Welcome to my kitchen

I think that one of the reasons my house was on the market for so long was because of the kitchen. It was downright scary and dreary, and on the multilist the dimensions were smaller than it actually was. When I bought the house, I was thinking that gutting it was the only way to go, although the owners did do some plaster work and painting between when I first saw it and my second visit.

My sister Cindy and Sarah lobbied for keeping the cabinets. After a while, I started to see their point. The cabinets are metal, and the tag (put there in 1953, I'm sure) says they were made at the Berger Manufacturing Division of Republic Steel Corporation in Canton, Ohio.

The top cabinets have pleated glass doors that slide, and the cabinets you see below are lighted with fluorescent tubes. Mike did a super job installing red tile over the beige wall and that really brightened things up. I need a flush plate, as you can see. If anyone knows where I can get a triple plate with one rectangular GFS opening and two switches, let me know.

The counter top is red formica, also original. Note the metal strip around the edges. You've seen the replica at Huddle House.


I was thinking of installing a three-foot cabinet unit but decided on this bakers rack instead, since there is a heating duct at the bottom and this looks more open. Also, the metal cabinets are deceptive - there is much more storage space than it seems at first glance.


There is plenty of natural light - I love that, and the kitchen looks a lot nicer with new windows.

This week Mike adjusted the corner counter top to fit. I forgot that the tile would take away some space, and the result was that when the stove was installed there wasn't room for the counter top.

A dishwasher - hooray. I don't have that many dirty dishes, but it's great to have somewhere to store them. And yes, for those of you who are curious, it has the Energy Star rating..

Mike replaced the gold brick vinyl floor covering with black and white vinyl. Note the metal kick plate that he added.

There you have it. I never longed for a retro look, never even gave it a thought, but I'm really happy with how everything came out. I don't know whether I'll want it forever, but for now the house was telling me that this was what it wanted.

I'm looking for someone who can give the bottom cabinet doors a new coat of white, and I'll paint the walls a nice white one of these days. It's a fun place to be now, not scary at all.