Vollmer's Breakfast Area (colorized)

Colorized Breakfast Area.
Uploaded by Andrew Raimist.

Published view of the Kitchen with the Breakfast Area in the Vollmer Residence designed by architect Harris Armstrong, FAIA. The original black and white photograph was 'colorized' in the printing process. This kitchen was virtually untouched when I first visited the house in the late 1990's. The wallpaper, the linoleum tile, metal cabinets . . . , it was all just as it had been in the 1950s.

The cabinet colors are approximately correct, although the actual colors were a bit more pastel. The floor was not red at all. Originally, Armstrong had designed this entire level of the house to have finished concrete floors stained black. The original intention was that the floor have radiant heat, but this was eliminated due to budget constraints.

Apparently the Vollmer's had a difficult time keeping the floor clean (or, at least, looking clean). So they installed linoleum tile over the concrete floor relatively soon after moving into their new home.

The blue wall of the Dining Room (visible to the left of the Breakfast Table) isn't shown accurately in the colorized image. The actual blue was a deep blue and relatively dark. Something of the effect can be sensed in the snapshots taken by the Vollmers.

Snapshot of the Dining Room.