Try this thread
Try this thread
http://www.designaddict.com/design_addict/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/th...
I think
the kitchen is the hardest to renovate in a MCM way. I hurt my head many days/nights trying to find a way to honor our little midcentury modest ranch home?but my wife was bent on it not looking "period correct" (read: outdated). Do you go with linoleum type tiles, appliances from the 50's, and metal banded countertops? Naah. That was a bit too googie or diner fab for me. Many of the architect designed homes from that period had very crisp understated kitchens- even the Eichler homes had pedestrian looking laminate based cabinets, etc. I prefer that look?.. to a certain extent?it's quite another to spend thousands of dollars for a kitchen that has nothing to "show" for the money you spent. Then again, the thought of going to a box store and building a paint-by-numbers kitchen made me want to puke!
So, we're in the process of a kitchen renovation right now. My idea was to do what designers from that period would have done with the materials and appliances available today. I have new-old-stock Gaggenau steam oven, double convection, and induction cooktop (with a knock-off hood). All of that is very crisp. I painstakingly rebuilt a classic SubZero side X side fridge (new everything). Cabinets are Ikea, but I'm building custom faces with African wenge veneer- the fridge has the same veneer. That's a very dark wood. Walls are plain white. Floors are cork- very common in the midcentury period. All of that might sound very "Dwell mag", but what makes it MidMod are a few details like the Eames bikini chair barstools, Nelson clock, and a huge wall of 1950's Japanese mosaic tiles. We still don;t have half the cabinet facings done...or countertops?but it's starting to come together.
I promise to return here tomorrow with pictures for you!!
1957 Alcoa House Kitchen
When we had moved into our house in 2007 the original kitchen had already been taken out and replaced with a VERY out of place oak kitchen. Originally the kitchen came with metal upper and lower cabinets,luckily for us the uppers were saved and installed in a storage area of the garage so we we able to utilize them in our renovation. We mimicked the layout of the kitchen that was in the sales brochure of the house and used simple Ikea cabinets for all of the lowers and corian for the countertop.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22021175@N02/sets/72157603542788454/
Tomorrow's House
has a whole chapter called ORGANIZED STORAGE, and lots of great thoughts/ideas potentially useful when designing kitchens.
There's also a section in that chapter called "ELIMINATION OF FURNITURE" actually arguing FOR it, which is wonderfully ironic/supercool/hilarious considering Nelson's subsequent position in the furniture industry...
Good stuff
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