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pam kueber - August 27, 2015, Updated: November 3, 2020
Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.
Step one increating a pleasing design and color combination for your kitchen: Find your pattern — and build from there. I spotted an adorable set of New Old Stock cafe curtains — and now I need a new house because I want to install this kitchen!
Anin-the-pink kitchen:
Thanks to ebay seller vintagechamber for permission to show photos of this lovely vintage find. Click here to get to the listing.Selected details (there are more with the listing) include:
- Three pair (sixpanels) of wonderful new old stock Mid-Century Modern cafe curtains.
- A Donaldson’s paper price tag is pinned to one of the panels. The price was $3.99 a pair. Donaldson’s was once a popular department store in Minneapolis, but sadly, no longer exists.
- Each panel is 32″ wide by 34″ long (measured from the top point where the rings attach).
- The print fabric is a fine quality, crisp polished cotton with a mid-century kitchen-themed print of coffee and tea pots, coffee grinders, cups and saucers, sugar bowls, spoons and forks.
- The colors are pink, gray, tan, black, and white. The white areas have a slight pinkish hue because of the pink lining.The pink lining is also a fine quality, crisp cotton.
Let’s pair it with: Formica Charcoal Boomerang Laminate… easy peasy!
And start accessorizing with pink cookware. Several readers spotted and sent me emails aboutthis Neoflam cookware, which is available in two retro colors — a delicious Mamie-ish pink color and a 1960s-ish pistachio. The designs of the knobs on the lids are fun, too. Available on Amazon (affiliate link).
This fabric is just so perfect — we love the subject matter— but more importantly, the fact it contains several shades of gray, the additional shade of beige, and then,the accent color pink, makes it super versatile. This fabricwould look great with white or pink cabinets — but I’d love to see it with warm wood cabinets — the blonder the better, to pick up on the beige in the fabric. Like… can you imagine these cafe curtainsin this time capsule kitchen:
- See more of this time capsule kitchen from five years ago on the blog — earlier this year — yes, five years after we discovered it — it became a viral internet sensation!
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Reader Interactions
41 comments
Comments
Jeff says
Oops! Wound up being the highest bidder on the curtains. Should match my pink and gray boomerang counters pretty well but that means the walls need to be painted! Update later on 😉
pam kueber says
Yay! Send pics when you’re ready for prime time! Congrats!
Maria says
Oooh, I would’ve loved these. I’m on the hunt for new cafe curtains that will go with my 1959 pink appliances. These would match both the original appliances and oatmeal tile counter.
Hope you post pictures!
pam kueber says
Ya gotta come here every day or you’ll miss things!
maria says
I just found you!!!! I fell into a internet hole looking for barkcloth for a vintage rattan set I got (scored some at Full Swing before they closed) and here you are!
I’m trying to figure out how to update my original 1959 pink kitchen — and I think I’ve come to the right place. 🙂
oh Holland says
Those cafe curtains are dynamite. (And, may as well change my name to Dinah, ’cause I just *mite* bid on ’em!) I have a small collection of tea towels with similar graphics, my favorites done by Lois Long (aka de Antonio.) This pattern could well be her work, if not Tammis Keefe’s or Virginia Zito’s. But I’m betting on my best gal, Lois.
pam kueber says
Now that you mention it, yes, that looks like some tea towels I’ve seen before!
Jennifer says
Hmm. You may have decided my retro design dilemma. Only DH doesn’t really like the Charcoal boomerang. He’s leaning toward Wilsonart’s Betty or Endora or maybe the mint green Retro. Would those curtains work with any of those laminates? I don’t really think so…
pam kueber says
Would look good with Endora, I think. But not Betty.
If you really want Betty, use the same principle: Find curtains with those colors.
Carol says
Pam did an article not long ago on laminate and one new pattern was “elliptical” ( i think) and it was pale grey with overlapping ovals in a line. It looked really retro in a way and almost looked like a solid from a distance. It really was a great pattern to use in a retro kitchen.
Jennifer says
I have the elliptical one in red and really like it. That’s kind of what I want to do (after seeing several vintage pink kitchens with red–or burgundy–countertops), but the grey would be neat, too.
I just spent a long time on ebay looking at vintage pink curtains 🙂
pam kueber says
I just spent a long time on ebay looking at vintage pink curtains 🙂
Yes: That’s what happens.
Mary Elizabeth says
I have gray eliptical on the vanity in my pink and gray bathroom (on this site). We used the scraps to line the cubby under our new medicine cabinet and new shelf cabinet over the pink potty.
Jennifer says
The grey ellipse is beautiful. I got samples of “endless” in grey, but not the ellipse. I might have to order another sample! The red is also lovely.
pam kueber says
The Formica 100th anniversary patterns: https://retrorenovation.com/2013/01/22/breaking-news-formicas-100-anniversary-designs-include-retro-style-counter-top-patterns-and-colors-hurray-for-color-and-pattern/
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