Thank you. I'd like to change the wall color, what do you think about either a very pale turquoise or maybe a golden yellow to give it some richness?

Yellow and turquoise were the colours of the 50s so you are on the right track. I really love your kitchen and the table and chairs ,the only thing is that you have too much going on in it ,remove all those things from the top cabinets and stick to only 2 colours .
http://www.elledecor.com/cm/elledecor/images/VU/turquoise-kitchen-lgn.jpg

Yes, it is too busy. I'll definitely have to edit...lol! What do you think about countertops? Would butcher block be ok with wood floors? Then what for the backsplash?

I love red and turquoise together! One of my favorite celebrity kitchens .. Sharon Osbourne .. pictured below:

I would paint the walls a light turquoise ... wood floors and butcher block would be awesome.

Agree that you should remove the things on top of the cabinets. Stick to red and turquoise .. it's a fabulous combination!

Red and white check linoleum. Retro, but better for your health and the environment. Google linoleum.

Love your curtains and tablecloth!
For your countertops you could go with a retro laminate, like the Wilsonart Indie collection.
http://samples.wilsonart.com/c-19-indie-collection.aspx
This is the Retro Domino chip.

Thank you Design Mode. Those countertops would be so cool. I've been searching online for vintage appliances too, so far nothing within a couple hundred miles but I'm hopeful, plus the anticipation is a lot of fun too. It's a work in progress, I'll post more pictures as it progresses. If anyone else has any thoughts or pictures you'd like to share, I'd so appreciate it.

Pale green walls.

What a fun kitchen! Big black and white checks could overwhelm the space, but smaller ones would work. I definitely think you should go with light gray walls. The top left photo shows the wall color and flooring that would be beautiful with your kitchen. The bottom left is an alternate wood flooring to consider -- if you don't want to go with small checkers.

Looks like Jeannie Nguyen and I have chosen the same photo! That's a good sign! :)

Christi, on behalf of Thos. Baker

My grandmom had gray and white 4 x4" plastic tile with a red border for the backsplash and a deep red countertop also a sunbeam mixmaster on the counter. The pyrex and fiestaware bowls you have uptop were in a glass front cabinet with 3 drawers and doilies hanging over the shelves. There was the collection of salt and pepper shakers on a shelf and the bear cookie jar. Her kitchen changed colors often from turquoise to bright yellow to wallpaper to white. There was always a braided rag rug on the floor. Oh and the HUGE wooden fork and spoon and pompoms on the curtains.

It was always a cluttered mass of eyecandy and fun. I got to wear her ruffled bib apron when I helped but I wasn't supposed to get it dirty.