How to Re-Do Your Kitchen with Retro Flair
Decide On Your Color Scheme
The first thing you need to do is decide on your retro kitchen color scheme. This is really about personal preference. I like the red and white kitchens, but my grandma used to have a yellow and white color scheme. Do all of your painting first. I know that the decorations are more fun, but you don’t want to add anything new until the paint has been applied. Let it dry before hanging things on the walls.
Choose New Curtains
Curtains are a very important item in your new retro kitchen. This is one of the first things people notice when visiting your home. There are many varieties of curtains to choose from in the stores, in a wide range of prices. I recommend buying simple cafe curtains for your retro kitchen. If you are able to sew your own retro styled curtains, now is the time. I stitched all of the curtains in my own retro kitchen and ended up saving a lot of money. This is a very economical thing to do. You can buy retro themed fabrics at your local fabric or discount store. I am extremely budget minded, so I always choose the discount store for fabric and sewing notions.
Purchase Your Decorations
Now is the fun part of this project. You need to pick out your retro style decorations. You will be amazed at how many things there are to choose from. If you are working on a tight budget, you should start looking for things at your local garage sales. Anything you find here will be priced to move. Consignment stores are another place to begin your hunt. Many catalogs such as Gooseberry Patch and Country Door have retro themed items, also.
Find a retro kitchen clock to get started. Remember the daisy shaped ones with the long electrical cords hanging down them? There are a lot of teapot shaped clocks available, too, at junk stores and rummage sales. You can either go with an authentic old clock, or decide to use a brand new one that has a retro look.
I have a collection of old dishes and platters in my retro kitchen. I buy these very inexpensively at local yard sales.
I also love vintage style picnic baskets. I have over forty throughout my home, but mostly in my kitchen. I have thirty of the old wicker hampers, but my favorites are the retro style metal ones. I have these stacked on top of one another in my retro kitchen. I store my cookie cutter collection in them. I keep some of the wicker picnic baskets arranged above my kitchen cabinets. My house has high ceilings, so it works well.
Another retro “must have” for your kitchen is an apron collection. Aprons were in every housewives kitchen during this era. This is another of my favorite things to acquire. I have a large basket full of old aprons. All of them are homemade. Most of them have rick-rack trimmings. They are all special to me. Most of my retro aprons are for every day use, but there are a few lacy ones with charms stitched onto the pockets. You can find these on e-Bay and at yard sales priced very reasonably.
I love the look of a Kitchen Aid stand mixer on the counter of a retro kitchen. The red ones are great, as are the mint green ones. You do not need to have a mixer that is actually old to achieve the retro look in your kitchen. A newly purchased one will do just fine. In this instance, the color is more important than authenticity.
If you are able to replace your kitchen appliances with actual vintage ones, that would be great for achieving that retro look. I personally like to use a new stove and refrigerator in my kitchen, but I do have an old retro style stove from the old days. It is a Nesco Saftematic in light green and cream. It has the original paint. I love the look of these old stoves with “legs.” I keep mine in a corner of my kitchen just as decoration. I have a plant on the top of it.
One of my favorite retro kitchen items in my own kitchen is my “depression era” porcelain topped table. It is white with black trim around the table top. It is a small table that has two leaves that “pop” out from underneath to accommodate six people. These were popular tables decades ago. You can still find them in antique stores and barn sales. The prices on these tables have really gone up since I bought mine, but if you are lucky, you can still find them for less than fifty dollars. This is a perfect item for your do-it-yourself retro kitchen.
Simple, gingham place mats and chair cushions always look good in a retro kitchen. Add a couple of throw rugs, too. Remember, it is the special, little “homey” touches that will complete your retro kitchen.
