I scan, therefore, I am. For our reference and enjoyment today –10 photos — six kitchens — excerpted from a 1953 American Kitchens catalog in my personal collection. American Kitchens was the brand name for steel kitchen cabinets made by Avco Manufacturing Corp., of Connersville, Indiana. Avco American was among the major brands of the day, and we see these cabinets fairly often in the wild — in their natural habitat or on craigslist, etc. This brand also is noteworthy for its porcelain drainboard sink with the unique faucet — I get questions regularly about to get this faucet, new, which until quite recently was possible, can you believe it.
“Postwar” design really is split into two periods
When we talk about design in post-World-War II America, we really need to split those years into two distinct eras.
Postwar Design – The Carryover Years — In the immediate aftermath of World War II — 1946 through to 1953 — colors and designs were more pre-war-carryover in look and feel. There were still material shortages. Manufacturers were still using designs created before the war (they had not innovated on consumer goods during the war, when all efforts were channeled to building America’s arsenal.) Also, people were still quite tight with their cash; those Depression years still weighed heavy, and folks liked their savings accounts. These Avco American Kitchen designs? I would describe them as prewar-carryover style. In addition, the Avco American Kitchen cabinets themselves have a very streamline look. I need to check authoritatively, but my aging brain is leading me to recall that they may have been designed by Raymond Loewy and/or his firm!
Postwar Design – The Populuxe Years — 1953 is recognized as the start of the “Populuxe” (*affiliate link) years — a term invented by author Thomas Hine. Beginning around 1953 and running through 1963, colors and designs in America became more exuberant, more experimental; these were heyday years for America in a variety of ways, and our rising affluence was communicated in our interior design and architecture.
- My story about 1950s design style.
- My story about 1940s design style.
Back to the catalog.
All of the countertops in these kitchens are “vinyl plastic bonded to steel,” it says. Colors were quite saturated, quite rich:
- Greenwich Green
- Grenada Gray
- Baltic Blue
- Redwing Red
- Yosemite Yellow
I’m thinking they must also have offered black. To replicate this look today, check out linoleum sheet — check specifications, though. And there may occasionally be a laminate to mimic the look.
The catalog also promotes a hard maple cutting board — note the adorable roll-out serving cart shown under it in many of the kitchen designs. This is a classic Avco American kitchen feature.
That faucet is a specialty item, and you can still get a replacement today — see this story for info on where.
Above, the brochure asked:
TV or not TV… that isn’t the question in a house of today with this beautiful L-Shaped kitchen as modern as tomorrow. Here the busy homemaker can watch TV without disrupting her regular kitchen activities….
This TV kitchen was promoted as an “ultra-modern kitchen.” The first image (where the walls look so bright red) was on the cover of the brochure. Golly, could you even get a TV this small in 1953?
The catalog shows six kitchen design styles. Can you match the title with the photo(s)?:
- Westward Ho!
- TV or not TV
- To Grandmother’s House We Went
- Southern Hospitality
- City Gal
- Down on the Farm
A few years later, Avco American gave us the famous wood+coppertone Pioneer Kitchen, color-styled by Beatrice West.
Some of the images toward the back of the brochure (where product details are outlined) are quite amusing — and graphically interesting in that they appear to be combinations of photography and illustration. And of course, we get the occasional “Caption This” opportunity. Because, oh my gosh, new kitchens for America! New kitchens for America!
Kathy G. says
Hi Karin, “Bullnose” refers to the shape of the bow of ships in those times. I believe it’s a war term used during WWII.
Kathy G. says
Hi! For the last picture. “I know just what to do with my copper frying pan. When the mister gets home he’ll have the headache!”
Wow this brochure is really sweet! I love how the ads combine the photography with the illustrations. The wives are always looking either super happy or super content.
I don’t know of anyone who fits this mold from that time period. Everyone I’ve ever talked to says, “It wasn’t like that at all!”
The color schemes are really great with the bright colors. I agree I don’t know where anyone could buy a TV that small in 1953.
I guess I’m really old fashioned. The pure white kitchen of the last picture appeals to me, but I also really like the yellow kitchen and to this day dream about a bright, cheery yellow kitchen.
Thank you for sharing Pam!
Joe Felice says
WOW! So those were “American Kitchens?” Never knew the name. Dishwasher? TV? Fireplace? I guess those folks would have known they’d really “arrived!” But what better way to enjoy our new-found national prosperity? The inventiveness of the American mind was on full display. One thing I notice, though: See how the appliance handles stick out? We’d consider that dangerous today. I can just see myself bumping into those, or getting my clothes caught on them.
la724 says
Here’s what I know about them – they were big in the 1950s. Like many kitchen cabinet/faucet/sink manufacturers of the time, they decided to start making dishwashers that matched their cabinetry when dishwashers started to become popular (see my earlier post). This was seen as crucial at the time since some appliance manufacturers like General Electric conversely started making cabinets and sinks, threatening companies that made only kitchen fittings but not appliances. Anyway, the American Kitchens dishwasher was a hit, and there were many manufacturers of cooking appliances at the time such as Caloric that didn’t make dishwashers and were too unfamiliar with plumbing to build their own, so they contracted AK to build them and rebrand them using their own brand names. Their appliances became more profitable than the cabinets, sinks, or faucets, so that’s where they focused. In the early ’60s the company was renamed D&M, for Design and Manufacturing, and they became a major private-label appliance builder. At their height in the ’70s, they had 25% of the American dishwasher market, most of them branded Sears/Kenmore or various other brands. But most of the small companies that bought from D&M got swallowed by bigger fish, and the consolidation of the appliance business meant most remaining companies had an in-house source of dishwashers so they didn’t need to buy them from D&M anymore. So D&M slowly faltered in the mid to late ’80s. I don’t know if any fragment of the company is still around.
