Rochester Steven has completed some drop dead gorgeous updates to his 1957 Alcoa Aluminum house, and shares the details and images. This is the third story on these late-1950s “demonstration” houses. We first featured a time capsule for sale in Wisconsin. I think that’s how Steven found this blog, and we featured his house in New York state, along with the home’s original brochure, just a few weeks later. There were only 23 of these houses built — and Steven, Michael and Bobby are amazing caretakers. This house will knock you off your chair — it’s worthy of Architectural Digest. Heck yeah there is more…
Reader Erika Rae found these instructions about how to clean St. Charles steel kitchen cabinets, enameled right inside of one of her cabinet doors. I presume these instructions still hold. Errr, umm, does anyone know where to get St. Charles Cleaner & Polish? Heck yeah there is more…
Retro-anthropologist Pam here. I spotted my 70th brand of vintage steel kitchen cabinets: Anemone Kitchen Furnishings, a lower price point brand from English Rose. You can read more about it, and see the complete 1955 ad, over on the Forum.
I went to an estate sale yesterday and in the basement gasped when I confronted this steel sink base — unlike any I’ve seen before. The deco-style design in the cabinet door is actually cut right into the outer layer of steel. I’ve identified 70 brands of steel kitchen cabinets from about 1935 onward. I wonder if this is a 71s? How exciting! Heck yeah there is more…
I love this photo posted on our vintage steel kitchen cabinet Forum…and I fussed with it to make it look like an old polaroid. These are 1957 yellow GE cabinets, for sale in St. Louis. How many readers have steel kitchen cabinets — are installing them — or on the hunt?
Reader Jeff spotted these St. Charles cabinets just like Erika’s for sale at Construction Junction in Pittsburgh. They are spectacular. And a terrific price: $600 for this set, and a second set available for $500. That is A LOT of cabinets to work with, with makes it easier to fit into your kitchen — a rare find. Woah, I love these. Love love love love love. Thanks, Jeff!!! You get exclamation points for this one.
Finishing up my Youngstown Kitchens 1957 mini-series, here is their Monterey line. The unique selling proposition of this line: Sandalwood-colored steel base cabinets and doors…. with wall cabinets with Sandalwood-stained wooden doors on steel bases. Reading through this marketing material I see: Industry concern about color fatigue, oh no! “Give us a color we can live with for years” and “that goes with everything,” consumers asked, Youngstown explained. Again…as we’ve discussed before…the move away from enamel-painted steel, which was difficult to repaint (and likely getting more expensive), to wood cabinetry (which was easier to re-paint and also had the “furniture look” of adjoining spaces”, was under way. Heck yeah there is more…
Following up on our recent look at Erika’s St. Charles kitchen that combined wood doors with steel kitchen cabinet frames — here is my vintage marketing material introducing Youngstown Kitchen’s Woodcharm line. Looks like the year of introduction was 1957. And there were four wood species to choose from, for the door: “Mrs. Homemaker will love the warm, blending, tones of these lovely wood finished species of Autumn Birch, Fruitwood, Sandalwood, and Honeywood.” Heck yeah there is more…
Sorry to bother you again, but I have a question I couldn’t figure out while reading through the site: When you buy a set of vintage steel cabinets, how do you configure them so they fit your space? What if there are a bunch of small, “chopped up” cabinets and you have a long galley? Or conversely, what if you buy a long, galley’s worth of cabinets but your walls are “short?” I know the pieces are all separate but how do you get that “finished” look when you put your own kitchen puzzle together? I’m imagining all kinds of gaps in between!This has baffled me and made me pass on some fabulous sets because I wasn’t sure how to make them work for my space! Any info you can offer is appreciated!
Your house has all kinds of features that were state-of-the-art ... and beloved ... when it was first built. Learn about them, and you may just decide to keep them.
I went to an estate sale yesterday and in the basement gasped when I confronted this steel sink base — unlike any I’ve seen before. The deco-style design in the cabinet door is actually cut right into the outer layer of steel. I’ve identified 70 brands of steel kitchen cabinets from about 1935 onward. I wonder if this is a 71s? How exciting! 
I love this photo posted on our vintage steel kitchen cabinet Forum…and I fussed with it to make it look like an old polaroid. These are 1957 yellow GE cabinets, 
Reader Jeff spotted these 
Finishing up my Youngstown Kitchens 1957 mini-series, here is their Monterey line. The unique selling proposition of this line: Sandalwood-colored steel base cabinets and doors…. with wall cabinets with Sandalwood-stained wooden doors on steel bases. Reading through this marketing material I see: Industry concern about color fatigue, oh no! “Give us a color we can live with for years” and “that goes with everything,” consumers asked, Youngstown explained. Again…as we’ve discussed before…the move away from enamel-painted steel, which was difficult to repaint (and likely getting more expensive), to wood cabinetry (which was easier to re-paint and also had the “furniture look” of adjoining spaces”, was under way. 
Following up on our recent look at 
Lara Jane writes:
