Sun-drenched 1940s Los Angeles Kitchen Renovation with Birch Plywood Cabinets
Discover how this 1944 Los Angeles home was transformed with Plykea birch plywood fronts, semi-recessed circle handles, and tall units—maximizing storage while keeping a bright, minimal, early-modern aesthetic.
Can you tell us a bit about your home?
'Our home was built in 1944. The homes on our street are simple, minimal traditional style homes with very little ornamentation. We've been renovating the house for a bit over a year and we've made an effort to highlight the historic details that were still in the home, an original brick fireplace, one cabinet of original joinery, and a bathroom with historic tile. We were drawn to this home because of its large garden filled with citrus trees, its proximity to the metro system and the shops and restaurants close by.'
Describe the kitchen before you renovated it.
'The kitchen had been remodelled in the 1980s. The laminate wrap of the cabinets was chipping and missing in certain areas. After finding a fair amount of mould in the cabinets, we knew we had to remodel.'
What were your main goals for the renovation?
'We cook most of our meals at home and host dinner parties often. We really wanted an efficient kitchen with substantial storage for our collection of platters, cutlery and tableware.
We were able to add quite a lot of storage in the same footprint by using drawers and some tall shelving. We thought a lot about the flow of working in the kitchen to make it easy to cook, prepare a meal, and make it comfortable for guests to be in the kitchen with us having a drink and snack before dinner.'
If budget was a concern, what were you prepared to spend on or save on?
'We were very concerned with our budget. We felt lucky to use IKEA’s cabinet bases to save a bit of money while the Plykea faces elevate the space and make it feel custom.'
What influenced your material choices?
'We love early modernism and felt that the simplicity of the home required simplicity in materials. We love the historic use of birch ply in many historic modernist homes.
We were heavily inspired by the Frankfurt Kitchens designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky. The efficiency and colour palettes of her designs were very influential in our choices.
Heath Ceramics has been making the colour “Redwood” since the 1960s. We decided to tile the walls in their tile to help bring some weight to a simple house.'
How did you find working with Plykea?
'Plykea was an incredible partner throughout the process. Pip helped us think through logistics, helped us plan every step of the way, and offered some key insights that helped us end up with our dream kitchen.
We love spending the late afternoon and evening in the kitchen with the doors and windows wide open. The sunset floods warm light across all of the kitchen as we have a drink and make dinner.'
What advice would you give to someone planning a kitchen renovation?
'Spend a lot of time imagining how you want to live in the space and how you want to feel while you’re in it. Think deeply about all of the details so that you can make decisions quickly and feel confident in your choices. Thorough preparation and planning will save you time and stress.'
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