Do you think we 2000-somethings “invented” refrigerator drawers concealed in base cabinets? It appears not — because here is GE showcasing refrigerator drawers (update: okay, maybe they are freezer drawers, but big diff) that look like kitchen base cabinets… which they have combined with their Wall Refrigerator-Freezer and Cabinettes in this mother of all midcentury modern refrigerators units called, humbly, the GE Refrigeration Center.
Love. Although, we don’t quite understand what’s holding it up, as readers have pointed out that the wall refrigerator-freezer weighs hundreds of pounds. I do not have a date for this piece of marketing — but the image is from my collection and is one of my boxes, so I’ll find it someday(ish) and add the year to this documentation. At minimum, it’s 1955. Oooooh, if we could ever spot this in the wild!
Want to see more of this amazing line of vintage GE kitchen appliances? Also see our story in the GE Wonder Kitchen.
Diane says
I’m delighted to add that we have this GE unit in our 1955 ranch. We are remodeling, but couldn’t part with this, its double oven counterpart and pink sink. We had them removed with care, freshened up and will have them back in and running in the next week. I made the very difficult decision to replace the pink push button stove with a gas cooktop, but am hoping it will find a new loving home via Craig’s list.
Janet in CT says
Diane, how fabulous you have one! Is it pink like the sink and just like this one in the photo? So are the bottom drawers freezer? I am so pleased to hear you not only saved it but had it refurbished. Bravo!
Diane says
Janet, I confess I got a little overexuberant when I spotted the GE appliances. I now have to admit we have only the top part, which is two thirds fridge and one third freezer (door on far right). I agree with you, the bottom look like freezers, which would make sense to me. My small freezer must have a capacity of about 1.25 CF! So sorry I exaggerated!
Janet in CT says
Diane, even so, you are so lucky to have that wall fridge. There is one for sale right now in stainless somewhere – I saw it yesterday on Craigslist and sure do wish I had a place for it! I hadn’t seen one in stainless before this one but maybe it has added on panels. I really am glad you had it restored. That fridge has such a classic retro look.
Jason says
It is interesting – I wonder if it was every really installed anywhere or even intended as a freestanding room divider like this – or this was just marketing material and it would have always been installed against a wall.
I can just see it now “my rerigerator crushed my cabinettes…” 🙂
Marta says
Just found this, too. It features ovens and refrigerators I’ve never seen before. I wonder if they were just ‘what the future will hold’ versions, or were in actual production.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QEWfq88zzQ
Marta says
Love this. It doesn’t look any more precarious than a stacked washer/dryer unit. The fridge part is on the top, the freezer part is on the bottom, as is the motor works, making the bottom particularly heavy.
On another note, for all the Corningware/Pyrex fans, I just ran across this old ‘documentary’ featuring a very young Chet Huntley telling us all about how Corning developed products based on what women want. Lots of Corning eye candy. Although the poster called it sexist, I don’t think it is; the poster’s opinion seems to be entirely based on a scene toward the end showing a husband and wife shopping and the wife picks up the percolator the film follows through the design process, and we hear Huntley comment that it doesn’t do husbands any good to argue logically with their wives that they already have a percolator. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=kCLpI6SKdkA&NR=1
Kirsten says
I’m buying a time capsule house (no really, my daughter and I walked in and we thought we were in 1953, the year the house was built). I am scheduled for close on May 2nd and have a list of chores to accomplish before the move in on May 7th.
One of them is removing the steel cabinets. I am keeping them, but I want to make an apartment in the basement for my parents, straight out of the 1950s. Here’s my question about the cabinets. They’re the original white enamel finish. They are in impeccable condition. But they’re white. White. We have an original built in freezer in a sage green, a built in mini fridge (both in the basement) and an original GE stove (looks like new, all the way to the brass/copper plate under the push buttons). But, the kitchen and the stove, they’re white. Can I re-enamel the cabinets? Is it enamel or glaze? And how do I even find someone in the DC area that does this sort of thing? I want my mom to be able to pick a color for these cabinets so that it ends up being the apartment of her dreams, but I’m at a loss for how to even start.
So, any suggestions?
And, it’s got an original tub but the faucet has seen better days and has damaged the tub from a long term drip. Is it possible to re-finish the tub? And do I need a plumber to do the faucet repair? I’ve replaced faucets and plumbing before, but I’m wondering if this might be out of my depth. How do I even know?
So many many questions, and so little time!! I’m so excited!!
Chase says
Hi Kirsten,
I had seen some discussion on Retro Renovation about several people that had re-finished their metal cabinetry. One person had the cabinets powder coated, but ran into trouble with the insulation/sound deadening material inside of the doors burning up when the cabinets had to be baked to set the finish.
Other people have very successfully taken their cabinets to an auto-body shop for cars to have them re-painted with a vehicle grade paint with FANTASTIC results. Personally, I would suggest that you go this route, as you will wind up with a very professional looking job.
Good luck, and I hope your parents adore their new 50’s inspired apartment!
Chase says
Also, in response to your question about re-glazing the tub; I believe you can as long as you aren’t having any rust problems. It will be another item that will have to be done professionally, though.
