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Home / Kitchen / Appliances & Decor

Brini Maxwell shows us her vintage Sunbeam Automatic Control Panel

pam kueber - Updated: August 18, 2021

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

Go Brini, well thank you very much, pritty lady, for the RR shout-out in your video about your vintage Sunbeam appliance center. Yes, formally known at the Sunbeam Automatic Control Panel. And yes, one of my favorite all-time wonderful oddities or “woddities.”

pam kueber's new old stock sunbeam automatic control panel I also have one of these units and Brini, you inspired me to take some photos of my New Old Stock before — ta da! — I installed it (just yesterday!) as part of my office studio remodel currently under way and officially killing me.

pams sunbeam automatic control panelHere’s are just two of my photos — I’ll show the entire artsy fartsy photo shoot later. How fun, Brini, that we are doing these installations concurrently. Peas in a pod, err, appliance centers in the wall. Maybe we can do our big reveals at the same time?

Read more about my continuing coverage of vintage appliance centers:

  • This NOS Westinghouse Automatic Appliance Center recently sold for $306 on ebay. Beauteous. Who got it, please? Here is a 1957 advertisement for this Westinghouse Appliance Center.
  • Tim — who does product development at Rejuvenation — spotted this Westinghouse Appliance Center  — a different design from the ones above — one when he was looking for a house in Portland, Oregon, in early 2009.
  • I found myself a NOS Sunbeam Automatic Control in 2008. The illustration above is from the marketing material for my Sunbeam, not the one currently for sale.
  • Here is a slightly difference design of the Sunbeam — it’s different than mine, includes a clock.
  • Okay, here’s another variation — the Sunbeam Appliance Center is built into the cabinet. Yum.

Keep on the lookout, dear readers, if there are more designs, we want — need — to see them! xoxo

CATEGORIES:
Appliances & Decor Kitchen woddities: wonderful oddities

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26 comments

Comments

  1. matt blickle says

    February 27, 2013 at 12:45 am

    I just so happen to have a new / old one with the clock..email me w offer. Ill show u pics. Im kn illinois

    • pam kueber says

      February 27, 2013 at 9:53 am

      matt, lots of folks are interested in these, your best bet is probably to put it on ebay. but, you can also list it on our buy/sell forum: https://retrorenovation.com/forums/ Good luck.

  2. MrsPItcher says

    July 9, 2012 at 6:11 pm

    I could totally use one of these in my kitchen! I wish they still made them. I have two outlets in my kitchen, both on completely opposite sides. Not only that, it would look so cool!

  3. Nina462 says

    May 14, 2012 at 8:45 pm

    I love Brini Maxwell. Have been watching her for many years – she come on late night cable in the early 2000’s when I lived in Mpls, MN. Got my nieces hooked on her, as well – and bought her book for them for Christmas a couple years back.

  4. Dulcie says

    May 10, 2012 at 1:33 pm

    An appliance center would look SO much cooler in my kitchen the the nasty beige power strip that’s currently keeping my appliances juiced up. Things looked so much better way back then.

  5. Pat in PA says

    May 10, 2012 at 7:11 am

    Oh…and yes…loved Brini!

  6. Pat in PA says

    May 10, 2012 at 7:09 am

    Dang! A prototype of our modern-day power strips with much more charisma! 🙂

  7. RetroSandie says

    May 9, 2012 at 11:26 pm

    Well OMG!! I’ve never seen Brini Maxwell before, but I totally loved her tongue-firmly-in-cheek video!!! So cool….Makes me want to see everything in her house in a video -of course, with mentions to YOU, Pam. Loved it! 🙂

  8. denise says

    May 9, 2012 at 10:13 pm

    I’m trying to think where you put this baby…did you tell me while working me so hard and for such long hours and I have forgotten? …. because you didn’t even allow me to sleep? (hee hee wink wink)

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