Crane is one of our all-time favorite brands for their beautiful and very desirable bathroom sinks — the Crane Criterion comes immediately to mind, and we’ve seen NOS Crane Marcia’s, too. But back in the day, Crane also made steel kitchen cabinets and porcelain drainboard sinks. This catalog shows their designs from 1953 … Click on through for 26 photos, including closeups, from the complete catalog.
As you can see (above), cabinets were white, but the drainboard sinks came in seven lovely pastel colors, along with white.
One of the cool things about this catalog is that it gives us cute model names for each of the sink designs. Above: The Kitchen Queen.
There also are some illustrated kitchen design renderings to ogle. Remember, in 1953, America was transitioning from a “1940’s” look to a “1950s” look. These kitchens are more ’40s looking – typified by white cabinets, true linoleum floors, deeper (rather than pastel) colors, and deco and streamline touches — which you can clearly see in the kitchen above. The color on the wall, by the way, is a ringer, I’d say, for the Caribbean Coral in Sherwin-Williams’ Suburban Modern Palette.
Relive 1953 kitchens –> To use the slide show, click on the first thumbnail… it will enlarge… move forward or back via the arrows below the image… you can start or stop at any image…
Chutti says
Those sinks are just as gorgeous as I would expect from Crane. But the stove and other appliances are absolutely fascinating. Is that actually a MODULAR stove? How cool is that?
But mostly, the sinks with drainboards make my heart go pitty pat. Just got a really neat 50’s ‘farmhouse’ sink with double left drainboard at salvage for a fantastic price. Sears Roebuck, made in nearby Richmond, CA 1954, so the label says.
But really thinking hard about how it will mount in our countertop. So many great ideas here….it’s starting to gel.
Good stuff, as usual!
Tisha says
This is so timely, Pam! I have a nice little 1953 mid-century modest that needs a kitchen retro renovation (it has those ubiquitous 80’s laminate and wood trim cabinets)…Thanks for the ideas!
As an aside, I’ve been looking through your galleries and your archives, but I haven’t found anything about coved ceilings, which I have in my living/dining room. Do you know anything about them/their era?
pam kueber says
Hi Tisha, I don’t know anything about coved ceilings and their history. I tend to believe, though, that they were/are dependent on true “craftsmanship” — and lathe and plaster, rather than drywall.
Jay says
Thanks for the slide show, the old catalogs and pictures are neat. The “Sunnyday” model is a dead ringer for the Youngstown sink my father put in my parents kitchen back in the 60s.
Susan K says
Hi Pam,
Happy Friday! Will these images be added to the galleries? The thumbnail gallery only gets so big for me, and I want so see more of the details in these kitchens! Great colors!
pam kueber says
Yes, they are added to the 1950s gallery. They should enlarge to up to 850 pixels wide in either place…?
natalie says
if you right click on the image (while it’s already enlarged from thumbnail) and click ‘view image’, it should show full size. kind of a pain if you want to see each image full size, but it does the job!
sudha says
where can we generally find a whole cabinet set
pam kueber says
sudha, get onto our Forum – dedicated to spotting vintage steel kitchen cabinets for readers: https://retrorenovation.com/forum/
Annie B. says
The “Carbbean Coral” kitchen is a true leap forward in style. Love Crane’s recessed cabinets in front of their sinks.
Yellow is an interesting color choice for the sink in this image – it really makes the product pop.
natalie says
i want the laundrette!
Shelly in PHX says
These products are so wonderful they can even convince your HUSBAND to don an apron! Love it… 🙂
Olivia says
I LOVE the kitchen in image #12. That built in booth is to die for!
Trouble says
My Crane sink isn’t desirable. Nobody wants it but I’m not throwing it away 🙁
Trouble says
I would LOVE to find a wallhung sink in that Persian Red. Saw one on Ebay last year, but didn’t know I needed it.
pam kueber says
Trouble, you should try deabath.com. They found some NOS recently, I know they had persian red, but not sure if it was a wallhung sink…