The Miele speed ovens will serve quite well as a microwave so long as you can live without the popcorn/defrost/dedicated functions available with one button push. The unit does have a minute plus button that will, with one push, start the microwave, so you can do a coffee reheat, melt butter, etc. But for more complex microwaving, you need to go into the menu structure to select power, duration, etc. But it is an excellent microwave. Instead of turning the food on a turntable, it turns the antenna! The big charm of the things is that they can convection bake, broil, or microwave, or all of the above, concurrently. There are modes you can dial up that will heat up the oven cavity using the heating elements and then inject some microwaves periodically, greatly speeding up the baking, but with results like the dish was baked in a standard oven. Our speed oven has taken over as the go-to oven in our house for most stuff. It won't do pizza very well (you need bottom heat for that) but for most dinners where you are serving one baked dish with sides, it rocks. Here's the deal, though. If you decide on a speed oven you will have to plan for a 220-240V circuit to power it.

Thank you all for your comments. hollybar, I wanted to powder coat the stove because I think a mint green stove would look cute in a 1950s kitchen, and because it's not very expensive. I hope that my current tenants (who have lived there for less than a month) enjoy living in the house and stay for several years. My husband wasn't very excited about mint green, and it sounds like nobody here is either, so I'll probably stick with the more universally appealing white. I hadn't considered burn marks, but the tables were a DIY project meant to last 5-10 years until we get around to changing the window and adding cabinets on that side of the kitchen. The hickory for the butcher block tops only cost $50, and hopefully I can turn them over or plane them between tenants if they are burnt. I agree with you that table height looks wrong next to the window, but it's done now and there is no way my husband could be prevailed upon to change it!

I think your appliances compliment the terra cotta floors and countertops and I think the fridge is fine in that location as long as it doesn't interfer with the doorway opening.. It would be expensive to relocating the hardware--I think I would embrace its quirkiness. I would remove the table, 2 chairs and the shelf above. Then I would replace those items with some sort of kitchen cart with shelves underneath to give you extra counterspace and storage. I think the kitchen cart should have a black or dark gray base to coordinate with your appliances, rather than be white to coordinate with the cabinets. I would get rid of the curtain above your sink, all the knickknacks on top of your wall cabinets, and the heavy-looking ceiling fan. I would find a modern poster or some other artwork for the wall above the cart--something simple, but colorful to coordinate with your floors and appliances. Try to outfit the cart with useful, but attractive kitchen items rather than unncessary knick knacks. As others have suggested, I would change the wall color, perhaps in the other adjointing rooms as well. This will involve a commitment of time and money, so choose carefully and take your time. I would start by finding a Benjamin Moore paint chip that closely matches your terra cotta floors--since the floors are the domanant color in your space and your wood floors are a close match to the terra cotta. Then choose a whitish or light color that coordinates with your floors fist, cabinets second. The reason why I am suggesting BM, is because BM has so many terra cotta colors to choose from and because their website will make a few suggestions for a lighter coordinating color that may help you narrow down your choices. You can ask the BM retail staff to assist you in helping you figure out a color pallet that will work in your space, but always test potential colors on your walls before proceeding. https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/1202/baked-terra-cotta

Highly recommend not leaving all on counter or placing them discreetly so they don’t distract. We also have open concept and tue only visible small appliance is our toaster. Coffee maker tucked around the corner and all else in corner cabinet.