Stainless steel sink, counter, drainboard combo’s are classic 40s 50s 60s retro kitchen choices

by Pam Kueber on December 1, 2007

elkay-lustertone-1.jpg

This ad from 1953 spotlights the Elkay Lustertone sink/countertop/drainboard combo. You can still get these today – and they are an awesome choice if you can make it work with your cabinetry and layout.

Stainless steel is a great surface to work on and to be sure, when you’re moving dishes into and out of the sink, it’s great to have a waterproof surfaces to the right and left.

s7219-elka-lusterton.jpg<—- This Elkay Lustertone sinktop is almost identical (albeit a single-bowl) to the one above. It would look great butted up next to stainless-steel trimmed laminate. And don’t forget to put a slab of butcher block nearby.

lustertone-ilr6622dd-v2.jpg <—- This second choice has a double bowl and can be set directly into laminate (no countertop edge) or onto another countertop material like granite (argh).

lustertone-d7234.jpgAnd this one —-> combines double bowl with edging although I’d need to find out if that super bright surface is for real – I don’t like it.

Overall: It seems like the best choice may be #1, if you can live with the single bowl.

I have numerous posts on countertops - they are all worth reading to put together your own plan, if I say so myself!

elkay-lustertone-1.jpg<—- BTW, notice in the 1953 design how the grey steel kitchen cabinet is married with the colonial pine. Very typical of the era.


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Retro Renovation » Classic 50s drainboard sinks — the only solution remains: Vintage
March 24, 2008 at 11:30 am

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

ranchredo December 1, 2007 at 8:47 pm

They do have sinks similar to this at Ikea. We pondered one when we redid our kitchen.

50sPam December 1, 2007 at 11:39 pm

Ah! I’ll look it up! There is no Ikea close to where I live so it is not a resource I can access easily.

David Conwill February 20, 2009 at 2:40 pm

We are in the process of buying a turn-of-the-century home with a mid-century modern kitchen, bath, and enclosed porch. We’d like to retain these elements as we go about restoring the place. We have one of the Elkay Lustertone two-bowl sinks illustrated in this post. Is there any way, such as a serial number, to place a more-specific date on it?

Pam Kueber February 20, 2009 at 3:17 pm

Welcome, David, and congratulations on your purchase! My advise re your Elkay sink: Contact them directly. The company still exists, and still makes these style sinks. We look forward to seeing photos of your house when you get in!

Pat February 20, 2009 at 8:26 pm

Oh my, we have one of those in the house we just bought, has the drainboard on just one side. It’s part of a built in with tin cupboard underneath. I really don’t care for it amongst my 1920’s wood cupboards, I really would love a sink that they call farmhouse style, but there isn’t room for it since they added a dishwasher under it (removed a cupboard).
I am really a 30’s, 40’s era vintage lover! The dishwasher is sorta vintage (and pretty cool), a 1970’s Kitchen Aid. I rather like it, it’s cooler than a new one anyway!

Pam Kueber February 20, 2009 at 8:41 pm

Pat, those 60s-70s-80s Kitchenaids were THE BEST! Visually, at least, I love their look. I don’t know about their quality – but they certainly seem to held up in many places!

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