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I love this photo posted on our vintage steel kitchen cabinet Forum…and I fussed with it to make it look like an old polaroid. These are 1957 yellow GE cabinets, for sale in St. Louis. How many readers have steel kitchen cabinets — are installing them — or on the hunt?
Cracked ice laminate seems to have been a very popular choice for vintage dinette table tops, and I hear from readers fairly often asking where they can find it for kitchen counters. Crackle ice laminate is still available from a number of sources online. Like the other special-order boomerang laminates available, these crackle ice laminates [...]
Formica last month introduced several new laminate designs that I think could be great for a Retro Renovation kitchen countertop or even a bathroom vanity. In particular — I’m loving the new “dogbone” design, and the new Warp and Weft designs. Dogbones are a classic midcentury motif — as in “dogbone sofa” … and Warp [...]
UPDATE (Oct 2011): Click over to –> this story to get an update on all three sources for boomerang laminate. Where to find a retro Formica countertop for a red, black and white kitchen? Pamela recently wrote to ask: Hi! I bought a home a couple of years ago … it’s a 10-year-old FL ranch, [...]
Reader Sarah successfully removed a layer of more modern laminate from her yummy gold-speckled mid-century laminate beneath. She wrote about her experience — and the products she used — on her blog, Sarahs’ Blue Castle. But before you jump over there, take a look at her note to me and my comments here first –> [...]
Maryland Nancy is searching for laminate for her bathroom reno, and alerted me that the colorful Nevamar swirlie’s are discontinued. Alas. So, I did another survey — and here is an update of the laminates landscape for bathroom vanity countertops, as far as I can determine. Scroll over each image with your mouse to see [...]
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Yellow Geneva metal kitchen cabinets 
How and where to sell your vintage metal kitchen cabinets 
Vintage St. Charles kitchen cabinets – in terra cotta – for sale on the Forum 
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There is also a large set of yellow GEs on the St. Louis C-List for $450.00 that would go a long way toward completing a kitchen for whoever buys these gems. I kicked around the idea of buying them myself and doing a multi color set but decided against that.
Search for: 1950s General electric Kitchen cabinets
And another set with a price of make offer: Kitchen Cabinets – Painted metal
All on St. Louis Craigslist.
Thanks, St. Christopher, I think that St. Louis is shaping up to be a mid century mecca.
My husband and I have been on the hunt for inexpensive metal cabinets for a while now, but the prices just never seem to be right in Atlanta. Luckily, we were already planning a trip out to Missouri to visit my in-laws, so we’re hoping to find an awesome set when we head out there this winter! I check the St. Louis CL fairly often and there are always at least 2-3 great sets for sale whenever I look.
Me! I am but I’m so poor I can’t even pat attention! Its all just a pipe dream for me.
I mean pay attention. What search strings do you guys use for these cabinets on CL? There are several things I try but never come up with anything.
Oh My Gosh!!! Those are our cabinets and oven!!! We have the oven with more gadgets and a window. I love these cabinets!
Sixoh, I search for “kitchen cabinets” and sift through the results. It’s time consuming, but I’ve found some amazing sets. If I wasn’t broke, I’d have my dream kitchen by now. Check out this set in Memphis I’ve been drooling over:
http://memphis.craigslist.org/mat/1370307217.html
Sixoh and Caff. Katie, I use the search: steel cabinets or metal cabinets. There always seems to be at least four sets on St. Louis C-List at various prices.
Try using one of the Craigslist search engines. My current favorite is http://searchtempest.com It lets you search multiple Craigslists based on mileage from a Zipcode starting point, and puts all the results in one page with multiple windows. I use the search terms ‘metal cabinet*’ and ‘steel cabinet*’. I am still looking for a few more GE cabinets in in the MD/DC/PA/VA area. I’ve had good luck so far but I don’t have quite enough yet.
Thanks, JSP! I think you may have commented before with this info – and I was just thinking, “Where did I see that?” Great suggestion.
My husband and I are currently buying our first home – a 1955 bungalow owned by the original owners and YES they have steel kitchen cupboards. I’m really hoping to keep the cupboards even though the kitchen is small and needs more cupboards. I just wanted to say that I am finding your site very inspirational these days as we think of how to restore our new home (the last time the owners even painted was the 1970s). And yes, I think yellow is a fantastic colour for a kitchen.
Hi Melanie, welcome and thanks for the nice note! Good luck, it sounds like you are in the right spirit to have some fun with your new/old house.
Searching for appliances compatitle with early Geneva kitchen. When we bought our 1923 colonial revival house in 1985, it came with a white Geneva kitchen. The cabinets have the recessed plastic plates behind the handles; I think it’s an early post-war kitchen. The kitchen has an amazing stainless steel countertop that runs the length of the room and an immense, undivided stainless steel sink. There were only cabinets and the countertop and sink — no appliances from that era. The kitchen also has some “tile” as a backsplash behind the countertop — during restoration, we discovered that it was actually metal “tile” that had been painted white (we’re not sure if it was originally white or left with the stainless steel finish). We restored the cabinets, countertop, “tile,” and sink. We also restored the original round, wall-mounted “Blo-Fan” stove vent, which still works. Our 1985 stove has now given up the ghost and we would like to get a new but retro-styled stove. Does anyone know of a brand of (new) range that is electric and has burner coils (not a cooktop surface, but actual raised burner coils) and that has retro styling that would go with the Geneva cabinets? Also, any brand of new refrigerator/freezer that would be compatible?
Hi J and welcome. Go up to my blue navigation bar and go through the stories: Kitchens / Appliances. All my finds for retro style appliances are catalogued there. Send me some pics when you’re ready for prime time!
My husband and I have two pieces of white metal furniture that we wondered about. They belonged to his grandparents. One is a free standing base cabinet with a drawer and two cabinet doors. The other is more like a desk/table with one center drawer.
I can post a photo or two, but just don’t know where to post or email them.
We wondered if there was a market for them or if we should just keep them. My son is using the desk for a couple of months while he stays with us. The base cabinet is in the garage. They are both in excellent condition.
Joan, see all my steel kitchen cabinet stories (use navigation at the top), plus see our Forum for lots and lots of info: http://retrorenovation.com/forum/ Good luck.