Kersten went to an open house yesterday then wrote me right away, all excited:
Hi Pam!
Just got back from a walk through of a time capsule home (OMG! OMG!) and saw these inside one of the kitchen cabinets. Any idea what they are used for? I’m stumped! (And so was the realtor.) As you can see, they swivel. Did you notice how the wood is cut for these specifically? Love that.
Thanks,
Kersten
In following emails, Kersten also wanted to point out: The cupboard shelf edges are actually routed to fit these thinga-ma-bobs.
I also asked her why she is at an open house, since we know she has a cutie mid century home of her own — which we just featured. Is she house-shopping?
She answers:
Not really, but whenever I see a time capsule listing, I always check it out. (Then when it is sold, I show up with a potted plant and tell the new owner that I’ll offer to pay for the things they tear out.) The realtors get a big kick out of how much I adore these houses.
Kersten, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I love you. Thank you for sending these photos, you have made my day. I’ve never seen one, ever! So: Aaaaahhhhhh, to see something altogether new – a strange, simple and beautiful, unidentified 1950s kitchen gadget species – still running free, undisturbed, in its natural habitat….Like you, I would have been all goosebumpy and excited and jumping up and down and making the realtors think I was a rare bird, indeed.
Note, I’ve seen Kitch’n Handy cup holders — long, ruler-like assemblies with cup-hooks that you screw into the bottom of a wood shelf and then pull in and out like a drawer. Actually, I think I bought a NOS one from ebay last year and have it stashed somewhere. There might have been one on the bay recently.
Okay, so, moreover: What the heck are these woddities (“wonderful oddities”) for, given their design?? Each of the three rings swivels out independently…. Why? What would really fit in there?
Surely some reader who grew up with one will know in a flash. Who’s the smartie today?
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Although it seems kind of risky to your china, I think that was for holding plates.
And Kirsten….I thought I was the only one!! I do the same thing! I save the listings with Listingbook, which will show when they’ve closed. I usually give the new owners a few weeks to settle in
Ha! I’ve also been known to show up with cookies if I can tell that there are young children… (a new outdoor swing or swingset).
Kersten, my apologies for spelling your name wrong the first time!
I did a little research and found this!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/40307428/vintage-chrome-dish-rack-plant-stand
Kitch’n Handy made lots of items!
Maryann
Did they hold cannisters?
I wondered the same thing, but the canisters would have to be quite small, and once filled, I think would be too heavy for these aluminum frames….
Looks like the mystery’s been solved!
SUPER interesting! I loved the link you posted, Maryann! It does seem a little risky to the delicacy of plates, to actually sit them on swivels, but I loved the idea of it. The photo in the link was very classy.
Love that stove. And the bathroom…which looks pretty roomy.
Maybe they held Melmac dishes. That wouldn’t be so risky. We had Melmac when I was a kid that Mom bought with Green Stamps (I was the stamp licker). They were advertised as non breakable. Well that was a challenge for my teenage brother who sent one flying across the kitchen and split it into two pieces. I’m sure you can imagine my Mother’s reaction, so I’m not going to bother describing it. However as the bratty little sister, I was delighted.
Melmac would possibly be light weight enough — the aluminum rings just don’t seem like they’d hold much weight. I, too, immediately thought “plates” but since the rings were 3 different sizes, it seemed like the use would be something more specific. Maybe, however, the small top ones were for dessert sized dishes, the next for a saucer or lunch plate, and the bottom, largest ring for dinner plates. The stem that goes from the vertical bar to the ring isn’t very long, so the plates would have to be quite small. Here’s what I love: they haven’t been taken out yet!
I have a couple of Kitch’n Handy chrome racks that screw to the wall or inside a cupboard for spices. Kind of like those things that clamp onto the back of a counter in a diner to keep the napkins and salt and pepper from falling.
This house had those too! In the cupboards on each side of the stove.
Were these old stock pieces that were never used? The chrome is exceptional (mine are rusting). The shelf standards and condition of the finish tell me someone recently built all this more recently than the 50s or 60s (or even 70s). The bull nose routed into the shelf is a bit of a clue as well.
Dale, this house was built in 1952, and I’d bet my starburst wall clock that everything in that kitchen is completely original (oh, that stove, that floor, those counters!) This home is one of those “just so” homes that the owners took great pride in. The butterfly wallpaper is an exact match to the butterfly curtains in the kitchen. This owner was impeccable.
