Retro Color in Project House Austin's Casita Kitchen

Project House Austin’s casita kitchen plays a starring role, complete with retro inspired appliances and tile. Builder Michael Wray, owner and founder of MidCentury Custom Homes, LLC, and designer Christine Turknett of Breathe Design Studio have been collaborating to bring the vision of a retro, Mid Century Modern-inspired casita to life, including the kitchen, complete with retro inspired appliances and tile.

A Colorful Kitchen in Project House Austin’s Casita

Elmira Stove Works offers a variety of colors for their Northstar collection of retro-inspired appliances. “The colors are modeled after 1950s cars,” says Tony Dowling, vice president of sales and marketing at Elmira Stove Works. “They take us back to a simpler time.” Here are the colors you can choose from, but note that they also offer color matching for custom colors:

retro style fridge Elmira Stove Works in buttercup yellow — Buttercup Yellow

retro style fridge Elmira Stove Works in candy red — Candy Red

retro style fridge Elmira Stove Works in robin's egg blue — Robin’s Egg Blue

retro style fridge Elmira Stove Works in tropical blue — Tropical Blue

mint green retro style fridge — Mint Green

retro style fridge Elmira Stove Works in black — Black

How to Choose the Right Tile for Your Home

Tile also plays a focal role in the casita, and particularly the kitchen. B&W Tile has kept the retro colors of the 1950s alive and well in their collection. With both bright and moody, simple and ornate styles to choose from, it can be overwhelming to select the right choice. Here are our tips to help you narrow down your options.

Christine balanced the white kitchen with robin’s egg-blue appliances from Elmira Stove Works. “The classic white slab cabinets allow the appliances to be the star of the show,” says Michael. Their retro blue color and style complement the custom backsplash tiles. “The tile colors are inspired by the iconic George Nelson ball clock,” says Christine. “It was a tile in black and white, and I was able to customize two of the colors.”

The bedroom can serve as a place to rest or a place to work. With a functional desk against the wall and a daybed from Kardiel, this versatile space can be used for any need. The Matthews Fan Company ceiling fan keeps the room cool, and the sliding glass doors and clerestory windows allow in plenty of natural light.

To nail the vintage bathroom look, Christine spent a lot of time researching. “In authentic MCM homes, you see tile up to a certain point on a wall and then white above it,” says Christine. “I wanted to keep that same color blocking and do it with floor-to-ceiling tiles.” She emulated this look with vintage-inspired blue and white tiles from B&W Tile. Like any home project, this bathroom hit a snag: there weren’t enough tiles to complete the color block design on all walls as Christine had planned. So they painted the walls to match and will complete the install when the tiles arrive.

Style

You can never go wrong with a classic square or rectangle tile, but if the room is in need of some texture, choosing a hex or Certosa shape can add intrigue and movement to the space. “Choose a color or style that will make you smile when you walk into the room,” says Alex Vassaux, managing director at B&W Tile.

Color

Ultimately, it comes down to which colors will work best with your existing palette, but in general, stick to lighter colors in a smaller space to keep it open. You can get away with darker colors in a larger space for a moody or bold look. “With our color-matching program, the choices are endless,” says Alex.

Impressed with the Project House Austin casita kitchen? Wait until you see the main house in its entirety! Get ready for the Project House Austin full reveal in our Summer 2022 print issue! Pre-order your copy to see the Project House Austin final reveal!