I will never, ever, and I mean NEVER EVER get sick of looking at and admiring vintage kitchens!  Even though I have personally just redecorated my kitchen into more of a farm style, I know that it won’t be too long before the vintage look makes its way back.  Anyone who loves or appreciates anything vintage will understand exactly what I mean.  But when trying to write this post, I found myself struggling to put into words just what it is about the vintage kitchen look that I so much love.  Upon thinking, I have found that it contains both physical and mental attributes.  The idea of family, homey-ness, and just good old fashioned cooking makes up the mental appeal. But to describe the physical, I had to find some examples…..

First off,  take a look at this kitchen below:

Ahhhhhhh!   It looks so appealing, clean, sunny, and fresh!  From the striped cushions, the plate rack above the sink, to the geranium in the windowsill, everything oozes welcome and home.  But what is stopping me from creating a kitchen just like this?  Well besides the fact that I would have to do some major reconstruction, the idea of a tiled wall just seems a little out of date.

But what about this kitchen?

I mean a cozy siting area in the kitchen complete with fireplace!  Sign me up!  The glass cabinets and breakfast nook all add to the overall appeal….but again, something stops me.  Perhaps it is the commitment to one and only one color?

So you see, no matter how much I love the kitchens of the 1920’s, 30’s, 40’s 50’s, and yes even 60’s, I just can’t seem to recreate the entire look in my own home.  So I have to ask the question: How retro do you go?

When looking for images for this post I have discovered that there are two major types of retro home decorators out there.  One type that loves to replicate and the other that likes to use a touch.  So I gathered some examples of each to see what you all thought!

Let’s begin with those true-to-form decorators out there!

From color, to pattern, to accessories, these kitchens look as if they have been plucked right out of a 1950’s Better Homes and Gardens magazine!

And then there are those that let color hues or accessories bring a gentle vintage wash to the room…

I debated where to put the bottom left hand image…that one really could belong in both categories.

So, where do you fall?  Which style speaks most to you and which one do you use to decorate your home?  I flip flop almost on the daily…. 🙂

Have a wonderful day everyone!!