Before and After: 4 Fresh-Faced Kitchens With Vintage Flair
Nostalgia meets modern sensibility in these charmingly revived cooking spaces
Turning to the past for a kitchen redesign in the present offers a lot of leeway. Without the strictness of a spot-on restoration, a vintage-inspired makeover lets you choose which elements conjure a comforting fondness for simpler times (even if the simplicity is entirely imaginary) and which you’d rather leave in the dust. Below, see which ideas designers drew from yesteryear to create a nostalgic feel without sacrificing the convenience that’s standard today, then let us know in the Comments if any of them inspire you to turn back the clock in your own kitchen.
Before Photo
Photo by Michael Kaskel
After: While project lead Morgan Taugher drew inspiration from historic English kitchens and sculleries, all the design elements are new and meet modern-day needs. Layout changes included scooting the sink to the right and placing a new paneled fridge to its left (not seen), while the old fridge spot now has a full-height pantry.
Bright white and soft blue-gray cabinets create a cheerful backdrop for a stained-oak island, which has spindle legs, vintage-style hardware and even faux keyholes. Other period-appropriate details include handmade backsplash tile installed without grout, a Roman shade in a traditional botanical pattern, a handmade cast-iron sink and fluted opal glass pendant lights. The lower cabinets and island are topped with marble-like Matarazzo quartzite.
Cabinets and island: custom, Refined Renovations; cabinet paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore (uppers) and Silver Lake, Sherwin-Williams (lowers); backsplash: handmade zellige tile, Clé; Roman shade: custom, Refined Interiors
Read more about this project
After: While project lead Morgan Taugher drew inspiration from historic English kitchens and sculleries, all the design elements are new and meet modern-day needs. Layout changes included scooting the sink to the right and placing a new paneled fridge to its left (not seen), while the old fridge spot now has a full-height pantry.
Bright white and soft blue-gray cabinets create a cheerful backdrop for a stained-oak island, which has spindle legs, vintage-style hardware and even faux keyholes. Other period-appropriate details include handmade backsplash tile installed without grout, a Roman shade in a traditional botanical pattern, a handmade cast-iron sink and fluted opal glass pendant lights. The lower cabinets and island are topped with marble-like Matarazzo quartzite.
Cabinets and island: custom, Refined Renovations; cabinet paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore (uppers) and Silver Lake, Sherwin-Williams (lowers); backsplash: handmade zellige tile, Clé; Roman shade: custom, Refined Interiors
Read more about this project
2. Faithful Reimagining
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A Salt Lake City businesswoman
Location: Spring City, Utah
Designer: Cindy McCarley Designs
Contractor: Rick Christensen
Before: Although it boasted a vintage working range and its city is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, this kitchen in a stately 1883 Utah home lacked charm. Brought on for a whole-house redo, designer Cindy McCarley, whom the homeowner found on Houzz, gave the space modern functionality while celebrating the building’s heritage with delightful period touches.
As with all of her projects, McCarley used Houzz Pro all-in-one software for this makeover.
See why you should hire a designer who uses Houzz Pro
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A Salt Lake City businesswoman
Location: Spring City, Utah
Designer: Cindy McCarley Designs
Contractor: Rick Christensen
Before: Although it boasted a vintage working range and its city is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, this kitchen in a stately 1883 Utah home lacked charm. Brought on for a whole-house redo, designer Cindy McCarley, whom the homeowner found on Houzz, gave the space modern functionality while celebrating the building’s heritage with delightful period touches.
As with all of her projects, McCarley used Houzz Pro all-in-one software for this makeover.
See why you should hire a designer who uses Houzz Pro
Photo by Lindsay Salazar Photography
After: A furniture-style island, plate racks and wall-hung shelving recall the kitchens of old, as does a row of copper pots hanging over a blue La Cornue CornuFé range. Two refrigerated drawers to the left of the range allow a full-size fridge to sit in a pantry behind the sink wall.
The designer kept as much of the original trim and moldings as possible, having local craftsman Dale Peel match them as needed, and added a pretty botanical wallpaper that complements the jolly blue-green and warm beige millwork. A charcoal gray farm sink with an unlacquered brass bridge faucet feels perfectly on point, and pendant lights with scalloped white-and-gold shades add another nostalgic note.
Paint: Pale Oak (cabinets) and Wythe Blue (trim), Benjamin Moore; wallpaper: Meadow in Blush, Thibaut; island and cabinets: custom, Dale Peel
Read more about this project
After: A furniture-style island, plate racks and wall-hung shelving recall the kitchens of old, as does a row of copper pots hanging over a blue La Cornue CornuFé range. Two refrigerated drawers to the left of the range allow a full-size fridge to sit in a pantry behind the sink wall.
The designer kept as much of the original trim and moldings as possible, having local craftsman Dale Peel match them as needed, and added a pretty botanical wallpaper that complements the jolly blue-green and warm beige millwork. A charcoal gray farm sink with an unlacquered brass bridge faucet feels perfectly on point, and pendant lights with scalloped white-and-gold shades add another nostalgic note.
