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danielle_waters

Mid-Century Modern Kitchen Reveal

10 years ago

After about 8 months of being my own general contractor our kitchen is finally complete!

Home is a 1979 single level tract house of 1250sq feet in the Bay Area. Kitchen/Eat-in is 9' 4" by 25'. Our goal was to maintain the feel of this kitchen by keeping the original birch cabinet doors, but updating to modern standards.

Before:

After:





Cabinets: Custom by Strong-Roll-Out, fridge side is all new painted BM super white. Old fridge cabinet was moved to the end of the L run to elongate the space. Doors were converted to all drawers, hardware updated to Blum heavy duty drawer glides with soft close, hinges with soft close by Salice.

Counter tops: Quartz by MSI Q, Perla White, done by Monarch Designs

Sink: Blanco Diamond Super Single in white, Blanco faucet

Floor: Refinished Concrete

Paint: BM Super White

Appliances: Existing Electrolux freestanding induction stove, Electrolux dishwasher. New Blue Star 30" hood with duct cover and external 1000cfm blower. Fisher and Paykel 36" counter depth french door refrigerator. Electrolux convection microwave with drop down door.

Backsplash: Backpainted glass in BM Festive Orange by Franciscan Glass Company

Table: Milano extendable table by Bo-Concept

Chairs: Eames Eifel fiberglass chairs in orange from DWR

Light: Reproduction Sputnik, under-cabinet lighting and plugs by Ik

Total Cost of renovation: $52,500 which seems like a lot but gutting the kitchen in the bay area would have cost us 150,000, so we think this is a bargain!




Comments (38)

  • 10 years ago

    I love it!!! The orange is perfect for an MCM kitchen. Glad you were able to keep the old cabinets and update them, especially great idea to convert to drawers. And I love love love your table. It really is the finishing touch.

  • 10 years ago

    It looks really great! Love the backpainted glass backsplash! Wish I would have had the guts to go with something bold like that. Everything turned out so perfect for an MCM home! Enjoy!

  • 10 years ago

    Oh wow!!! I LOVE it! Makes me want to go watch Mad Men. :)

  • 10 years ago

    Wow! My jaw is dropping! What a thoughtful way to repurpose and bring the kitchen up to date while reusing the cabinets! Simply beautiful.

  • 10 years ago

    Wonderful! Those cabinets have finally found their style, so much more MCM than 1979. And those chairs, so comfortable.

    Did you use the Vertigo poster as your color inspiration?

    What is the color in the room leading to the kitchen, by the sink? Beautiful color, goes great with the Festive Orange.

  • 10 years ago

    For some reason that color just looks darker, we had the whole main area of the house and kitchen painted the same BM super white for continuity. The Vertigo poster was inspiration, when we bought this house 6 years ago and moved in I found that at a local good will. The house was a total fixer, but the kitchen was last on the list for a major overhaul. So I painted the kitchen orange and decorated with vintage pieces to make it have a more cohesive look. Turns out living with it for 5 years made me love the orange color and style so much we kept with the same theme.

  • 10 years ago

    What a fabulous kitchen! Love the way you reused those cabinets - they really make the space. Looks super organized, too.

  • 10 years ago

    Beautiful. Love the orange backsplash.

  • 10 years ago

    That came out great! Congratulations :)

  • 10 years ago

    Love it!

  • 10 years ago

    That looks fantastic! Orange is one of my favorite colors and what an impact it makes in your kitchen! That glass painted backsplash rocks! And with your chairs, wow!

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Wow, amazing remodel! Love that you kept the original birch cabs and repurposed doors into drawers. That's the cherry on top, IMO.

  • 10 years ago

    I'm so impressed you managed to turn doors into drawer fronts so seamlessly!

  • 10 years ago

    I love the orange backsplash with the original cabinet.

  • 10 years ago

    it's beautiful! with so much light coming into it too. I also think it's great you could reuse the cabinets there - and got drawers for the lower cabinets. that should increase storage and make it easier to access.

    get yourself a gel mat to stand on those floors! it's so bright and cheerful - I love orange too.

  • 10 years ago

    Gorgeous. I love the color scheme and the new table and chairs.

  • 10 years ago

    Very well done! Tasteful, and authentic.

