Another vintage kitchen!

Hi there ladies and gents.  I was browsing thru the local real estate listings and found a gem of a house.  It was built in 1937 by one of the popular builders of the era.  It seems the current owners had the sense to leave the original charm and chose to update very little.   Unfortunately the real estate listing touts this as a negative stating "Truly a gem to be brought back to it's original luster or build..."  Yes this beautiful home needs updating but I can't imagine it being a tear down.  Anyhoo, here's some pics!

If you look to the left you'll see a fold down counter.  A great way to maximize the space while still allowing access to the cabinet underneath.  I love the vents in front of the sink so the dish towels can air dry out of sight.  Why did this feature disappear???  It just makes sense.  

It looks like there are vents in the cabinet next to the fridge too.  Perhaps for potatoes?

I'd call this style "sophisticated early American".   That deep robins egg blue is beautiful with the honey wood accents.  

I also wanted to include the bathroom.  While the tile is outdated the colors are timeless.  The listing indicates that the home has 5 bathrooms but this is the only one pictured.

So where have I been?  We're enjoying summer with our newest little family member!  He's a 3 month old rescue pup named Charlie.  

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.

Sarah

A few pics of a new house on the market. It's SWANK-Y!!

Hi!  Some of you really liked the vintage kitchen post I did a few weeks ago so when I saw this local real estate listing I knew I had to share the pics!  The home was a custom built mid century modern home.  While this isn't my favorite vintage home style I loved this home's spacious rooms and abundance of natural light.  It was built in 1957.  

So let the swankiness begin!

This is the basement kitchen.  Yep these partiers had what appears to be a full kitchen.  And it's even  fuller than with a built in Rat Pack bar.

 A close up of the Rat Pack bar.

Here is the main kitchen.  Looks like it may have been painted white in the 80's.  Notice the sliding cabinet door on the bottom right.  Also the shuttered upper cabinets.  Really nice size kitchen for the age of the home.  I also love the back door.  Kitchens should always have a back door in my opinion.  Good for kids, dogs, and trash.

This home also had pretty cool bathrooms.  Love the toilet paper nook under the window.  (At least that's what I assume it's for.  Maybe feminine supplies in a cute box.  Any ideas?)  I love how there are closed shelves in front of the sinks in addition to the medicine cabinets.  My bathroom, while beautiful, has very little storage.  The family who did the remodel must have been minimalists.

Another bathroom.  The tile was replaced but the cabinet is similar to the other bathroom.  The sink, counter, and tub may be a very light blue.  Maybe the black tile isn't so bad in person…

Here's another picture of the basement.

I love this green sofa.  The peach walls not so much.

I hope you like!  :)

Sarah

Vintage kitchens

 I wanted to share some pictures of vintage kitchens I found in local real estate listings.  Sometimes when I'm at an estate sale I can picture a fictional lady of the house fixing breakfast for her family or cleaning up after dinner.  (Weird?  Well I call it imagination.  HAAAAA!)  I also notice the kitchen's layout and storage.  It's not usually not ideal by today's standards but somehow it worked.  A lot of vintage kitchens have double ovens, even if space was tight.  The ovens aren't huge European models- just basic Sears models or another solid old American made brand- but they were clearly a necessity in the age before the microwave.  I know some people don't use microwaves due to safety concerns but at least today it's an option.  I can't imagine having what we call "leftover buffet" without being to heat up food in the micro.  That's one of the reasons I love leftover buffet night- less cooking time and no pots to wash.

Onto the kitchens!  Here's a double oven.  See how narrow it is?  Probably 36 inches.  I love how there's room between the burners so the pots aren't crowded.  The little cabinet to the right is typical of what I see in vintage kitchens around here.  In my old house the kitchen was redone a few times before we bought it but I could tell from other homes on my street (with less updated kitchens) that mine probably had this type of cabinet.  Much more functional than what was build to replace it.

This kitchen seems to have the original cabinets in which the fronts have been painted blue as an accent.  I love the natural light from the big window and the back door.  A back door coming right into the kitchen looks convenient for taking out the trash or bringing in groceries but in reality it would mean snowy boots, backpacks, coats, and doggy paw prints strewn in front of the sink for me.  Ha ha.

This is my favorite!  There was an estate sale at this one and I'm so bummed I missed it.  I think we were all sick that weekend.  The whole house was beautiful in the real estate listing photos.  It needs updating but the character shines thru the old decorating.  It's a landmark home so the integrity will be kept but I bet we can say bye bye to the kitchen.  The stove looks awesome.  Much larger than the typical vintage range.

This is the same kitchen from a different angle.  See the doorway in the back?  Looks like it's the old service porch that was enclosed and now houses the refrigerator.  Not the most convenient but quaint nonetheless.  It may serve as a mudroom too.  (I say keep the paw prints and kid accouterments contained if you can.)   Love the long counter in the back and the cute floral wallpaper.  You may have to click on the image to really see the details.

 This kitchen has been updated a bit but the cabinets seem to be original.  The open lines in the wood in front of the sink show that these are old wood cabinets.  Does anyone know if the open lines are decorative or functional?  I think they're to circulate air under the sink if you have dish towels hanging to dry inside but they may just be the style.  The range is obviously newer but it appears to be free standing, another very vintage kitchen trait.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures.  I'll be back to posting recipes soon.  Between school and soccer season I've been just making basic dinners- nothing exciting to post.  But I'll be back!

Sarah

Edited to add- I found another kitchen.  Well just a picture of the stove in an estate sale listing.  Pretty cool!!