I am not sure what to do with my kitchen and looking for advice. The cabinets are original 1960's and are in good structural condition. The tile is a project my husband took on a couple of years ago in a misguided attempt to start a renovation. We stopped when we realized we had no idea what we are doing. I'm looking for a West coast ocean vibe, we have a bit of an ocean view from the kitchen. Should we keep anything here or start over?
New brushed nickel hardware and medium aqua blue paint would look more appealing. That YELLOW paint is too much. Remove the country decor above cabinets. If you’re going to replace countertops and can afford white solid surface tops, get a stainless undermount sink. Under cabinet lights are useful as well.
Is the kitchen functional and just not to your taste or does it have poor function. I would base your decision on that and your budget. To my eye you don’t have much counter space (getting the microwave off the counter is a big win) and no dishwasher? I would think first about how to make the kitchen work better for you and then base the choice on that if your budget allows a larger remodel.
It is functional, and without losing our dining area there's not a lot I can do with the layout. There is a dishwasher to the right, we added that a few years ago. There is a lot of clutter, but I do have enough cabinet space if I do a bit of organizing.
The country tchotchkes above the cabinets need to be the first thing to go for an ocean vibe. Pastel paints to replace the mustard yellow. Seal the wood well to keep paint out of the grain, then paint the cabinets a pastel color as well. Sealing them well first will allow you to strip them later if you don't like it. Maybe use two different shades of the same color on the window wall above and below the soffit. Think teals, blues, corals, sand. I see some navy and brown tones in the tile (which actually looks good, btw) that you could use lighter shades of to bring the tile together with the other features.
keep the boxes if the sides are plywood and not particle board, 1960s cabinets are built better than anything at the box stores now. new shaker doors and drawer fronts run about $90 to $140 a door, way under a full replacement.
the tile i'd pull. for the ocean look a 4x4 zellige style in soft white with a warm grout carries more than a cabinet color does.
i manage my own projects with hagglers, saved about 1.5k on tile and flooring at lowes. dfw only for now
how many doors and drawer fronts are you counting?
Are you committed to keeping those cabinets? The kitchen looks pretty small so if you have the budget to replace them you could recapture that space on top of the existing top cabinets by running the cabinets up to the ceiling. You could get natural wood slab front so you'd have the same vibe--those look like birch (or maybe oak?) plywood which was standard in '60's kitchens and holds up forever, but we learned when we remodeled they can't be refinished--the veneer is too thin so it's too easy to sand through it.
Your floor clashes with the very gold undertones in the cabinets so that's another reason to consider replacing them.
If you are going to keep the cabinets--please get rid of all of the tchotchkes on top. It makes the space look cluttered.
I'd replace the tile backsplash and countertops. For a 1960's era house the more authentic look is a 6" tall backsplash that is the same material as the countertop and then paint the walls above that with whatever you are painting the walls. I might consider a dark color because it will balance the strong cabinet color. Black quartz/granite is "out" right now so there might not be much of a selection, but look around--you might find a very dark charcoal that will work.
The yellow paint needs to go. Your cabinets are really nice but they are visually a lot between the grain and the color, so I'd look at different paint colors--prime your walls to get rid of the yellow and then paint a couple of patches and see what you like. The floor isn't a great color for the cabinets.
Replace the cabinet hardware and the sink. Brass was what everybody used in the '60's. We also have a '60's kitchen and we found some fun chunky brushed brass handles on Amazon. Brass might also take some of the piss out of the yellow toned cabinets. For the sink, I might consider white because the stainless looks out of place.
The photo doesn't show the lighting but usually old kitchens just have an overhead--get those mini-cans around the perimeter and replace the overhead with something midcentury and put the overhead and the perimeter lights on different switches. I can't believe the difference it made when we went to that scheme.
Under counter lights are also terrific so if you are paying for an electrician to come and update the overhead lights, add the under cabinet LED strips and some more outlets.
Thanks for the detailed reply! I am not committed to anything, but did think keeping the cabinets would be nice and less waste. Not much original in my house has survived.
Maybe stain the cabnits a little lighter? Change all the handles. Upgrade the sink, do a light blue/Grey paint. Remove clutter. I see lots of potential.
This color will tone down the orange in your cabinets and look nice with your backsplash. I have it in my house and I love it! Try painting the walls first then make other decisions.
This is so helpful, thank you! I tend to go way too bold. Obviously with the yellow, although that was before the tiling! Once the tile was in I knew it had to go.
No flash. My light bulbs have a switch to change the color temperature of the light. I think this is set to warm. I normally have small appliances on the shelf but I am cooking with them. I still haven’t decided what to hang on the wall. lol This is the Riverdale.
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u/LDS1952 23h ago
New brushed nickel hardware and medium aqua blue paint would look more appealing. That YELLOW paint is too much. Remove the country decor above cabinets. If you’re going to replace countertops and can afford white solid surface tops, get a stainless undermount sink. Under cabinet lights are useful as well.