Do you have a builders grade kitchen that desperately needs some character & style? Today Im going to share some ideas that you can use to transform an unsightly space into a vintage style kitchen. The last time I shared my kitchen with you was September of 2012. It was an organizing post that showed my kitchen & the inside of my cabinets. Since then, I have been adding vintage touches to bring more character and charm to our “new” home.
My kitchen is a reflection of my personality. Im an old soul and absolutely love anything vintage. In time, I hope to incorporate more vintage touches throughout the rest of my home. Our very first home was built in 1925. It was filled with beautiful moldings, vintage light fixtures, mahogany woodwork, built-in cabinets, skeleton key glass door knobs, swing doors & pocket doors, porcelain sinks & tub, subway tiles and more! I loved it so much and miss that charm in our newly built home. Little by little, we are adding that same character to our forever home.
How to add vintage character to a new kitchen:
- Lighting Fixtures
- Subway Tiles
- Vintage Decor
- Kitchen Faucet
- Vintage Linens
- Hardware
- Furniture
- Extra Details
LIGHTING FIXTURES:
You enter my kitchen through the foyer. When you walk in you will see the vintage style light fixtures. I purchased them at Lowes. They are still available and fairly inexpensive. I believe light fixtures are one of the main focal points in a home. If you want to create a vintage feel in your own home, this is where you will want to start.
SUBWAY TILES:
Subway tiles became popular around the turn of the century. They were originally hung in the NYC subway system because of the long lasting nature of the material and of course – they were stylish! You will see many homes built in the early 1900’s with this type of backsplash in the kitchen as well as the bathrooms. Adding subway tiles to a newer home adds beautiful vintage character. I installed our subway tiles (yes I did it myself!). It took me 4 days (tiling in-between our busy schedules) but I finished it! The project only cost me $200. I purchased the subway tiles at Lowes for 22 cents each. I used (Type 1 mastic) tile adhesive to hang the tiles & “warm grey” sanded grout for the color. The tile spacing in my kitchen is 1/8 inch so I used sanded grout. If you use anything less than 1/8 inch, you will need unsanded grout. I cut the tiles with an inexpensive wet saw. Although time consuming, the tiling was pretty easy to do. It totally transformed our kitchen.
VINTAGE DECOR:
One of my all time favorite things to do is shopping at flea markets, barn sales, antique malls, and garage sales. I’m always on the hunt for vintage finds. I love old scales, vintage signs and anything else that has a story. I LOVE antiquing. One of the easiest ways to add character to your home is with vintage decor. Sit an old scale on your counter, store cookbooks in an old locker basket or use old crocks to store utensils. The possibilities are endless.
I purchased this vintage milk glass pitcher at a garage sale for $1.00.
Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx (Home Goods/Marshalls), and World Market are great places to find reproduction vintage style decorations. The wire basket is from Hobby Lobby & the sign and jars were purchased at World Market.
UPDATE THE KITCHEN FAUCET:
Add vintage character to your kitchen by updating your builders grade faucet. This is another focal point of the kitchen. By updating the faucet, you will transform the space. I purchased my faucet here. I absolutely LOVE it!!!
VINTAGE LINENS:
Vintage aprons, table cloths, and dish towels bring character to your kitchen. You can find them at garage sales, antique stores & etsy. They are pretty inexpensive and bring such joy to my vintage kitchen. I change them out each season. I love them!
VINTAGE STYLE HARDWARE:
Swap out your builders grade handles with vintage style hardware (either reproduction or found). I purchased these reproduction handles from the Young House Love line at Target. They are made to be “hooks” to hang on the wall, but work out well on my (pull style) pantry doors. We also swapped out the cabinetry hardware for vintage reproduction style knobs and pulls from Restoration Hardware (Gilmore knobs & pulls).
FURNITURE:
Nothing adds character like vintage style furniture. Swap out your “new” furniture with vintage or reproduction pieces. I purchased these bar stools from World Market. They add so much style to the space.
