Retro Kitchen Makeover

We spend a substantial amount of time in our kitchen, drinking morning coffee, cooking meals, doing dishes etc...

As we sit sipping a freshly brewed cup, reading our morning paper or planning our day, our surroundings comfort and soothe us. They remind us that it's ok to take a few minutes, get our bearings and prepare ourselves for what could be a hectic day. We're assured that once our day is done, they'll be there waiting with open arms, to cradle us, shielding us from the craziness that can be the outside world.

We look around our kitchen and we see the black and white checkerboard tile floor, the white kitchen cabinets with the fancy, ornate door and draw pulls, the countertops and decorative canister set holding your freshly baked cookies or tea bags and treats for the kids once they've finished their homework. Our canisters have the bright red that matches the tiny flowers in our tablecloth. The tablecloth is a mishmash of country scenes woven together and bordered by the tiny red flowers. The table and chairs remind us of Mom's kitchen with the cushioned backs and seats and the chrome legs. The colors compliment the floor.

Ahhh... to dream!

June Cleaver didn't think her retro kitchen was that big of a deal and neither did Donna Reed. To them it was just a kitchen, the center of their home, the place where everyone gathered after school to eat fresh chocolate chip cookies and drink tall, cool glasses of milk. These days people are paying big bucks to have a kitchen that looks just like the kitchens in those 40's, 50's and even 60's TV shows. If it was no big deal back then, what makes a retro kitchen so special now?

Part of the attraction is just pure nostalgia. Most people who are old enough to be remodeling their kitchen can also remember back to those days when mom's domain was the kitchen. They remember coming home from school and being greeted by the aroma of freshly baked cookies and cakes. They remember the family gathering around the table every night for dinner and they want to rekindle those feelings within their own home, for their own family.

Retro kitchens are also charming and cheerful. Who wouldn't love a kitchen with a big, pink GE oven as the focal point or a shelf full of colorful Fiestaware warming up the room? And remember how the refrigerator was that beautiful shade of turquoise?

Everything seemed to have more color and life back then. Today our appliances are cold, stainless steel behemoths. Our countertops are black marble or stone. Our floors are also cold, made of white ceramic tile or gloomy, gray slate. Our dishes are white, our cabinets are white, everything is cold, and drab and sterilized.

And maybe that's why so many people are turning to a retro kitchen design. Our kitchens today are so cold and impersonal you're almost afraid to cook anything. Who wants to come home from school and enter this room that's almost hospital-like in all its steel sterility? There's nothing in our kitchens today to make them feel warm and welcoming, nothing to make them feel like the heart of the home like they did back when June and Donna were moms.

So what do you need to do to get that retro kitchen?

The biggest change you can make is to bring warmth and coziness back into the room with the simple addition of color. If you're into the 40s scene then you'll like vibrant colors - navy blue, cherry red and sunny yellow. And if you're into the 50s you go with pastels - pinks and blues and buttery yellows.

Get rid of the black and stainless steel appliances. Put some colorful throw rugs on the floor. Get some bright kitchen towels. Start collecting colorful stoneware salt and pepper shakers. Better yet, start baking cookies in your kitchen and fill up a cookie jar or two. You'll know you have a true retro kitchen when it becomes the heart of your home.

I'd like to thank SheWritesaLot for her brilliant work in helping me to put this lens together.
and
thank you to spin spin over at Flickr for permission to use the photo