From the category archives:
IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER INSTALLMENT of a vintage Armstrong interior from my large collection of Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, Inc. advertising comps. This one: a small, very efficiently designed 1954 yellow kitchen. And the cabinet style shows that authentic retro doesn’t have to be all radius-edge slabs — this is an important reference / proof for even me! 
Heck yeah there is more…
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In response to Friday’s post on the patriotic 40s kitchen, Josh writes:I’m in love with that sink. Do they still make any like that? Heck yeah there is more…
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These days I am quite in love with cozy vintage dinettes — like this 1953 Daystrom model. Daystrom, along with Arvin, seem to have been the two really big names in dinettes back in the day – and both seem to have disappeared from the screen altogether today.
This lovely green dinette – amidst the aqua-pistachio kitchen with its wood and white and wallpaper – has the feel of the coziest place in the world, don’t you think?
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Vintage stoves were my first true love, so it’s ironic that it’s taken me this long to launch coverage of them. We’re off! Everyone seems to love Bewitched’s Samantha Stephens and her Frigidaire Flair. So I think I’ll start with some quirky pretenders to that famous model. How about this 1957 Philco Citation? Interestingly, in stainless steel, which I don’t see all that much featured in advertising. Note also – laminate cabinets, and stainless steel edging on the countertops just like we still get today at New York Metals!
Below: The refrigerator that went with this lineup in ‘57. Looks like you could cover it with any laminate you like. Hmmm. I think today that this use-a-laminate-panel also should work with a number of dishwashers and a refrigerator like the Sub-Zero. In particular, with so many people wanting to blend their modern-day dishwasher into a retro style kitchen, I think this might be a brilliant question to delve into further. Stay tuned.
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1950s &60s Kitchens(The New Kitchen of Tomorrow Today)
Grab a cuppa, retro renovators, and watch this wonderful set of kitchen videos from 1956, 1957 and 1958 – selling us straight-edged electric appliances and in charcoal, it seems. Thanks to Barbara in Ohio for this excellent find! I particularly like the first sequence, showing how older, farmhouse kitchens could be updated for the modern way of life. That old, patched-together “before” kitchen is like the one my grandma had on the farm in North Dakota. A little bit of counter, a stove that also provide heat, a small icebox – and a kitchen table where all the work got done and nine people ate every meal, too.
Remember, it wasn’t until the post-war period that the idea of “fitted kitchens” – with built-in cabinetry, long uninterrupted countertops, and integrated stoves and fridges — all based on “scientific, efficient, step saving” (and “wife saving”) layouts — really took hold. It’s so interesting: As a nation we are such believers in technology… science… progress. We are optimistic — hard working — and innovative. It’s something to remember in these economic times. A good thing, a hopeful thing.
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Mom will not be isolated here….
This 1953 advertisement for wood KitchenMaid cabinets illustrates the effort and innovation that went into making the modern housewife’s daily chores seem easier…glamorous, even.
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Several readers have asked about color combo’s for their yellow kitchens, including what I thought of a turquoise/aquamarine floor. Hey – this works fine, don’t you think? Aquamarine actually has more yellow than blue in it. And how about the pink walls – including the butterfly wallpaper.
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Another recessed fixture aimed to torture Speedway Ron. Or, bankrupt him! Image: vintage GE.
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Longtime readers will recall my fixation with 50s and 60s electric plug-in devices to organize all the wonderful wife-saving appliances on the top of your kitchen countertop. Remember these previous posts?:
This time around — a whole cabinet! Yummy! Anyone have one of these, I wanna see it live! Image: Vintage Sunbeam.
Source: American Home, April 1959.
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Speaking of Sleeping Bee Alice, she sent along this comment and photo recently:
“I wanted to pass along this graphic that is the bane of my kitchen decorating planning… I love this dishwasher and want one!!”
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