I purchased the slipcovered & wooden chairs from Ikea and vintage style farmhouse table came from Big Lots (believe it or not!).
EXTRA DETAILS:
Add chalkboard paint, a vintage mantle or open shelving to decorate those empty walls in your kitchen. Fill the space with vintage finds, signs, wreaths, etc. Within those small details, character is revealed in your kitchen. Dont be afraid to add your own charm. There are so many possibilities.
This is one of my favorite spaces in the kitchen. I purchased this shelf at TJ Maxx. I collect wooden cutting boards, cheese boards & rolling pins. I display some of them here.
I can’t remember where I purchased the number tins but they were bought online. The basket & brie container are from Target & the bottle caddy is from TJ Maxx.
I hope you are able to take some of my tips & update your builders grade kitchen to a vintage style kitchen with character and charm. If you have any other ideas or tips, I’d love to hear them. Just leave a comment below. Follow me on Instagram to see what kind of projects I’m up to on a regular basis. My IG name is “Toni Hammersley”. As always, you can see updates on my Facebook page here. Thanks for stopping by.
Tags: decorating, kitchen, vintage decor
Blog, Decorate, Decorating, Kitchen, kitchen decorating, May 2014, Organize, renovations, Tutorials, vintage kitchen Posted in
47 comments
47 comments on “Adding vintage style to a builders grade kitchen…”
Your kitchen is gorgeous. LOVE the light fixtures and I’m a huge fan of subway tile. I especially like how you used the gray grout with it. All of the decor pieces you used are wonderful.
Thank you so much for sharing your home. You inspire me! Your kitchen/breakfast room is beautiful!
We are about to redo our kitchen and this is the vibe I want. Love the subway title. I cannot wait till everything is done and I can begin to decorate.
Pretty, fresh and welcoming. I love how the black and white also lends a modern feel.
Absolutely adore your kitchen!!!! Loving the vintage fire place mantel!! Just beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing!!
I have a great love for vintage mixed with modern. What you have shared is wonderful little ways to give a boring kitchen a new life. I feel so inspired. Someday when I own my own home. I will be adding some of vintage touches myself. For now I will admire everyone elses. Happy Mothers Day! Have a great weekend.
Great post! It is amazing how you can transform a space with a few key accents. I can for sure say upgrading the shiny brass knobs in my kitchen to oil rubbed knobs and pulls made a HUGE difference. Now… I need to attempt to do my own Subway tile like you did. It came out great!!! Nice job!!!
OMGosh !!! I just LOVE your kitchen !!! You really have a good eye for vinyettes and decorating in general. You have my style, and have given me sooo many ideas to bring into my home. Great job girl !!! Yours is one of my top favorite blogs.
Sheila
I love how you have small items corralled in baskets and trays. Was the Pellegrino holder a flea market find, or where did you purchase it? thanks!
All the details are perfect and every picture is like out of a magazine! Thank you for sharing with all of us!
This is lovely. Gives me great ideas. I am currently going to use an old bunk ladder to hang vintage aprons and linens on.
Jane
I love your style and creativity. Thanks for sharing.
It looks FABULOUS Toni!!! I LOVE the mantle and chalkboard idea, so beautiful!
Anna 🙂
Thank you Anna. 🙂
Where did you get the barstools?
World Market
I am in love with your kitchen. Seriously so beautiful. I love all the vintage details. You have amazing taste and such a great eye for design. Happy Mother’s Day to you as well.
What a beautiful space! I really like the new and vintage mix. Two questions: How do you clean your floors? And is the white tray on the countertop like a melamine material?Thank you for sharing your kitchen!
Vicki, I clean my floors with water and vinegar. The tray is metal and its from the Target summer line. 🙂
Beautiful! I am in the process of slowly painting all of our builders cabinets white and the next step is subway tiles. Your kitchen is now my inspiration!!! I love all the oil rubbed bronze hardware. Is your whole house done in it? All our doors and hinges are satin chrome. I desperately want to do our hardware in oil rubbed bronze, but then I feel like is have to update the whole house. $$$ yikes!
the rubbed bronze is throughout the home.
