Thanks to Wendy, who spotted this unique (to us, so far) set of 1978 St. Charles kitchen cabinets that came up for sale on craigslist in St. Louis. The cabinet boxes are steel, as usual. But the door and drawer fronts seem to be crafted from wood strips, with a natural tone wood bar and wood handles at the top. A very earthy sort of 70s design concept. Hey, I also quite like the color of the countertops. Does anyone know what they would have called this color? Continue for eight more photos of How The 70s Was Done…
The seller sent me additional photographs and gave me permission to feature them on the blog, after I explained that I had never seen this door style design before and love to archive the vintage examples that we find. Thank you!
Seriously, these vintage St. Charles kitchens were amazing — so many features. I am soooo tempted to get in the Ranger and drive down and get these myself, for my office remodel. Seriously.
Click here to see the listing, the seller tells me the cabinets have been taken out of the kitchen and are looking for a new home.
Update: Montgomery Ward steel kitchen cabinets — a catalog from 1941 
Purple and walnut 1970 St. Charles metal kitchen 
Mies van der Rohe apartment gets Retro Renovated with a “new” GE Wonder Kitchen 
Cynthia says
The style of the doors would be called tambour. Very stylish at the time when these were new I agree with the others who call the color of the counters “butterscotch”.
pam kueber says
Ah! Tambour! That is wonderful to know! Hey, I think caramel or camel is better for the countertop color – but, all three make sense!
Karen says
What is that in the fifth picture down? Covered flour storage, a draining cutting board. I have no idea.
These cabinets remind me of the beading (right word?) cabinets that were in Edwardian houses.
Ima Pam says
Karen, I think that is a bread box drawer…at least that’s what I use ours for…
Mary Tatum says
My mother, otherwise the queen of white counter tops and white appliances, put that counter top into the bathroom my parents added to the house in which I grew up in about 1977. Maybe it’s butterscotch?
Neva Warnock says
I was thinking what Earth a said — very bamboo-y.
Karen, to me, that is a bread drawer, with the tin interior to keep bugs out but it could have been for flour or anything.
I always think of tambour as describing how they work but I see what you mean.
Susie says
Oh wow, I didn’t even notice at first that the dishwasher and fridge were covered too. What a find!