How Can I Remodel for a Vintage-Style Kitchen?

Q: I am trying to remodel my kitchen into a vintage 1950's style. Our upper cabinets are a red oak. I stripped the bottom cabinets, which were painted white and my husband wants them left wood tone. They are pine. He also wants wood floors, but I wonder how three wood tones would look in an otherwise white kitchen?

A: I would not design a kitchen with that many wood types in the permanently installed cabinets. I might install an island made from a different wood or painted, but oak uppers over pine base units will not work well. Another less expensive alternative to replacing cabinets if you don't want painted cabinets, would be to reface one set of cabinets to match the other.

Adding a wood floor to this would make the whole picture very busy, especially oak flooring. Perhaps a maple floor would look okay, but it should have a light finish because you are probably going to have to stain the stripped cabinets a little dark to cover the fact that they have once been painted.

Quite frankly, if you really want the 50's concept, staying with the pine would be more realistic for the cabinets and installing a nice retro pattern vinyl floor would be more correct.

Darius Baker, D&J Kitchens & Baths, Sacramento, CA