1949 home. Kitchen needs help
Margie Phipps
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Must See! Vintage Kitchen Planning film 1949
Comments (20)Thanks for that personal data, Deedles. I'm 65 in a few weeks. There was a real change in lifestyle in those roughly 15 yrs of our childhoods, wasn't there? My parents' house was built immediately after WWII in a new suburb of St. Paul; one grandmother lived in old 1880s house in decaying neighborhood of St. Paul and one in 1915 [new] house in town outside St. Paul. We all washed dishes but only the grandmother downtown did the scald routine. It was the rural grandma who had the big farm kitchen but the room was awful, much like the one that the kitchen planning film was trying to replace. Mostly because of lighting and lack of decorating taste. I was dating DH whose parents built a mod house by the U. of M. in 1963 with all the Midcentury Modern features that ecologists now hate. The house fascinated me. They had a skylight, a massive open fireplace, lots of glass windows, and a dishwasher! Two ovens! waterless cookware! A garbage grinder! but a dinky dining room and a one-cook kitchen. And vinyl floor even in dining area and countertops of white shiny Formica with flecks of gold. One thing that we don't see anymore and good riddance is the early plastic tablecloths that were literally tacky--they attracted things to stick to them yet the rural people loved them--cut down on laundry I suppose. We had to struggle to remove a plastic tablecloth from another family table in abt 1970 when we visited the bachelor uncle in Iowa--it adhered to the table....See MoreIt's time for the 1949 kitchen video again
Comments (38)mnerg -- when you mentioned your grandmother having candies in those flour bins I became absolutely flooded with memories of my grandmother's kitchen. Overwhelmed, engulfed in goose bumps. I haven't thought of that kitchen with any specificity in 30 years. It was dark and dank and smelly when I knew her and absolutely crammed in every possible nook or cranny with hard, wrapped candies -- unless they were unwrapped and melting. *She Had Flour Bins*! It never occurred to me to wonder what they really were, they were just this weird scary place there were more candies stored in. But _that's what they were_!!! I suppose that completely-overrun kitchen once functioned in a very orderly way. When I knew it there was moldering stuff everywhere, on all surfaces -- there were no surfaces, really. There was sliced ham in the refrigerator and little banks collecting coins for the grandkids (she would make the rounds of all the banks opening accounts and collecting freebies -- toasters and plastic blankets and dangerous heating blankets). And her counter was lined the whole way along with quite squat tip-out bins at counter height, actually and my brother and I used to wonder what they were. They were flour bins! Wow. Oh my. I haven't *felt* her in so many years. Thank you for all these memories. Her kitchen also had all that metal-trimmed metal counters of the turqouise-reno-retro blog too. In fact, I think that place was turquoise but it was kinda dark and hard to tell. warmfridge -- it may have been another who also recommended America's Kitchens, but I posted a link for it as well. I came across it while poking around in boxes for something or other. I never thought I'd discover any others as interested in the book as I! I'm thrilled you bought it....See More1949 Austin home - extreme exterior update help (good-bye old vinyl!)
Comments (1)Cute house. I like lighter colors in hot sunny climates, since they do a better job of reflecting the suns heat. Dark gray just sound hot, even with the shading that you have. How do you feel about pastels? Given the vintage of your house, it wouldn't have been unlikely for it to have originally been pink, or yellow, or mint green. Are you familiar with the imaging tools offered by paint manufacturers? You can upload a photo of your house and use tools to define areas for painting ("wall", "trim", "door") and then try out different colors. They are pretty easy to use. Here's a link to Benjamin Moore's but most brands have something similar....See MoreFirst home, need help: Kitchen
Comments (6)Looks like the fridge belongs against the wall on the side across from the sink; there's an empty space and a small upper cabinet there in the first photo. The layout looks okay and the cabinets aren't bad at all, but if you are short on storage space it would make sense to get taller uppers that go all the way to the ceiling. Otherwise new counters, a backsplash and some nice hardware would be a less expensive update that would give you a lot of bang for your buck....See Moreherbflavor
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Margie PhippsOriginal Author