Reader recently uploaded 208 pictures of antique stoves, refrigerators and other major kitchen appliances – and in this story, I had fun trying to pick out my favorites. These photos show that retro kitchens come in many design flavors. Above: April’s 1961 kitchen — with its lovely blue Hotpoint refrigerator and stove — is sleek and modern — but friendly at the same time. Droooooooool.
Cool and colorful
Out of all the appliances that were uploaded, the colorful stoves, ranges, vent hoods just had me squealing with delight. Aqua, pink, brown, green — I love them all. Above: Anonymous’ 1963 kitchen, complete with turquoise and bronze starburst flecked countertops.
Above: Reader and fellow blogger Betty Crafter’s swoon-worthy aqua stove in her knotty pine kitchen — complete with aqua laminate countertops. We’re a huge fan of Betty’s kitchen — which we have featured before.
Above: This reader also has an aqua stove and aqua countertops just a slightly lighter shade. I’m loving how the vintage stove meshes with the metal cabinets and funky pulls — retrolicious! [Pam interjects: I think this kitchen is one of Bizarro Twin Pam's six kitchens.]
Then there is the pink — ohhh the pink! I think Susie O’s pink kitchen above might just be my dream kitchen — a pink Frigidaire Custom Imperial Double Oven and a dishwasher — is your fridge pink, too, Susie?
Since my kitchen doesn’t have room for a full range, I’d settle for this cute, original 1960′s GE pink wall oven, above — love the pink laminate countertops, too, we need a close up!
More a fan of the 1970s? This avocado green wall oven from Frigidaire might just do the trick. “I love the fonts,” says anonymous uploader.
I’ll admit — I’m not usually a fan of brown appliances — but reader Adam’s super built-in Western Holly range (complete with cute owl decor) might just change my mind. I’m really digging the circular oven window.
Another reader whose stove (and kitchen) made me happy was Wendy’s 1960′s Frigidaire Flair with 1970′s avocado green cabinet. Wendy — your kitchen is fabulous and your stove is the crowning glory.
Wonderful whites
Above: Reader Jeff’s 1949 Kenmore stove is pretty awesome — as is his cookware collection. He topped it all off with one heck of a cool aqua range hood complete with silver starbursts. His cabinets and pulls are tiki-tastic too.
Speaking about cool handles, check out the handles on Heather’s 1950′s Roper stove that she found on Freecycle — for free. What a score Heather!
Here’s another 1960′s Westinghouse 2 level stove — just as cool in white. I didn’t realize there was an outlet on it until just now — is that safe?
Above: Reader JoAnn’s vintage white O’Keefe & Merrit stove looks so pretty in her house. My favorite part is the red knobs and handles and the cool work light (that is a work light, right?). JoAnn — you have quite the snazzy house.
Here’s another gem, Chutti’s 1930′s spark stove — which looks to be in perfect condition. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to, do they?
Fabulous Fridges
Perhaps a perfect pair to Chutti’s Spark stove — the 1934 White Seal Ice Box above also looks to be in mint condition too.
Above: The 1967 Limited Edition Sears Coldspot Designed by Sundberg-Ferar is cool to begin with. What makes it arctic level cool? The fridge came with a nameplate inscribed for the original owner — Flora. She was a Scottish schoolteacher according to the fridge’s new owner, reader 52 PostnBeam.
Above: Reader Amy F’s Mid 60′s GE Combination Fridge with turquoise and yellow interior and swing out shelves. We’d love to see pictures of that interior Am — and the exterior is lovely.
Reader Ann-Marie Meyers wasn’t afraid to open up her 1962 GE Fridge to show us how cool the insides are. (Though it could be because it is empty)
Gailsmile was also kind enough to open up her retro Philco fridge — love the aqua accents on the inside.
And here’s a really brave reader — who let us peek inside their fridge with food inside! JD Log’s Crosley Shelvador “10″ is not your typical Crosley — this is the Australian version — complete with Vegemite in the yellow jar!
T&J from This Atomic Life has two restored retro cool appliances in their London apartment. A vintage Frigidaire with the most awesome handle ever and this super neat Tumblair clothes drier.
