Future Plans for the Kitchen

We’ve been in our mid-century house for almost a year, and we’ve really made a style mark on our home. The collection of rooms as a whole is pretty eclectic, like our Art Deco glam main bedroom or modern tiki basement den, but we are leaning mid-century modern in most other rooms. It’s been fun to collect more decor items that are the same period of the home, it’s luckily a style that Ryan and I both love!

We are keeping the majority of the original details in the house, including the amazing knotty pine wall panels. I love the challenge of decorating them in a way that is cool and fresh, since many people nowadays just paint them white. #TeamWoodWalls

My love of knotty pine dies when I enter the kitchen though…The cabinets are super banged/scratched up and give country granny un-chic vibes with the colonial iron hardware. Most people think of mid-century modern style when the 1950s is brought up (myself included), but the “Early American” style was much more prevalent in those times, and it’s definitely what our home was modeled after. It’s not my favorite style of the era, and I really want more of a Jetson-esque retro modern kitchen.

Despite the huge change in style, we don’t want to gut the kitchen. Giving the original cabinets new life is a much more fun challenge, as well as economical and eco-friendly. However, I will be redoing the floors (the blue “wood” vinyl is definitely not original to the home) and eventually we want new countertops (also not original). We have made some small progress towards our new kitchen, which I’ll share below!

Though we are keeping the rest of the cabinets, this desk nook wasn’t serving us to it’s best potential. We wanted more storage than just a desk top, so that was the first to go. Our metal cabinet has great style and storage, but it’s slightly too small for the space, so I’ll be building out some shelves to the side and adding a new countertop across to “build” it in. I also removed the scalloped shelves and replaced them with more modern black stained shelves and gold brackets. I was hoping to have three shelves, but it was too tight of a fit. However, now that I have all this space beneath, I’m thinking it will be a great spot for some funky art, mug hooks, or display area for some vintage kitchen items!

The table area is the only area that I’ve fully completed, and it’s really bringing the retro modern vibes! We love having an eating area in the kitchen and take advantage of it way more than the dining room.

Now for the inspo for what’s to come! I can’t wait to tackle the cabinets and floors. It’s going to be such a huge transformation!

We are staining the cabinets BLACK, which I’m sure you noticed from the new black open shelves and the patch of cabinet I stained beside it. Ryan wanted to be able to still see the grain, so instead of paint, I’m using stain, which is a compromise I am happy to oblige! The patch of cabinet I already did looks great and I’m excited to continue on.

I’ll be replacing the traditional iron hardware with these ultra mod white round handles. I’ll be playing up geometrics in a lot of ways in the kitchen, and these will have great contrast against the black stained cabinets.

Vinyl tile in funky patterns was super popular in the 1950s, and I fully plan on embracing that vintage detail. It’s the best of both worlds, since it’s super affordable and offers high impact on style. I haven’t nailed down what pattern I’ll be doing, but it will definitely be black and white.

The appliances and kitchen accessories are where I’m bringing in the color. I’ve already got a great start with my collection of rainbow glassware, but I’m still trying to find lots of fun pieces to display and use around the kitchen. If you remember our old house, we had a red fridge (painted by me) and I really want to do it in this house as well. I’m thinking yellow this time, but I haven’t decided for certain.

I can’t wait to share more, stay tuned!