White Cottage Kitchen

A white cottage kitchen with restored vintage appliances offers a great blend of old and new.

In a renovated Northern California beach house, Benjamin Moore’s Snow on the Mountain paint was used as the icy white coating on the ceilings, shelves and cabinets — a blizzard like treatment that’s often found in Scandinavian kitchens, too.  White marble counters help keep the kitchen bright against dark stained wood floors which vividly point up the whiteness. Two blackboard surfaces — one on the dining side of a peninsula and the other on the refrigerator wall — provide areas for word art and soulful phrases written in white chalk.

For me, the interest in this kitchen comes from the way the look was worked around two stunning vintage appliances — a Chambers stove [top] and custom built white icebox. While the appliances are true vintage they  help define the look without dominating it since they are the same color as the cabinets, wall and backsplash. Even the old-fashioned Dutch door is painted white. We’re starting to see the glimmer of a Dutch door revival and the beefy black hardware on this one definitely adds panache.  The lack of color contrast serves this small kitchen well.

Chambers stoves had their heyday in the 50s and 60s. I had the pleasure of using one at the home of friends where we frequently stayed on weekends many years ago. Not only were famous “daisy” burners terrific and powerful, Chambers ovens were well insulated and even sealed down with a latch. These days, the success of owning vintage appliances remains largely depending on the ability to have it renovated or repaired. The owners of the home purchased the range from Vintage Appliances and Restoration, in Tuscon, AZ, which specializes in recreating and rebuilding old machinery. With shiny black handles, and a black enamel top, this Chambers range (which looks to me like late 1940s vintage with a fold-away cover) almost looks contemporary it’s so sleek.

Then there’s the icebox, which was rebuilt with a compressor on top (behind the grill) and freezer below. Old fashioned latches look almost normal in this kitchen and it’s large enough to serve the family. Like the range, the refrigerator was purchased from  Vintage Appliances and the website had shots of the interior.

Real iceboxes had mesh shelves, just like these, which allowed air to circulate around food. There’s a small compartment above the main area which opens like a French door fridge — but with a center post.

A pair of freezer drawers on the bottom seem oddly contemporary. But one of the joys of a rebuilt vintage appliance is — like this kitchen — the blend of old and new.

(Source: House Beautiful), antiquevintageappliances.com)

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