I love that old stove. I hope they donated it to a good home.

@cbreynolds--are you talking about the electric cooktop?
Great, character-filled remodel.

looks very nice, light en clean !

what kind of flooring is that in the kitchen? marmoleum?

The PH5's & the dining room table are the real stand outs. Stunning.

Are you kidding me - it hasn't kept anything from it's mid century roots except for the placement of cabinets and appliances in the kitchen. AT please, please stop mis-characterizing these renovations as maintaining historic character. It was a gut remodel.

Wow, stunning!

That looks amazing.

I really like the look. I think it still fits the feel of the architecture of the home. I'd love to have that kitchen. And really, me liking the paneling, this is a breakthrough...

Amazing! Awesome! Now get to work on that backyard!

I love it! I think you did a beautiful job!

Looks fantastic! Love the dining table and lights. And the wood on the walls looks great with the new kitchen.

@Star Princess and @Thorndale - I agree that it was pretty much a gut remodel, but the original kitchen's defining feature was all of that wood paneling and the wood cabinets in the same material. There wasn't really any other MCM to keep. I like the stove, but I doubt it's very energy efficient. And it might not have even been working.

Nice..but don't you need a fan over the stove? If you actually cook it would be essential if you don't want your house to smell like fish or bacon for days.

Looks great! The dog goes well in the room, too. :)

@ENSUENOS - It looks like there are vents on the stove, which means that the steam would be sucked down rather than up with a conventional hood or fans mounted above.

Looks great. I have floated and painted paneling before, and it is not something I would ever like to do again. I think keeping the paneling and the windows/sliding glass is definitely a nod to the past. I also think they probably saved a lot of money by changing mainly the floors, cabinets, and lighting only. It costs a ton to change windows and doors and takes lots of labor intensive work to change the walls as well. Job well done from one "redneck" to another:)

As a fan of clean lines I love this kitchen and a few responses to other comments. This isn't a gut job. A gut job is when the whole room is changed dramatically most of the time structurally. Yes the cabinetry layout did change and they removed a wall however if you compare the before and after the basic mid century architecture was left in tact. Now the cabinetry is new but they like the old cabinets are flat panel. AT states that they are being true to the mid century architecture, which they were. I lived and loved a small mid century ranch for years but sometimes a family needs to update to function better in the space and a huge premise of mid century design was function. If they had removed all the details and put raised panel cherry cabinets in then maybe we could find issue but as I see it they did compliment the architecture they had. Maybe the period purists should stick to reading Atomic Ranch and not AT where spaces are improved upon all the time.

Long winded however - Bravo I love the space!

Such beautiful art!

Interesting Observation... I've noticed that whenever someone posts a comment on AT about something not being their taste, they tend to say, Not my taste "at all." It's not sufficient to simply say "Not my taste."

Good job!!!

I really like the way this remodel turned-out. I could see myself happily cooking-away in that kitchen.

LOVE it. Great job!!

One of the best remodels I have seen!

worth noting: the "original" kitchen was a 70s remodel and the stove wall was an add on at that time. there's also a fan in the ceiling above rather than a true hood.

here's what an original kitchen in this model would have looked like. in this house the "flying coffin" (as it was called) was added from another model. in 1963 there were no cabinets over the cooktop.

I love Ikea cabinets. When we remodeled our kitchen 15 or 16 years ago I wish I got Ikea cabinets then. My view hasn't changed. Mostly I love cabinets with BIG drawers, ah well in my next life...

looks great but I totally love the before.

Agree w/Star Princess.

Awesome job. Anyone know who the artist is of the two bright pieces behind the dining table is? So bitchin'!

What? How is this a "gut remodel?" New cabinets and countertops, new flooring, new lighting, new appliances. I think they did a great job without changing the basic forms.

Older homes sometimes need to be updated in order to reflect the changes in the way people live. Sure, save some archetypal, pure examples. The purists can live in them. I, for one, recognize that if you can't do something as simple as update a kitchen, no one will want to live in older homes, and they will languish until they are demolished. And no one wants that.

@COOPER_BLACK: From the post: "The wall artwork, which is a series of framed Marimekko fabrics, is a perfect compliment to the new space."

I think it's fantastic, and yes, many things were changed, but there's still enough of the previous kitchen to *reference* the era it came from successfully. And look great in the process.

Purists are welcome to be purists in their own homes, but not everyone feels that you have to leave things in amber.

Where can I find large colorful artwork like the two they have in the back?

Thanks for all the comments! We are really happy with how it turned out. The floors are VCT tile (common to Eichler homes) and as mentioned before, the "before" kitchen was not original to the house. The framed Marimekko fabric is one of my favorite features!

WOW

where is the table from???

I love it. The wood was so overwhelming before, but now it looks lovely. Great job! I love the table and the art. (Who did the art?)

Oh, I see it's Marimekko fabric. I just bought some to stretch! (Obviously, different fabric.)

Looks awesome! I really love it. Glad they took that wall out.

Really disappointed. The original was small, but had style. The after-reno is a sprawling mess. I do love the Modern Fan in the original!

I disagree, @RAPIDTRANSITMAN. The original did not have any style at all. It was pretty sad looking.

I want to have that kitchen's babies.

Love it! Fresh, modern, and hints of the room's roots.

What a great job.

Love it. We "updated" our Cliff May Rancho kitchen; however, in our case, we kept the old cabinetry and only changed the countertops, backsplash, appliances and sink and faucet.

Nice take on an old kitchen...you kept the integrityof the kitchen.. Very 1960 ala 2012...Great Job!

Maybe I said that wrong...but any who...great job!

