Six+ years of blogging the retro, and this is the first time we’ve ever seen one of these: A Youngstown Kitchens hutch. Yes, apparently this was a purpose-built design — not something cobbled together. Reason we think so: The decorative back splash of the hutch is steel — yes, the part that is painted out to look like tile and which sports the Youngstown label. This is a great little piece of steel kitchen cabinet history.
Like I said, this piece was posted for sale on our Forum. The main ad is on craiglist. Who’s going to buy it!!!???
The piece is in Nashville. The ad says:
I have an original 1950s Youngstown Kitchen hutch red and white.
The front left door needs a new screw to hold door on, and the red top has blemishes from normal wear and tear. The top and bottom separate.
It’s in fantastic shape for its age. I have yet to find anything like this, make me an offer. Email if interested.
In my followup email to get better photos, and permission to use them, the owner told me:
Hiya! Yes, the “tile” is metal. I’ll get more photos just as soon as I can. I actually found this at a yard sale in Delaware.
I LOVE this era, and I can’t find anything about Youngstown hutch’s on the web. Nothing! So I thought I might have a rare piece on my hands…
Note: The chrome pulls on this vintage hutch are an earlier style of Youngstown. I’d need to go find my catalogs and work to identify the date when the switch was made to the chevrons (see below).
The hutch — in wood — or as a Hoosier cabinet — was such a longtime kitchen staple that trying it out in steel makes perfect sense. I am mostly surprised we haven’t seen more of them.
Rare Youngstown sink
Remember this other Youngstown woddity (wonderful-oddity) discovered a ways back? The Youngstown Servi-Center:
I can only surmise that: Youngstown Kitchens was such a big company (the biggest them all), that they experimented with items such as this.
Cool.
lauren Carlucci says
I just bought my very first Hoosier about an hour ago! I’m not picking up until tomorrow evening–cant wait! Anyway I was trying to find some info on it Thats how I stumbled across this feed. The one I purchased has sliding thin wooden doors on the too and bottom. Was this original or did the previous owner make some modifications? It does have it original paint which was surprising to me But sadly it need a to be repainted. If anyone can direct me to a site to better my knowledge is appreciate it. 🙂
pam kueber says
I have an old hoosier. It also has a tambour door. https://retrorenovation.com/2012/11/06/tambour-where-to-buy-doors-trim/
Jenruss says
When I bought my house 15 years ago (before I fell in love with vintage and retro design) I couldnt WAIT to tear out my kitchen… I have the cabinets that match this hutch exactly! I even found little peeks of the backsplash behind the mirror oa one the sink. It has the Same sounder top and drawer pulls and even still has the youngstown logo on the front of the sink. Now that I am designing my kitchen around these cabinets I go have been DYING to fine an extra base cabinet that matches to put between the stove and fridge. The original stove when we moved in was a Caloric with the double door and double drawers on the bottom. We had no idea what we had at the time! My ex husband was afraid to use it (no clue why) and bought a new one, junking the other for scrap! It was pristine looking (although we never tried using it ). I could kick myself! I can not find a proper sized single base cabinet anywhere near me that isn’t rusted and gross. Everyone lives too far or wants to sell the whole kitchen (not pieces)
Abby Vanderbilt says
Hi Pam,
So now that I have become a retro, mid-century junkie I am seeing cool stuff pop up all over the place…things I walked by before. However, thanks to your site, the vintage fairies are whispering and my head is turning. For instance, yesterday I was perusing the weekly garage sale of our resident antique/slash junk dealer and I came across a Youngstowns kitchen sink and cabinet combination. I only recognized the name because I remember reading about it on your site. The only problem is our friendly dealer does not take very good care of his treasures and it has been sitting outdoors for possibly years. So the hardware has been stripped and the inside is completely rusted out. The doors are in tack and the sink seems solid. I could get it from him for $5 or less. My question is, is it work anything? If the sink is in good shape could I refit it to a new bottom and possibly salvage the metal doors? I also found and bought from him for $10 an vintage, formic covered, aluminum rimmed kitchen table with two leaves. Chrome needs some TLC but other wise it’s great. Thanks for your help!
Abby
Susan K says
Love, love, love this! Matches my kitchen, too. I think my Youngstowns are late ’40s. Looks a little to deep for my space, thankfully. Gets me out of driving to Nashville (from PA) for it!
Could we have a hutch upload on an upcoming Friday? I’d love to see some of the ones mentioned above.
Mine is just deep enough for my space, but a little earlier than mid-century,I think. Ceam painted, with glass doors up top, and art-deco-ish black lining. It’s in rough shape, which suits our kitchen perfectly!
Maggie says
Well, huh — I had no idea these were so rare. Before I moved out of New Orleans (in 2005), I had two of them I’d found at separate yard sales and paid like $15 for each. One was very, very similar to the posted one (don’t remember if it was marked Youngstown), although it didn’t have the cool little quarter-round corner shelves. That one was clearly meant to be a Hoosier-type cabinet, and had an electrical outlet mounted at counter level. The other had sliding glass doors over the upper hutch (!), and plate-rack ditches in the upper shelves.
Sadly, they both had to be jettisoned during the pre-move purge. I think I sold them for around $30-40 each. Have regretted it often.
LisaCompo says
Unless someone has an exact replica of this, I think it has sort of a homemade look to it. Although well done, maybe an especially skilled gentleman took a wall cabinet and base cabinet and crafted the middle part to join them. There were lots of carpenters and welders and tradesmen back then. It’s a darling hutch, but since everyone is in love with it–I don’t think it would be all that hard to recreate if you had the right materials and skill. I adore the curved little corner shelves.
Chad says
My grandmother had a hutch in her basement that this kind of reminds me of. Hers was wooden and had glass doors on the upper cabinets with a black, white, and red deco-ish design painted on the glass. My mom insisted it was worthless and sold it for peanuts at a yard sale. The glass had a deco style design painted on it. I think the buyer was a dealer. I hope they kept the original hardware and glass, and that it made its way to a good home.
Mindy Judd says
This cabinet would be perfect in my kitchen. It matches everything from the cabinets and the red countertop. I would love to send pictures of my kitchen.
Rachel says
I have what I believe is a Marvel vintage hutch (I have a cabinet that matches with the label). I’ve never seen anything like mine either. The one I have is longer and has glass doors on top.
Pat says
I have one of those (not sure of the brand) that is narrower. Where do I look to find the brand name of it?
Melanie says
This is beautiful! I bid on a very similar hutch at an auction sale about a year ago. I was just looking for something to fill a space in my daughter’s house. At the time I didn’t think about it being vintage and rare and all. 🙁 It went for my $$ than I could manage to find.