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I'd do a snap in hardwood!

Definitely a hardwood floor!

ooooh, keep the stove. As for flooring, I guess I'd either go with the colors in place and use a red tone or go for contrast with a light green?

For inexpensive I recommend Trafficmaster Allure which you can get at Home Depot. I used the cork pattern in my kitchen, but the bamboo looks great also. It's very easy to put down, as it's a floating floor. You can change it out easily if you want to upgrade someday. Good luck!

http://retrorenovation.com/

While hardwood floor will look stunning, it's not the greatest thing for a DIY. If the current floor is tiled your looking at ripping that up and probably having to install a new subfloor. I think the easiest thing is something called Allure, I know APT has done a spotlight on this product before. It's from a company called vertex and should be avaliable at home depot. Basically it's a double thick vinyl floor that lays like a laminate (the pieces "click" together); it goes over anything without prep you can even put it over old ceramic tiles and it comes in a bunch of different finishes (hardwood, tile, cork, bamboo) that actually look good! I'm a big fan.

black and white checkerboard--- a classic and would look nice with your tile. and I would keep the appliances white. stainless looks clean for about first minute and a half after you clean it.

Exactly what mrs yow said. You can't go wrong with black and white checkerboard. You might even find that you like the rest of the vintage feel once you change the flooring.

Yeah, mrs. yow is right. About everything. White appliances would look waaaaaaay better than stainless. I have a 40s kitchen that is somewhat similar and the modern white appliances recede rather than stand out as being from the "wrong" era.

here's a link to a very comprehensive look at the trafficmaster allure flooring. and it's at AT, of course!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/hard-flooring/trafficmaster-allure-vinyl-flooring-019078

Nthing the b&w checkerboard. That tilework is gorgeous; I say go all out vintage and play it up! I'd replace the cabinet hardware with glass pulls, and swap out that not-old-enough-to-be-vintage stove for the real deal.

Are the counters peach and brown tile?

Armstrong makes a DIY vinyl hard-back tile in their MODE line, which you can see at www.becklerscarpet.com. (Armstrong's site looks like they may be discontinuing it). Anyway, there's a chocolate brown tile, also black, 16" square, with a very thin grout line.

I'm installing tile from their MIYO line, which is no longer available, but the tiles are exactly the same as the MODE. I like them very much. If you can still get their spray adhesive, S-227 Quick Tac, try it. It's amazing. And so, so easy.

Keep the stove!

If that's black edging tile, agree best choice is older white stove, black glass handles, and black and white vinyl or genuine linoleum tile. You can also do marbleized, black sheet vinyl, or with an inlaid border.

I love your kitchen!!!

Ditto the black and white floor. That would be amazing. And as long as the stove works, I'd keep it. And if it doesn't work, I'd get it fixed and keep it. That is just too, too cute. ]

I'm jealous. I want to steal your kitchen now.

I love the ideas of the black and white checkerboard flooring and keeping white applicances from a design standpoint...but if you want a different look I also have to recommend the Allure Trafficmaster from Home Depot. I can tell you from first hand experience that it is great affordable, durable product. Hubby has been putting both slate and wood plank designs into the apartments we manage and are currently updating...have to say the flooring holds up excellent in both bathroom and kitchen environments and add a real wow factor to the room.

I think Trafficmaster has a whitewashed wood plank and an oak look...either one I can see not detracting from the vintage qualities of your kitchen that you already plan on keeping..........Good luck!

If that stove still works, you would be insane to get rid of it. If you want to keep the period feel of the place at all (which seems you might since you're planning to leave most of the kitchen as is) then you ought to leave it and only remove it if you totally update the kitchen.

As for flooring, I would go with the Allure idea unless you can afford a new subfloor.

Am I missing something? I didn't read anything about not liking the kitchen or wanting to replace the stove--I thought that they were only wanting ideas for floor options...? I would go for something the color of your edge tile--in the picture it looks burgundy.

Oops..re-reading, I now I *do* see the reference to stainless appliances, and definitely agree with previous commenters that white is better--and I do love the stove!

