25 Memorable Midcentury Modern Kitchen Renovations
We love a good midcentury renovation all the more when stellar kitchen updates are involved.
We've said it before: The kitchen is the hardest-working room in the house. This space typically takes center stage in an open-plan midcentury home, often making it the major focus of a renovation. Even if you aren't a big home chef, chances are that updating the kitchen with contemporary appliances and on-trend touches will be your top priority due to the sheer visibility of the room. Below, we've rounded up some midcentury kitchen renovations to serve as inspiration for your upcoming project. Or if you haven't got any major projects on your mind, feel free to indulge in just a bit of architectural eye candy.
A Kitchen Remodel That Meets Personal and Professional Needs
Portland-base pastry chef Andrea Nicholas purchased a 1953 midcentury ranch whose 2,500 square feet needed "a lot of TLC." Nicholas hired architect Risa Boyer to design the renovation, which involved opening up the kitchen to the dining room and creating a contemporary open-plan living space.
Photo by Josh Partee
SHED added oversized sliding glass doors which allow for indoor/outdoor living during the warmer months, while new wood cabinetry establishes a clean, minimalist aesthetic, and an oversized, marble-topped island with a table extension provides room to cook, eat, and entertain. Oversized sliding doors open to the expansive deck, while skylights fill the space with natural light—a necessity with Seattle's gray winter skies.
Photo: Rafael Soldi
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Originally built by Walter Thomas Brooks in 1962, this Napa abode received a breath of fresh air in the form of a new kitchen by Henrybuilt. Maintaining its connection to the living and dining areas, the room is anchored by an island with leather pulls. Its pared-down look, in harmony with the other spaces, is defined by minimal open shelving, built-in storage, and refined matte finishes.
Photo by Henrybuilt
This midcentury kitchen was well-positioned so the updates maintained its original footprint, adding plenty of storage space for all the family's cooking and dining essentials.
Photo by Meagan Larsen Photography
The firm enlisted their Parisian carpenter to make the cabinets in the "Frey style and color"—stained maple topped with cream-colored quartz. Appliances are all Bertazzoni except for the refrigerator and freezer, which is a Frigidaire Professional. The brick wall would not have been original, but the firm kept it and hand-painted the surface in the style of Le Corbusier’s Parisian apartment.
Kelly Peak
Thick Calacatta marble counters wrap streamlined sage green flat-front cabinetry, painted in Farrow & Ball's "Mizzle." The island pendants are Cedar & Moss, and the Alfi Low-Back counter stools are by Jasper Morrison for Emeco.
Tessa Neustadt
"We designed a fully-custom, expanded chef’s kitchen featuring European-style cabinets, a large island with waterfall countertops, and hardwood floors," say Sommer and Costello. The light and bright kitchen has cabinetry by Gilbert Sojo, quartz counters, and a streamlined black GE range hood that syncs with the black finger pulls from Cosmas.
Mol Goodman
Wise maintained the footprint of the kitchen, which is roughly 125 square feet, then maxed out the storage. "Our goal here was to create a sleek and minimal kitchen respectful to the era of the home that was hyper-functional in a small space," says Wise. The black stools are from IKEA.
Photo: Meagan Larsen
Previously, the long volume of the main living area was chopped in half by a wall that enclosed the kitchen on one side. The division was a jarring way to separate the kitchen and dining room from the main living space, so the designers removed it to improve the connection between the main living areas. Removing the wall helps to expose the home’s beautiful post and beam structure throughout and unify the living spaces. To emphasize the structure, the team repainted the ceiling beams a dark color to contrast with the natural wood that was preserved.
Photo: Rafael Soldi
HabHouse renovated this Pasadena midcentury and gave it a completely new kitchen designed according to its original footprint. The materials were chosen in accordance with the original architect Calvin Straub's favored materials: vertical grain Douglas Fir.
Photos by Cameron Carothers for Sotheby’s International Realty
Shop the Look
Cedar & Moss Isle Cord Pendant
Sinuous and sculptural, the Isle is an exclusive design inspired by biomorphic midcentury shapes. Crafted with heavy gauge exclusive solid brass parts that have beautiful artisan finishes. All fixtures are handmade to order.
