Nathan recently purchased a 1962 time capsule home. He truly appreciates the beauty and history in this blonde wood kitchen full of pristine, museum-quality appliances not to mention a fabulous pink porcelain drainboard sink. But, he is himself a craftsman and furniture maker, and has his own creative vision for a mid-century inspired kitchen of his dreams. So, now he is trying to find the right buyer for this mint, unused 1962 kitchen including a pink General Electric combination wall mount refrigerator, a pink GE automatic electric built-In oven, a pink GE cooktop, a pink GE dishwasher, and a pink cast iron double bowl sink.
UPDATE: As of Feb 2015 — this kitchen HAS BEEN REMOVED AND SOLD.
UPDATE Jan. 2018: I was first with this story in 2010 — EIGHT years ago — and to this day, other blogs are still rewriting the story and promoting it as if it’s new. Yikes.
Nathan purchased the home late last year from the original owner, who built the house but for personal reasons never lived in it. Oh my, the kitchen is a real beauty.
Once the shock wears off, be sure to notice also the mosaic tile on the floor, and the four-inch tiles on the backsplash, on the soffits, on the wall in the dinette. I’ve never seen tile on soffits, for example. The cabinets — the pink countertops and appliances — the tile — and the light — all combine to make this a luminous kitchen indeed.
Oh, and I’ve never seen scribing (I think that’s what it’s called) of the ‘vents’ underneath the sink and cooktop like this before. The atomic cabinet pulls are gorgeous, too — note, Nathan plans to keep the cabinet hardware.
Nathan for sure is selling the appliances and the drainboard sink. The kitchen, he fears, will not demo well, because it is built directly into the walls. But it’s a possibility that it could also be removed intact.
Finally, I want to forewarn: No chest beating, please, in Comments, over Nathan’s decision not to keep this kitchen. I have never ever said this site is all about having to keep everything original. At its heart, in addition to identifying resources, I’m about just helping people understand what they have in their homes so that they can make informed decisions. Nathan knows what he has, and wants the kitchen to go to someone who will truly be able to love it. (The gorgeous vintage light fixture – stays.)
Click on the gallery shot above to go to Nathan’s flickr photostream to see more photos. You can also see some of his custom furniture by Nathan Chandler — I’ll feature some of his mid-century inspired pieces shortly. Thank you, Nathan, for giving us the opportunity to see your kitchen and potentially, to help find it a good home.
Vintigchik says
I absolutely LOVE this color combo! I wish this were my house!
Angela says
whatever happend to the most beautiful kitchen I have ever seen?
pam kueber says
Angela, I emailed Nathan a while back to find out, but he did not reply. I’ll add it to my list to chase him down to get the end of the story…
bonnie lang says
Is this for sale?
pam kueber says
bonnie – details are in the post. i’m guessing it’s gone.
Chris Edwards says
This is amazing! I contacted him several days ago about his asking price since I may be in the market for a kitchen re-do, but have heard nothing from him. Do you know if it’s been sold?
pam kueber says
Hi, Chris — no, I don’t know the status. When I get back from Charlotte, I will check in with Nathan and see if we can get an update. I know there was lots and lots of interest….
Michelle says
I’m trying hard to adhere to the no chest beating request. Wow, this is just so “swell” I can’t imagine parting with any of it !! What a lucky find. (Maybe you should call the location scout for Mad Men!) Thanks for sharing.
Patrick Coffey says
that might very well be Pam…oh and I forgot to mention the Wall fridge had been discontinued long before 1962 as well
Patrick Coffey says
This kitchen is NOT form 1962…It is from about 1956. I have a 1962 GE dealer catalog and they did not offer that style of wall oven or dishwasher then. Both of those models seen in this kitchen were discontinued around 1957.
pam kueber says
Hey, Patrick, thanks for the info. Maybe the appliances were retained from earlier…
Paul Kaplan says
I love it! I have a few clients that bought mid-century homes that would drool over this. All the atomic age detail is fantastic!!!
Amy says
I’d love to see what the rest of the house looks like! Any chance we can get the backstory on why it was never lived in?
pam kueber says
Amy, a couple of other people have asked as well, but I felt like the backstory was private, so, no.
JHL III says
Pam :
I understand you can’t detail the ‘backstory’, but how in the world does a home such as this, if I understand the commentary, go nearly 50 yrs. w/o being lived in?
Sounds like a ‘Movie of the Week’… 😉
Amphorae says
Kudos to Nathan for the hard work he’s putting into finding a good home for all that wonderful pinkness! I wish him and the eventual new owner well.