Reno 1950's kitchen

Hello @katew164

I'm in total agreement with the plans you have in mind, however there are a few things that's come to mind that may prove to be bothersome as you renovate.

- Your 1950's bench top, pretty much bullet proof with that aluminum side strip. You can hit that bench top edge with a can of peaches and it won't blink an eye! However it is sized at a non standard depth. Most of the bench tops from the 50's were around 450mm to 550 in depth. Same with the cabinets and accessories such as your sink. You will have to do a bit of hunting to get a sink that will fit in that non standard cabinet.

- Plan : Remove the old bench top and replace with a new one. Can be done but it would have to be rip cut along its length so that it will not over hang so much so that it fits the current cabinet depth. In regard to your question, you won't need a waterfall edge at the end for stability. The overhang will not be so great that your cabinet becomes unstable.

- Removing the floating wall cabinet. Nothing and I mean nothing gives your kitchen its distinct look and feel of the 50's than that floating wall set. Taking that out will diminish the signature look of the kitchen and it will look and feel incomplete.

Plan : Remove the floating wall cabinets and add new ones to the wall possibly remove the other shelves on the other side as well and put new cabinets on. There will be a very distinct difference now between your new shiny wall cabinets and the old painted base units at the bottom. Your kitchen is now in an identity crisis, is it trying to be new and keeping its look or is it a half way renovation that will eventually end with a totally new kitchen.

In these instances I recommend a "step back and ponder" moment. @Isobel has made a very sound suggestion of selling the entire kitchen to 50's collectors. By doing what you are about to do and that is to modernize in bits and pieces it will devalue the possible selling price of the kitchen. Doing half a renovation is not recommended in this particular situation. You end up with parts that are old and parts that are new and they don't look well together. I'm sure someone out there has done an amazing job with a half "n" half, but I am not a big fan of those. I suggest to sit on it and wait until you have the proper budget for a proper make over. Now there may be circumstances that I am not aware of for the renovation, but if you hold off and wait for the proper moment the end result will be much better and you won't regret spending money on a proper renovation. Good luck and stay safe.

Cheers,

Red

p.s. By the way I could not help myself I've drawn you a suggestion below with a little bit of 50's flavor added in to a new kitchen. Don't forget to put in a Sunbeam Mixmaster to complete the look.

Turquoise was all the rage back then and looks even more vouge with modern cabinets.The answer is "Yes" there is enough space on both sides of the island for you to walk through.That cabinet where you were going to put your fridge is now the pantry.Just in case your wondering the island is 1.8 meters long

All comments

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @katew164. It's great to have you join us and many thanks for your question.

Do you plan on fully renovating the kitchen at a later date and replacing the lower cabinetry as well? If so, I would consider what changes you are making now and how that will affect future layouts.

I don't think timber benchtops would have any conflict with the timber floors, perhaps you might like to pick a timber which is similar to the floors or alternatively pick something that contrasts with them. It will depend on the amount of overhang as to whether you will need a waterfall edge for support. Bear in mind if you overhang in front of your current drawers you will lose a certain amount of functionality in accessing them.

If you could provide some room dimensions some of our helpful members like @redracer01 might like to contribute some designs for you.

We look forward to assisting you with this project and can't wait to see you get started.

Mitchell

Thanks @MitchellMc . No plans to fully renovate and the drawers have double sided access so not worried about functionality as I only access from one side. Floorplan dimensions

@katew164,

Thanks for the additional plan with dimensions. By removing the glass cabinetry and installing new cabinets, benchtops and a sink your kitchen will certainly have a new lease on life. In regards to the allowable over-hang on the benchtop, do you have any styles or types of benchtops that you are interested in? There will be different allowance depending on your chosen type and I would be happy to assist in finding that information if you had some details.

You might also be interested in having a look at these inspirational D.I.Y project articles Rejuvenate your cabinet doors with Dulux paint, Fresh start kitchen and How to renovate and modernise your kitchen.

Mitchell

Isobel

I understand if you want to modernise @katew164 but just wanted to let you know that your cabinetry would be in demand by those of us who love the 50s and the retro aesthetic. Make sure if you get the kitchen removed that it is not damaged so you can resell it. It could really help pay for your renovation work as I'm sure it would be in demand.

That's a great tip thank you @Isobel !

Hello @katew164

Can I possibly bother you for a few more photos? Preferably where you plan to put the fridge and a photo of the current kitchen but much closer with all the cabinets in it.

Cheers,

Red

Hello @katew164

I'm in total agreement with the plans you have in mind, however there are a few things that's come to mind that may prove to be bothersome as you renovate.

Cheers,

Red

p.s. By the way I could not help myself I've drawn you a suggestion below with a little bit of 50's flavor added in to a new kitchen. Don't forget to put in a Sunbeam Mixmaster to complete the look.

Thank you @redracer01 - that does make a lot of sense and I do agree. New question - where is the best place to sell used kitchens? Gumtree?

