Laura writes in to ask a perennial question: Is it all right to mix and match mid century eras? Readers — What do you think?
Laura writes:
Pam – I’m at my wits end re: what to do in my kitchen. Over the last 18 months, I’ve collected all the fabulous Morton cabinets I need.
I LOVE the curves on both the uppers and lowers – to me, they really evoke the cozy 50’s look that resonates with me. I also acquired a great ’54 GE combination two-door refrigerator/freezer in beautiful condition, but unfortunately it does not cool and I can’t find a repair service inside 1,000 miles. These cabinets and this fridge are a perfect combination, but with the fridge not working I had to keep looking for something comparable.
Just last weekend I snapped up a great 1957 GE brown fridge with the revolving shelves I love, but it is a much sleeker design with very straight edges. After a little more research I realized that it is one of those that blends right in with the cabinets – it’s only 24 inches deep. It works great and the features are amazing – pull out bottom freezer drawer, rotating fruit & veggie bins, butter keeper, etc…..but the style doesn’t fit with my cabinets!!! I’m really torn, because I love them both, but combining them just feels very awkward.
I’m using the brown fridge now and sold the (non-functioning) white 1954-55 GE Combination to a fellow vintage-lover with a good friend in the refrigeration business. I love the features of the mid–mod brown fridge (1957) but feel it just doesn’t fit the early- to mid-50’s era look that I long to recreate. And mostly, both the cabinets and the fridge make great individual “statements”, but combining them sort of diminishes both, if you get my drift. To really do justice to that fridge, though, I would need to trade in my Mortons and get a set with flat fronts and go for the built-in look with soffits and everything. If the Retro Gods would bring me a left-hinged early-50’s fridge with lazy-susan shelves, I’d snap it up and sell the brown fridge, but it seems those left-hinged ones are about one in a hundred, or thousands of miles away….no luck so far.
I suppose I’ll have to choose between them, but which to give up (and find more appropriate versions of), and which to keep?!?! So, the question is….is it possible to live in two different eras in the same kitchen??? If you have time to consider my conundrum, I’d really appreciate your advice…. and I’d LOVE for you to post it and draw on all that creative energy from your readers. I drool over the photos of the gorgeous vintage COORDINATED kitchens on this site. I don’t want my own kitchen to fall short if I can help it.
“I’m at my wit’s end…” Yup. That’s where Retro Renovating gets us all, at one point or another, Laura. So happy you wrote in. I love your question, because it underscores that there were numerous waves of “mid century” and “mid century modern.” Not one look, but a variety of looks that evolved over the “mid century era,” which most historians bookend from 1946-1963. In fact, your Mortons, I’d say, are quintessentially late-1940s… while your fridge is quintessential early 60s (the GE experts on this site — Patrick? — will know right away.) So, your question neatly juxtaposes “the beginning” and “the end”. Oh and Laura: 18 months to collect your cabinets? A vintage stove (Chambers?) in the pickup truck? YOU GO, GIRL!
Readers: What do you think?
Matchy matchy mid mod? Or mix and match mid mod mad? I’ll pipe in tomorrow after reading your comments — which always give me new things to think about!
Alain says
Mixing and matching is good for me but I don’t think it is the case with your kitchen and your fridge. They are looking good but not together The fridge is not the right color, not the right shape.
You could try to paint it but it is hard to make it nice and smooth. Most of the time it looked… well… painted!
I think you are back on the hunt.
Lisa says
Growing up, we had that exact same refrigerator in pink. Loved it, especially the little pedal you can push to open the door when your hands are full. I’ve had very good success electrostatically painting a refrigerator. The painter came right to the house and painted it. Wasn’t cheap, but it was cheaper than buying a new fridge. Once you strip the brown paint off, you might consider giving it a new coat of white. Depending on the condition of your cabinets, the painter could shoot those, too. It’s a stinky process, so make sure you can do it on a day when you have good ventilation. You might check HGTV’s website for the stainless steel treatment thing another poster mentioned. I saw them do that once on Designed to Sell.
Shannon says
I know that you can purchase commercial film to apply to the surface of appliances in order to make them look like stainless steel. Does anyone know if this kind of film is available in white? I did a quick google search and didn’t come up with anything, but I didn’t really take the time to dig.