That microwave looks newer.
HA! Ya got me! (But I will not give you my starburst clock!)
Oooh! I’m in love with that bathroom!
Janice, I’m in love with the bathroom too (even though we just finished ours!) It is big and roomy and, I can’t believe I didn’t get a photo of the Cinderella tub! It is a match to the one that Pam has pictured in an ad (the one with the woman in all the bubbles.) The photos make the sink and toilet and tub (a little can be seen in the reflection of the mirror) look grey, but it is actually a really interesting bluish color. I almost think I remember a forum post of a NOS sink of the same color. Really different – but lovely. The way it is paired with the light yellow of the tile is gutsy – but works amazingly!
One of my favorite pics of all time, but you knew that: http://retrorenovation.com/2009/06/25/scenes-from-22-blue-midcentury-bathrooms/
I love SOME of the old colors — they are so vibrant. I remember when I bought my 50s house, when we got to the peach bathroom, the realtor asked me, “Do you think you could live with this?” I looked at it for a few seconds and said without much hesitation, “Yes, I can live with this.”
Those cabinets are in fantastic condition! I also love the detailed routing job they did, too. What a great little house!
We have a couple of Kitch’n Handy cup holders — one I use to hang our measuring cups and the other is holding vintage mugs. As I told you in my email, this is the best kitchen I’ve ever cooked in because it is oh so built for me to be productive!
Great find, Kersten. I LOVE your clever idea for keeping tabs on home sales and contacting the new owners! And that bathroom gives me ideas for re-doing our bath – what a beauty!
A plate rack was my first thought…then I went back through the comments…and lookee that, I was right!
So many wonderful mid century “space savers” and organizers …obviously these are not new things and ideas, they have been around forever! ( at least as long as we have had “stuff” to organize.
Christa, saw your post on our bathroom story, and you had asked about the bar shaped light above the mirror. I found it (FREE!) at a garage sale!
I found a 1952 photo of one in use – I think these should come back into production! How cool!
http://books.google.com/books?id=yNwDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA14&dq=kitch-n%20handy&pg=PA141#v=onepage&q=kitch-n%20handy&f=false
Oh, Sarah! Awesome find! COOL! Ha! LOVE LOVE LOVE!
great research, sarah! thank you!
Something to hold your severed body parts? If you’re a Jeffrey Dahmer type?
kind of messy, though, don’t you think? better: compost bucket
LOL, ala chrome retro Penguin ice/compost bucket!
They are plate holders.
Yep – like the image in the link above, the plates “rested” (carefully!) within the rings..!
I wouldn’t trust my plates on one of those! Especially since they don’t have any sort of ring on the bottom to hold them in. Cool idea but, you’d definitely have to have the right kind of dishes.
Just want to make sure everyone caught the pic of the NOS box Maryann found on Etsy. It says for “sauce and soup” dishes, which makes more sense given the size and weight.
http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.122072370.jpg
So: NOT plates?
I think it just means that it’s for all those smaller dishes and bowls we usually stack on top of the bigger ones. Remember, dishes, as well as portions, were smaller back then. Our house growing up had a total of 8 cabinets in the kitchen for a family of 5. Space was at a premium.
Our GE refrigerator had a central post and the shelves swung around in circles. No digging in the back for things. It spun to you. It’s still in the basement and works but doesn’t get cold. Anyone that can drag the dinosaur up the stairs can have it. lol
Bill, WHERE DO YOU LIVE!!!!! No. Seriously! When we bought our house a few years ago we found out the GE fridge with lazy susan shelves had been changed out just one month prior and we have spent the last 3 years looking for another one!
Kersten, thanks for snapping the photos of this awesome time capsule! I just LOVE those big wide chrome handles on the cupboards – and everything else too!
Tami
Agreed. Those drawer pulls are ultra-cool!
Anyone else notice how out of place the microwave seems in that kitchen? I mean we all have them, but it just doesn’t seem to fit.
We fixed that problem in our kitchen. I got rid of it!!! I never used them anyways and pointed out to my husband that the micro…tiny as it was…didn’t work in our kitchen; it definitely “ruined the vibe”!
