My 1990s Kitchen Got a Vintage-Inspired Makeover (Without Changing the Layout!)
Choosing between buying a house with an updated kitchen you might not love versus buying a house with a worn-down kitchen you know you’ll have to update can be tricky. In the first case, you’ll have no wait time — but you may be compromising on finishes or fixtures that you wouldn’t have necessarily chosen yourself. If you take the second option, though, you know going in that you might be relying on a microwave in the living room for meals for weeks (or even months).
When my husband and I bought our home, we went with microwave-in-living-room route — and despite the hassles, I would do it again. The kitchen in our 1895 Victorian rowhouse was last updated in the 1990s. It wasn’t bad necessarily, but the cabinets had seen better days, and the floor looked like something you’d find in a mechanic’s shop. It was perpetually dirty, sticky, and had a strange springy-ness to it. The appliances were on their last leg, bug debris regularly turned up behind peeling paint, and the fridge wasn’t full-size. Plainly put, it wasn’t somewhere that was enjoyable to cook.
However, my husband and I did realize that the layout actually seemed intuitive for the space. It made the most of a rowhouse-sized space, and there was no need to make significant changes to the footprint of the cabinetry or the appliances. What I wanted was a space that felt fresh and clean but still vintage-inspired and more fitting for the house. Here’s how I did it.
I lived in the house for six months with the ‘90s kitchen.
Admittedly, this wasn’t entirely our plan — we were slapped with a stop work order for “not enough detail” on our electrical permit. That put our projects months behind, but those months actually bought us time to decide what we really wanted and needed in the kitchen. This is when we realized that the layout generally worked for us, but there were a few tweaks that could be made to optimize the space for more functional use.
Those tweaks weren’t necessarily things that would have been on my radar had we jumped into a renovation right away.
The cabinets now stretch to the ceiling.
Ripping out the bulkhead (which turned out to be empty!) and adding additional 12-inch top cabinets makes the ceiling feel higher. It gives us storage for less-used items like holiday dishes. And I think it just looks nicer!
We also kept the glass cabinets and the coffee garage in our new cabinetry plan. Both of these were already in the kitchen, and we realized we loved the look.
Taupe cabinet paint feels bright but not sterile.
I love a light, bright kitchen, but in this south-facing space, white actually felt too stark. Instead I chose a light, warm taupe that leans peach or blush depending on the time of day. The kitchen feels bright and airy, but it doesn’t feel too sterile or crisp.
I decided to use the same color on the cabinetry. There is so much going on with the floor pattern that I wanted a more cohesive, calming look on my walls, and using the same color helps with that.
My doors, though, are a blue-green that I used throughout the second and third floors of the house (the kitchen is on the second floor!), and that provides a cool contrast to the warmth of the kitchen.
As for the cabinet hardware, I varied the look depending on whether it was a cabinet, large drawer, or small drawer. All of the pieces have the same finish, but it keeps the look more interesting than if everything matched perfectly.
I chose budget-friendly tile floors.
In my dream world, we’d find beautiful hardwood floor beneath the tile that was already in the space. The reality was that the original hardwood we uncovered had been completely ruined by the peel-and-stick silver tile that someone put down at some point in the last 10 to 20 years. I had two choices: We could install new hardwood or we could install new tile.
Because we wouldn’t be able to match the original heart pine hardwood that appears in other parts of our home, I decided to opt for tile. A contrast is better than a not-quite-right match, in my opinion. I landed on a high-gloss black and white checkerboard, which felt right for a city rowhouse. While it looks like marble, it’s actually sturdy porcelain. My one regret? I would have done an even darker grout.
I swapped the sink and dishwasher for continuous counter space.
During the months before the renovation started, I became acutely aware of how little counter space we had — but it wasn’t necessarily due to a lack of square footage. It was a lack of continuous counter space where I could put both a cutting board and a bowl and a baking dish.
With a little creative thinking, I realized that we could swap the placement of the sink and dishwasher, taking us from a situation where we didn’t have enough room to roll out pizza dough or tortillas to one where we gained a continuous 5 feet of counter space.
We also opted for a white quartz with minimal veining that mimics marble and ran it up the backsplash. That last-minute decision helped add to the visual simplicity by avoiding adding another pattern to the room.
I maximized space everywhere I could.
Like with my counter and prep space, I was also looking to maximize every possible corner for storage. I used the walls for vertical space. Our wood board for charcuterie nights hangs as decor on the wall. I used childrens’ wall-mounted book shelves from Amazon for spice rack storage. And we use a magnetic strip rather than a counter block for knives.
I also managed to squeeze in a tiny spot to sit and eat. There is absolutely not room for more than two people to pull up a seat at the bistro table, and, even then, it’s a tight fit if you both have dinner plates. But it’s just the right size to sit for a quick breakfast or lunch, or for a friend to perch while I make cocktails or finish up an appetizer.
I added both sentimental and warm styling pieces.
I finished my kitchen by adding sentimental and nostalgic decor: An oil painting still life that my late great aunt did in her 80s leans on top of an open shelf and a vintage cookbook I found sitting in a Free Little Library sits ready to be used. Secondhand glassware and mugs that I use daily fill the glass shelves. A rug that features the colors of both the cabinetry and the doors sits in front of the sink.
Everything ties together in a space that feels vintage-inspired and warm — like somewhere I actually want to spend time and cook.
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