The kitchen is the area of the historic house that is most likely to have been remodeled over time. Many of these improvements were unnecessary at best. Today, more and more people are returning their kitchens to an appearance more in keeping with the age of their home. Others who are lucky enough to have original features are devising new ways to preserve them, while making the kitchen more functional to modern life. First, let’s take a look at some of the kitchen styles and ages most commonly found in older Portland houses.

The kitchen in the Pittock Mansion, Portland, OR, shows an early stove and porcelain pedestal sink. Note too the oiled fir drainboards in the sink.

Below; This 1950s Mid-Century Modern gives us an open and flowing floor plans connecting kitchen to family room.

The Victorian kitchen was kept simple: spare, functional, and easy-to-clean. These functional rooms were not the showcases of style that we have come to expect of our kitchens today. Wall and base cabinets were still many years away. Functional cupboards, drawers, and tilt-out bins were only found in individual, movable pieces of furniture (such as the “hoosier”). Much of the food preparation occurred at the kitchen table. Walls were usually bare (though many upper-end houses had varnished or painted beadboard wainscoting). Most mid-to-large homes had separate pantries. The largest homes had butler’s pantries (the source of many latter-day powder room conversions). Some higher-end Victorian kitchens, with their varnished wainscoting and moldings and quaint gas light fixtures, would be considered beautiful even by today’s standards. But generally speaking, there was no more thought given among the middle class to making their kitchen beautiful than there is today with making, say, a garage beautiful.

The first elements of style started creeping into the kitchen at the beginning of the 20th century. Servant-less households meant family members were spending more time in their kitchens. Also, technology had advanced to the point that kitchen appliances were becoming more compact, easier to use, and, at times, quite stylish.

Wall tile also started appearing at around this time. Its stylishness was perhaps incidental to its being functional and hygienic. The Sanitary Movement that started after 1900 had made people increasingly aware of the danger of germs and of how to prevent them. The color of early kitchen tile was, of course, white — furthering the appearance of the kitchen as a sterile medical laboratory.

Hanging cabinets began making their appearance after 1900. Base cabinets came later, often starting their life as infill under lateral counter extensions of the large porcelain sink. The new base cabinets were promoted as being more hygienic than the open, dust-catching areas they replaced. The first counter spaces were often made of oiled fir. These were beautiful but difficult to maintain properly. By 1920 colored ceramic tile was the material of choice for counters, back-splash, and walls. As the Roaring ’20s progressed, kitchen tile often took a walk on the wild side with previously unthinkable combinations of vibrant colors and patterns. Floors too became colorful with the new wonder product, linoleum. These were often made even more striking with inlaid patterns of contrasting colors.

White metal cabinets became popular in the years bracketing World War II. Unfortunately, these proved impractical with denting resulting from collisions with energetic baby-boom youngsters. Few intact examples remain today. The 1950s saw the introduction of laminate counter tops, and in many homes, the open floor plan. The kitchen in these open-plan houses was connected to the dining room or to the new invention, the family room. Cork flooring used in many modern ’50s kitchens is becoming increasingly popular once again today.

Today there is a revival of interest in re-creating historic kitchens. There are many local sources to purchase appropriate restoration materials. There are even design consultants and contractors who specialize in historic kitchens. When remodeling a kitchen (or any room, really) in a historic house, it is always best to remodel to period as much as possible. That way the remodeling will never go out of style, and your substantial investment will be protected. It also is wise to resist design fads of the moment. It didn’t take long, for example, for all those avocado and harvest-gold appliances from the 70s to look hopelessly dated. Also, you might want to consider merely repainting or finishing your existing cabinets and counters, and accessorizing them to match the age of your house. Kitchen remodeling doesn’t always have to be expensive to be good.

Going authentic with kitchen appliances can be a bit tricky, however. Not everyone is willing to live with a tiny, coil-top refrigerator. And no one wants to depend on an icebox for refrigeration (good ice is so hard to find these days). But you will find that older stoves and ranges do just about the same things that modern ones do. Also, many companies are now making replica stoves and refrigerators that look like vintage appliances but contain all the bells and whistles of new models. Clever remodelers are also finding ways to disguise new appliances behind period-appropriate doors and cabinets.

A good way to sample the kinds of work being done today in historic kitchen remodeling is to attend the annual Kitchens Revival Tour sponsored by the Architectural Heritage Center, located in Portland, OR. You will see a wide variety of historic kitchen remodeling and/or preservation. House ages range from Victorian (1880s) to Mid-Century Modern (1950s-60s). Each owner has devised an appropriate solution that best fits the style and age of the house. To find out when the next Architectural Heritage Centers Kitchens Tour visit www.VisitAHC.org or call 503-231-7264.