Do you hide your modern conveniences ?

[St. Louis]

My microwave stopped working a few years ago, and I haven't replaced it -- I don't miss it a bit. From everything I've read, nuked food is evidently not that good for you. The only function I missed was the ability to disinfect my dish washing sponges. Since I've continued retrofitting my kitchen, though, I now use dish cloths and I dry them on an old wall-mounted drying rack & launder them regularly. The stove looks retro enough so that it doesn't bother me, and I can't hide the fridge so I ignore it. My dream is some day to redo the kitchen to the 1930s, but that will have to wait until I suddenly magically begin to earn a living wage.

I hide the TV in a music cabinet. My computer (a necessity for my job) is in the back room, but reasonably out of sight except for the monitor. I don't bother hiding those things during my everyday life, but if I have people over it's very easy to get them out of the line of sight. I do want to come home every day to a 1930s/40s house, and with the few exceptions I mentioned, I can mostly do that.

 

[vitanola]

My dream is some day to redo the kitchen to the 1930s, but that will have to wait until I suddenly magically begin to earn a living wage.

I do want to come home every day to a 1930s/40s house...

Don't give up hope! A quick check of Craigslist in St Louis shows this stove, a Magic a Chef President Model of 1929-32, offerred for $250, only $50 more than its original selling price of $199.95. This is a heck of a good stove. Heavily insulated, it just sips gas. The oven regulates well and is at a convenient height. The legs allow one to. Easily clean under the unit. The cook too is great! Easy to clean, and with that insulate cover when in one motion covers up any mess.

I have a replacement for the broken handle on the broiler door.

Then there are these refrigerators. A bit later, but both really good reliable units which date to the early post-war years, and which will have a lot of service left in them.

The last machine comes with a late pre-war range. Nice lines, but a cheap stove, alas. It would be SERVICEABLE, though, and the combination for but $100 is not to be sneezed at.

 

[St. Louis]

Wow! How incredibly generous and thoughtful of you! Thank you so, so much. I really appreciate the time you took to look into this for me.

This has now completely changed my thinking on the project. These appliances are in an affordable range & it's possible that I could also afford the renovations. Would you be willing to advise me on some of this as I go along?

 

[vitanola]

Of course.

Now, a very good impression of an inlaid linoleum floor may be made by taking ordinary modern commercial Vinyl Composition Tile, like Armstrong Solarian, purchased in, say, three colors, cutting the 12" tiles in to 3" squares with a tile cutter or a rented saw, and laying them in a modified "checkerboard cross" pattern. This is easily within the capability of any homeowner, and will cost well under $2.00 per square foot, all inclusive.

Existing cabinets can be modified, or new ones built out of common tounge-and-groove stock and AC plywood. These are also pretty cheap.

An old wall-hung single drain board sink may be had for a reasonable price if one looks hard. Double drainboard units are in more demand and are more expensive, but of one is working for a 1940's look a common modern sink, even a use sink in good condition may be set flush into a counter which can then be covered with linoleum, Vinyl tile in the pattern on the floor, or even cheap ceramic tile for a period look.

Porcelain topped kitchen tables are still pretty commonly found, you probably already have the necessary small appliances and utensils.

A very little money, spent over months, and a few hours a week for a half-year will enable most folks to entirely remodel almost any kitchen into a cozy and efficient 1930's/1940's workspace.

 

[sheeplady]

We have a flat top fridge we aquired for $75 and a monitor top we aquired for $200. If you are ever up this way, there's a salvage yard that sells single-drainboard wall mount sinks in the $100 range.

Granted, none of these things are pristine, (and you'll have to dig said sink out of the weeds), but they are repairable.

Also, you can get a Hoosier cabinet kit from a number of places (including Van Dukes Hardware). My understanding is that all the parts are there, you just need to put it together, with help from a drill. That's more economical than new cabinets for what you can get in real wood. Alternatively you can find an old one and strip it if it's painted. (I can help with stripping advice.)

 

[vitanola]

We have a flat top fridge we aquired for $75 and a monitor top we aquired for $200. If you are ever up this way, there's a salvage yard that sells single-drainboard wall mount sinks in the $100 range.

Granted, none of these things are pristine, (and you'll have to dig said sink out of the weeds), but they are repairable.

Also, you can get a Hoosier cabinet kit from a number of places (including Van Dukes Hardware). My understanding is that all the parts are there, you just need to put it together, with help from a drill. That's more economical than new cabinets for what you can get in real wood. Alternatively you can find an old one and strip it if it's painted. (I can help with stripping advice.)

Great ideas! The fad for Hoosiers appears to have passed, and they are turning up for relatively low prices all over the Midwest These days.

 

[sheeplady]

Great ideas! The fad for Hoosiers appears to have passed, and they are turning up for relatively low prices all over the Midwest These days.

I may have to come out west shopping then.

Being in NYS so close to Schenectady (where GE was headquartered) we have a lot of refrigerators available since we had so many GE employees who got discounts.

Hoosier cabinets are pretty rare here, the only ones I've ever seen need quite a bit of work and/or been abused. But honestly I haven't looked lately.

 

[Rodney]

We don't bother to hide the modern stuff. Our house was built in the 70s. We both love antiques so there's plenty of them in the house too. We have an electric stove from the 20s waiting for when we remodel the kitchen.
Vitanola has some great ideas for a budget facelift. I used the vinyl tiles in the kitchen of my old house that was built in the 40s. Easy to lay, looks good and is hard wearing. It's a great choice for a vintage look.
Rodney

 

[LizzieMaine]

I can also vouch for VCT. I did my kitchen floor myself in a weekend for about $200.

 

[Stearmen]

Modern vinyl flooring has come a long way in the past decade. My neighbor just put some in the basement bedroom, I new it was vinyl, but I still had to reached down and touch it! It looked like high end tile flooring, and only cost a little over $300.00 installed!