All of these cool refrigerators are making me sad that they just don’t design new appliances with all these fun details anymore. Reader Ali’s 1938 Hotpoint oozes cool — look at all that chrome!
Crazy Chrome
There were loads of Chrome-tastic details sprinkled throughout your vintage large appliances. In particular, I loved Peggy W’s 1956 Caloric stovetop — check out those knobs. They look like little radios built right into the cabinet.
Here’s another fabulous Ultramatic Caloric stovetop with knobs in front — this looks great with the steel trimmed retro laminate counters!
Michelle in Iowa’s Tappan Fabulous 400 is a shiny space-saver indeed. I can imagine baking something in that fabulous oven, just sitting back and admiring this cool retro stove while I wait for my cake to rise.
Readers — you’ve really blown me away with this one! I’m so glad to see so many of you are loving, using and maintaining your vintage large appliances. In today’s world full of streamlined, energy efficient stoves and refrigerators it is easy to believe that “upgrading” to a shiny new appliance is the thing to do, but honestly — what the cool old appliances might lack in technology they more than make up for with their charming and quirky design.
What a great post! Thanks for a recap of this uploader series. These appliances and the kitchens they live in are beautiful. I never would have guessed before I found RR that so many folks had these American Beauties.
I’m usually not one to fix a typo, but please re-read the section with Jeff’s Kenmore collection. Don’t want you to get in trouble!
Thank you, fixed!
Oh thank you, Kate, for the replay of the appliances! As many of you already know because I beat you to death on the subject of old appliances, my father was a GE dealer and I think I developed a love of appliances from the fond memories. I especially love the colored ones and the oddballs like stoves with light up knobs and pushbuttons, and the copper accents, and the fridges with swing out shelves or unusual pans. Some of you may not be aware that there is a Steel Cabinet Forum link at the right of the page all the time in the “Quick Links”, which shows ALOT of info on not only steel cabinets, but there is a section to list items for sale off of craigslist or other. I often go through craigslist all over the country to find those unusual appliances and list them under kitchen, and also some bathroom fixtures when I see them. I live in CT and often just pine over those great finds in other areas of the country. I hope SOMEONE will check them out and find their treasure right in their backyard. Currently there is a listing for a stove like Tammy’s, a like new GE wall fridge, and some super aqua and pink wall ovens, one of which is a Hotpoint that I swear would have fit right in the hole in David’s kitchen cabinets featured yesterday. I had a listing there for one of those alcove Western Holly stoves just like Adam’s brown one shown above but in pink, but it appears to be gone and some lucky buyer must be in heaven! Kate and Pam, forgive me for this shameless plug but I often wonder how many people are unaware of the forum with links to great items I always hope will find a good home, and vice versa that someone will spot their dream appliance!
The forum is new to me! Thanks. It is sort of like the “I Shop Craigslist sSo You Don’t Have To” site! http://tinatimestwenty.tumblr.com It is not updated often, but it features some neat pieces and shows what the prices were when listed. The info might be helpful.
I love these! I live in one of Del Webb’s first 55+ retirement communities, built in 1961, and though my house is newer (1970), it and most of the others are well-preserved time capsules of the era.
A bittersweet part of living here is that there are estate sales just about every weekend. We visit them to find “parts” such as leftover kitchen and bathroom tiles (no matches yet, but we’re bound to find some eventually), and cool 60s knicknacks, but we also enjoy the homes themselves, with so many of their vintage features intact.
No pics yet of my “coppertone” GE hood, cooktop and wall oven, alas. The digital clock on the wall oven is long dead, but we set it to “4:05″ to match the house number. Everything else works perfectly.
Wow great round up of retro appliances, we have a few appliances that are modern but look retro like the Smeg Fridge Freezer take a look at
http://www.cookercentre.com/smeg/refrigeration/smeg-fab50-fridge-freezer
If we could get the energy efficiency that new fridges have but the style that the older ones do. The market would be flooded with new kitchens that are a throw-back to the 60′s and 70′s. Minus the pink. Ohhh the pink.
Love this post! So many wonders to behold. We have an a late 40′s Vernois that isn’t much of a looker, but is one hell of a cooker. I would not want a newer stove, but I do enjoy having a frost free, quiet, spacious fridge.