ShopEastvold Classic Credenza
This is NOT your grandma's credenza. It's better. Much better. Our Classic Credenza may look like an iconic mid-century piece, but this one is equipped with the modern conveniences you expect from media storage. The Classic Credenza is built with reinforced mitered joints, which allow the wood grain to wrap around the piece in one fluid sweep, showcasing the beauty of the locally-harvested, solid wood. The solid wood doors are grain matched and roll open with smooth sliding hardware. The interior has adjustable shelves and wire management portals that allow for unlimited media configurations. The Classic Credenza is finished with a durable, clear lacquer that will hold up to your sweatiest cocktails. Because let's face it, no one has the time to mess with polishing furniture anymore, not even grandma. Eastvold Furniture is a small company based in Minnesota that uses ethically harvested lumber in the construction of their furniture. Photo Courtesy of HORNE
ShopFor the renovation of this Portland midcentury kitchen, Risa Boyer started by removing a wall and converting the former galley kitchen into an open plan that shares space with the living and dining areas. Now, the centerpiece of the kitchen is a generous island with plywood cabinetry veneered with vertical-grain Douglas fir and a Caesarstone counter with a waterfall treatment at one end.
Lincoln Barbour
The architects went with a bold, orange hue for the kitchen countertops. Past the front door and a short hallway lies an expansive living, dining, and kitchen space.
Andrea Calo
This midcentury in Armonk, New York, was the personal residence of Arthur Witthoefft, an architect for renowned firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Witthoefft won an AIA First Honor Award in 1962 for his design, and the home was listed on the Register of Historic Places in 2011 after a meticulous restoration profiled in Dwell. The kitchen was modernized with white lacquer and stainless steel.
Courtesy of Houlihan Lawrence
The essence of this 1950s kitchen was recreated with modern-day appliances and additional counter space.
Benjamin Hill Photograph
Yellow Popham Design tiles add whimsy to the kitchen. A vintage Murano glass chandelier hangs above a custom table surrounded by DWR chairs.
David Papazian
The expanded central kitchen occupies the heart of the home. The kitchen island is wrapped in reclaimed Douglas fir and topped with a white granite countertop. The countertops in the rear are black-flamed granite.
Joe Fletcher
A dark concrete counter and blue laminate cabinets surround the Jenn-Air microwave drawer in architect Janet Bloomberg’s kitchen. The pendant hanging above the table is a Tejido Round Suspension from Artemide.
Greg Powers
For the kitchen, master bath, and kids’ bathroom, the designers chose three different hues of Savoy stacked mosaic tile from Portland-based manufacturer Ann Sacks. Tractor barstools by BassamFellows pull up to a PentalQuartz countertop. The gas cooktop, oven, and dishwasher are by Miele.
Photo: Grant Harder
In the kitchen, interior designer Emily Knudsen Leland replaced purple laminate cabinets with flat-sawn eastern walnut, and added PentalQuartz countertops in polished Super White for contrast. The cooktop and oven are from Miele.
Photo: Grant Harder
See Arch removed a wall to create a more spacious kitchen with a stronger visual connection to the dining area. The updated kitchen is outfitted with quartz countertops and Viking, Fisher Paykel, and Asko appliances.
Jean Bai / Konstrukt Photo
The orange kitchen countertops were swapped for custom concrete countertops. The cabinets were painted Pink Ground by Farrow & Ball and paired with Build.com hardware. The kitchen sink and faucet are from Amazon, while the tile is from Lowes.
Madeline Isabella
"For this home, I took down the walls, which closed off the kitchen and dining areas, and magically the sunshine and palm trees appeared," Perry explains of her Pop Art-inspired renovation.
Photo by Nickolas Sargent for Douglas Elliman
The kitchen cabinets are custom-made from 100-year-old wood purchased at Sliverado Salvage. There’s a breakfast nook and a nine-foot island finished in Tadelakt, a waterproof plaster often used in Moroccan architecture, creating a communal and open space that flows into the living room. "Tadelakt is such a beautiful material and provides an old-world, earthy feeling, but using it is very labor-intensive," says Elaine.
Photo: Liyuan Yang
The team expanded the kitchen and gave it a modern look that now features stunning walnut cabinets, gray Caesarstone counters, and a beautiful teal backsplash with tile from the Ann Sacks Modern Line.
Photo by Jeremy Bittermann
The renovation of this midcentury home in Falmouth, Maine, incorporates a modern aesthetic while preserving the home's midcentury character, as well as making it more energy efficient. Now, the bright and spacious kitchen opens to the dining and living spaces. The additional row of windows follows the roofline and fills the space with natural light.
Photo by Jon Reece Photography.
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