I think AT should do a post called "In Praise of White Appliances." I struggled with what to put in my last house and ended up going from white to stainless as my appliances gave out. It looked good (the kitchen came with Corian counters and maple cabinets) but I didn't like dealing with the smudges constantly. My new (old) kitchen has white appliances, white cabinets, white tile, white paint. The appliances really do recede into the cabinets and walls and I love the way it all looks. You hardly notice the refrigerator, which is visible from the front door through the living room.

Somehow it seems we have developed a collective stigma against white. I would love to know other people's thoughts on this.

what a beautiful kitchen! So glad you're keeping it rather than turning it into a drab contemporary kitchen.

I think both hardwood and tiles can be DIY if you invest the time in educating yourself about the process before hand. We installed tiles ourselves in our kitchen and the results were very professional looking. Since you now own the place, I'd say maybe wait until you have the money to invest in the flooring that you really want, which will also add value to your house, instead of settling for a cheaper option which you may want to replace in a few years.

Your kitchen reminds me of some that I've seen in south america. Maybe terra cotta tiles for the floor?

Fantastic idea to keep the cabinets, counters, etc. I'm with the others on the stove - if it works, keep it. People pay big $$ for refurbished stoves like yours.

Flooring suggestion: sheet marmoleum. Perfect vintage look, lots of color options and its "green". It's not really do it yourself, but if you can swing it I think you'd be really pleased.

Sally305 - I agree with you -- white is unfairly maligned. For anyone with kids, stainless is a MESS requiring constant cleaning.

Sally305 - When we redid our kitchen we used white appliances. Why? They're classic. At the time, biscuit was a new color, and I thought it would probably be discontinued at some point. Then, if you had to replace something, you'd have a biscuit this and that and something in white. I doubt they'll ever discontinue white. Even our small appliances are white.

The stainless trend started with pro ranges. Now, people insist on it, but then, oftentimes, the stove they get isn't even as good as my white cooktop. I guess they think that if it's stainless, it must be good. Someday, stainless will be the new avocado (or do I mean harvest gold?).

Stainless appliances are quickly becoming the avocado, gold harvest, and mauve of our generation. The fingerprint maintenance factor alone is enough to turn me off...Digressing...

As to the floor, I can not recommend Skimstone enough. It covers up ugly tile, laminate, and a whole bunch of other materials. Looks and wears like concrete. Meant for floors and also works great on counters. It's incredibly easy to use and comes in many custom colors. You can add stains and things like Mica powder, use stenils, and even make your own tile look. And you can expect it to easily last 5 years plus. If you want a more "modern" look to go with the stainless, You really should check it out. And talk about affordable. 3 layers, plus three sealer layers on a 50' foot counter-top cost me less than $100.00. www.skimstone.com

I love your kitchen - Congrats for not ripping it out!!!

Have you checked out Marmoleum click tiles?
I think they'll really be the most appropriate floorcovering for your place - and they're eco-friendly.

http://www.themarmoleumstore.com/default.aspx?menuid=223

For afordable and DIY with a vintage look you really can't beat the VCT tiles. Even with the material to install them it is less than a dollar a square foot. You can then pay to have someone come in and seal and polish them if you like that look for a couple of hundred dollars. I think a mottled light grey would look great. Something like this: http://www.armstrong.com/commflooringna/product_details_toolbox_magnify.jsp?item_id=68669

You could then find a few accent tiles that compliment the countertop tiles and incorporate those with the grey. It would coordinate without being too matchy-matchy.

I like black and white checkerboard but I feel like it might be a bit too much competing with those tiles. It's an adorable kitchen though. I'm glad you're keeping it.

If you are in Los Angeles go to Linoleum City. They have tons of VCT in stock and they are so cheap ($.89/each) you can buy several samples and try them in the space before you decide on one.

http://www.linoleumcity.com/

Oh, and I would do white appliances. The smooth white ones, not that mottled white most places do. I think Jenn-air does some and LG has some smooth white styles. Like this one.
http://www.amazon.com/LG-LBC22520SW-22-4-Bottom-Freezer-Refrigerator/dp/B0019MMJNY/ref=sr_1_41?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1243102195&sr=1-41

And if you want to spluge a big chill fridge would look amazing. www.bigchillfridge.com

And yes, if the stove works well, keep it.