I’m amazed you can still buy a branded American Kitchens faucet though.
pam kueber says
Thanks for all this history, Lisa. Note, I don’t know if the faucet is still really available. It was up until relatively recently… in my aging brain hard drive, I recall someone telling me that this sink was very popular in Belgium, hence, the faucets were still being made as replacements. I’m not sure if I’m remembering this correctly, though…
Jeannie says
I love the colorful cheeriness of these kitchens. My caption for the lady with the dishwasher would be “I’m way too excited about seeing my face in this frying pan.”
Seriously, though, the idea of a TV in the kitchen is amazing. Dishwashers, however, were available as early as 1930.
Google “Bette Davis + dishwasher” to see her in a commercial for one.
Paula says
Oh how I wish I could get those cabinets now for my 1952 era home. One of the homes I lived in as a child had steel cabinets. They were great!
Amanda says
This post made my day! My house was built in 1955 and I have original steel cabinets in my kitchen. They are yellow and appear to have been painted from a light blue. When we first purchased the house people would ask if we were going to replace the cabinets… Wouldn’t dream of it!
Marya says
I can confirm that they did indeed make black, because I have it in my house in western NC, built 1953. White metal cabinets and the American Kitchen sink with the faucet and drain board shown above. The downside to the vinyl countertops is that they are quite soft, and easily scorched. I mean, soft to the point that if you scrape really hard with a fingernail, you can scuff it.
I bought the house from the estate of a woman who had lived there for 65 years, and she must have been an impeccable housekeeper, because that kitchen was immaculate – until I moved in, and immediately scorched the countertop with a hot dish. Maybe it has softened over its lifetime?
They still make replacement parts for the faucet – mine stopped working and the repairman advised me to just start over with a new faucet, which would mean a new sink, which would mean new counters!!! My mother did some quick googling, found a repair kit, and I paid my friend 20 bucks to fix it.
Love that kitchen. It’s a rental now, I try not to think about what is happening to the countertops.
Mary Elizabeth says
Yay for Marya’s mother!
Scott says
Besides a fun-filled trip off to dreamy nostalgia-land these things are just packed with great ideas, many of which would be easy to mimic. For instance the clean little row of potted flowers in the sills. Nearly all of these kitchens have the two things I think are perhaps the easiest to adapt and super-practical to have around, a step-stool and a cart.
And in the yellow kitchen, is that not a wallpapered door? As someone who has serious grid-lock on what to do with his 11 (feels like 100) interior doors that one sure has the gears a-turning!
tamiam@socal.rr.com says
That TV in kitchen is surprising for 1950s. Most everybody we knew had just one in the living room.
Sandra says
Which is a reminder that sales catalogues are not representative of real life! And neither were/are the shows on TV! Or, for that matter, one’s memories!
You could go back to a simpler time, but it would only be simpler if you went back as a youngster!
Karin says
Love love love these kitchens! Thank you for posting. I have a question. What is the name for the section of the counter with the 3 curved additional shelves with the upright at the end of the counter in the green and yellow kitchens? I have a vintage metal kitchen cabinet that I’m using for extra counter space in my kitchen and it’s missing one of these. Does anyone know what they’re called? Has anyone built or had one built?
Janet in ME says
Karin, my father used to sell and install GE cabinets and he called that end cabinet a “bullnose cabinet”. I have no idea where that came from or if that is correct. Now bull nose refers to the counter edge. My best friend’s mother had one in her kitchen and I always loved it. I thought that was so cool!
Jay says
I think that’s a good description of the end unit. It certainly made for a gracious finish to the cabinets especially when they did not butt up against an adjoining wall. This detail along with the rounded display shelves at windows seem to have gone by the wayside.
I must say these kitchens are very luxe in terms of square footage – obviously meant to showcase the options – dishwashers (still rare for the 50s) and roll out carts. These photos/illustrations represent a peek back in time.
Karin says
Thank you very much for the answer to my question. Really appreciate it. I agree that they were an elegant way to end a counter. As you point out, these kitchens were large, which may be why this feature is no longer popular. For me, this particular detail (and indeed all the curved shelves) is one of the coolest features of these kitchens. It has that streamline machine age thing going on, and you can put your retro kitchen wares on them. Now I know what to ask for when I get the kitchen done.
pam kueber says
I had glass what-not (their official name) shelves made to fit the wall cabinets in my kitchen — https://retrorenovation.com/2008/03/19/retro-kitchens-on-countertops-and-installing-glass-corner-shelves/
Mary Elizabeth says
Yes, and some people have done these half-round shelves out of wood, painted the same color as their metal cabinets and covered with the same laminate and edging as the counter-tops.
I didn’t know the proper term for them. My mother used to call them “no-no shelves,” as whatever you put on them–cookie cannister, plant, knick-knack– is going to be grabbed by a toddler.
The whole base cabinet that sticks out from the wall is called a peninsula.
pam kueber says
If I did that, I would not make the shelves any more than 3/8 or 1/2″ thick, or they will look too chunky with the steel cabinets. On the wall. (Countertop thickness fine for base quarter-sized-what-nots, I’d say….)