Before & After: 1950's Kitchen Remodel on a $15k Budget

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

Before and After - using existing birch wood cabinets we retrofitted the kitchen to accommodate modern appliances. We closed off an un-necessary doorway to accommodate a modern size refrigerator and opened up the wall / doorway adjoining the dining room for a peninsula / breakfast bar with additional bar seating for six.

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thomasmilleresq

7 years ago

I was praying that you mixed up your "Before" and "After" photos.

You spent a ton of money destroying a beautiful vintage kitchen. Your updated kitchen looks dated already.

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Comments (53)

sbrustein
10 years ago
So did you paint or reface the cabinets? Is the counter wood?
a Hef
Original Author
10 years ago
We painted the cabinets. Washed with tsp solution, sanded, primed with oil based primer and four top coats of a latex enamel paint. The counter tops are all butcher block by Boos. We wanted something durable but with a more relaxed feel than granite. We replaced all the hinges on the cabinets as well as the door handles. We also had our contractor build us the wine racks over the sink area.
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There only seems to be one photo in the link? Not sure if this is the before, or the After? More photos and some explanation of what you did would be helpful. :)
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Superb! Love the homage to the original, and (I mean this in the best way possible) your remodel looks as if the bath was always there. Beautifully fitted into the vibe of the place. Would you share details? (BTW - love the new home you found for those three art pieces - perfect complement to the Turkish tile!) Cheers!
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From your post, it sounds like your budget isn't that big. Once you start in with the soffit, it will snowball from there, and you will be in for an entire kitchen overhaul which will cost tens of thousands. Here are some quick ways to update your kitchen without spending a lot. Halve the number of plates along the top of the cabinets. It looks old-fashioned; just pare the display down to the best ones. Remove the window valence, which is fussy. Change out the chandelier over the dining table to something more current. Not an ultra-modern light fixture, cause that would look jarring. But that chandelier is a faux 1930's style, and changing it out for something without curlicues or little lamp shades would update your kitchen. Also remove the doily/wreath/candle from the table. Remove the stuff on top of the microwave, the picture above the paper towel holder, and the chicken clock. Your range and microwave both have clocks, so adding a chicken clock makes the kitchen look old-fashioned. If you want to get more ambitious in your update, I would change out the counters, sink and faucet before I'd change the backsplash. The backsplash isn't bad at all.
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My Medallion cabinets are over 20 years old and still holding up. When I first joined this forum, most said the best boxes are plywood, but I have seen that change and many pros now say that a good MDF box is fine. Mine are not plywood - I think they are MDF - and not the best MDF, but still solid - I know because I tried to cut one apart to change it up. Painted cabinets, even high end cabinets, are often MDF or a combo of MDF and wood - usually maple because it paints well. Wood moves with changes in temp and humidity which can cause hairline cracks in the paint at joints. For this reason, most painted cabinets have MDF parts - it is more stable to changes in temp which helps prevent the paint cracks. A good stained cabinet will have solid wood doors and frames - not veneer. If you do not need to go custom, stock cabinets made in America can give a good quality at a reasonable price. The ability to factory mass produce makes stock less than custom. Be sure to be around if possible for the installation. Cabinets can get dinged up if installers aren't careful. Check te cabinets as they are unboxed and try to catch problems before install.
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a Hef
Original Author
10 years ago
We also pulled up all the old laminate flooring and replaced with porcelains tile as well as tiled the backsplash with a honed stone tile. We removed the unnecessary soffit over the cabinets too.
User
10 years ago
What a great job, kudos!!
PRO
DMH DESIGN
10 years ago
Beautiful. I love the wood breakfast bar. Nice work.
catherinek708
10 years ago
Nice job. I'm curious. What do you figure your savings were vs. new cabinetry?
catherinek708
10 years ago
And, how much of the work did you do yourselves?
Melanie Small
10 years ago
Great job!
J Petempich
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
These cupboards look like they will last a very long time. They look like they were originally custom made. No particle boards on the side of them. Glad you kept them they look great.
a Hef
Original Author
10 years ago
We hired a contractor to retrofit the cabinets, install the countertops, open the wall, and do the tile work. We painted the cabinets ourselves. They were custom built cabinets from the 50's originally and were still in great condition. If we purchased new cabinets and did a complete gut the new cabinets alone were upwards of 15k. And that would have been the very bottom line cabinetry and of course didn't include tile etc.
haald7340
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
This is just like my kitchen! :) How fun to see this!
Joy
9 years ago
Great transformation of kitschy shelves to wine storage!
Stacey
9 years ago
Very,very nice,love the colors and textures.
PRO
Crown Construction Contracting
9 years ago
Great transformation with existing cabinets. Love the table and matching counter tops! Bravo!
Julie Welch
9 years ago
Wow!
PRO
HomeScapes Home Staging San Diego
9 years ago
Great job!
Brittany Johnson
9 years ago
My kitchen looks like the before picture right now. How was is getting the top of the cabinets off and adding crown molding?? Easy? Hard? What did you do?
Sheri
9 years ago
It looks great! So nice that you were able to re-use the original cabinetry.
tersaseda
9 years ago
What a transformation! A much warmer and inviting place to be now--great job!
acm
9 years ago
Would love to know how you got the range in there -- basically, what you did with the corner to the right...
PRO
Lenore Frances Home Interiors
8 years ago
What a change!
Sharika Roland
7 years ago
I like the original better. All you needed to do is change the lighting and you would have had a charming kitchen that wasn't like everyone else.
PRO
Jason Beasley Builders Inc.
7 years ago
Awesome job for a budget! Doesn't look like you were on a budget at all!
PRO
Studio NOO Design
7 years ago
Amazing job
PRO
Stecki Construction
7 years ago
Looks fantastic! Nice job!
Joan Becich
6 years ago
I much prefer the vintage look of the original kitchen. You may have more storage but the old kitchen had character… Much more, I’m afraid.
PRO
May Construction, Inc.
6 years ago
Looks amazing! great choice of counter-tops, really adds character.
Spencer Lewis
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
This is impressive! You really stretched $15k quite a ways!
PRO
Mega Builders
6 years ago
Wow - nicely done!
JustDoIt
6 years ago
You spent a ton of money destroying a beautiful vintage kitchen. Your updated kitchen looks dated already.

