It looks like there could have been a couple of updates done at different times. But the cabinets do look to be in nice condition, as does the floor tile and also what I see of tub in bathroom. I don't think it would take much to update. I would probably bring in new countertop in kitchen and stainless appliances, and update lighting as needed, install some undercabinet lighting, too. And in bathroom, bring in sinks and maybe counter that work with the floor tile and tub.

I would vote for 50s. DARK oak was popular in the 70s. Tread lightly on the updating you choose. The above bathroom options are trendy not choices for the long haul.

50’s ... but appliances look later. Great blog for old homes:

https://retrorenovation.com/2015/08/04/restore-1950s-wood-kitchen/

https://retrorenovation.com/2009/06/25/scenes-from-22-blue-midcentury-bathrooms/

Search both — ‘1950s kitchens maple cabinets’ and ‘1950s blue bathrooms’ ... lots of pics come up.

ETA: This one, too: https://www.atomic-ranch.com

I love 50S houses for the size of the LRs but to be honest the kitchens and bathrooms need to move into the 21 st century IMO I still embrace the flat panel cabinets in the kitchen and yours seem to look pretty good but what you will notice is the poor storage inside them and the lack of drawers for lower cabinets. The bathrooms are another story the tubs are so shallow you can barely bathe in them the toilets are water wasters and really just not that nice looking. I have a MCM ranch builtin 1956 and I love so many things about it but we did redo the bathrooms and the kitchen and I do not feel like I dishonoured the home but it needed to meet our lifestyle too.This is my kitchen and LR

50s, we have similar ones. Make sure the interiors are in good shape, including the drawer slides (which are likely to be wood on wood, which splinter over time if not kept up).

Agree with jinx, but the colored bath fixtures are more of a 60’s item. If the tub is a different color than toilet and sink it was probably replaced later. Intersting that the tub actually reduced water usage - no deep soak - while toilets increased water usage. 🧐

Thanks everyone! Yes, I do not love the bathroom but thought that it may give a clue to whether or not the kitchen cabinets were original. I thought that if they updated the bathroom then probably did the kitchen too. I would add more kitchen cabinets due to lack of proper storage. The bathroom I would replace. I dislike this blue bathroom.

I doubt it is 50’s. Looks like 60s or 70’s. 50’s bathrooms tended to have colored sinks and toilets that matched in colors: maroon, pinks and other colors. Our hour was the fifty’s and we had maroon colored toilet, sink and bathtub.

I think the tub is 50’s. Obviously the toilet was changed at some point:

https://clickamericana.com/topics/home-garden/midcentury-bathrooms-see-the-most-popular-color-schemes-of-the-50s

The kitchen cabinets are original to the 50s home. Check the hardware out. Vintage. Also, the tub is original, as is the surround. The floor is a “maybe.” The absence of wall tile and the modern sink points to a remodel.

You can “honor” your house by remodeling it as much as keeping everything. HOWEVER, if you like the cabinets and they are functional for you, then that’s great. They need a good cleaning (first try lemon oil and 0000steel wool since it’s gentle), then remove the hardware and see if you’ll be able to cover the holes to install new ones at a different angle. Does everything work well? Does the layout work for you? You can certainly save a ton of money just replacing appliances and the sink. Yes, the bathroom is a mish-mash of eras. Post photos of the adjoining area to the kitchen.

Agree with JuneKnow.

As usual, JuneKnow is spot on.

That kitchen is a keeper!

That is TOTALLY my Auntie Dot's kitchen. I was born in the late 60s, so my memories of that kitchen probably start in the early 70s -- and the kitchen was not new then.

50s. I also just bought a house with identical original cabinets. They are impressively solid and much sturdier than anything I see in most kitchen stores these days. I almost feel bad planning on taking them out.

My parents built their house in 1964 and those are the same kitchen cabinets. She had a light pink oven and cooktop range to go with it!

I am hoping 1950's. The 70's was the worst decade in the history of humanity when it came to styles.

You can embrace the 1950s decade while adding your personality and taking advantage of 2021 advances. My childhood home was built in 1946 and wasn’t remodeled until 2015. Most everything was so classic that they have retained their popularity. Found a photo of our black/white floor tile pattern, 4x4” white wall tile and the black bullnose tile. 1950s was chrome fixtures and gentle curve on tub surround and faucets, and simple mirrored medicine cabinet inset over the sink. Definitely upgrade the toilet to a water saver, rewire if there is old electrical wiring still in the walls, make sure the wall paint doesn’t contain lead, and verify whether the plumbing pipes meet local building code. We didn’t have shower niches or grab bars or slide bar for hand held shower head, but those modern conveniences won’t detract from the 1950s look. Save the 1950s color palette for the towels and wall paint, and stick with white tub, toilet, and sink.

