RETRO KITCHENS: They're Cozy, Kitschy & Cute!

Creating a retro or vintage kitchen does not necessarily involve hard work or a lot of money, and you do not have to live in an old house to get the nostalgic look. Choose the right color for your walls and cabinets, find a cute wooden farmhouse table or Formica-top table, buy some vintage utensils and retro appliances and hang a cute curtain over your kitchen windows, and you will have a cozy, retro kitchen that will probably become your favorite room in your home.

If you do not want to fork out the extra bucks for the funky appliances, then purchase or make some appliance covers in cheerful, retro fabrics to cover your existing appliances. You can always hide the toaster, mixer, blender and coffee maker in a pantry or cabinet when you are not using them. If you already have a table, but it is not the right style, cover it with a vintage tablecloth or a choose a new one with a retro look.

You do not have to own a kitchen full of antiques to get the right look; a couple of vintage pieces can make a big statement as long as the kitchen is free of clutter and most of the modern items are out of sight. It is fun to slowly add things to your kitchen to achieve the retro look you want, and it can become a hobby for you and your family!

photo by Pat Williams (Flickr)

Red is such a classic retro 50's color, and it is bright, cheerful and energetic. I am not brave enough (yet) to paint an entire room red, but I love to add splashes of this racey color to my kitchen, laundry/sewing room and a little to my office. Red seems to really perk me up when I am feeling the blues!

G reen and red accessories with antique white walls and green cabinets are my favorite color combination in a retro kitchen. Below are some modern appliances in vintage green to assist you in preparing meals while adding nostalgic charm to your retro kitchen.

Turquoise is another classic retro color, and it is one of my favorite colors for a kitchen or laundry room.  Imagine these accessories in an all white kitchen, for a clean, crisp look, or paint your kitchen bright red and toss in some turquoise things and feel the energy! Other cool retro color combinations are turquoise and black or turquoise and pink. If you are really bold, try turquoise, black and pink together to create a really nostalgic 50's kitchen! To see even more fun turquoise accessories, visit RetroLoco.com where you will find dishes, small appliances, artwork and all kinds of groovy things for your retro kitchen.

Yellow is another cheerful color to have around, especially if your home lacks natural sunlight. Mix a few of these sunny yellow items up with blue, red or green accessories for a retro-riffic kitchen!

Funky Yellow Color Combinations I Like:

yellow and red
yellow and green
yellow and turquoise
red, yellow and cobalt blue

P ink and white, pink and green, pink and red, pink and black, pink and pink.....I LOVE PINK! Pink is so pretty and girly. I have loved pink ever since I can remember, and my mother used to tell me she wished I would "grow out of pink". NEVER!

What better way to create a retro kitchen than with a vintage dining table and matching chairs? eBay is loaded with old dinette sets that are bursting with nostalgia and screaming for a new home. Below are just few of the really cool vintage dinette sets you can find on eBay.

Vintage tablecloths are beautiful additions to the vintage or retro kitchen. Most antique tablecloths from the 30's, 40's and 50's are very colorful and cheerful and will brighten up any dark, dismal kitchen or breakfast room. If you find an old tablecloth with stains, tears or holes, don't throw it away! These tattered linens have many uses besides just covering a table. A worn-out tablecloth can be re-purposed into many useful items such as aprons, pillows, chair cushions, curtains, window valances, place mats, napkins, laundry bags, clothespins bags or anything you like.

These cute, vintage kitchen utensils and gadgets will add the perfect touch of nostalgia to a retro-style kitchen. They are functional items to use in the kitchen, or you can display them on a peg rack, in a shadow box or however you like.

Vintage breadboxes add a great touch of nostalgia to any kitchen. If I had a larger kitchen, I would love to collect old breadboxes, but they take up too much room. Also called "bread boxes" or "bread bins", these nifty containers were often made of wood, plastic or metals such as tin or enamelware. I have a green, metal breadbox from the 70's that has a handy shelf inside. I have stored many things in my breadbox including my kitchen towels or storing my cats' canned food, treats and medication in it.

Here are some other uses for a breadbox:

Storage for crackers, cookies, home-baked goodies or snack foods.

Store frequently-used cookbooks or recipe cards.

Keep important papers, receipts and kitchen appliance warranties in it.

Hold dish towels, napkins or other kitchen linens.

Re-purpose it as a cell phone and iPod charging station. (I saw this idea in a magazine, what a neat idea!)

Retro Loco! is the world of nostalgia I live in and the online business I am building. Currently, RetroLoco.com is an online store that sells vintage-inspired aprons, (new) retro kitchen wares, dozens of retro cookbooks, music from the 1920's through the 1980's, retro clothing and costumes for men and women, funky clocks and other groovy retro stuff. My store is small because it is new, but I am adding to it almost every day. I will soon be selling my retro artwork on RetroLoco.com along with a ton of old stuff I have inherited, purchased and "acquired" over the years. I hope you will visit RetroLoco.com and bookmark it so you can visit it again to see all the neat things I have added.