Stylish Vintage Kitchen Ideas

Give your kitchen a down-home, authentic feel by incorporating nostalgic style elements.

Our first kitchen features a small but efficient island that holds refrigerator drawers and a bookcase for cookbooks. Painted deep gray to contrast with the lighter color of the cabinets and topped with marble, it feels vintage and perhaps even original to the house.

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This small, 1930s kitchen returns to its retro roots without sacrificing modern space and functionality. The center island replaces enough counter space to fit a clothes washer and dryer in the room. Details like the farmhouse sink and green glass tile add throwback style.

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To complement the rustic wood wall, Designer Richard Tubb chose freestanding restaurant-grade stainless steel cabinetry and enlisted blacksmith Darren Hardman to craft a custom steel island. Open shelving confines dishware to the essentials, while a row of bare Edison lightbulbs provides general and task lighting.

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New cabinets made with recessed beaded-board panels reflect the simple, homespun character of this kitchen. The butter yellow farmhouse sink completes the look.

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The builder of this home made classic choices such as the white subway tile, the vintage-style hardware on the cabinets, and a mahogany top on the island.

Some of the best treasures in this kitchen are found objects. The homeowners used old ship lights for a chandelier in the kitchen. Shrimpers' rope accents the edge of the countertop that is supported by columns found at another old house.

These fresh white cabinets are a beautiful background for retro laminate countertops and a vintage-inspired stove.

Typically used for barn roofing, the kitchen's corrugated material adds authentic farmhouse charm for only about $15 per sheet.

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In this new kitchen, intersecting timbers cross the ceiling to capture vintage character.

Nothing adds vintage, cottage appeal to a space like beaded board. Pair with warm wood, dusty green, and crisp white to complete the look.

From the salvage wood walls to the bevy of vintage trinkets, this kitchen has big personality.

Adding to the overall mix of styles and time periods in the kitchen, a vintage-inspired iron chandelier hangs above the sleek center island. Hand-scraped wood flooring by Shaw Floors is made from recycled materials and mimics the look of antique wide-plank floors.

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To achieve vintage charm with modern function, choose state-of-the-art components designed, whenever possible, in turn-of-the-century style.

The inset cabinets and bin pulls add to the old-house aesthetic of the room. The homeowners decided to splurge on details in the kitchen and family room because they knew that they would spend most of their time in that area.

The antique rug adds a sense of history to the brand-new room.

To keep the room from feeling too flat, add color and texture with accessories such as curtains and a jute rug. The vintage look of the house is reinforced with a new tongue-and-groove wood-plank ceiling and a trio of oversize globe lights, a splurge item.

A mint green refrigerator (bigchill.com) and Moroccan tiles on the floor and backsplash (mosaichse.com) add a nostalgic punch of color to this kitchen.