What a lovely color — burnt blue, I’ll call it — in these vintage Youngstown steel kitchen cabinets for sale on craigslist in metro St. Louis. I don’t think we’ve ever seen this color in the wild. It’s makin’ me feel bicentennial chic. Thanks to ready Wendy for the tip, and to seller K, who gave me permission to capture these photos for our leetle online museum here.
There are quite a few cabinets, and they look to be in pretty good shape…
Above: Corner what-not shelves — we always love to see those.
The stainless steel tiles look good as a backsplash!
Always good to have a pantry cabinet.
And two more for in the corner.
I haven’t said it for a while so it’s surely time to say it again: All The Best Stuff’s In St. Louis!
Link love:
- Youngstown kitchen cabinets for sale
- Jacqueline and Glen have harvest gold burnt-edge appliances
- All our many stories about steel kitchen cabinets — 80+ brands identified so far!
Tracy says
Those metal Youngstown cabinets (and the hardware) are my FAVORITE! We’re always rescuing them from the curbs in my neighborhood… nearly all of them are gold or white, occasionally brown.
Laura says
I would call them ombre. Ombre was huge in fashion in the 70s.
Jay says
OH! Semi-time capsule. Note the floor! Wonder what the original countertop pattern/color was. The black appliances complement the blue cabinets as does the stainless tile backsplash. Hope the cabinets find a home.
Karin says
Wow, what a treat for the eyes! I’m in Youngstown heaven. I particularly love the subtle smokey edges on the finish. That moody color is rather trendy now. I guess everything does comes back eventually. From the almost new look of them, and the push button details, I’m guessing that they are from the late 60s to early or mid 70s. So far, we’ve seen this Youngstown finish in cocoa brown, harvest gold, and avocado, but I’ve never seen “burnt blue” before. They are certainly a rare find and very special. Some lucky person is getting a fabulous kitchen for a steal. Are there any more “burnt” colors out there?
Pam Kueber says
I think I’ve seen burnt-edge orange, too!
Karin says
Smokin’ hot!
Pam Kueber says
Just added a link to this story about harvest gold burnt-edge appliances: https://retrorenovation.com/2014/09/17/70s-harvest-gold-stove-restored/
Ethan says
I wonder if these were a custom color. I have never seen “burnt” blue before. I like them.
Carolyn says
So…when steel kitchens were new, about how much did they cost in those days’ dollars and translated to today’s money? Who would be buying these, or would that be all over the economic map? With my hobby of haunting a real estate site, I’ve seen these in ranches/etc. and high end fancy homes.
And there is/was an entire kitchen on Appleton, WI craigslist for $4200 – and I don’t have a house for them!
LuAnn says
Oh, my! That color is gorgeous! And I love the darker shading around the edges. Sure hope someone snaps these beauties up and makes an awesome kitchen! ❤
ineffablespace says
That’s a great color. My great aunt installed a wood kitchen in that shade of blue in about 1966, although this kitchen seems pre-1960. The push button cooktop started in the mid 1950s and I think it disappeared by the early 1960s, not sure. (And a friend of my parents put in a wood kitchen in this color in the 1980s)
These not trendy colors are interesting, and sometimes hard to pinpoint timewise.
la573 says
I think the pushbuttons lasted into the ’70s. I read it was a new safety regulation requiring two actions to turn on a stovetop burner, like pressing down on a knob then turning it, that forced GE to discontinue their usual buttons which required only a single action and thus would not be compliant.
Joe Felice says
Apparently, that regulation applied only to the burners and not the oven. The ovens could be turned on by turning a knob, and GE was known to be responsible for many fires because of this. In the condo building where my parents lived, the unit next door caught fire because there was stuff in the oven that ignited when the cleaning person accidently turned the knob while wiping down the stove top.
Pam Kueber says
On all these issues, dear readers: Consult with your own properly licensed professionals…
Allen says
What a beautiful kitchen! Pam can you tell me what the technical name for the painting technique used on these cabinets and so many of our favorite appliances where there appears to be shading around the edges? Does anyone know how this is done and what its called?
Steve H says
I wonder what the original oven looked like? I could see coppertone, harvest gold or stainless looking really nice with these cabinets.
la573 says
Likely also a GE like the cooktop in the same color.