Adore the house. Swoon for the bathroom and kitchen. I would so use that swing-out rack. And finally.. the microwave looks extremly silly in there. It’s why I am the only weirdo who keeps hers in the garage.. it simple kills the vibe in the kitchen. lol…
Absolutely charming! I agree about the smaller dishes of yesteryear–maybe that’s why the experts keep saying we are obese as a nation–but I digress…I have a 1950′s set of The Illustrated Do-It-Yourself Encyclopedias and those nifty rings aren’t there. I wish they were! They would be so useful in my tiny 1893 kitchen! Thanks Kersten!
My first thought was that they were for cooling pies. But sixties is highly unlikely at once.
Those are pretty nifty! A lot easier on your dishes than when you have them stacked and have to slide things under and over each other.
What an incredible little wonderful house! I’d move in tomorrow! Love that sliding door that must be between kitchen and livingrroom? The bathroom is to die for! This house reminds me of my great aunt and uncles house that they built themselves from the ground up in the 50′s. They have very similar cabinets that my uncle built himself.
My home built in 1950 has two metal drawers that are made by Kitchen Handy.
The home I grew up in also had them, one for keeping bread fresh and the lower one for flour and sugar.
Question: How do you time-capsule-hunters find the listings? I mean, I guess I can spend lots of time searching through all the listings in my area, but I don’t know how to easily find them. Thoughts?
Hi Laura,
While I’m not expert – maybe others have different methods, I think the trick is to find a real estate website that allows for searching by age of home. The Windermere real estate site here on the west coast allows you to input minimum and maximum years, ie – 1895 to 1940, 50, 60 or whatever span of years you wish to search for.
From there, most listings have interior photos, so then you can just start looking at pictures. If you are familiar with basic design trends / eras then you can pretty well nail down which homes are still intact vs. having “updates” done.
Maybe someone else will chime in if they have some better way of finding time capsule homes……
Tami
I think this is on the mark — I used to do the same thing. Also watch for words like “original owner”, “needs updates”, “kitchen needs updating” haha. Also, it has been my experience that when they DON’T show the bathroom or kitchen — it’s one we would want!
LOL – yep, if there is no kitchen or bathroom pictures, that’s usually a dead give-away!
As a Realtor what I would suggest is if you know what neighborhoods were built in the decade you like, search by zip code. ColdwellBanker.com lets you search this way. As an agent we search by mls area codes but zip codes will work. And I agree – lack of kitchen photos dead giveaway.
I have been on the run all day long so didn’t get a chance to participate in everyone’s comments. My goodness, I never expected 50 comments on a shelf thingamajiggy! What fuN!
I did discover in an eBay auction description that the Kitch’N Handy Co was located in Tacoma, WA – my home state. Now I think I have to start collecting Kitch’N Handy things!
Wow, this is too cool!
Here is the trademark info for Kitch’N Handy – Kitch’N Handy name was owned by Washington Steel Products in Tacoma:
http://www.trademarkia.com/kitchn-handy-71554747.html
And here are a bunch of photos of Washington Steel Products, Inc. facilities and workers (lots of women!). One of the notations says that WSP was sold to Ekco in 1959! Pretty fun to look through, the photos enlarge if you click the more detail link -
http://search.tacomapubliclibrary.org/images/dt6n.asp?krequest=subjects+contains+Washington%20Steel%20Products,%20Inc.%20and%20Tacoma
That is the Kitch-N-Handy Swing out plate holder. It appears in my 1952 and 1954 Kitch-N-Handy catalogs. It was meant to hold a full service of dinner plates, luncheon plates and salad plates that would swing out of the way to help save space, but also make them easier to access.
If you are intersted, I can scan and forward that section out of my catalog. Kitch-N-Handy made a ton of great space saving gadgets for the kitchen that all work great.
Nice house! I’d buy it in a heartbeat (if I was looking). That is a great idea about going back once the house is sold…..I may have to start doing that, as I love to go to open houses on Sunday afternoons. hmmmm- (I usually tell the realtor about this website to help potential buyers, as well).
How funny- I just ordered one of those plate holders on ebay, only it was sold as a “towel rack”. Oh well, now i have an awesome plate holder!!!
I believe it’s a pie rack/cooler. If it fits a pie pan; they still make them as countere top items.
Hmmmm…. this is a very intriguing possibility. Do you think it’s really big enough?
I believe that shelf swing out thing is a pie rack/cooler (if pie pan size). Thay are still made today as counter top doodads. Mom baked a lot.
it was for holding pot lids, keeps em up out of the way
I just don’t believe it looks big enough… wide enough…
they’ve got to be for holding skillets and/or serving pieces