I would go with a Marmoleum click tile, yes in a checkerboard, but rather than black and white, get one color to match that wonderful oxblood color in your tile trim, and the other white if you mean to go with white cabinets, otherwise, the other color should be whatever color you intend to use on the cabinets for the long haul.

I agree with those who suggest avoiding stainless appliances. They will quickly look dated and always look wrong in a vintage kitchen. If you don't want to do a refurbished vintage stove, you might consider a new Northstar stove from Elmira Stove Works. We lucked into a used Northstar fridge at our local thrift store, and we are in love with it. Fits the 40s period of our kitchen, but it's still an Energy Star modern fridge, with the freezer on the bottom.

BTW - Please don't put in stainless appliances.

For the vintage look - consider these:

http://www.elmirastoveworks.com/northstar.aspx?src=fridges

http://smegusa.com/Catalogue/Fridges.aspx

Hi this is Heather the kitchen's "owner". Thanks for all of your comments... Hubby has already started researching a few of the options mentioned. To answer some questions that were asked... the tile colors are salmon and maroon/red, the current floor is linoleum and we do not know if the stove works (would not turn on easily during the home inspection.) We are going to have a quote done for refinishing it but the current state of the range is really awful and I won't even touch it without gloves... full refurbishment is the only option in my opinion and that may be cost prohibitive. The counter tops photographs MUCH better than its true state. There is no grout and most of the tiles have surface cracks so in the long-term it may not be salvageable.

The plan is to re-grout and seal the counter and try to make due for the first year. After we have some money saved we will be doing a kitchen reno but will try to maintain the period feel. Retrorenovation.com is my fav source for pictures of period kitchens and I think we will go the route of a formica countertop sine that is what we see in all of the 40's kitchen pictures. Anyways... I am getting off topic...

So, for the make due period of our first year in the home we are looking for a floor we can throw in ourselves with minimal expense without clashing too much with the 40's tile and cabinetry. :-)

There are a few more pictures of the kitchen and also pictures of the evil stainless steal appliances :-) on our reno blog www.monroeavenue.blogspot.com

Every comment helps us and we thank you for taking time to write them!!

To add to my previous comment about the Armstrong vinyl tile...
The color I'm using is a dark taupe, a really luscious color. What amazed me is that my small hallway and small room look much more spacious, and I think it's because of the dark floor. My suggestion is go dark.

And I prefer white appliances. :)

Heather--

There are some great vintage-type tile resources on RetroRenovation.com - you might be able to find some matches so that you can repair/replace your broken tiles.

Good Luck!

This is a beautiful vintage style kitchen. Keeping it as close as possible to the original style is always the best bet. I agree with wood floors and white appliances.

Wood - definately

I want to agree with Lizzy. I suggest a product called spreadstone that is made for garage floors, driveways, and pool surrounds. Really easy and cool looking too. Plenty of colors to choose from.

You really tape off the baseboards and bottoms of the appliacnce and counters, just roller it down right over the existing floor, let it dry, and seal it. It also works to give a granite look on countertops if you do choose to do something with those (not that you need to).

Hi Heather, now that you have written in, I have another thought - If it's only for a year or two, then maybe don't worry about the floor at all. Save your money and just paint the lino floor in a groovy pattern. Then put the cash you'd have used for a temporary floor towards what you really want. Also, it'll be that much easier to rip up when the time comes: http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cr_walls_floors/article/0,,DIY_13782_5052506,00.html. As for the stove, if it doesn't work you can find another one - I see older stoves on Craigslist all the time, even Chambers stoves.

I'd say off with the lino - esp. if it's old and grimy - sand whatever is under it and then either epoxy paint in a light gray or use the fabulous idea from quiltmaster of using spreadstone.
Personally I've always preferred stainless steel (since the 80's, but it wasn't til 2004 when I finally got out of renting that I could have it, and by then it was trendy, damn it) and think it's okay to mix and match various styles and eras. And I'm SO with you on the grime factor, I have a really hard time using something that has gotten really grimy, no matter how many times I scrub it down, and most of my "china" and cookware is vintage so it's not like I have get it all pristine from a store either.

i think marmoleum would be great and is eco-friendly. you may even be able to find some on remnant, as it looks like a small area you are covering.

additionally, you may check to see if there is unfinished hardwood under the existing flooring. my kitchen had that. i had it sanded, and i painted it. it looks really neat and period.

