How to capture that vintage look with your kitchen remodel

Typically, when people remodel their homes, it’s to replace the old with the new, to modernize an older home, or bring an outdated home up to the standard set by newer homes. But occasionally, homeowners choose to remodel in order to recreate the past. For example, 50s era kitchens are still around today and many are remodeling to try and create that vintage feel in their kitchen. Whether you want to go all-out 50s kitchen or just incorporate a few vintage elements, the following tips may help.

Start with cabinets

Mid-20th century kitchens were known for their interesting cabinetry with exaggerated angles and curves and sleek understated styles. Unfortunately, they’re also known for having limited cupboard space. Since a modern kitchen needs more cupboard space, try to emulate the shape and style of the era rather than the quantity.

Appliances as focal points

Another defining characteristic of 50s and 60s kitchens were the colorful and strangely shaped appliances. Believe it or not this is one of the easier aspects of a vintage kitchen to recreate since there’s still quite a market for vintage appliances. Select these carefully since the major appliances tend to be the focal points in any kitchen and they’ll be key to creating that vintage look.

Lots of color

The kitchens in generations past weren’t known for the subtly, bright colors were used quite liberally. In addition to major appliances, you can incorporate bright colors with many of the accessories in the kitchen as well from smaller kitchen appliances like blenders, toasters, and food processors to the cabinets themselves.

The little things

While the big things like major appliances are crucial for creating that vintage look, it’s the small details that will tie it all together. A few vintage cookbooks and some kitchen tools from the time period are nice finishing touches that will really complete the look and make you feel as if you’ve stepped back in time.

Make the old new

The kitchen is a tricky room to remodel in a vintage style because kitchen designs have changed so much in the last few decades compared to other rooms in the home and the remodeled kitchen will still need to be functional and meet the family’s needs. When remodeling to create that vintage look, you’ll have to be creative to take the best of both worlds-the vintage elements from earlier decades and the functionality of a modern kitchen. Your vintage kitchen will obviously include a number of appliances and tools that didn’t exist when your grandmother was preparing meals. Likewise, features like baseboard radiators don’t have to look outdated; you can install baseboard radiator covers to give them a more modern appearance.

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