In regards to your faucet, having a professional come in might make the diagnosis and fix faster and easier, unless you already know what is causing the drip.
I know Pam tends to be very cautious with the suggestions that she gives to readers, I’m sure she’d recommend consulting with a professional at the very least.
kirsten says
Yes, not necessary looking for a contractor recommendations, more like a recommendation on how to do some of this. I’d like to take on as much as I can myself. Not necessarily due to the cost, but because I think it’s cool to make this a present for my parents, to give them something that I haven’t just pulled together, but that I actually invest my body in as well.
I’m excited about all of this, but getting started seems to be my stumbling block. I’m hitting some listservs in the DC area to see if I can find folks who’ve done the autobody refinish of cabinets and how that went for them. And recs for reglazing of tubs (I had a friend who did this recently). I’m also planning to hit community forklift to see if they might be able to steer me in the right direction. All in all, I’m just ubber excited and so glad I found all of you!!
kirsten says
OMG!! That’s an amazing idea! I would never have thought of using an auto body shop!! It’s brilliant and means mom gets a wide assortment of colors to choose from. I LOVE that idea!!
Now, if I could just identify the wall covering in the tiny half bath. It looks like a thick sheet of vinyl or thin sheet of steel designed to resemble tile. It goes up 2/3rds of the wall and then is topped with an edge to also resemble tile, but it’s all one sheet. The little half bath has a new toilet, but there’s a rehab place nearby with lots of similarly colored green toilets to match the tiny cute green sink, I just want to be able to expand the bathroom and matching that wall covering would be awesome, if I knew what I was even looking for!!
I’m so glad I decided to buy this house and restore it. I really love my little time capsule and I just found out the sellers are planning to leave some of the furniture and odds and ends in the garage and storage spaces. I think there is a lot in there to look at and discover. I can’t wait!!
Marta says
You might consider keeping the white, and attaching smaller colored or patterned panels centered on the cabinet doors. You could use anything, like foam board covered in fabric, wrapping paper, wallpaper, etc., or spray-painted cardboard or lauan. Attach them with thin magnet tape. That way, you can change whenever you want. How cute would it be to have 50’s style wrapping paper on them over the holidays?
Katie says
I’m in historic preservation so I am more sensitive to words like restore, rehabilitate, etc. Restoring implies a structure is being taken back to its most significant time period. If you have a time capsule house, it is currently in that state. I would encourage you to think really hard before you begin removing original materials from the home and moving walls. As an example, I know someone who bought a 100 year old farm house to “restore” (her word useage, not mine) and ripped out the original heart of pine flooring and replaced it with custom wide plank hardwood. In her case she removed something irreplaceable and original from the home and altered it forever. Not to mention, spent a crap ton of money doing so. There are definite regrets there, but I think she went in to this house project going 200% full force without first living in the home, taking stock of what was truly a need as far as livability and safety. When living in older homes we have to make sacrifices. I live in a home from the 20s and have to deal with teeny closets. Am I at times tempted to blow out the wall and build a huge dream closet? Of course! But it’s part of the character and totally worth it. I’d hang on to your pristine cabinets and little powder room with funky wall covering. It’s what makes your house unique and so special. Once those things are gone, they’re gone. Sorry for the long post, just having kitchen envy, as mine was previously ripped out and replaced with IKEA cabinets 🙁
pam kueber says
Yup. https://retrorenovation.com/2014/09/15/9-tips-start-remodeling/
Katie says
Totally didn’t even realize that her comment was from a few years ago! Wish she would give an update on what she decided! I have to live vicariously though time capsule homes and their kitchens.
pam kueber says
Kirsten, I have a few thoughts for you:
(1) Slow down. I strongly recommend living in your house a while before starting to make changes. Start doing research — my blog is FULL of info, start using the Search bar and all the Navigation at the top. You need to study your house and the situation for a while before you start moving things etc.
(2) Regarding repainting, my readers continue to demonstrate they know me well. Good on you, Chace: Yes, I will not give you specific recommendations — as this is not a DIY fixit site… as I am not a Consumer Reports who has extensively tested all the alternatives myself… nor am I a properly licensed professional. Yes: Find and consult with your own pros. Also, Please also know there can be vintage nastiness in these old materials such as lead and asbestos, consult with your own identified professionals so you can learn what’s in them and make informed decisions.
(3) That said, I have featured reader stories in which they share their alternatives. You can most likely find these stories either in the Kitchens/Steel Kitchens category or in Readers and their Kitchens category.
(4) Do you own research about tub reglazing to determine whether folks have found it satisfactory.
(5) Regarding faucets, I don’t know. I use professionals. This is not a DIY fixit site.
Marta says
12 years ago, we had our lavender enamel tub refinished to white by the Miracle Method people. We chose them because some friends had them redo a ‘plastic’ (can’t think of the name) bath five years previous and it was still perfect.
Ours is still going strong except for a slight discoloration from my daughter using bleach on it, and a scratch where my husband had tossed a metal plumbing snake in the tub (grrrrrrrr!). You just have to be careful about what you use to clean it, but their cleaner works great on everything in the bath.
pam kueber says
Thanks — good to know.
