This post-millennium kitchen easily might have survived since the 1940s. Timeless and charming, it has good work spaces and efficient flow as well as vintage bits and period holdovers.
The owner insisted on using the salvaged soapstone sink they’d found. Gross and Daley
This iteration replaced a 1970s “avocado” remodeling in the 1890 Shingle-style cottage. With Susan Booth of Vintage Kitchens, in Concord, N.H., the homeowners decided to stay within the original footprint. The room is 12″ x 12″. A modern-day “gourmet kitchen” was out of the question, given the space and the character of the old house. So they made the most of the space, which offers plain cabinets, open shelves, a dishwasher, and a stove alcove. Two original pantries help with storage. The pantries also provided cues for the design of cabinets, mouldings, and other architectural details.
The owner insisted on using the salvaged soapstone sink they’d found. Attic floorboards became one countertop. A small sideboard of the Victorian period was fitted with casters to become a movable island; its original marble top is good for pastry making. The lighting fixture overhead is retractable.
“My goal was to have a kitchen that looked like it came with the house,” says the homeowner. “I couldn’t be happier with the results.”
On display are the owner’s grandmother’s Fiesta and Harlequin dinnerware and other collections. Gross and Daley
1. DISPLAY PRACTICAL AND DECORATIVE
Open shelving fills space next to a wall-hung upper cabinet in a kitchen corner. On display are the owner’s grandmother’s Fiesta and Harlequin dinnerware and other collections. Shelves are edged with a period fabric.
2. COUNTRY SINK
The soapstone sink, a local salvage find, was an important part of the kitchen design. An old, Forties-vintage tablecloth in the owner’s collection was used to make attractive curtains—an easy, DIY sewing project.
3. THE STOVE ALCOVE
The refurbished antique gas stove sits in an alcove created by moving a closet and a dumbwaiter. New woodwork was copied from original examples in the Victorian-period house.
4. COLLECTIBLES
Over the stove, a decorative shelf held on brackets displays favorites from a collection of old teapots. The practical, wall-hung pot rack to the left is an old towel bar fitted with hooks.
BE INSPIRED…
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Bear Creek-line braided rug.
Capel has been making braided rugs since 1917. Their Bear Creek-line braided rugs are reversible, available in many sizes and shapes. The variegated wool-blend rugs come in five or more color blends; Sage is shown. capelrugs.com
Kitchen faucet from Signature Hardware.
Signature Hardware’s swivel-spout, wall-mount kitchen faucet has traditional styling and lever handles. With variable centers 7″–9″, in chrome on solid brass. signaturehardware.com
1940s-style treatments.
Turn to Etsy if you don’t want to make your own curtains or valances from vintage tablecloths. A Vintage Look makes up 1940s-style treatments from retro fabrics. etsy.com/shop/AVintageLook
Vinyl lace edging.
Evoke Grandma’s kitchen. Especially effective behind a glass door, this peel-and-stick vinyl lace edging is inexpensive and washable. (Many users recommend adding double-sided tape.) Sold through amazon.com.
