Sunday, October 7, 2012

12 Inspiring Real-Life Vintage Kitchens



Beautiful doesn't have to mean slick and new. See how these older kitchens make the most of their vintage style.

I stumbled across this article while hunting vintage themed rooms and thought it was most definitely worth while sharing. 

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We lived in our house for 12 years before we remodelled our kitchen. For 12 years we had original 1941 cabinets, stained Formica counters and a collection of the cheapest white appliances available. Basically, a version of what many homeowners and renters live with.

So, what to do when all you can really afford are a few cans of paint and maybe some dishes? Embrace vintage and strut your unique style.

These 12 kitchens embrace and enhance their vintage style. Many of them are way nicer than our old kitchen, but they are not decor-mag stylish. They are not new and slick and perfect. They are real, lived in and cute as all get-out.


If you have ugly cabinet doors, remove them and go with open shelving. Paint everything thing white (an accent color on the interior back wall also looks great) and feature your stacks of dishes, cookbooks or spice jars.




White makes everything look fresh and clean. And mismatched chairs, dishes and fabric say, "This is all intentional."




Many older kitchens sorely lack in storage and counter space. Use furniture meant for other things to help you out. This wooden dresser works perfectly as kitchen drawers, and it adds eclectic charm. Also, if you have a fridge that's seen better days, why not cover it with chalkboard paint?




Draw the eye away from less-than-adorable appliances with bright splashes of color. These red accessories look less like a cover-up and more like an intentional design feature.


This is a remodelled new kitchen, but the fun embrace of the chaotic is a great lesson for older kitchens too. The opposite of going all white and uncluttered is to let it all hang out. You just know the person who cooks here is fun to be around.


Here's the other side of the same kitchen, proving that mismatched can be very stylish indeed.



The oldest trick in the book: Paint the cabinets a vintage color and replace the hardware. The rustic island makes it all look intentionally shabby chic. Very cute.



Going monochromatic in a fun, vintage color has a similar result to going all white: It makes everything look fresh and bright.



Embrace the era. This is obviously a remodel, but it does show what enhancing things like dated tile counters by matching colours and accessories can do to an older kitchen.



Nothing about this kitchen is sleek, new or fancy. But everything about it is adorably stylish. Replace yucky lower cabinet doors with a curtain in a cute vintage fabric. Paint your backsplash a fun color. Embrace wild, mismatched, eclectic style.



Go simple, spare and elegant. Vintage pieces like this chandelier and island table are rustic and chic, but not slick or new. The muted colours keep it calm.



This open kitchen succeeds by being utterly eclectic and "matching" the decor around it. Quirkiness and colour go a long way toward disguising less-than-perfect bones.



Display your vintage collections, hide your unattractive stuff in attractive vessels and keep your visual chaos in one, tidy place.


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