Help with Blue and Red Retro Kitchen Design
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- last monthlast modified: last monthmowuseni thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
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Retro kitchen colors...
Comments (12)In the 50's and 60's we had turqoise painted walls and white chromed trimmed formica with silver starburst which I only recently got rid of. The linoleum was cream coloured splattered with sticks and squares an dots that were red, gree, yellow, black ando orange. Before that linoleum the floor was a turqoise greenish colour with what looked like to be snowflakes. When we remodeled the kitchen recently we found a piece of that flooring under the cupboards. Our kitchen table was silver with chrome legs with leaves that pulled out on each end and the chairs were brown vinyl square chairs with the bended chrome legs that were open in the middle in the back. There was also a bench that the boys used to sit on. My grandparent's kitchen in the 50's from pictures I have the kitchen was yellow with green and white checkered flooring, the backspalsh cream coloured linoleum squares and the countertops were either black or dark green. They had a cream coloured cookie jar with the three bears on it which my cousin stil has. The wall hangings they were 2 decorative ceramic plates about 12 inches across that had a 3 dimensional medival/castle theme. I remember using my fingers to climb the big stairs on the plate to reach the coat of armour and the castle door. (I had a good imagination) I loved those plates and when we removed them from the wall a couple of years ago one of them was dropped and it shattered. They also had ceramic flower pot holder hooks that hung on the side of the cupboard near the stove. They were yellow sunflowers with red pots. I seem to remember they had smiley faces and eyes on them. LOL The table in the kitchen was bright yellow with chrome legs, the chairs they used were bright red vinyl covered wooden chairs (I still have the table and one chair). They also had one of those high chairs that had steps that folded. They also had a big huge upright freezer in the kitchen that still worked when we got rid of it a few years ago. The kitchen was huge. My grandmother also had pyrex bowls and used a lime green casserole dish for her green jellow and cream cheese salad. My memory of grandma's coloured pyrex is what started my passion for collecting vintage pyrex. I don't know if this came later or not but grandma had linen croched pot holders that looked like dresses that my other Grandmother made. Those are the colours I remember from my childhood in the late 1950's and 1960's. Anne...See MoreRetro Kitchen Refresh - ideas needed!
Comments (53)@Eva N, what gorgeous yellow tile! So great you've decided to keep it. If you're still debating countertops, I'd personally go for white rather than soapstone in that space. It will keep with the brightness of the tile. Another option, which you may have seen on retrorenovations (I think people recommended that site on your original thread), would be to use white 4x4 square tile on the countertop, with black v-cap or box-cap edging. Tile countertops are making a comeback, they're cheaper than stone, and super durable, and would be true to the period of your kitchen. You can get inexpensive white field tile from Lowes/HD and then get the more specialized edging tiles from someplace else. For my 1920s kitchen, I found reasonably priced v- and box-cap trim tiles from B&W and Daltile (their Color Wheel and Semi-Glass & Matte collections are great for retro kitchens). Modern grouts are much more stain resistant and easier to keep clean than before, so I'm much less worried about the grout lines getting grimy. As for cabinets, repainting in all the same color would go a long way to covering up any mismatches in the style of the doors. Another option would be to decide which style you like better and replace the other doors/drawer faces with matching ones. (Personally, I love the white flat-front ones in your butler's pantry! They're what I'm putting in my retro 1920s kitchen.)...See MoreKitchen design help - cabinet color midnight blue
Comments (15)Thoughts on color: - I find it too close to black, and -- even with a good-sized window -- it's going to make your kitchen dark. The cabinets almost look black in the pictures. - Consider that this blue-black will be hard to keep clean. - On the other hand, I really like that Harbor Blue -- it looks more friendly, less stark. It looks great with that brick wall background in your inspiration picture. - I don't like the mix-and-match uppers white /lowers blue. That's a fad, and you don't want to put cabinet-money into something that's going to be dated sooner rather than later. Thoughts on the cabinets being blocky and layout: - No, I don't think it's too blocky -- you may be thinking that because right now it's empty, but once you add all the things that a kitchen must have, it'll look different. You have ample counter space without that left-side cabinet, and it's nice to have space to hide things. - Thinking about adding the small essentials to the kitchen, where will you keep your "always outs"? That is, coffee pot, fruit bowl, cookie jar, canisters? With that big pantry cabinet, I might try to incorporate some of them "inside". - This cabinet plus a 5' pantry isn't overkill. - I'd tweak the pantry cabinet doors though: instead of having them both open up "ta-da style", I'd want two doors that both open towards the work area. - Where's your oven? Your microwave? Your trash can? Your fire extinguisher? - I'd lose half the stools. You have a dining area RIGHT THERE (literally within arm's reach) for family meals. Keep just a couple stools for the occasional kid who sits at the island or for you when you want to sit down to do a big task. Four stools in 8' is technically enough, but it's the beginning of "enough" ... certainly not generous. I love it. Its nice to see people using color again, instead of white. I would think about how the color flows with the rest of your decor when choosing the blue shade. Two very good points....See MorePlease suggest a funky/retro creative design for our entire house
Comments (21)@Dawn Martinez Here is my stab at the living room. I see the OP started a different post, not too long ago, about the same space but didn't get much of a response. I think the space has too much furniture in it and wonder if it will all stay. IMO the dining room is an easier space to start with. The living room needs a bit more editing. Also, if there is a dark color on the wall I think the wood blinds really stand out. It is hard to tell what the coffee table looks like because I think that is a game board or something sitting on top. I'm not thrilled with either of these photoshops....See MoreRelated Professionals
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