Either hardwood or a black/dark grey linoleum-type floor maybe. The colors of your counter top tile are classic 40s and they're fantastic.

What about artistic wood flooring? I have a bunch of left over walnut wood that is 10"x2.5" and beveled from a 18 million dollar house project. I was thinking about where something like this would look nice. It fits together in a v fashion. I think this would be a nice space for it. That would be my idea.

You have an amazing kitchen -- please go with it, and don't renovate the character out of it. The stove is awesome, and can likely be refurbished (or another refurbished one can easily be found). There are cool refurbished refrigerators or the colourful SMEG ones (bright red maybe). The only sprucing up that needs to happen is the light over the stove (should be replaced by something more historically appropriate) and the vinyl flooring.

My suggestion would be rubber flooring, which comes in 12 x 18" rectangles. It is comfy, comes in great colours, and is not terribly expensive.

I'd get samples of the whole third row and the last three of the second row, and try them out in situ. Maybe geranium or hortensia (with a high gloss shine product on top). Bold and stunning (and practical too).

http://www.dalsouple.com/Dalsouple-DalColour.php

Heather I went on your blog and your house is so charming! Congratulations! I can't wait to see what you do and I'm excited you want to keep the original vibe of the place.

Having had a black and white vinyl tile floor in a kitchen, I wouldn't recommend it. It only looked for about 20 minutes after cleaning, what didn't show on the black, did on the white and vise versa. Of course, I didn't learn my own lesson and now have a cream and black rug in the living room and a black and white dog!

I had a checkerboard floor also and I am with Annieo. Aside from the cleaning issue (which is seriously a pain in the you-know-what), dark vinyl colors can fade quickly from the sun. And pray to God your pet doesn't puke on a dark tile, because it will also fade the color in a nice memorable splotch!

If you really desire a checkerboard, go for vinyl tiles in two different variegated lighter colors, not true solids, maybe a peach tone and a cream in your case. And when you get the samples, step on them with dusty shoes, and then you will know how they will actually look 20 minutes after cleaning!!!

please go check out Linoleum city on santa monica blvd in los angeles.
they carry the best vintage flooring around....esp the flecked
type that would totally go with your 40's kitchen....
please dont rip out that tile, please.

We installed an all black VCT floor in our 1950's kitchen. It was super inexpensive, totally durable, very DIY and they hide dirt really well. They are also really easy in terms of maintenance.

They are just Armstrong VCT that can be bought at Home Depot. Check out some pictures of it her with our white cabinets and turquoise counters:

http://trickmybrick.blogspot.com/search/label/kitchen

I love them!

I would consider painting the present tile with garage floor paint that has flecks in it -
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Building-renovation/Painting-wallpaper/Paint/Other/auction-220580409.htm

I suggest a solution of oxyclean to soak the old tile for 5 or 10 min. to deep clean it - I chose white appliances and am very happy stainless is fine but a trend - we have the old harvest gold frige in the garage for soda.

Funny, my next door neighbor's tile work in her kitchen is the exact same color scheme. We live in a 1940's era apartment building and I have 2-tone green tile work in my kitchen. Her cabinets have been painted white and mine are the original unpainted wood with the original nickel-plated door pulls.
If you are wanting to keep the retro feel of your kitchen than linoleum would be the way to go. Look on the Retro Kitchen website for more ideas.

http://www.theretrokitchen.com/

Please do not put stainless appliances in this sweet kitchen. I can understand the need for a new stove, but white will be best. For the floor I think linoleum tiles would be great, and they come in lots of great colors to match or coordinate with your counter/backsplash tile.

I vote for either cork or Marmoleum and Linoleum City has the best stuff to check out, if not the cheapest. I actually think the stove is too modern for the kitchen, and would look for a slightly older one, that works. I got mine on CL for under $300, so it can be done.

Another vote for black and white checkerboard. Easy DIY, fairly inexpensive and loads of character.

It would look great in this space.