• 1962 GE time capsule kitchen – for sale

    Nathan recently purchased a 1962 time capsule home. He truly appreciates the beauty and history in this blonde wood kitchen full of pristine, museum-quality appliances not to mention a fabulous pink porcelain drainboard sink. But, he is himself a craftsman and furniture maker, and has his own creative vision for a mid-century inspired kitchen of his dreams. So, now he is trying to find the right buyer for this mint, unused 1962 kitchen including a pink General Electric combination wall mount refrigerator, a pink GE automatic electric built-In oven, a pink GE cooktop, a pink GE dishwasher, and a pink cast iron double bowl sink.

    Nathan purchased the home late last year from the original owner, who built the house but for personal reasons never lived in it. Oh my, the kitchen is a real beauty.

    Once the shock wears off, be sure to notice also the mosaic tile on the floor, and the four-inch tiles on the backsplash, on the soffits, on the wall in the dinette. I’ve never seen tile on soffits, for example. The cabinets — the pink countertops and appliances — the tile — and the light — all combine to make this a luminous kitchen indeed.

    Oh, and I’ve never seen scribing (I think that’s what it’s called) of the ‘vents’ underneath the sink and cooktop like this before. The atomic cabinet pulls are gorgeous, too — note, Nathan plans to keep the cabinet hardware.

    Nathan for sure is selling the appliances and the drainboard sink. The kitchen, he fears, will not demo well, because it is built directly into the walls. But it’s a possibility that it could also be removed intact.

    Finally, I want to forewarn: No chest beating, please, in Comments, over Nathan’s decision not to keep this kitchen. I have never ever said this site is all about having to keep everything original. At its heart, in addition to identifying resources, I’m about just helping people understand what they have in their homes so that they can make informed decisions. Nathan knows what he has, and wants the kitchen to go to someone who will truly be able to love it. (The gorgeous vintage light fixture – stays.)

    Click on the gallery shot above to go to Nathan’s flickr photostream to see more photos. You can also see some of his custom furniture by Nathan Chandler — I’ll feature some of his mid-century inspired pieces shortly. Thank you, Nathan, for giving us the opportunity to see your kitchen and potentially, to help find it a good home.

  • Comments

    1. Amphorae says:

      Kudos to Nathan for the hard work he’s putting into finding a good home for all that wonderful pinkness! I wish him and the eventual new owner well.

    2. Amy says:

      I’d love to see what the rest of the house looks like! Any chance we can get the backstory on why it was never lived in?

      • pam kueber says:

        Amy, a couple of other people have asked as well, but I felt like the backstory was private, so, no.

        • JHL III says:

          Pam :

          I understand you can’t detail the ‘backstory’, but how in the world does a home such as this, if I understand the commentary, go nearly 50 yrs. w/o being lived in?

          Sounds like a ‘Movie of the Week’… ;-)

    3. Paul Kaplan says:

      I love it! I have a few clients that bought mid-century homes that would drool over this. All the atomic age detail is fantastic!!!

    4. Patrick Coffey says:

      This kitchen is NOT form 1962…It is from about 1956. I have a 1962 GE dealer catalog and they did not offer that style of wall oven or dishwasher then. Both of those models seen in this kitchen were discontinued around 1957.

    5. Patrick Coffey says:

      that might very well be Pam…oh and I forgot to mention the Wall fridge had been discontinued long before 1962 as well

    6. Michelle says:

      I’m trying hard to adhere to the no chest beating request. Wow, this is just so “swell” I can’t imagine parting with any of it !! What a lucky find. (Maybe you should call the location scout for Mad Men!) Thanks for sharing.

    7. This is amazing! I contacted him several days ago about his asking price since I may be in the market for a kitchen re-do, but have heard nothing from him. Do you know if it’s been sold?

      • pam kueber says:

        Hi, Chris — no, I don’t know the status. When I get back from Charlotte, I will check in with Nathan and see if we can get an update. I know there was lots and lots of interest….

    8. bonnie lang says:

      Is this for sale?

    9. Angela says:

      whatever happend to the most beautiful kitchen I have ever seen?

      • pam kueber says:

        Angela, I emailed Nathan a while back to find out, but he did not reply. I’ll add it to my list to chase him down to get the end of the story…

    10. Vintigchik says:

      I absolutely LOVE this color combo! I wish this were my house!