    Takes me back to my childhood, having grown up in a neighborhood sprinkled with MCMs when they were new ;)

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    I love how much this keep in line with the period style, while making everything fresh. Love that the seating and framed picture pick up the color theme from the backsplash.

    Do you love the faucet? We just bought the same one, but it's in a box under my sofa...

    The chandelier is wonderful!

  • 10 years ago

    I do like the faucet, but that was a compromise with my husband because he doesn't like sprayers at all. He would have preferred a faucet without one, but thats plain crazy talk. I was worried it might not reach all the areas of my sink, but it does fine and its really easy to use. I'm used to using Hansgrohe in the bathroom and the quality of the Blanco seems be on par.

  • 9 years ago

    Wow! We have the SAME style of birch doors in our mid-century home and we are trying to figure out a way to rehab them. How did you re-stain the finish? Ours are covered with a thin veneer and I am nervous that we will wreck them, but they are spots where the veneer is chipped or the stain is darkened from age.

  • 9 years ago

    A d o r e i t ! ! !

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    You did a great job!!! It looks terrific!

  • 9 years ago

    Bravo on the re-use of the existing cabs!

    Gorgeous!

  • 9 years ago

    The cabinets did not get restained, they were in ok condition. We painted the boxes a super bright white and it made the doors look way better. I also used one of those stain touchup pens on the few places with scratches and chipped veneer. A good cleaning and rub down with oil/wood polish really helped too. We did have a stain/refinisher specialist through the cabinet guy who stained a few of the new cabinet drawer fronts to match the old ones. Im sure that a refinisher would be able to tell you if yours could be restained. I think if its never been done before they can sand lightly into the veneer without going through, especially if you don't want to change the color too drastically.

  • 9 years ago

    Wonderful transformation! A couple of questions, did you do the bay window or was it there? Do you happen to know the approximate size and angle? I'm getting one and trying to picture how it will look. Also, regarding the glass panel backsplash, do you like it? How did it compare price wise to other backsplashes, do you know. I want that too! Thank you!

  • 9 years ago

    Very cool. Wood plus white always, always wins my heart. Great transformation

  • 9 years ago

    I'm green with envy. Love it.

  • 9 years ago

    The bay window was existing, but I believe it may have been a previous retrofit from a straight window before I bought the home. It's approx. 42" x 42" and 16" deep. It looks close to being a 45 degree angle for the sides. The glass backsplash was the big splurge, they run between $125-$150 a square foot installed. I was only going to have it behind the stove to keep costs down but my husband said just go for it so I did that whole wall. Its super easy to keep clean, just like cleaning a mirror or window.

  • 9 years ago

    Thanks so much, I've been wondering how a relatively small bay window would look, and now I'm going to move forward with it! Ease of cleaning, plus clean contemporary look was also why I wanted the glass, I hope I can do it! I really appreciate the info and hope that you enjoy your new kitchen!

  • 9 years ago

    Thanks, Danielle! Very inspiring.

  • 9 years ago

    @Danielle re: glass panel backsplash. I would imagine there is caulking at the point where backsplash meets countertop, but caulking breaks down. Are you concerned at all that moisture, grease, etc. might seep in and damage painted back? What kind of paint is it? Done by pro or DIYer? I'm enamored! Is glass a solid piece?

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Congratulations! Love it that you worked with the existing cabinetry and made it your own. The orange color is great. And if you ever want to perk up your cabinets even more (without re-staining), there is a great product called Howard's Restore-a-Finish that I often use on my vintage finds (test in an inconspicuous backside of a door first).

    Are you going to bring back your credenza into the space or did you place it elsewhere?

  • 9 years ago

    Just saw the detail in the ceiling. Nice!

  • 9 years ago

    That's awesome!

  • 9 years ago

    The glass was professionally painted. Glasspaint by Glassprimer is used a lot professionally and can be bought in a diy capacity. It came in three pieces, the piece over the stove and then one left and one right. Glass sheets only come so long and wide, so thats the limitation on size just like a countertop. It does have a clear caulking between the countertop and glass. It will break down eventually but I wasn't worried about it because I'm pretty good at caulking.

  • 9 years ago

    The countertops make all the difference! Looks beautiful and unique!

  • 9 years ago

    Well done, very cool kitchen! Enjoy it.