1950s Kitchen Redo

Host Joan Steffend and designer Krista Crawford transform a traditional 1950s kitchen with an unexpected color scheme of chocolate brown and gold, which sets the tone for an English cottage theme.

• The walls are painted a rich chocolate brown color and the stark white cabinets are toned down with a brown glaze, brushed and rubbed on for an aged appearance.
• The cabinets are further transformed with punched-metal inserts featuring a wheat design.
• The windows are dressed with lush brown velvet and gold damask curtain panels.
• A garage-sale table and chairs are painted gold and placed in the eating area. The seats are updated with new fabric covers stapled over the existing pads.
• Additional storage is in the form of a traditional-looking English sideboard, created by joining a dresser with a a top from a discarded hutch. The entire piece is painted gold and the drawers are outfitted with whimsical pulls made out of silverware.
• A brown and white transferware set is displayed on the top shelf to further the English cottage theme.
• Crawford creates a unique lamp out of an antique teapot and lampshade kit.
• The ceiling fan is replaced with an elegant chandelier purchased at a garage sale.
• Moss and dried flowers are hot-glued on tin ceiling tiles for rustic wall art.
• An old shutter is painted gold and used as a message center near the back door.

Before

Before

After

This English-looking sideboard is actually a hutch top attached to a dresser. The piece is unified with paint and drawer pulls.

How-to: Punched-Metal Cabinet Inserts

Steps:

1. Cut roofing flashing to the desired length and width.

2. Make a template of your design on a piece of cardboard.

3. Tape the template to the flashing and place on a piece of scrap wood.

4. Punch out the design with a nailset.

5. Place the rough side of the metal panels against the face of the cabinets for a smooth appearance; attach with small nails.

6. Hide the metal edges with trim (painted or glazed as desired).

How-to: Sideboard

Steps:

1. Attach the top of a hutch to a dresser with screws. Paint, as desired.

2. Bend silverware to create drawer pulls and attach to the drawer fronts with screws.

Itemized Design Elements

$33 — paint and glaze (Home Depot: Ralph Lauren - Mulmsbury Brown, TH180; Behr - Montmartre, TH14 [golden yellow])
$48.43 — inserts, molding and hardware (Home Depot - flashing, cabinet pulls #5475)
$124.63 — window treatments (Pottery Barn - curtain rod, LBRYRD)
$129.39 — table and chairs (garage sale; Calico Corners - fabric for seat cushions, Diamond Point / Nutmeg)
$69 — sideboard (antique shop - hutch; garage sale - dresser)
$25 — transferware (antique shop)
$43.12 — teapot lamp (antique shop - teapot; Calico Corners - shade, Hollywood Lights; fabric, Midsummer / Butterscotch)
$5 — garage-sale chandelier
$18.50 — four tin ceiling tiles (antique shop - tiles; Nature's Harvest - moss)
$3 — shutter message center

$499.07 — Total Cost