    11. Adam Richards says:

      I have an identical set of those chrome kitchen containers, neat to see those in a photo set here on retro renovation! They’re marked “Flour” “Sugar” “Coffee” and “Tea”. Bought my set for $10 at the local Salvation Army… SCORE!!! :D

    12. Jane says:

      I love that he is selling the kitchen- re-use, recycle, awesome! What a great idea! I am blown away by the gorgeous condition of everything, not to mention the pink-ness! What kind of stools are those? Love them!

    13. Ericka says:

      That kitchen made my heart skip a beat. And pristine — wow wow wow. I can’t imagine changing that perfection.

    14. Olivia says:

      Oh wow, I wish I could make a home for that kitchen. I really love the color of the cabinets and the hardware is to die for!

    15. Nancy says:

      The bar stools look just like some we bought several months ago at a flea market: five for $50! They are great!
      In the late 1970s, we lived in a house with a pink refrigerator. Now i know what kitchen it belonged in!

    16. kimmeth says:

      wow, the shock has still not worn off – did the kitchen ever find a good home?

    17. KM says:

      OMG OMG!

      I hope he put that thing on a location scouting list!

    18. KM says:

      The sink! OMG! I hope that bad boy went to a good home- I have never seen anything like it!

    19. wendy says:

      Hi I was just curious what state is the house in? East Coast? West coast?

    20. Sandra says:

      WOW! What an absolutely FABULOUS kitchen!!! I am literally breathless. I hope it can be removed in-tact and that it will be passed on to someone who loves it as much as I do.

    21. Rango says:

      I grew up around most of those appliances, in turquoise. Our house had been built in 1958. We looked forward to getting rid of all that old stuff back then.

    22. KathyJB says:

      I would like to see what he does with his new kitchen since he is a craftsman. I was upset at first, but I’m glad he is selling to mid century enthusiasts. Will you be able to show after photo’s when he is finished with the remodel?

    23. Suzanne says:

      The phrase PINK SINK cries out to be a song. Like BLACK SLACKS. Best of luck removing the kitchen to someone who will adore it. I’m in Illinois but not in the market for a retro kitchen. My childhood home, with the kitchen removated in the late 60s, had that gingerbread and side shelves over the sink too.

    24. Co says:

      I wish someone had petitioned to get this on the historical register.

    25. JamieAbe says:

      I die!!!

    26. diane says:

      I would like to purchase the refrigrator – is it for sale?

    27. KakiMack says:

      oh dear god this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen—the wall frig, the dishwasher handle that says “dishwasher”, the hardware, everything!! I need hardware like that for my kitchen re-do. swooooonnn

    28. Modspell says:

      How funny, I have those exact same pulls and knobs in my house, 4 point star backing included. This place is a treasure, how could he improve it?

      • KakiMack says:

        I can’t imagine what he will do—hope he posts pics of the finished room. If my 50s kitchen was this fab I wouldn’t change a thing. Hopefully mine will look wonderful once the reno is completed. Are your pulls and knobs original?

    29. shirley says:

      Our house was built in 1957 and we have the same built in oven and counter top elements and push button controls built into the front of the cupboard. They are still being used daily. We had a 1960 Frigidaire refrigerator up to last year and it was replaced by a stainless steel and it spoiled the look of the kitchen. All the appliances are in turquoise and the walls of the kitchen are pale pink. I have the original sales slips – oven $180.50 stove top $104.00 Aug.11/58. (Cdn $)Cupboards were custom built on a slant with sliding doors in natural wood stain,The counter tops are copper fleck arborite. The oven & stove top are the same model as in your pictures and I also have the direction booklet that came with the appliances.

    30. Chris Christensen says:

      Hi,

      According to GE, we have a 1962 GE pushbutton cooktop in white just like yours (but the button control is in the wall), with pink countertops, a GE built in oven and a crappy, new GE dishwasher. We had water damage from our ceiling 6 weeks ago, and currently doing some light remodeling in our 1930 home. Is this still for sale? Do we need to buy everything? I’m wondering if the sink will fit our space.

      What part of Illinois are you located? We are in Indiana.

      Thanks,

      Chris

    31. meaghan says:

      I have that fridge and want to sell it also the oven both working the stove top to match but not working ! any offers can provide pic located in CO

    32. Gabrielle says:

      I’m living in a home that had one owner for 60 years and we have the same wall oven and stove top(still is working condition!). The button press stove top confused me at first because the buttons go in order Hi, 2 , 3 , low, warm. 2 is a smaller number and is a higher temp then 3. :)

      But this is a beautiful kitchen.

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