Reader Kate McKinnon lived with her vintage St. Charles kitchen cabinets for four years before discovering that there were two factory-installed undercabinet lights. Each with their own integral on-off switch. I totally understand how she missed them. They’re integral … your head has to get in there at an odd angle — and who would really expect this level of technology on vintage cabinets! Similarly, it took me two years to realize there was fantabulous vintage 6″ vinyl tiles – with ravishing coral streaks running through them – underneath the discount carpet in the hallway. For some reason, I had it in my head that there was plywood subfloor under that carpet. As Kate says on her blog:
All I know is that I want to stay in this universe, the one in which my St. Charles cabinets have factory-installed undercabinet lighting.
Thank you, Kate.
Kate Spade handbag ala vintage Enid Collins 
Vintage St. Charles kitchen cabinets – in terra cotta – for sale on the Forum 
30 photos of vintage Lyon metal kitchen cabinets – and some history on St. Charles kitchens — over on Postwar Steel Forum 
Become a fan
Thank you, Pam, what a surprise and a treat to see the corner of my kitchen on my daily read of Retro Renovation!
It was really shocking to me to find the lighting, because not only had I lived with these lovely cabinets for four years, I’ve loved them, and cleaned them, and inspected and admired them, and stuck my head inside them, and looked underneath them. I’ve done everything but crawl inside them I love them so much.
So to see such familiar and well-loved objects reveal a new exterior part that I had never managed to notice… well. It really made me wonder what else is right in front of me in life? What else am I missing?
Seeing that lighting was a real reminder not to take life at face value.
You know we’re all checking under the hood, now… What a fabulous surprise!
This makes my smile so very very big. (And the Sled Dog poem is sublime!)
Hooray!
Wow! What a great find!
What an awesome experience and a wonderful find! I’m always looking for things in my house that I haven’t seen before; looking deep into the highest kitchen cabinets, looking far back into the attic when I muster up the courage to venture there, checking out the underside of a cabinet in the bathroom, that kind of thing. It’s fun! And even more so when you may a fabulous discovery!
What does it look like on the bottom of the cabinet where the light is?
From the inside, nothing is visible. The floor is smooth. You can see the underside of the exterior in the photo above- there is a recess only slightly larger than the fluorescent tube, and there is a chrome toggle off/on switch at one end of the fixture.
Very groovy!
This is a wonderful find, a gift from retro gods delivered right to your kitchen! My only suggestion would be to make sure the wiring is up to date.
Very cool. Miss Kate – in a very cool house! I sure enjoyed seeing those cabinets in person this past February! Wonder what other surprises you’ll uncover in your little corner of Tucson!!
I’m sure you can easily imagine how excited I was, just the IDEA that familiar and beloved objects hold surprise is so thrilling.
Hi Does anyone know the proper way to wire these cabinets together ? Im not sure if these can be connected with regular lamp wire or if I need a heavier duty wire. Id like all my st charles cabinet lights to be connected together and run powered from one switch of possible. thanks !
Pete, this isn’t a DIY site — please consult with a professional electrician!
We also have St Charles cabinets in our 1955 ranch. They are stamped “Yellow” but appear greenish/yellow. I stumbled upon our under cabinet light too. Can’t remember how I found it but was surprised.
There was one other house in my community that had St Charles kitchen cabinets that were mint green. Our city had a flood in 2008 and her kitchen flooded so she had to tear out her cabinets. When I heard of this, I called her to inquire about salvage and she had given them to the contractor that installed new cabinets. I then called him and he allowed me to take any parts I wanted. I took latches, stainless steel trim and 18 of the cool cabinet handles. Don’t know what I’ll use the handles for but you never know.
I am very fortunate in that I installed St. Charles cabinets in my custom house 40 years ago, and also in a vacation house 27 years ago. I LOVE the built-in under cabinet lights. However, two of the 14″ light fixtures need to be replaced. The ballast in one burned out, and the plastic receptacle for the pins on the end of the bulb broke in the other one. Does anyone know where these replacement parts can be found? I really miss the light in these two areas, but the best I have been able to come up with is to utilize a thin under-counter light fixture, and put it inside. This is makeshift, and if I can find the proper fixtures, it would be so much better. I will appreciate any leads.