Big improvement, MCM or not.

The space is practically irrecognizable! Great work! White high gloss cabinets bring tons of light to a kitchen which is just what this room needed!

Holy jeepers, Batman! That is incredible!

I am not a purist. I do however hate it when AT mis- characterizes a remodel. This was a gut remodel = removing everything i.e. gutting the space. Which is what they did. You don't have to move walls around, etc for it to qualify as a gut remodel. There really isn't a nod to it's midcentury roots. Not with what they replaced the original with. I actually like the new kitchen but not how AT labeled it.

I hate how people will mourn the most hideous 1970s or 1980s slapdash remodel to try to make the people who did a great reno feel bad.

BTW, I would have thought this was a gut renovation, since they took walls out and essentially did remove anything. Can an architect or designer clarify, since people seem really worked up.

worth noting: they did not remove any walls. the wall that was removed was a 70s addition (as was the rest of the kitchen)... the space between the kitchen and dining room was originally was wide open -- not even any overhead cabinets. the 70s cabinets were removed and replaced with something more akin to the original design.

take a look at what the kitchen would have originally looked like here. in this house, the cabinet above the stove was added from another eichler model (bret, greg, chris and i harvested the parts)... originally it didn't have that. the stove was open to the dining room.

so... in effect, the current incarnation -- with the sliding cabinet doors and open-to-the-dining-room-layout -- is more like the original 1963 kitchen than the 70s kitchen that was ripped out.

To me, this does have a 50's feel. And it's a beautiful update. Very impressive.

This is hardly a gut remodel, any other person would have ripped out the wood panelling and painted the ceiling some dumbass color. They left the walls, they left the ceilings, the ripped out the beat up cabinets, opened up the space, added awesome light fixtures, the dining table may or may not be vintage but definitely looks MCM... Beautiful reno. One of the first I've seen in a while that I was actually impressed with. Happy to see some people leave some character in the space.

I don't know or care whether it was a gut remodel - it looks freakin' incredible, and about a million times fresher than the unrelenting wood of the 'before'.

I usually dislike kitchen renovations because more often than not, people just plop an ugly kitchen island in the middle, paint their cabinets white, etc. For once I really like what I see, it's much lighter and brighter, and as far as the original kitchen it didn't have much character worth preserving. I like the counter/bar that works as a divider while not gobbling up all the space (my main pet peeve with kitchen islands). Also, kudos for not installing recessed lighting, another of my pet peeves.
I don't think this kitchen "preserves the midcentury charm of the original" whatsoever, but for once I don't think the original had much character (and I'm a hardcore preservationist). Now my main issue if I were to cook in that kitchen is the absence of vent/exhaust over the stove. It sure looks better that way, but I'm not sure it's very practical.
Overall, I really love the new kitchen.

I'm glad they changed it. It needed a facelift. And they DID stay true to the midcentury aesthetic, despite what people are seeing here. Did they do a literal, boring and costume-y re-do? No. But that's what renovations are about; changing things to a more modern sensibility without losing the character or style that informs the rest of the house's look or feel. They succeeded, despite the comments here.

Amazing! Love it.

One of the best kitchen renovations in the neighborhood! That dining room table is even more gorgeous in person.

And there is an exhaust fan over the stove - the original one from 1963. It fits flush to the ceiling behind the beam.

I hate how people will mourn the most hideous 1970s or 1980s slapdash remodel to try to make the people who did a great reno feel bad.

I agree. All the purists on Apartment Therapy can come to use the horrible ORIGINAL mid-'70s cabinetry in my kitchen every day. Please come over.

Looks great! I love the art work. It adds the right amount of color. Nicely done!

I do think the new kitchen is spectacular. Congratulations.

As for the headline on this post, initially my take was: Huh? I see practically none of the original here. Then I realized, ah, the roots are underneath where you can't see them!

Please don't make me think so hard to justify your mischaracterizations, AT.

Love it! Well Done!!

Lovely. Light and bright---sleek without being cold. Very nice indeed. Dog fits the scheme too :)

Gut remodel = down to the studs

Some people really don't know what a gut remodel is, huh? I'm doing and living in one right now and this kitchen it is not!

Very lovely job. I bet those old cabinets were smelly!

It doesn't matter how many times you say it in the post or in the comments if people can't read, but: the "before" kitchen was not original to the house. It was a shitty 70s remodel that was not true to the architecture. I can't BELIEVE people are acting upset about it.

Stunning remodel. Very true to its MCM roots - unlike the '70s remodel - while nicely updated for modern use. Great job!

LOVE THIS! Great job!

I currently have that range that they replaced. It is a litton electric oven/range with what i believe may be one of the first microwaves available on the market! Preparing to replace it and restore our kichen beck to original 1950's design - but the darn relic works really well still! Does anyone have any suggestions on what we should do with it?

amazing job! it looks incredible

@rapidtransitman
The before kitchen was not small. It occupies the same footprint. That it looked small speaks to how crummy the enclosed layout was. Although I guess some might call it "cozy"....

I like the after a lot; congrats!

Love this!

Agree - a gut remodel means down to the studs... Unless they removed sheetrock, rewired and replumbed, I am not seeing a gut job.

And I do love you bringing it back to the original layout! Very nicely done!

As a MCM enthusiast, I cringed to think of what this remodel might reveal as my eyes glanced over the '60s era woodgrains which, though dated, still exude uniqueness not often found today. I almost didn't have the guts to open the 'new' photos. Glad I did! Excellent work in keeping with the MCM aesthetic (you can't make that stuff out of nothing- if you've got the bones for it, strut it!) while bringing it into the 21st century. Well done!