One of the great joys of social media is that it helps us discover all manner of midcentury products that we might otherwise never come across out in the wild. Case in point: Karlie’s amazing vintage Metters Cook n’ Clean oven and stovetop combination — it’s designed to sit totally on the countertop! Karlie — who lives in Australia — and I ‘met’ via the Retro Renovation Facebook page, where she shared this woddity wonder from Down Under — and then we emailed back and forth to get even more photos.
Karlie writes:
Hi there! Not much more to see in my little stove, but I have always loved the knobs and dials!!! It’s a split oven, with the grill and stove beside the oven!
That stove is awesome — such a great design for a small kitchen! And hey, what about those tiles behind it, Karlie?
Karlie replied:
The other magical feature is our original glitter wall vinyl tiles!
Mmmm glitter vinyl! So amazing — we love it, Karlie. We do see vintage tiles like this, New Old Stock, on ebay now and then. And remember the Lam-O-Tile, I’d love to know if anyone did something spectacular with that.
Of course, Precautionary Pam is wont to remind: Old materials in our houses may contain vintage nastiness such as asbestos and lead, etc. — get yee with your own properly licensed professional to assess what you have so that you can make informed decisions.
Thanks for sharing, Karlie — it’s fabulous to see the different brands and designs available across the big pond!
Doug says
There is something very similar in this Crane Kitchen Cabinet catalog on page 13. It also give alternative layout suggestions for kitchens.
Crane modern kitchen equipment
https://archive.org/stream/CraneModernKitchenEquipment#page/n0/mode/1up
Mary Elizabeth says
I love these! I wonder if they were designed to take with you when you moved to your next house? Having two parts would make each piece lighter to carry than a full stove. The natural progression from here would have been the countertop burners and the built-in wall oven.
linoleummy says
Great little sub-compact woddity! Is the “clean” for self-cleaning oven?
Joe Felice says
With a microwave, that little oven is all I’d need. I’ve lived in my current home for 18 years, and I think I’ve used the oven 5 times, to cook pre-made cookies and warm pizzas. Who needs self-clean?
Scott says
That’s like the discovery of an entirely new species. What’s the cool little door under the cooktop, storage or a warming area?
Carolyn says
Maybe the broiler? I’d think it would be too hot to store your cookware under the burner coils – ?
Glen H says
The little door opens on to the griller, it’s a common configuration on older type stoves here. The side by side layout was fairly common until built-in type appliances became popular in the 1970s.
These were always mounted on top of a cupboard base, not on legs.
My mother had this type of stove, Chef brand using gas instead of electricity.
Holly says
Cool stove! Those knobs and dials are fantastic. Thank you for sharing.
Very practical for a small space. If any walls are on an angle, something like this gives you more design options.
I have an A-frame chalet and need to redo the kitchen. Always looking for ideas.
Kara says
I love everything about that. Karlie, you have a gem.
Chad says
This kind of reminds me of the pre-war stoves on cabriole legs.
pam kueber says
Yes!
Elizabeth says
I wonder if that is what this actually is, with the legs removed? You got me wondering so I ended up googling 1928 hotpoint stoves, and there are dozens of styles that look just like this, but most of them have legs.
pam kueber says
I have seen countertop setups like this before – even in the U.S. e.g. https://retrorenovation.com/2013/05/02/vintage-stove-fold-down-hotpoint/
Dan says
What a sensible appliance, although those dials could be tricky to work with a full cooktop. Where does the “clean” bit come in?
lynda says
How fun! Seems like that could be useful now for a basement kitchen, or a studio apt. Also about asbestos, in Maryland, I looked up the state approved testing facilities for asbestos. I talked to a couple of them last week. Both asked me to mail in a 2″ x 2″ square of the tile with some of the adhesive on it in a plastic zipper bag. They both said it would take about a week for an answer. However, one charged $95 and the other was $25! Pays to call around.