The kitchen renovation begins!

[turquoisedude]

Almost a year and two months after finding that turquoise 1956 GE kitchen centre and wall-mount refrigerator, the kitchen renovation is finally getting underway! I am in a bit of a race against time since I only got a working timer for the washer-dryer on Christmas Eve - I need to do a complete rewiring job on it before I can even test it. With any luck, it will be ready by the time I am ready to start putting in the new cabinets...
Here's the before pictures of the current kitchen. All the cabinets are going (the turquoise Kelvinator refrigerator is going to be looking for a new home when this is all done - I have the matching range if anyone may interested in them!). The portable dishwasher in the pictures (a 58 GE Mobile Maid) is going to remain as part of my collection.
This week the ceilings are coming down (lose that stucco!), then the cabinets will be removed so that the floor can be levelled and reinforced to hold the 1200 pound kitchen centre. I am keeping a photo journal and I'll be posting updates as soon as I can. I just can't wait to get the 1956 appliances installed permanently!!

 

[turquoisedude]

View from the dining area

Picture the turquoise Washer-Dryer, Dishwasher-sink, and Range under the current kitchen window! I hope it will look as good as I imagine it will!!

 

[panthera]

Neat!

Do keep us up-to-date on your progress!

Saw a turquoise GE refrigerator in the basement of a demolition-ready house yesterday. Nearly as old as I am and had been humming along perfectly right to the last.

Gosh, we need to return to that quality.

 

[turquoisedude]

So true! I am fed up with the junk that is being churned out these days. I have a friend who goes through a washer and dryer every two years because the components just don't last and the repair costs are outrageous... I let my imagination run away with me sometimes that someone would start building real-quality solid appliances again. Unfortunately, the consumer at large would never pay a premium price for something that would last 40 or 50 years... Oh well!

 

[petek]

Hey, we had those same kitchen cabinets in one of our Calgary houses way back in the 80's.. I think they were the builder special of the era or something.

 

[bajaespuma]

Can you post a picture of that turquoise range? I'm seriously interested.

 

[turquoisedude]

Kelvinator range

Here's a photo of how it looked in my old house (photo was taken just after I got the range in 2004). Right now it is in storage in my basement. It's had a lot of work done to it over the years - when I got it, one burner and the bake and broil elements had been replaced; I had to replace two burners and do some rewiring because I managed to shred some wires when I moved it from Nothern Ontario to my former home. The clock no longer works and I never actually used the Roast-Meter to see if it worked. There is a rotisserie motor (still working) but I never had the rack and pan for that. I never had a firm idea of it's age, but from what I could cull from old magazine ads, it was made sometime between 1959 and 1963 (that's still a best guess!). If you need any more info, just email me!

 

[ronhic]

Jealous....

What a fantastic thing to be doing....making your kitchen into a living, breathing and working timewarp....

My other half would never allow it to happen....though I suppose I could try 'modern vintage' - buy miele and keep it for 40yrs...

 

[maytagbear]

Looks like it's going

to be great, Paul!

What is going to become of the built-in dishwasher? It looks like a reverse-rack Maytag.

I hope it does not become crusher food. If I had the room.....

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[turquoisedude]

Well, if it's any consolation, it's taken a good 6 or 7 years to get hubby convinced!! I am pretty sure he is convinced I am stark raving mad...
lol

 

[mikepaquette]

gorgeous

Very nice Nice GE Mobile Maid. I have been looking for one for years. What is the black DW a Matag > Very nice Mike

 

[neptunebob]

I like the ceiling it is so nice and white, so why not keep it? Or are you going to have a drop ceiling like they have on Mad Men. On that show, they have a dropped ceiling that is the whitest and most spotless I have ever seen in a building and every light works. This is even though everyone on that show smokes. Most buildings have ceilings that look bad after less than a year.

 

[turquoisedude]

That Maytag dishwasher is not going to the crusher

Lawrence, rest assured there is no way I would get rid of that Maytag!!
Mike, you have a keen eye - it is a classic Maytag reverse-rack and it may well have been the TOL model sold here in Canada (funny thing about that - few Canadian models had the China-Crystal cycles - like, we never use the good china or wash it in the dishwasher??). I spend a lot of time and effort cleaning that machine up and getting it running smoothly again - I had to stop using it when the water supply pipe froze and burst! That's when the Mobile Maid came into play.. I love that dishwasher, too. I am always impressed at how well the impeller machines wash if you load 'em right!

 

[turquoisedude]

Ceilings

I don't why, but I just can't stand the stucco ceilings! I figured a kitchen has to be the worst place to have them - I really don't know if you could wash them. Anyway, I am going with a plain plaster ceiling in my re-creation of a vintage kitchen (I have studied a BH & G 1956 kitchen planning book for ideas!!).