Our Kitchen.

[volvoguy87]

I've promised some pics of where I live for awhile, so hare are some.

We recently did some work in our awful kitchen. Please bear in mind that the cabinets and counters are rubbish, the floor is worse, and everything needs to be painted.

Here goes nothing,
Dave

PS: It's actually Elginkid's house, I jut live here.

 

[volvoguy87]

Walking into the kitchen.

My friend Stef was kind enough to paint the Cornflower picture for me, knowing my love of all things Cornflower.

 

[volvoguy87]

Looking left.

We think the fridge is a 1950 Frigidaire and the stove a 1953 Magic Chef. The fridge has a full porcelain cabinet. On top of the cabinets is a bunch of vintage and vintage-looking stuff for display and use.

 

[volvoguy87]

Next!

The full view of the vintage-stuff display. The canisters on the counter are full of flour, sugar, tea, and hot chocolate in place of the coffee. The Sunbeam on top of the cabinets won't run (new brushes and capacitor maybe)? In the mean time, we use Wes's Hamilton Beach Model G on the counter. I also have my grandmother's Model G, but it needs a new front gasket.

The vac pot on top of the cabinet is my Sunbeam Coffeemaster C50, and it gets used pretty often. It is also displayed with my C30 cream and sugar set. My C30C is out of sight in the cabinet. The Fireking Peach cream and sugar set is also mine.

I have since removed the meat grinder since I kept bumping into it accidentally and catching myself with the handle in an undesirable location.

 

[volvoguy87]

Where not to put a sink!

This view shows a perfect example of where not to install a kitchen sink. Longer-term plans include removing the pantry (difficult because there is an air duct behind it), extending the counter, and maybe MAYBE even a dishwasher. Wes hates dishwashers, but I am at my wit's end washing everything by hand. Anyone want to part with a Kitchenaid 10, 11, or 12 series?

 

[volvoguy87]

Why we love our range.

Like the title says.

 

[volvoguy87]

The range.

The cast iron skillet lives on the stove and is never put away. Also, I'll be moving that outlet st some point.

 

[112561]

Don't panic

Everything isn't salvageable, here's a 1958 kitchen that needs to be gutted. It appears to have had a wall oven and cooktop. Counter is really Congoleum, not laminate. I'd give it a chance though.

 

[volvoguy87]

The light in the middle of the room.

It's about a century old. We just cleaned it up and installed it. It has a 100 watt equivalent CFL bulb in it and it lights the room nicely. Had the wiring been in poor shape, we would have rewired it, but it was unnecessary at this time.

Bye for now,
Dave

 

[danemodsandy]

Dave:

If you and Wes want to show us something awful, you're gonna have to do waaaayyy better than that. That kitchen is homey, not dreadful; it's a long way from being the worst I ever saw. I do agree that the sink is strangely located, though.

The cabinet over the sink has something really terrific on top of it, though - that appears to be an early Farberware teakettle up there. If it has straight sides, it's early, and if it's sort of bell-shaped, it's later. Looks straight-sided from here.

Alan: That kitchen is also far from the worst I ever saw, including the kitchen of the house I'm in now. The kitchen here was actually in fairly decent shape, but it was all under tons of grease and food drips and varmint droppings. After a thorough cleaning and disinfecting, I have yet to see the smallest critter; all you have to do is stop feeding the damn things! I should point out that it was my landlord's intention to clean the place properly before I moved in, but the previous resident did not vacate when she was supposed to, so I had to move in on top of her grunge. I'll bet I've removed twenty or thirty pounds of dirt from various surfaces around here, including the woodwork.

 

[112561]

Dave, when I made my post, your pictures hadn't shown up yet, that's a very pleasant kitchen in your house! I wish mine looked that good. It did three years ago.

Sandy, that kitchen in the '58 house was clean enough, just extremely shopworn. It was in a shyster real estate business, I wanted to see it myself when the roommate was still looking. The bathroom doesn't have its pink fixtures but the tub, and the rooms are painted in ghastly shades of billious pinks and chartreuse. A pair of decorative planters/dividers had been removed as well. I'm sure your landlord appreciates you!

 

[danemodsandy]

Alan:

Actually, I think that '58 kitchen would be more than salvageable. Its cabinets need either to be refinished as all wood, or painted completely white, meaning both bodies and doors, and they need new pulls. Flooring needs to be replaced, no question there. And the walls seriously need to be repainted something besides Hypothermia Blue. But it could be very nice again, and having the original countertops with their original edge trim is a big plus. It would be a lot of work to save all this, but it would be very cheap to do, and much of the work would be the kind of thing one could do in spare moments.

 

[112561]

Sandy, I was hoping that my friend could have gotten into this place, I don't know if it is still available or not. It needs laminate on the counter, I noticed the original metal edging on the counter too. Cooktop, wall oven reinstalled, cabinets stripped and restored, new flooring or remove it to expose the terrazzo. It's a modest house with one bath, a carport, and a family area with a hearth. Livingroom has a fireplace. I didn't retain those shots though, they were real estate pics. Check out that GD Home Despot door.

 

[bmgilk]

Dave

I love those vintage appliances, the clock, and the ceiling light!! Yours kitchen is not that bad. I have seen plenty worse.
Mike

 

[112561]

I like that light too. Is the house from the 1930s? I love the kitchen ambiance, I wonder what the original cabinets looked like though.