Hello @katew164

Let me tag @Isobel perhaps she may know of a good way to sell your existing kitchen. I agree gumtree comes to mind when selling.

Cheers,

Red

Isobel

eBay, Gumtree and Facebook marketplace would all be good choices.

@katew164

Hi. I've got a couple of ideas but before I share those, can u indicate

what your budget is?
how much you can/want to do yourself (don't know how to but willing to try hand at tiling etc)
how long U want it to last (e.g. 2 yrs till I do a full reno)

so is it t to be a makeover rather than a reno?

Cheers peter

My plan now is to combine the laundry into the kitchen ( I have another room to move the laundry to) knocking the walls out. Incorporate an island bench/large pantry cupboard. Budget of $15k.

Hi @katew164,

Thanks for the update on your plans. With the budget of $15k are you now planning on a full renovation including replacing the lower cupboards?

I trust @redracer01 would be interested in assisting with some renderings for inspiration if you could provide some additional images of the kitchen and the new laundry inclusion. You might like to provide another plan of how you wish to utilise and combine the laundry into the kitchen so we have an idea of what layout would like to see.

Mitchell

hi @katew164 . i'm encouraged to see you're thinking outside the square by contemplating combining the kitchen & laundry. My first thoughts tho are (1) be careful to not overcapitalise & (2) will the extra space of the large kitchen be useful/usable or will it just be a big kitchen? My suggestion would be to look at making the bathroom bigger (e.g. a separate shower) but that's another discussion.

For a kitchen makeover, after removing the glass divider cabinet you could look at revamping the cupboard fronts (e.g. repainting DIY or commerical in-home, two pack finish) altho if they're dated, maybe replace them with new doors & handles to bring them up-to-date, & add new benchtops. Once you start down that path tho is the money better spent on replacing the entire cupboards? I'm a huge fan of drawers, to the extent that I replaced some cupboards in our 10 yr old house with drawers (here's the post).

If you take up the challenge of replacing the cupboards, you could also go for a new layout as per @redracer01. I took up RR's suggestion to use the old stove space as the pantry but would orient the kitchen as a galley across the room to remove the "maze" feeling of the current walkways. I dont have fancy software but here's some images of what I came up with. Note there's no door on the "pantry"--I couldn't do that. Suggest 400mm deep shelves on the back & RHS walls as you enter the pantry. I also like to get the oven up to a reasonable height--I have seen some units that have 2 drawers under the oven to make it &, more importantly, the microwave lower & at a more usable/safer height. You might be able to bring the bench closer to the cooktop wall depending on the width of the side door & that'fd give a little more space back to the dining room.

Of course this assumes you can "easily" replumb the sink to the bench (or you could choose to reverse the position of the sink & cooktop). And the other thing this & RR's "clean slate" designs mean is that you'd need to redo the floor bcos the cabinetry has been moved.

Hope you enjoy the suggestions. Cheers, Peter

Kitchen 3Dkitchen/dining floorplan

@pete_brig thank you for your ideas - has given me a lot to think about. Plumbing is easily moved. My main reasoning behind wanting to combine the laundry /kitchen is the laundry is a lovely light room and quite under-used as it's an awkward space as an L shape. The kitchen is quite dark having the northern light blocked off by the laundry wall.

Hello @katew164

Based off the plans you posted once the laundry wall is down you could possibly do this layout.

Cheers,

Red

@katew164 here's a couple more thoughts/comments:

if the walls are load bearing, removing them is not EZ/cheap so you'd need to check that esp. if you're total budget is $15K
to add light to the kitchen, consider a skylight--might be a viable option $$-wise
take any money you wouldv'e put into removing the wall towards putting more windows into the dining room--more light there and that would partially flow thru to the kitchen (I like louvres coz they can more easily be partially open during rain)
I used the Kaboodle planner for the images I supplied--I can't get it to work ATM to check but I think the cabinet costs were under $5K if you want to factor that into your budget. Add tiles/splash back, oven, cooktop, dishwasher, electrical & plumbing work etc
consider how the reno'd kitchen fits with the rest of the house--while it's nice to feel like you've got a $1M kitchen, if it's not consistent with the rest of the house it could look/feel out of place, sort of like a pimple on a pretty face but in reverse 😏

As I said, good to see you're thinking outside the square. I recommend looking at the whole of house floor plan to see how you want to reconfigure it--it'd be unfortunate if you made decisions now that limit your options later or you end up redoing part of your current reno.

Cheers

P.S. @katew164 you could also consider removing the wall between the living & dining rooms to make a very open plan space & further remove the "maze" of walls & doors

Thanks @pete_brig - apologies for the late thankyou I missed this reply. Am now removing the wall between rooms which will open it up nicely and have my kitchen appointment with Bunnings next week so hopefully it comes together!

Hello @katew164

Would be fantastic if you posted photos of the progress before/in-between/after that will surely inspire our readers to go and explore the possibilities!

Thanks!

Red

gelflingsarah

Completely agree! I’m about to move into my home which had a modern kitchen remodel and I’d love to have this instead🤣