How about this fabulous 1966 St. Charles metal and wood kitchen?
click to enlarge photos especially the first one!
- Cool how it combines wood with metal. And French Provincial wood, no less.
- This was part of the transition to kitchens that looked like furniture – like the rest of the house, which was now encroaching as ‘open concept’ design truly takes hold.
- Awesome oven and range. So Samantha Stevens!
- Great mix and match of colors and materials as you move from space to space – showing that your retro kitchen does not have to be all matchy-matchy – works especially if you have a large space to work with, keeps the eye moving.
- Peek at the wonderful green patterned sofa, and painted panel walls in the adjacent family room.
- And here we have — harvest gold and avocado together! By 1966, the 70s have arrived!
One change that I would recommend: I think it’s much smarter to have the working sink positioned between the fridge and the stovetop, rather than at the far end. Much better for working efficiency.
Want to start re-inventing this look for yourself? There a large set of St. Charles cabinets, in Denver, just posted this week on the Postwar Steel Forum (top nav bar) that has a similar look. Snap them up, and you are well on your way to funky town!
My mom raised me with her ’70s design ethos…I still tease her about a color scheme of: Brown, Jute, Tan, Chocolate, Rust.
Wood doesn’t get painted on her watch, and no window is safe from an army of potted plants.
Its not what I like for myself (I actually like the ’30s-’50s stuff she says is too old for her) but it will always be homey to me.
we just bought a home with an original St. Charles kitchen. Does anyone have suggestions about updating? I hate to tear it out.
Ann — see all my Kitchen posts, and under that category, all the post on steel kitchen cabinets. Also – the galleries… this blog probably has 1,000 stories on ways to update your mid-century kitchen.
Well, I have been into retro vintage for 30 years now. I am 49 and as a kid I hated avocado green. I now love it. I just did my kitchen in red-orange formica and avocado green appliances and it looks gorgeous. In fact Apartment Therapy just did a spread on my apartment iin Los Angeles.
So what someone may have disliked in the past isn’t always what they like now! I can attest to that. As you age your taste changes.