Orange kitchen cabinets — yes! I call this vintage color “bittersweet”, and it makes me want to repaint my vintage kitchen orange! The lovely Mitzi of Vintage Goodness fame picked up this 13-page catalog of Youngstown steel kitchen cabinets at a tag sale, and before she resold it, she scanned it to share with other Retro Renovators. We don’t have a date from the catalog, but I’m guessing late 1950s, based on the inclusion of this bittersweet orange color, and from the look of the appliances. 52PostnBeam, what do you think? Note from the image above: The mix of totally mid mod groovy orange and yellow with a classic country farm table and Windsor chairs. Don’t be afraid to mix it up, it’ll be all the more interesting. Thanks, Mitzi! xoxox
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35 comments
Judith Lee says
Hello All
We are remodeling our entire home and have a set of Youngstown Kitchen cabs that we purchased from a building salvage store here in Seattle (Second Use Building Materials). We’ve designed our entire kitchen around these cabinets. After much searching, I have a metal painter/finisher lined up to paint them (Elektro Coat). I’m planning to paint them Benjamin Moore Rich Coral (http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/richcoral) with a gray countertop.
Two hurtles to get over still:
1. We need upper cabinets to go over the 42″ inch range. Ideally one 42″ but I think we can make two 21″ work. Please keep your eye out for the 18″ high ones in these sizes. We’re willing to pay shipping costs to Seattle.
2. Still struggling with what material for the countertops. While we are using these 50s cabs that I LOVE, we are not going for a complete 50s kitchen and want something a little higher end than formica. Wondering if granite or quartz would be too heavy for the cabinets? Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks for this web site – it has been invaluable source of information and inspiration to me!
Lynda Sander says
I just inherited a Youngstown cabinet! It is the double sink/double dish drain with one side a cabinet and the other is 4 drawers. It has been in a shop covered to prevent damage for years. Only problem is that the metal under the sink is rusted really bad. Any ideas as how to go about restoring this? Also, has anyone tried using quick ‘n’ bright on the sinks? I used it on some old hot/cold faucet handles and it didn’t dull them or anything. The years of “patina” came right off (my mom would shoot me). It is an enzyme based cleaner from what I can understand, but I don’t know how willing I am to test it out on this.
susan says
i have one of these original 1956 cabinets and was wondering the value of it
pam kueber says
susan: See our Forum, which is all about buying/selling vintage steel kitchen cabinets https://retrorenovation.com/forums. There is also a category on pricing history.
Anthony Stinnette says
In 2009, I purchased a ranch style home in Southfield, Mi. The house was built in 1952-53. I am the second owner of the home. The kitchen still has the original cream colored Youngstown metal kitchen cabinets with boomerang handles and red linoleum countertops. I can’t decide whether or not to take them down and have them painted at an autobody shop, or simply replace them. The finish in the double sink is slightly stained and no amount of bleach will brighten them. Any suggestions?
Lauran says
I am looking for the handles for the 1948 Geneva custom kitchen that is in my home. We two styles now, one with the plastic back and the half covered metal handle and one with a simple plastic back and a metal handle. Anyone out there have any of these?