Sarah g (roundhouse) says
I love miracle method, they do a great job! I have a lavender tub and I had them coat it clear bc it was in rough shape. It looks brand new and I was able to preserve the original color! I love my lavender bathroom!!!
Jay says
My sentiments exactly! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Linda says
If you really want to paint the metal cabinets you may want to see if the local auto collision shop will do them if you can drop them off.
Jo Ann says
Until 2 years ago, my kitchen was graced with a canary yellow (pink inside) GE wall refrigerator. And it worked! It was put in when the house was built in 1959. Unfortunately, by 2011, it was listing seriously and had to go. It was TINY – 12.4 cubic feet of fridge and freezer storage space. In researching, I found out that it was designed by George Nelson (yes, that George Nelson) for GE and marketed starting in 1957. Pam, I do have photos of it in its original home.
pam kueber says
Thanks, JoAnn. See the big story I did on these: https://retrorenovation.com/2013/04/08/ge-wall-refrigerator-freezer/ My marketing materials confirm they started in 1955. I have never heard that George Nelson designed it! Do you have the reference? I’d love to see it!
Jo Ann says
Pam,
“George Nelson: the design of modern design”, by Stanley Abercrombie, chapter 4, page 72.
If you Google “George Nelson wall refrigerator” you will find the reference. The book is fascinating.
Jo Ann
Jay says
Thanks! That was a nice lunchtime diversion! I have to see if I can find the book through the library. I did come across a short article in Life magazine 12-13-52 about built-in appliances for the kitchen and it states that Nelson designed the wall fridge for GE. Nelson apparently was pushing the idea of integrated systems which sums up the whole idea of the GE Kitchen Center.
Janet in CT says
Pam, do you think the lower drawers might both be freezer drawers? I suspect that is what they are with those bins. Many of our mothers did not work and had enormous gardens and froze everything, especially since families with four or more kids were common back then and our parents were so thrifty! This necessitated having a separate freezer; we had two huge chest freezers in our basement and froze everything imaginable from peaches to corn to applesauce. One of them was actually floating in the floodwaters after the Hurricane of 1955 and it still worked when plugged in and ran until the mid-nineties. They just aren’t built like that any more! So I would think the drawers might both be for freezing? Oh, I need to find those manuals to see.
pam kueber says
Possibly….
Robin, NV says
It was my assumption that the bottom drawers were for a freezer. The little girl looks like she’s serving up some ice cream . . .
Ed says
Not only is she serving up Ice Cream, it looks like she’s eating it, too. WITH ALL THE FREEZER AND FRIDGE DOORS OPEN! LOL, I’m not normally that OCD (previous comments about cleaning pegboard notwithstanding), but I have a hard time holding my tongue when someone looks over the contents of the fridge, then opens the freezer and starts perusing those contents, holding both doors wide open.
You may have guessed, I’m not a parent, ha ha.
pam kueber says
Yes. LOL, it’s advertising!
Linda says
The unit comprised of two refrigerators (left and middle) and one freezer on the right. The doors down below were just sliding glass doors for non-refrigerated storage. The bigger ones in the base cabinets look like plain cabinets with inserts although our dishwasher pulled out that way too.
Janet in CT says
I HAVE to get seriously motivated to search for all my repair manuals from the fifties which have been lost in my basement since we moved to this much smaller house nine years ago next month. It will date all these oddities and also list the colors for each year. I know where it is but I just cannot get to it. Mind you, this thing is the size of ten New York City phone books. And yes, I am a hoarder like my mother but a neat hoarder! This model is one I am totally unfamiliar with and I would bet it cost a boodle back then and was not a popular seller. I also figure it was mainly installed in new construction; it would not have been a model that you just stuck right in an existing kitchen. Fascinating!
Sarah says
There is a very similar set up in the Dymaxion house in the Henry Ford. I remember being amazed by it and also annoyed because it took up so much cabinet space!
pam kueber says
Cool — I’ll put it on the list to see if the Museum can send me photos.
Jeanne says
I was just going to post this Sarah! I encourage anyone who has the chance to visit the Dymaxion house (designed by Buckminster Fuller) at The Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, MI. It really is a unique, futuristic idea that never got off the ground. It’s cool to walk thru it, too! It’s a round, aluminum home suspended by a single central pole. And yes, it has a refrigerator/freezer system installed in the small kitchen.
pam kueber says
Sarah and Jeanne, I’m clarifying my rules to win the gift card. YOU have to do the legwork to show me the unit.
Sarah says
http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/pic/2001/dymaxkitchen.jpg
I found this photo on the Henry Ford’s website. Too bad I didn’t take any pics of the kitchen while I was there!
I found this one on Flickr too, http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/10506249/in/photostream/
Everything is built into one wall unit, it’s a seriously streamlined house but the kitchen would leave a modern grocery shopper mourning for cabinet space. It’s teeny tiny.
pam kueber says
Ok. It’s cool. But it ain’t a GE Refrigeration Center! Keep looking, peeps, to claim the $100 Amazon gift certificate!
linda h says
This is all just too cool! I wonder why it is no longer in production. Such a great design should have had staying power.