to this house that is usable. The rest were put in the workshop when the "new" kitchen was done in 1971. Unfortunately, they are too far gone to rescue and re-use in my kitchen remodel. Dang it anyway.
I'm using it for my beverage/snack station. I should take pictures of the inside. There are three shelves but they are all pull-outs. You can also see the handle for the huge breadboard that pulls out above the drawer. The floor is the original linoleum floor from 1949 with the red inset a few inches from the edge. The counter-top for this cabinet is the same linoleum that is on the floor. The same linoleum is in the kitchen.
To the right are floor-to-ceiling original built-in pantry cabinets. After the laundry is remodeled a bit, the ugly under-cabinet height mini-fridge will be moving under a new cabinet on another wall and replaced with a stainless one (or painted with stainless paint). The microwave will move to a shelf elsewhere. I'll probably fine an open shelf or cart for potatoes and such for that space. The antique cabinet to the far left holds some recycling containers and additional pantry storage. That's probably also staying.
funkycamper
8 years ago
amg765
8 years agofunkycamper
8 years ago
Russ Barnard