Paint: Pale Oak (cabinets) and Wythe Blue (trim), Benjamin Moore; wallpaper: Meadow in Blush, Thibaut; island and cabinets: custom, Dale Peel
Read more about this project
Before Photo
3. Nodding to the Early 1900s
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple, their two teenagers and their dog
Location: Seattle
Size: 200 square feet (19 square meters)
Designer: Judith Wright Sentz of Judith Wright Design
Before: Last renovated in the 1970s, this kitchen in a storied 1906 West Seattle, Washington, home was more than ready for a revamp. Starting with inspiration images shared via Houzz ideabooks, designer Judith Wright Sentz gutted the space and came up with a classic design that fits the Arts and Crafts home’s architecture and history while working for the homeowners today.
See more stories on vintage style
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple, their two teenagers and their dog
Location: Seattle
Size: 200 square feet (19 square meters)
Designer: Judith Wright Sentz of Judith Wright Design
Before: Last renovated in the 1970s, this kitchen in a storied 1906 West Seattle, Washington, home was more than ready for a revamp. Starting with inspiration images shared via Houzz ideabooks, designer Judith Wright Sentz gutted the space and came up with a classic design that fits the Arts and Crafts home’s architecture and history while working for the homeowners today.
See more stories on vintage style
“After” photos by AB Photo & Video
After: Wright Sentz highlighted the deep-set stained-glass window seen here, original to the home, by adding an arch and dentil molding. Leaded glass cabinet doors fabricated by a local craftsperson play off the window and enhance the quaint feel. The sink and faucet mix old and new, with classic materials but updated details.
After: Wright Sentz highlighted the deep-set stained-glass window seen here, original to the home, by adding an arch and dentil molding. Leaded glass cabinet doors fabricated by a local craftsperson play off the window and enhance the quaint feel. The sink and faucet mix old and new, with classic materials but updated details.
The new cabinets, painted a soft greenish gray, act as a cozy base for dark countertops in soapstone — a popular material in Early American kitchens. The plumbing fixtures and cabinet hardware are unlacquered brass, which will patinate over time. Pendant lights with white glass vintage-silhouette shades and black rods, along with white subway backsplash tile, nod to the past as well.
The flooring is original to the house; Wright Sentz had it refinished and added new matching pieces around the island as needed.
Cabinet paint: Comfort Gray, Sherwin-Williams
Read more about this project
The flooring is original to the house; Wright Sentz had it refinished and added new matching pieces around the island as needed.
Cabinet paint: Comfort Gray, Sherwin-Williams
Read more about this project
4. Rekindled Craftsman
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A woman
Location: Seattle
Designer: Tammara Stroud
Contractor: Dave Headland of Headland Construction
Before: Like the previous home, this Craftsman bungalow is in Seattle and was built in the early 1900s (1904, to be exact). But it had structural issues, and elements added during previous renovations had lowered the charm factor. The homeowner found interior designer Tammara Stroud on Houzz, and they used ideabooks for inspiration during the whole-house renovation.
Here, Stroud checks out the kitchen cabinets to see if any can be saved.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A woman
Location: Seattle
Designer: Tammara Stroud
Contractor: Dave Headland of Headland Construction
Before: Like the previous home, this Craftsman bungalow is in Seattle and was built in the early 1900s (1904, to be exact). But it had structural issues, and elements added during previous renovations had lowered the charm factor. The homeowner found interior designer Tammara Stroud on Houzz, and they used ideabooks for inspiration during the whole-house renovation.
Here, Stroud checks out the kitchen cabinets to see if any can be saved.
Photo by Miranda Estes Photography
After: The upper cabinets and the tall cabinets on the left here got to stay, now painted a rich blue and with vintage-look hardware. Most of the island could be saved too, although its oversize sink basin has been swapped for a sleek bar sink. The island top and countertops are period-appropriate Calacatta marble.
At the window by the main sink, cafe curtains sport a sweet and fitting pattern: blue radishes. A shelf with brass rails to the left and white-glass-and-metal pendants over the island offer additional visual references to the past.
Cabinet paint: Brush Blue, Benjamin Moore; pendant lights: Visual Comfort
Read more about this project
Your turn: Does your kitchen have any vintage-inspired elements? Show and tell in the Comments!
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
After: The upper cabinets and the tall cabinets on the left here got to stay, now painted a rich blue and with vintage-look hardware. Most of the island could be saved too, although its oversize sink basin has been swapped for a sleek bar sink. The island top and countertops are period-appropriate Calacatta marble.
At the window by the main sink, cafe curtains sport a sweet and fitting pattern: blue radishes. A shelf with brass rails to the left and white-glass-and-metal pendants over the island offer additional visual references to the past.
Cabinet paint: Brush Blue, Benjamin Moore; pendant lights: Visual Comfort
Read more about this project
Your turn: Does your kitchen have any vintage-inspired elements? Show and tell in the Comments!
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with grown children and two dogs
Location: Delafield, Wisconsin
Size: 320 square feet (30 square meters); 20 by 16 feet
Designer: Morgan Taugher (lead) of Refined Renovations
Before: With muddy colors, an inefficient layout and an inconveniently located pantry (down the hall and through a mudroom), this kitchen in a Wisconsin Colonial was prime makeover material. Seeking a design with an antique English sensibility, cheery colors and a dash of quirkiness, the homeowners hired design-build firm Refined Renovations to make it happen.
Find an interior designer on Houzz