Mid-century kitchen reno help!
HELP! I'm in the beginning phases of a mid-century remodel of a 1962 house in Burlington, VT.
Can you do light wood cabinets with gray/brown floors?
I'm struggling with the decision and I don't want to give up either :-) I have some samples of white washed red oak cabinets but unsure of how they'll look with the floors (they are red oak and will be refinished with an ebony/weathered oak mix I think - also looking for stain recs!). I would like to do white uppers but for some reason seem stuck on wood for the lowers...
Any input or advice is appreciated!
This is a picture of the desired palette but with gray/ brown floors...
Comments (12)
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3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago- PRO
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Mid-Century Modern Remodel--finished kitchen
Comments (52)thanks for the antler link firsthouse_mp! Are you working on another project now? Can't wait to see photos of your new house! I discovered Jessica Martin at a gallery in SF about 6 years ago. I was helping decorate the offices of the company I worked for at the time in and they bought three of her pieces that hung in our SF office. One was very similar to the one you have. I have been yearning for one of her pieces for years, so my husband bought me one of her pieces for Christmas, but it's sitting in a closet right now because we're trying to figure out the best place for it. I need to get some furniture in this house so we can find a spot for it! The house does have ocean and city lights views. And the house also came with a peacock that lives in the yard. I wake up to him at our back door every morning. My dog is getting used to him being around. Here are some recent shots of our progress - we're working on the interior first but the property needs a lot of TLC too:...See MoreHelp me make a mid century mid century modern
Comments (13)Read the Housetweaking blog from early 2011 through 2016/2017 or so. Dana and her husband bought an old, ugly midcentury and DIYed it into a really cool space - keeping the midcentury vibe but not being 100 percent married to it and doing it on a budget. They've moved on to a different house but all the old posts are still on the site. https://www.housetweaking.com/current-house/...See MoreHow to tone down mid-century turquoise kitchen tile
Comments (47)If, however, this is a DIY project and you do NOT want to refinish the wood with poly, you'd still need to clean any part of the cabinets you are going to paint -- and clean it thoroughly -- before painting the cabinets -- otherwise your paint job will not look good at all.. If the dark wood is the problem for you, then lightening up the upper half of the room above the cabinets could well change the vibe and likely make this "beachy" color a better fit within the room. Unless you're changing the floor to a very light floor (I wouldn't) , my inclination would be to NOT paint the lower cabinets at all and paint only the part of the upper cabinets: Paint all of the upper cabinets and doors on the end wall above the stove top the same white as the wall. You could leave the oven cabinet a natural wood as a balance to the glass front cabinet and, if you can replace the doors over the oven with glass doors, consider doing that ... or ... if you decide to paint the solid doors over the oven and its cabinet the same white color, stop at countertop level. For the cabinets with the glass fronts, paint only the interior of the cabinets using that same color that you paint the walls. Once the upper half of the room over the stove top and sink is lighter, would pause before deciding about painting the ceiling....See MoreMid-Century Kitchen Help... Please
Comments (57)Wow! It's so wonderful that you are keeping those lovely cabinets. FYI, instead of refinishing, there is an alternative that you can use that gently revives the cabs with the hassle (and cost!!) of full refinishing. I've used this for a number of my client's projects and the results are quite astounding. Once you have the cabs cleaned, Howards makes a product called, "Restore-A-Finish". You can find it online, but the closest brick and mortar locale is most often antique stores who often display it at their entrances. It comes in various tones and is a gentle tinted oil with a solvent that smooths out any scratches or nicks and is sort of like a facelift without the heavy involvement of full refinishing. It is wiped on and rubbed, then any excess wiped off and that literally is it!! You can then go back with a furniture polish if you like. I use their Feed 'N Wax, but there are other wood polishes that also work well. If these were mine (I'm so jealous), I would also install inside hardware upgrades such as slide outs; maybe soft closing Blum hinges etc. But I agree with the others that you can also save the original pulls and knobs hardware too. You know, home renovations always deliver extra costs and going over budget is all too common (Ask me how I know!). But this is one project out of all the others where you can truly save on refinishing costs (that labor isn't cheap) and the Restore-A Finish look will be lovely. You might at least try this approach before going full refinishing and then decide. But the Howard's product will bring them back to mint without all the sanding, stripping, and associated mess. All the best to you on this amazing home....See More- PROCarly thanked Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
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3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago 
SJ McCarthy
3 years agoemilymch
3 years agoI think a lot will depend on the stain you choose for the floor. Do you have any examples of what you're aiming for with the floor? I have a midcentury home and spent a ton of time researching flooring because we just replaced the original wall-to-wall carpet and changed the flooring in our kitchen. Grayed out wood flooring is very popular right now, and is going to look very out of place in a midcentury modern home if you're trying to stay true to the style. My personal feeling is that 'in' colors for stain come and go, but natural wood is natural wood - harder for that to be dated! I also didn't come across too many (any?) original midcentury kitchens with wood flooring. There are plenty of midcentury modern-style kitchens being done with wood floors now, but it doesn't seem to have been a common kitchen floor material then. (Not sure how closely you are trying to stick to a midcentury modern style, and if you want a time capsule look or a current version of mcm style!)
I certainly think that mixing woods works. We went with unstained white oak floors, and I have lots of teak and walnut furniture and I think it works! Here's a pic, since I think the flooring color looks similar to the cabinet photo in your inspiration photo:
Carly
3 years agoThanks so much for your input! I don't have be super strict about staying MCM and want to bring hardwood into the kitchen since it's everywhere else and I like that look... I'll do more MCM fixtures, accents and furniture but don't mind being more transitional / contemporary for the kitchen design.
This is the stain I'm thinking about using, although I still need to test it...
Here are some of the cabinets options from my cabinet company...
And white washed red oak, which doesn't look this red in the sample I have but...
Thanks again!Carly
3 years agoAnd this is a similar palette to what my living room will look like (unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the house to send and quite a bit of demo is needed)
My kitchen will be a long L shape with a 4.5x7 ft island in the middle FYI and here are a few kitchens that I love...
Carly
3 years agocrcollins1_gw
3 years ago
SJ McCarthy