 

[rp2813]

I agree with the others. It's not a bad kitchen and looks very respectable.

We're dealing with an original 80-year old one here that only got updated with DIY tile countertops around 40 years ago and they're seriously ugly. You can see part of it in the "Ralph's Resto" thread in Imperial if it hasn't fallen off yet.

I do feel your pain, but really you've made it look decent until you blow it all up, and that's all that people in our situations can do. My method was to install modern stainless appliances to at least eradicate the granny look Mom's kitchen had when we moved in, but until we are done settling up with my sister, we aren't launching any remodel projects.

Ralph

 

[appnut]

It's not that bad. But I agree, I'd be nuts with out a dish machine. I'd be bringing in disposeable everything. What's not to like about a dishwasher? I"m ready to slap him around already.

What's the title say on the range?

 

[spiceman1957]

This kitchen looks like

many in the homes where I grew up. I hate to think of all the meals that was cooked in that small kitchen. Good luck in your renovation.
John

 

[favorit]

Nice gas range ! It has front controls like our ranges, but unlike modern ranges I see at times here @ AW.org. Those have controls on the backsplash.

I understand those modern ranges are safer for children, but I see more disvantages than avantages.
What about their parents hands when they use tall pots on the fires ?

 

[danemodsandy]

favorit:

To this day in America, many gas ranges have their controls on the front, because that is where the burners' gas plumbing is anyway. On electric ranges, they're usually on the backsplash because A) The wiring is all mostly at the rear of the range anyway, and B) Electric ranges are a little less safe around children in certain ways; there is not the warning of a flame that one has turned the appliance on.

 

[swestoyz]

Dave, not sure what there is to complain about! Your kitchen is functional for the two of you, and until you are ready to rip into it, it should be just fine. The Frigidaire is just beautiful.

At this stage in the game knowing what you've got and where you want to be are a great place to start. I was in the same situation 3 1/2 years ago (photos taken during my first walk through in May of 2006).

The final productis actually posted right now in the "Should it stay or should it go - GE Americana" thread.

Ben

 

[a440]

I think your kitchen looks just fine.
If you love it that is all that matters.
I love the Magic Chef Range! I bet it is fun to cook on!
Brent

 

[toggleswitch2]

.
Actually it is my understanding that gas stoves have their controls in the front because it's safer. Long sleeves and other garments won't get into the flames.

Gas surface burner controls must be push-to-turn for safety and the normal clockwise motion of the right hand turns the gas jets/cocks off (not on).

Electric stoves here tend to have their controls on the rear because it's safer that way. (No flames to worry about). Kids can't get to them, and the wires are further from the oven and oven door. Shorter wiring runs too. The normal pattern of the controls is Front-Rear-Rear-Front.

Some gas stoves emulate this, while others may have F-R F-R or R-F R-F. The two front and two rear burner can therefore be identical and interchangable in terms of the piping of the burner to the venturi valve/jet and knob.

 

[volvoguy87]

Thanks Y'all.

The floor has 2 layers of cheap roll vinyl and no matter how much we scrub, it just won't come clean. The layer that is on top now had the worst installation I have ever seen. There are also lots of cuts, gashes, gaps, and incorrectly trimmed corners that aren't even covered up with the additional molding installed by the former occupants. Long-term plans call for wood or real linoleum. For the foreseeable future, however, we are looking into Armstrong Commercial Vinyl Tile.

The walls, trim, and ceiling need to be painted (but the ceiling is in very poor shape. Long-term plans call for taking the drywall off of the original walls, assessing the condition of the plaster, and either repairing it or removing it and replacing with new drywall (so the trim profiles are the correct depth). The ceiling had a texture applied over some of it to hide the deteriorating plaster. We don't think the ceiling is good enough to be salvageable.

The cabinets get to stay, for now. They are cheaply made Home Depot builder's grade cabinets from a few years ago. They have led a hard life and are in poor condition. We will be painting them because the polyurethane finish had deteriorated and is flaking off. Eventually, Wes wants to take the kitchen back to the 1890s (the house is 1892), and I hope to be living elsewhere by that time.

The counters are 1980s wood pattern laminate. For a short-term solution (several years), we are looking into a 1950s kitchen, so there may be a home here for some Boomerang Formica.

Dave

PS: We have 2 more lights like the one we just installed. No idea where to put them yet or if they will stay.

 

[volvoguy87]

The front of the house:

The bushes are now gone.

 

[volvoguy87]

Parlor.

There's now a pump organ on the right side.

 

[volvoguy87]

The Piano

Is about an 1894 Kanbe 6 foot grand. The fireplace mantel is a replacement and is too old for the house. It SHOULD be much more ornate. A new mantel has been obtained and is awaiting some work and installation.

 

[volvoguy87]

The parlor at Christomas.

Showing the pump organ, converted to electric.

 

[volvoguy87]

Outside in the snow.

Yes, the house needs a TON of work. We're doing the work while we live here.

 

[bugsyjones]

toggleswitch2

I was gonna say the same thing.

I wouldn't want to reach up to light the burner and find out my shirt was on fire!

~Tim