By Arrol Gellner
Not so long ago, remodeling an older kitchen in the original style could be a pretty tough assignment. Once-common materials like embossed ceramic tile, linoleum flooring and early patterns of Formica were long out of production. In their place, remodelers often had to use whatever happened to be in fashion at the moment. In an older home, the usual result was a kitchen that stuck out like a sore thumb when it was new, yet looked dated in just a few years.
Today, with renewed interest in traditional home styles, many long-lost kitchen materials are once again on the market. Whether you own a Victorian, a Bungalow, a Rancher or something in between, you can probably remodel your kitchen with nary a compromise to the original.
For starters, manufacturers now offer a whole plethora of retro cabinet styles. Choose carefully, though, since only a few of them are suited to any one period. If your home still has its original cabinets, use them as a guide to choosing the new ones, paying special attention to the doors and hardware. Even if the old kitchen is long gone, you might find some of the original cabinets mounted in the garage or basement. Failing that, you can find a cabinet design appropriate to the period by consulting coffee-table books or by consulting with an architect.
Nowadays, restoration suppliers offer reproduction cabinet hardware from almost every era, from Edwardian glass pulls to streamlined Deco handles to hammered Rancher hinges. It's exactly these sorts of details that make the difference between an average project and a standout, so their small extra cost is well worth it.
After cabinets, countertops are a kitchen's most prominent feature. Most prewar kitchens had ceramic tile countertops and backsplashes, and many of the original patterns and colors are now back in production. The better tile shops stock a huge selection of retro tile patterns and colors spanning over a hundred years, from the ubiquitous matte-white hexagonals of the early century, to the vivid tile and border combinations of the 1920s, to the sleek, glassy tiles of the Art Deco era.
After World War II, ceramic tile countertops began to lose ground to the new plastic laminate materials. These were sold under brand names such as Formica and Micarta, and came in a wide range of patterns, including wild imitations of tortoise shell and gold lame. Several laminate manufacturers are now re-releasing their more popular patterns of the '40s, '50s and '60s, making an authentic-some might say too authentic-postwar kitchen remodel possible for the first time.
If you don't like tile or plastic laminate countertops, a low-key, marble-like material such as Corian might be the next best choice (real marble is not especially durable and stains easily). Granite was all but unheard of prior to the 1980s, but if you prefer it, the pattern and color should still be in keeping with the style of your kitchen.
Period lighting fixtures will add yet another dimension of authenticity. A number of companies offer good quality reproduction fixtures at a fair price, and some will even suggest the most appropriate styles for the period of your house. For the truly detail-oriented, the same sources offer reproductions of the old-fashioned push-button switches found in homes of the Teens and Twenties. Before you order, though, make sure your local building department will approve them; some jurisdictions don't.
Genuine linoleum flooring (as opposed to modern sheet vinyl) is also back on the market, and will put the finishing touch on a period-inspired kitchen. It's only available in 6-foot widths, however, so you'll likely end up with a seam in the middle of the floor - just like Grandma's kitchen had.
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