I have the same oven/range/hood set in the kitchen second from the top! I bought all three pieces at a yard sale for $25. Supposedly they all work fine, but we’ll see. They’re in storage in my parents’ barn for now…..someday maybe I’ll buy a house with a kitchen worthy of being ripped out and redone. *sigh*
Absolutely love all these vintage appliances! Thanks for sharing my mid-60′s GE Fridge … I will send pictures of the inside. You are spot on when you guessed that I didn’t share pictures of the interior because the fridge wasn’t empty. LOL. But, I will humble myself and send some along.
I’m so envious of the cool vintage appliances! Especially Aqua, my fave color. My stuff is old, icky black glass wall oven Caloric UltraRay & separate beige-y stove top (also Caloric). And, now we finally have to replace them with new…because dh is not gonna go searching for “vintage”…and, I’d be afraid of something not working properly & you can’t just return it.
I just wanna set a match to my kitchen now! Hate the cheapo ‘oak’ particle board 1980s cabinets the previous owners installed…why the heck this cheesy stuff over the solid original cabinets? They put the original cabinets in the garage which are now too yucked up with grease, chemicals & godknowswhat…think I’m going right now into the garage & take off the boomerang pulls! Maybe, one day I can use them.
I keep meaning to mention how fantastic the Sears Coldspot customized fridge and Amy’s GE combo bottom freezer fridge are! That “custom built” Colspot one is amazing and what a find; I would bet not many of them sold. The GE’s with that silver panel were also top of the line. My gramma had one in the regular top freezer style with that panel on the freezer also, and I have always wanted to find one. The aqua stove in the knotty pine kitchen has a similar silver panel – these were really the Cadillacs of the line in their day! I am particularly fascinated by the extras that showed up on the appliances, like the fancier veg pans or copper accents, or light-up pushbutton controls. Back then they built things with quality!
Thanks for featuring my “Flora Fridge” as I like to call it. The boutique ID agency Sunberg-Ferar who designed it went on to design the iconic bullet train for the NYC subway shortly after, and are still in business today. I posted pix and info about the fridge for Pam awhile ago, if anyone wants to see, go here: http://tinyurl.com/8oupkll
I do love it, but it’s double the size of my old fridge and with that gigantic freezer, my electricity bill has doubled as well!
Thanks Janet – we suspected that our GE was considered “top of the line,” (swing out shelves & butter softener gave us that impression) but it’s nice to have that confirmed. It still runs like a champ. We also adore the bottom freezer, and it is “counter-depth,” as they say, which is such a nice bonus in our small-ish kitchen.
Thanks so much for featuring my turquoise Hotpoint appliances. I have to say they bring a smile to my face every time I go in the kitchen.
My youngest, Adam recently got his first apartment in Los Angeles, and when I saw the pics of his brown Western Holly, I told him he had to share it on the appliance post. Now he’s an avid follower of the blog as well. Love it that our kids have an appreciation for the vintage too.
Thank you, April, for spreading the word!!! Love your appliances!
It almost hurts to look at these since I want them all and know I can’t have them all! I get that feeling from a lot of these photo compilations…I think I have a problem!
Here’s a question for us all. I want to change my appliances out for retro, including my microwave which is above the stove. It’s a micro/range hood thingy. I could live without the microwave, heck I grew up without one, but does anyone who have these kitchens have microwaves? Where do you put them? Do you try to NOT have one? Just a thought & I’d like some feed back, please.
I ran across one of these a while back and couldn’t help but think how well it would merge into a mid-century kitchen:
http://www.marketingvp.com/images/amana.jpg
If you just had to have a microwave and didn’t want to spoil the look that would definitely be the one.
Hi,
I have a microwave although I am still working on the kitchen. What I plan to do is to make a cover for it out of some old 50′s curtin material I have so it will not look to out of place when not in use. I am also thinking of doing this this for my flatscreen TV hope this helps
Check out this hidden microwave cabinet. Though the cabinet on this one isn’t mid century, you could probably adapt the idea to more suitable cabinets.
http://warnersstellian.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/microwave.jpg?w=450
Another thought…if you found a large enough period appropriate built-in oven, perhaps you could just use it as a shell an install a microwave inside the oven! Might require a little trim work between the edges of the microwave and the inside of the oven to look finished, but the finished result could be epic.
