Are you looking for help to update it? My first thoughts would be to paint the cabinets and change the hardware. With the turquoise appliances and the cherry countertops, white cabs would be AMAZING!!!

I love the turquoise too! If you are thinking of working with what you have and want an updated look, you could paint the cabinets and get a new countertop. Maybe a neutral backsplash too so it does not look too busy if you are keeping the brick in the rest of the room.

I say white cabinets and hardware. Maybe Carrera marble for the counter tops......can't see the floor but I'd stick to wood if it's there. See if you can work a "farmhouse" sink into the design.

Yes! A farmhouse or apron sink would be awesome! What a great project :))

Definitely lighten up the cupboards, countertops and flooring. It will give you a light, beachy feel. I love the turquoise!!

The cabinets are great, I think painting them out to white, using the oven as inspiration, you could find a corian countertop perhaps to tie together, is the top of the oven white or stainless, I am thinking your other appliances could be either to tie together? Could you paint the brick back splash or is it fake?

creeser, BEST IDEA YET!

a fresh coat of painted cabinets would do wonders.

Thanks handymam. I adore those retro appliances and had considered getting them myself, but I couldn't talk hubby into my 'vision'..*L* I love that ninabar wants to keep them!

"someday" creeser, I want those old appliances. Lucky for me, my husband would go along with it. But it would have to be at our "last" house, and we aren't there yet! Still, it might be fun to use at the beach home. I would like the old look as it is nostalgic and that is most likely what ninabar feels about her parent's beachhouse.

Ninabar60: What kind of advice are you looking for? Have you settled on a budget for a renovation or cosmetic update?

oh man! you Houzz guys are awesome! thanks for the responses! Phase one is just a facelift. The ultimate goal will be our retirement home winterized, garage, space for visitors etc. for now, I'm trying to release some of the original, but would like to stay true to the intent!

How much do you like the brick? Does the cooktop have an exhaust fan?

New undercabinet lighting, new overhead lighting, new countertops. I would not replace the flooring (Armstrong Colonial, it looks like) unless I replace the cabinets at the same time. You could remove some cabinet doors and put the microwave up.

You could paint the cabinets. That means repainting every 5 years or so.

Realistically, buying new turquoise appliances to match a 50 year old oven is not going to be cost effective in the long term unless you also plan to replace the old oven with a new turquoise one when it breaks. The Elmira Stove Works appliances have gorgeous colors, but they are quite expensive compared to mid range white or black or stainless (last time I looked).

I kind of like the cabinet hardware! Could the cabinet paint go beach sand and the hinges and pulls be painted out to bronze?

I grew up in a 1960's kitchen with a suite of turquoise appliances. So your oven is making me nostalgic. We were tempted by the Elmira retro turquoise appliances when we renovated our kitchen a few years ago, but ultimately decided against living quite that much in the past. But I still look at them longingly....

feeny, is there a small part of you that wishes you HAD gone with the turquoise? *L*

Definitely! But I also want my 1969 Karmann Ghia back, even more than the turquoise appliances. ;-)

Knew you had that 'against the grain' streak in you!
That's why I love that ninabar wants to keep what she has. So fun to work from there! And yes, they are expensive at Elmira Stove Works, but if you're only looking at getting a fridge to match the real stuff, then it's not like paying for a whole matching set.

Ironwood has a great vision - if you took the cabinets more like sw canvas tan http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW7531-canvas-tan/ and used rustoleum orb paint on the rest of your hardware, the turquoise will look even more at home.
I can see glossy white painted brick backsplash and chimney - these materials have certainly stood test of time.

Some shades for you to explore w canvas tan to see the harmony.
Here's your oven's doppelganger - http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW0075-holiday-turquoise/ You could do walls in paler tone http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6763-retiring-blue/
but for walls, you'll be happier throughout with a more restful, muted hue
ike http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6484-meander-blue/ - Fabulous memories you must have here.

Thanks for the compliment libradesgneye. I'm learning form houzz as much as I am teaching...and your comments are so informative and well thought out...and fast!

I would suggest that you keep the cabinets and hardware exactly as they are, this is a perfect rustic look. Why try to make it something it is not? Why do what everybody else is doing. boring. paint does chip unless you take all the cabinets down and send them to a shop with a spray booth, which is not cheap. DIY painting of kitchen cabinets chips and always looks amateurish. replace or cover the brick back splash and counter-tops with white subway and white quartz respectively. replace the appliances with the items from Elmira. You will have something solid and UNIQUE, while everyone else has gone dark cabinets made of flimsy MDF with glass tile back splash and granite counter tops. Keep your high quality and unique cabinets and hardware. It is good for at least 100 years. A farm house sink may be good if that is what you like. I like to have more than 1 drain, so I only like farmhouse sinks when there is more than 1 sink in a kitchen. In my house I have drop dead minimalist modern and I LOVE your kitchen cabinets exactly as they are.

paint those babies in a light version of the appliances. JUST gorgeous

Old post from 2013...wonder what they did...