The porcelain toilet paper holder is original. 1950s towel bars were also porcelain with painted wooden bar (if removed from the house you can find them on Etsy). The tub shape is original. I don’t blame you for not liking the blue, but there may still be companies that survived the economic downturn that can re-coat the blue porcelain in white for you. Don’t know about the vanity and sinks, countertops were definitely laminate. Our bathroom sink was a white wall hung sink like this (it provided no counter space or storage so you may want to rethink that)

On to the kitchen. Our cabinets looked just like that - slab front, brown wood grain showing through very shiny clear top coat, and we had that scrolly wooden piece spanning the window. Our pulls looked the same but were chrome. I was able to find a photo of our cabinet door hinges. One of the deep drawers was a bread drawer lined in metal, and we had a pullout cutting board tucked in above the silverware drawer. The countertop was laminate and the floor was vinyl tiles. If that flooring is original, it may have asbestos and need to be removed by a remediation team if you plan to replace it. The house was build in 1946 but previous owners updated appliances around 1956 before we moved in and I found photos of similar ones. However, you may want modern appliances...1950s fridges were very short and had no storage and microwave ovens weren’t invented yet. That metal vent hood may be original, although I bet the cooktop is not.

50’s on the cabinets for sure. Our house was built in 62 and different from those, much cheaper looking. Hollowed out cheap wood with no trim and dark stain

I would gut it and keep the footprint. It’s a nice layout. Bathtub is also 50’s.

My neighbor’s house was built in the 50s and has those same birch cabinets.

You say the cabinets are in great shape -- but are they FUNCTIONAL? I suspect they're not really cabinets as we think of them today. They're probably built-in-place as one long box with dividers to give the appearance of separate cabinets. Drawers are probably wood-on-wood, i.e., no glides. It's also likely the wall of the home is the "back wall" of the "cabinets". That would be typical of 1950's.

IMHO, I disagree with the push to "keep them b/c they're original to the home/period" comments First, none of those people have to live with them. Second, you can replace them with functional cabinets that have an outside appearance to the period but are updated and functional internally.

Personally, I think our parents/ancestors are laughing at us. They put those cabinets (or layout) in because that's what was available at the time (60 or more years ago!), not b/c they were from some specific, idealized period. Trying to keep dysfunctional items and/or layouts just because that was what was originally installed, which, btw, could also have been b/c that's all they could afford at the time, does not seem reasonable.

If the original owners were around today, they would be saying, "it's so nice to have functional cabinets (or layout) and I wish we had had these back then!" [How do I know? My mom falls into that category.]

Yes, your layout is pretty good generally, if lacking in counterspace where it's needed most -- b/w the sink and range. If that's all the counterspace you have, though, I would probably recommend replacing the cooktop & double ovens with a range and move the range to the right a bit to get more workspace b/w it and the sink.

Drawers are so nice on the bottom. Pullouts, a pantry, soft close doors, and gliding drawers are all missing from the original cabinets. Get rid of them. Microwave.

Is this a U shaped kitchen? What’s to the left?

Please keep us Houzzers posted on whether you put an offer on the house or not! Best wishes whatever you decide.

Buehl, the voice of reason. Don’t live with dysfunction just because it’s original.

We built our lakefront summer place in 1962, and our cabinets are exactly the same as yours. The stain and glossy poly finish, the visible hinges, and the hardware installed on a slant are a mirror image of ours.

It is exactly the same cabinets and layout as my late mother-in-laws kitchen which was built in 1958.

late 50's.

bathroom, not original. (except the blue tub) and needs to be gutted. nothing in there worth saving.

the kitchen has the original cabinets. if you like them, refinish them. that's about all that's worth saving

Agree with JuneKnow: kitchen cabinets (gorgeous!) are original, and only the tub in the bathroom. Maybe the tile in the tub surround and the floor, if it's tile. The sinks/vanity and toilet were definitely replaced later (80s?). The original toilet and sink would have been blue to match the tub. I love the vintage colored bathrooms so much, and if that were my house, I would start obsessively combing eBay, Craigslist, FB marketplace, and local salvage places for blue replacements!

Do you like any of the bathroom elements? If the tub is in good condition, a blue and white bathroom could be adorable.