When planning our kitchen we decided to put the microwave under the counter, but without the door. If we ever wanted too we could add a door or a little curtain. I didn’t want it to be a “feature” of the kitchen, so we kind of hid it.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I remember the Amana Radarange when it first came out -. Thanks again.
Our kitchen is the one with the Avocado 1960′s flair and the dark cabinets shown in the article. We took out the stove/micro combo to install our flair. You will notice that we have a small countertop microwave that is also avocado. We took a white one to an auto painter and had him paint it to match the stove a fridge. (He also painted our Kenmore Washer and Dryer avocado as well!)
I love that Flora Fridge! Particularly interesting is that I thought the french-door design was a relatively new one. Obviously not! Who knew?
Thank you Pam for showcasing our kitchen! It’s wonderful to find people who appreciate the retro-ness of it all. Most people think that we are crazy, and when we find someone that shares our love of the 60s and 70s we just want to share everything we have found or created with them!
Pam, thanks for including my ’49 Kenmore range and aqua Ventahood in the lineup! Working on finishing the countertop edging now, and some new ceiling and soffit paint…..super spread!
Hi Jeff -
I also have a 1949 Kenmore and thanks to you I now know what it is! It is in my house is rural NM and needs a lot of work done to it. The knobs are broken, two handles are broken, the oven door doesn’t properly open and close, and the bottom drawers don’t open smoothly. Do you have any ideas on how to get parts or to find a good repairman for this? I sadly live in NYC and am renting my house out now, so I’m not physically there and the tenants would like some upgrades. I’m at a loss and really don’t want to get rid of it. Also have no idea what it’s worth?
Carol, see my stories about where to find help with vintage appliances in the Kitchens/Appliance category.
Thanks Pam!
Quick answer to the outlet question – Nope, they aren’t to code. I am super excited to be buying a 1965 condo in Chicago from the original owner. I am smitten with the original bathrooms (1 is blue and chrome-alicious, the other yellow). This post is helping me love the original kitchen more with it’s brown sink and brown stove with double oven. The knobs for the electric range are push button like a 8-track deck or old car radio!
On my home inspection, my inspector warned me against using the outlets in the stove or the ones in the lighting fixtures in the bathrooms. The bathroom ones aren’t to code [correction made as per follow up comment] for being around water and the stove ones are dangerous because the cords could catch on fire if the stove is in use. So, I’d advise folks NOT to use those outlets! Hope that helps + Thank you for your delightful site and all the great reader participation!
Thank you, Brandy. Readers, CONSULT WITH PROPERLY LICENSED PROFESSIONALS.
Oops. That should say “aren’t to code.”
Reader Adam’s brown stove with portal window is identical to ours. I want to restore but have no manual. The manual would also be helpful to know how to properly use all the bells and whistles. Can any one help me?
I really love everything, I’m soooooo In Love Love. Please tell me where can I purchase a pink stove and a fridge, I live in Marina Del Rey California the nearest antique mall in in Orange Calif, but I do not know if they have anything as nice as yours, Please email me asap, thank you and I love you too, Alida
Here you go, lots and lots of places in California: http://retrorenovation.com/2011/11/04/13-places-to-buy-restored-vintage-stoves/
These appliances are the bee’s knees! I especially dig the Philco refrigerator with the aqua accents. I have one in the shop currently in line for restoration. It has Cris-crossed heads of wheat embossed in the door as well as a nice fold embossed 3/4 of the way up the door. The interior is aqua with polished stainless, aluminum and chrome accents.
I plan to restore this old Philco and two paint it in aqua/robin’s egg blue with white/pearl white at the embossed fold – like a 55 Chevy. Then it will get three coast of clear and buffed to a show car finish. All the chrome will be replated and the compressor rewired for another sixty years of service.
I know I’m not the only one who really digs the retro stuff and I love taking the old and making it new again. No where can you find modern appliances with the style of the past. So I started my own restoration business – Iron City Retro in Pittsburgh, PA. I will restore any appliance you have to like new condition and in any custom color you want.
