When I announced that Harvest Gold was Retro Renovation’s 2014 Color of the Year, I asked readers to be on the lookout for harvest gold kitchens for our archive. I’ve received many emails — thanks, all! — but this one is particularly notable: Robin spotted a virtually unused harvest gold kitchen — complete with cabinets and all appliances — including a harvest gold refrigerator and dishwasher — for sale at the ReStore in Worcester, Mass.
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I do not believe this kitchen is from 1963, as advertised. We did not see gold colors like this on kitchen appliances until 1968. And this one — with the shadowing around the edges: I’ll guess a few years later. In any case — what a fun find!
Robin wrote:
Hi Pam,
You said you were looking for some harvest gold appliances? I live in Worcester, MA, and I’ve taken some awesome photos of a complete and UNUSED harvest gold kitchen from 1963 that our Restore in Worcester has for sale. It’s a full suite of harvest gold wooden kitchen cabinets, harvest gold GE fridge and Kitchen Aid dishwasher. A chrome Westinghouse wall oven and cook top with NuTone range hood, stainless steel sink, and a brown/pink Wilsonart boomerang countertop and back splash with metal trim for the whole thing. They even have the original fluorescent ceiling fixture/light. The kitchen came out of a house in Worcester, and the Restore folks said it was a second kitchen in a finished basement that the owners had never used. They even have the manuals for the appliances! It photographs beautifully because it’s not in pieces… they have it all staged as a room (IKEA style, if you’ve ever been). They even have a little 70’s era kitchen table and fondue set in front of it, and a teapot on the stove! Super cute.
Thanks for your blog!
-Robin
Thank you, Robin! It is so great to see the Worcester ReStore celebrating this kitchen for what it is — having fun and playing it up, rather than apologizing for it.
Above: Interesting that the boomerang laminate countertop does not seem to have any gold or even avocado in it. I wonder — if this was for a basement kitchen — if the homeowners just chose “what they liked” rather than trying to be matchy matchy decorator-like.
From what I *think* I now about old refrigerators, the one above likely is an energy hog. The key to high energy usage on old fridges: Does the freezer have automatic defrosting? If so, that’s what uses so much energy — the freezer compressor is turning off and on all the time to repeatedly defrost. Old refrigerator-freezers that DO NOT have automatic defrost may not use excessive energy. The only true test: Put it on a meter; don’t assume.
Stainless steel wall oven. Yes: We do see stainless steel used on vintage appliances including all the way back to the 1950s.
These old dishwashers were absolute WORK HORSES!
Above: Sexy controls, even.
Above: A classic “Circline” ceiling fixture. Throws a lotta light, I bet!
Thank you, Robin. I live only an hour and a half from Worcester. If I were a decorator with a warehouse, I’d drive on over and snap these up for sure for a future project. However, I’d probably try to deal re: price. It’s hard to fit someone else’s kitchen into yours… the refrigerator likely uses a lot of energy… and despite my adoration of vintage colors, it’s going to take a special buyer to understand and embrace this kitchen.
Slide show of harvest gold kitchen
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ron ingram says
I just ran across your web site after I ordered a new clothes dryer to replace an almond, all-American work horse. It was at least 5 years old and maybe 10 when we bought it. I think we replaced a drive belt and possibly a timer once in our years of ownership. I use a magnet to latch the door, and my killed the lint screen by misuse a couple of years ago–the redesigned replacement screen is a poor fit and it contributes to a clogging exhaust duct on the roof. Between the screen and the door latch, we’re gonna retire it.
Speaking of sturdy old appliances, there’s mention here of refrigerators that are expensive to run. Yeah, insulation and door seals improved years ago, and likely compressors are probably more efficient in the past few years. But their likely higher cost of operation is NOT caused by the on and off cycling of compressors. It was and is caused by the self defrost cycle itself. Refrigerators and freezers are NOT frost free. They’re self-defrosting. They actually heat up several times a day to melt ice before you notice it. frost-free freezers eliminate frost by raising the temperature inside the freezer a few times a day, from about 0 degrees to 32 degrees. Not only do they shut down cooling, but they use heating elements to warm the up several times a day. Like clothes dryers, the old ones last forever. Until very recently, i used to see several old fridges with cooling coils on top from the 30s or mid 40s. –They were that durable. They were over engineered.
Kelly says
My house is currently all harvest gold & in working condition. I use my appliances daily as a matter of fact my oven is in near mint condition. If you would still like pictures let me know as I would love to share. My kitchen still has the original appliances that were used when the house was first built.