I like the original better. All you needed to do is change the lighting and you would have had a charming kitchen that wasn't like everyone else.

I much prefer the vintage look of the original kitchen.

Not everybody likes the vintage look. Not all opinions have to be given.
pamelamacleod
6 years ago
It looks beautiful, great job!
K Laurence
6 years ago
It looks fantastic ! I love the butcher block ....
K Laurence
6 years ago
I stay in vintage MCM boutique hotels in the Palm Springs area several times a year. As much as I appreciate the “vintage” decor & bathrooms, I don’t want it for my full time residence, vacations yes, but not everyday. I understand the desire for a transformation here. Great job, I love it.
ljptwt7
6 years ago
Beautiful. Don't let the nay-sayers trouble you. They can have an authentic vintage kitchen if they want. What's important is if you like it! You kept perfectly good quality cabinets instead of wasting money on cheap replacements. Cudos!!
lesleycurl
6 years ago
Nice job and I love that you kept the cabinets and painted them. I'm getting quotes for new cabinets for a rental. The quotes for ready-made medium quality for two upper cabinets, a sink base cabinet and three 15" wide base cabinets are running $3,000 to $4,600. This is for a tiny kitchen, so imagine the cost for a full-sized kitchen. Quotes for RTA (ready-to-assemble) are slightly less at $2,000-$3,000. Cabinets are very expensive for decent quality.
Tammy Baker
6 years ago
Awesome Job- this is the kitchen I want!
PRO
Michels Homes
6 years ago
Awesome transformation!
PRO
White Marble Source
6 years ago
This looks great - nice choices and vast improvement to feel of space!
Julie Wilson
5 years ago
Hello - This looks great. We have similar style 1950s kitchen that we are looking to remodel ourselves, but keep our cabinets too. We have the H style offset set, colonial style hinges and want to replace with interior hinges but have been unsuccessful in finding there or how to do it. Did you replace yours or did you replace the entire doors on the cabinets?
Steph
5 years ago
Looks great!
PRO
KT tile
5 years ago
Looks great! I did a good job with the budget you had!
Lora G
3 years ago
The vintage kitchen cabinets were beautiful birch wood. Don't know where you would find that again. The wrong modifications were made.
arcy_gw
3 years ago
I doubt the OP will see this..to each his own on cabinet color..would love to hear how your DIY paint job is holding up, however. I took a look to see how your decisions 7 years ago are holding up and from my view point you chose well!!
K.
2 years ago
I am working on similar cabinets. What kind of hinges did you use to replace the original ones? I'd love to be able to use some that aren't visible but I don't see how with inset doors.
territheresa
2 years ago
Looks great! Love that you made wine storage out of those window shelves.
katsamdave
2 years ago
Yes you should should preserve vintage features in a house when you can but you have to have an updated kitchen!!!!
Kay P
2 years ago
Great job! Look like you spent a lot more then you did. How is the paint on cupboards holding up?
Why steps for prep and painting did you do? Thanks
Kay P
2 years ago
*what
PRO
FrameMyMirror
last year
Wow what a transformation! Great job!

Before & After: 1950's Kitchen Remodel on a $15k Budget

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