Check us out at ironcityretro.com to see whats available for restoration. Right now we have the Philco mentioned above (unrestored), A GE Combination refrigerator with a turquoise interior with copper plated lazy suzan shelves,(unrestored) a 1936 GE monitor top (restoration in process) and a 1950′s Coca Cola wet cooler (restoration complete).
Please give us a call or send us an email if you are in the market for a retro appliance. We usually have better pricing than anyone else and if not we’ll match it.
I love everything so classy Lol!!can you please email me back I need to purchase the fridge and stove. thanks
All buying/selling needs to go on to the Forum: http://retrorenovation.com/forums/
Hello,
I’d like to clear up a misconception about the refrigerators. I read here and just about in every comments section folks saying that they would love to have a vintage refrigerator “if only they were quiet and more energy efficient” like now. I think this comes from the fact that the first frost free refrigerators were not energy efficient. The very old fridges like the philco above and the “round top” fridges with the small freezer compartments that are meant to only make ice cubes are very energy efficient. I have a 1948 Hotpoint with a small “speed freezer” for making ice cubes or holding a couple tv dinners. I cannot hear it running unless I put my ear to the fridge. It costs me about $30 a year to run (measured with kill-a-watt). I do have to defrost it, but I don’t have to take the food out – there is a setting on the dial that says defrost and you manually turn the dial to that setting. The fridge still runs but the freezer compartment melts into a tray and you pour out the water. My previous fridge was a 1942 westinghouse (it is for sale, Knoxville CL) was a little louder when it ran, was smaller, and had to be manually defrosted, but also cost $20 a year to run. For frozen food, I use a chest freezer in the butler pantry, out of sight. These fridges are smaller, but they are “all fridge”, so you do not have to share the space with a freezer. It seems to be the same size or only slightly smaller to me. My “new” 1948 hotpoint is “huge” at approximately 9 or 10 cu ft.
It’s hard to conceive of an appliance more wonderful than the Western Holly built-in. That thing is incredible. Love the porthole.
HI There…
Stumbled upon your site trying to find resources for my 50′s roper gas stove. Then I saw you had posted a photo above of a contributor “Heather” who acquired a 50′s Roper from freecycle.
I HAVE THIS EXACT! It was in my house when I bought it and its my daily use range! Works like a champ. Model 52D13NN
I was wondering if you could connect me with Heather to see if she has found any ad’s or owners manuals for our stove? Thanks in advance. If not…do you have sources for old manuals other than ebay? Thanks.
Your site is fantastic
Hi JP, sorry, I cannot get into “connecting” readers. There are 200,000. Best thing I can suggest is that you take this over to the Forum: http://retrorenovation.com/forums/
Gotcha. I understand. Thanks.
Just thought maybe Heather was a regular contributor.
Keep up the great site
Hello! I have a working 1960s cotton-candy-pink GE wall oven available. If you’re interested, please make me an offer. I’m in Arizona & willing to ship!
Chris — please take this over to the buy/sell forum — https://retrorenovation.com/forums … good luck
I have a 1967 Tappan Fabulous 400 electric stove in Sterling Heights Michigan. I want to upgrade my kitchen and am willing to sell this. Everything works great on it. I am putting together a webpage about it.
you can post this on our buy/sell forum: http://retrorenovation.com/forums/
I have a 1960′s Westinghouse 2 level stove in the Coppertone color (like the one you have pictured in the White color.) Mine doesn’t have an outlet on it though, but, it does have the clock. I have looked high and low for information about this stove and am so happy to have FINALLY found one like the one I have. Was this stove considered a “drop in” in today’s terms?? My oven no longer works and I don’t know just what kind of stove I want as a replacement, since getting a “freestanding” stove will require some alterations because of the way this stove “sits in” to my counter area (back and sides like the one pictured) and a “drop in” or “slide in” model(s) are a lot more expensive. Anyone have any suggestions??
We have a 1940′s era Roper 4 burner/one oven stove that has never been used. Parts are still in plastic. The metal around the clock is pinkish in color. Do you have any info on where to sell this or how much it is worth?
1959 coppertone color brown built in oven and stove top with range hood.
All clean.
what is it worth?