On the other subject, I think that mixing and matching eras is totally fine as long as they look good together. The brown fridge really clashes with the red cabinets, so in this case I’d say that it’s not the eras but the colors that are incompatible.
Gavin Hastings says
Think carefully!
One hot summer in the ’80s, I hauled my 1951 Kelvinator outside to paint it red.
At some point in the process…it took on the look of a Coke machine
All that was missing was the ribbon up the side.
Shelbie says
I like not having the fridge in the kitchen at all. Do you have a large pantry/mud room etc to place the fridge? Then it would not look so awkward. And you can still enjoy both eras. It is really not that inconvenient to walk into another room from the kitchen to get what you need out of the fridge. That’s my two cents!
dubld says
Keep looking for your dream fridge while you use the one you have. I have found that Craigslist is the best place to seach for vintage refrigerators. Expand your search to a 200 mile radius. In the long run, what’s traveling 200 miles to get your dream fridge.?
I have a ’55 GE combination left hand fridge with swinging shelves that I found on Craigslist last summer. It was about 80 miles away. I paid $300 for it, and another $200 to rent a one-way truck to pick it up and bring it to my house. It works perfectly and it looks brand new after I spent several hours cleaning it inside and out. I am happy to share tips too on how I did it, including pictures of the results. I love that fridge, and it would certainly be a shoe-in esthetically with your metal cabinets.
There are also other ’50s combination refrigerater models out there as well. You just need to look constantly and ignore the high price tags a lot of folks ask for. These old fridges are only worth a few hundred bucks WORKing, not the thousands that many ask for, since they commonly confuse restored with old but working. You just have to educate politely and stay firm with an offer price. Most folks will came back to you with an accepted offer :’) These old fridges were built to last, and it’s easier than you think to find one in great, working condition. Good luck!!
lauramoon says
That’s good advice about pricing….I always chuckle when I see postings with prices over $1000…sometimes they’re not even sure if they work! I’ll keep my eyes peeled and try making offers.
I got the brown fridge in Minneapolis (I’m near Madison, WI) and the gas was about $200 but the fridge was only $60!
dubld says
I’m in Chicago, and I found mine on the Milwaukee Craigslist from someone in suburban Milwaukee. By the way, once you have your fridge, you should consider an upright vintage freezer, if you need more deep freeze space. I found a mid fifties Leonard upright freezer (made by American Motors) in absolutely perfect, pristine condition on EBAY, and picked it up from Minneapolis and drove it back down to Chicago in a one-way rental truck. It works beautifully and seems like it was hardly used in its over 50 years.
The reason why I love old deep freezers is that they freeze to well below zero, and because they are NOT frost free, food seems to stay fresher much longer and without the freezer burn you get with new frost free freezers. The supurb preservation of food is well worth having to defrost the freezer once a year or so and it’s actually kind of fun).. Anyone out there agree with me on the real value of vintage deep freezes?
Thanks, Dan
leftofcentergirl says
I’ve seen a lot of people cover their fridges in chalkboard paint lately. Not sure how that would work, but it is an option.
How about this painted fridge recently in a house tour on apartment therapy
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/kitchen/revisiting-the-painted-refridgerator-146219
I loved it, but you need to have courage for that idea!
leftofcentergirl says
While my house is a mixed mosh of 40’s to 70’s, I agree that the fridge and cabinets as they are don’t really go together. Personally I would do one of two things. Either live with the fridge as is until I could find a more suitable replacement and then sell this one, or I would paint it either in white or red. Either way painting would probably lower its resale value and red would make it worth the effort, pull it together, and really make a statement. Love the cabinets!
Laurie B says
I have no problem with the fridge/cabinet combo. It would most certainly need to be painted (white or RED!!?!) If you are looking to purchase a NEW fridge I would highly reccomend the Fisher Paykel (fridge top/freezer bottom) combo in white with out the water dispenser.It has a mid/mod look with great energy saving elements.
Cheers and post pictures (lots and lots of pictures)
Laurie B
Pam says
I am all for the mix, if you paint the fridge. Either white, which would merge beautifully, or red, which would make a statement and match the countertops! I’d probably go with white. I would prep it, and spray it myself. I love both your fridge & cabinets!!!