Do you need new appliances in your vintage-style kitchen? Thanks to a tip from reader Donna, we discovered the Whirlpool Ice line of appliances, which look like they would fit nicely into a retro-style kitchen. While they are not overtly vintage-looking appliances, their sleek, clean look could mesh well with a vintage vibe.
Donna writes:
For nice white appliances – checkout the new line from Whirlpool called White Ice. I am restoring a 1940s cottage and really wanted one of those lovely vintage gas ranges but they were too costly for us. After doing a TON of research I chose The White Ice line. They have a very clean white finish, and will fit into the tiny kitchen we have. They harmonize beautifully with the vintage inspired cabinetry and features of the home.
Whirlpool also makes a standard white, the same color. Whirlpool said that White Ice is differentiated from the standard white color by its “silver accents, elegant lines and sleek handles.”
Above: For retro-aesthetics, Pam says she likes it when there is no ice machine in the door. This can be a hard feature (or: “absence of a feature”) to find!
Another nice-looking appliance line to check out if you are in the market for new appliances for your vintage or midcentury kitchen. Thanks, Donna, for this tip!
Link love:
Judy H. says
I have ALWAYS preferred white appliances even before we bought out mid-century modern home. I have never liked stainless steel (too antiseptic) or any of the other color trends. We need to purchase a new refrigerator. The one we moved into this house fit the space MADE in the kitchen for the refrigerator. We have looked a little and found that the double door models are too wide for the space intended for the fridge. We would have to end up ripping out the in-counter cooktop original to this house and is in MINT comdition. We’re going to have to get one of the traditional top freezer models. Our problem is, most refrigeratos are only made as two door models or bottom freezer models, both too wide for our space. Are we going to be hunting for a zebra finding top freezer refrigerators? LOVE those new Whirlpool Ice
White appliances!
pam kueber says
See our category Kitchen Help / Appliances — that’s where our stories on refrigerators are archived. You can also try the search box and put in “refrigerators”. Have you looked at Fisher Paykel? They have some in sizes that are a big smaller. Good luck.
Heidi E. says
Also maybe check out Kenmore 60502? It’s a smallish white fridge with a curved front that reads as mildly retroish to me, and fairly inexpensive.
Laurie Garrett says
We have the range and microwave in our retro 1960 kitchen. We had the st charles cabinets powdercoated white and it looks amazing! I just love it and the range and microwave are really pretty. Not many ranges out there that are “pretty” anymore.
Randall says
I think this collection is great. The styling is beautiful and would complement a mid-century home very well. I considered it for my 1959 house. Unfortunately, they don’t make a (or at least didn’t at the time) 24″ wall oven which is what my kitchen requires.
sherree says
Maybe it is just me, but I can’t even see the dishwasher anywhere on the link. At the top it shows a gas cook top in the “built-in” line but it is not there when clicked. I love the look of this line though. I think they are just as retro as the artistry line.
maria says
I love you can get it without ice/water on the outside of the door! Such a difficult feature to find.
The GE Artistry does not make a counter depth fridge – which I wrote to them about begging they add it to the line. Old fridges were counter depth and is a must in my small space. I’m shocked the oven isn’t self-cleaning – that’s pretty much the main reason to buy new vs. vintage.
Emily says
Have you looked into Fisher Paykel? When we got a fridge all I really cared about was that it be counter depth, white with stainless handle (to blend with our vintage appliances), and freezer on the bottom. I didn’t think that was a long list, but Fisher Paykel was the only brand I could find that met all 3 wishes. It was a bit pricey, but we are totally happy with it (purchased 3 years ago).
Janie4 says
The Artistry ones aren’t self-cleaning. Since I’m not a super cook (and don’t do a lot of it), I’d get that if it were self-cleaning.
Stephanie in MD says
I’m not a professional (cook or appliance dealer or repairman), but I read somewhere (apartmenttherapy.com or consumerreports.org?) that the self-cleaning feature can actually be bad for your oven. The intense heat is bad for the insulation in the walls of the oven, and causes the oven heater unit to prematurely expire. I don’t know if it’s true, but it made a lot of sense after reading the article, so I don’t use mine anymore, and instead use good old-fashioned elbow grease to clean it.
Joe says
There is truth to what you’ve read. Our family owned a lot of appliances over the years, but one thing I still have is the 1965 Hardwick hi-lo ovens gas range with manual clean ovens. Every single appliance service tech that has come to our house to repair the other appliances always stop to admire the gas range and make the same comment (after asking if it’s for sale): “if this was self-cleaning, you’d be lucky if it lasted 10 years. The high heat destroys the components.”
Reader Deb says
I have a GE Spacemaker with “P7 Automatic Oven Cleaning”, the first self cleaning oven introduced in ’63. It came with the house and is still working. Older appliances didn’t have built in obsolescence.
lynda says
You might try silicone oven liners. They are fairly inexpensive at Amazon and other places. You can take them out, rinse them off and put them back. Saves a lot of clean ups in the oven, even if you do have a self-cleaning oven. I feel the self-cleaning feature is probably hard on the oven and so I use the cycle as little as possible.
Joe says
This line of appliances has mid-60’s written all over it! The wall ovens are really nice and remind me of the design introduced by Thermador in the 60’s (it was ground-breaking in that it combined stainless steel with black glass in the doors). I believe that a refrigerator with thru-the-door ice/water dispenser just barely qualifies for mid-century, as these features were first introduced in 1967. Naturally, at the time, rushing things into production without first thoroughly testing in the lab brought predictable results (horror stories about walking into the kitchen to find ice cubes all over the kitchen floor and/or water line breaks that flooded the house), Popular in our neighborhood in the 60’s and 70’s was the GE s-x-s with thru-the-door dispensers for ice water, juice, and a ice dispenser where you could select anything from finely crushed to large cubes (there was a tilt-out bin below for fast access to cubes or remove to use as an ice bucket). All the neighborhood moms had to do was hang a Dixie cup dispenser on the wall and they were freed from dishwashing/having to pour drinks for the kids all day long!
Mary Elizabeth says
I am in total agreement with Pam that there shouldn’t be icemakers in the door. My husband worked part-time for years as a handyman, and I can tell you that even after the door icemaker was “perfected,” we still got calls for water feed pipes jammed with mold, ice cubes all over the floor, and leaks that flooded the kitchen and basement below.
Doug says
Another great option is the GE Artistry line. It is retro styled appliances.
Brooke says
I looked at these appliances when we were replacing our existing (80’s) ones and unfortunately they were too expensive for our budget (appliances are always more expensive in Canada). I liked them but I couldn’t justify the price tag when I could get other nice ones for half the price. We ended up with Frigidaire professional appliances in no-smudge stainless steel. It’s definitely not retro looking but the steel is a bit more on the grey side.
The white would really look nice in a vintage kitchen though. Maybe when my new ones die I’ll be able to afford something non-stainless steel… maybe something with colour 🙂
Carolyn says
HAHA! I didn’t know what the 3rd and 4th pictures were since we rarely see fridges without the water in the door!
I can see these fitting in with both farmhouse style to 1950’s atomic. To me, the gas range is more retro.
Thank you to readers who share their research from one who gets overwhelmed by the sheer volume of info on the ‘net!