Jessica, I happened to see your comment while I was on here. We had brass hardware (UGH UGH) on our interior and exterior doors when we purchased our house. We spray painted all of the doorknobs oil rubbed bronze and they have held up extremely well. We did purchase new hinges (contractor pack) and strike plates since that is where you would probably see some wear opening and closing the door. The cost was minimal compared to replacing everything with new hardware. I hope this is helpful! 🙂
Very smart Kristin!!!
Very nice! Love your kitchen!
Adorable kitchen. Where did you get your “bakery” letters?
Did I miss where the rug is from? LOVE the whole thing, and it’s not unlike my own kitchen. I might need to steal a few of your ideas, though, to beef mine up a bit! Thanks for sharing!
Toni, I finally got around to reading this…it looks FANTASTIC! 🙂 We have such similar taste that it’s crazy. Rob and I share your belief about lighting too. It makes ALL the difference in the world. We got most of our lighting at a Restoration Hardware outlet before we moved into this house (bless our poor realtor who came back to count cabinet doors and drawers as we scored our hardware there too!). I got our kitchen schoolhouse lights at Rejuvenation and we love them.
Everything in your space looks beautiful! Congratulations and enjoy the updated space! 🙂
Swoon. I absolutely love this post, your photos, and your kitchen so much. Adding you to my blog list 🙂
What a beautiful kitchen! I love all your vintage touches. The floors are gorgeous too! I’m pinning for later reference.
Toni, I love your kitchen! I noticed that your china cabinet is not in there anymore though. Do you still have it? I loved all of your jadite that you displayed in it 🙂
Oh yes I still have it. Its in my dining room with all of the jadeite displayed in it. 🙂
We are kindred spirits, Toni! You did a beautiful job on the subway tiles and I am very impressed that you did it yourself! Love this entire blog entry! I think every home should have at least SOMETHING vintage in it, to add character and interest. Great job!
I adore your hobnail milkglass pitcher!
And appreciate your stlye – our kitchens could be sisters. 🙂
Beautiful post – good tips & wonderful eye candy!
What is the name of the paint color on the walls? It’s white, but it looks different from the white on the trim… I love your kitchen!
Love all the details so much! Everything! I would also love to know the wall color!! It is so pretty.
What are the names of the lamps I live in canada I know they are from Lowes but if you could give me the name I would greatly appreciate it…..
They were purchased several years ago.
I Love Love Love the dining table! Never would have guessed Big Lots and I’ll be taking a peek in that store more often now! 🙂
I love your decorating style. Where did you purchase the framed H?
Your vintage style kitchen is lovely! I love the light fixtures! I have a lot of vintage collectibles in my kitchen. I really have a hard time finding the time to dust everything and I have been thinking about decluttering a bit. I have a collection of vintage aprons hanging in my kitchen as well. I love them!
So in love with your kitchen!!!
Hi Toni! Love the house and decor! Can you tell me…. are your kitchen cupboards white white or an antique cream white? Are the walls the same? It is hard to tell from pics. Do you know the name of your paint color? Our kitchen cabinet choices are 3 colors of wood grains or white white. Also, did you make your bakery letters?
Nicely done! Beautiful space and added touches throughout. I especially love your collection of rolling pins!
This is EXACTLY what I needed to read! We have almost the same granite colors and I was wondering if white subway tile and cabinets would look off or strange with the browns and blacks in the granite. But yours looks amazing! So I am going ahead on updating our builder’s grade kitchen white 🙂
Thanks so much. Your home is gorgeous!
Absolutely gorgeous! I love all the details!! Where did you get your bakery letters? Your rug? And your mug holder? Lots of inspiration and can’t wait to add those special touches in my home!! Thanks!