Last week, as part of our Saturday series of 60s-70s kitchens, you were lucky to get color...this week, "the quintessential 70s kitchen." We havesoffits pattern on the soffitsbrown woodcathedral arched doorsthat little rail molding around the hoodpale yellow formica countertopsperfectly finished beams spread far aparta tightly patterned floorcabinets over the peninsulaHow lovely. And, for extra pattern, we have the brick surfaced island. I must admit, I'm a little intimidated by the iron work on the end of the island. It freaks me out a little. See where the dishwasher is on the angle? I hope that floor isn't a rug, because the dishes would be dripping from the sink to the corner. What is in between the sink and dishwasher, is a compactor, another favorite appliance from yesteryear. The whole thing looks pretty choppy to me. And, the hood looks out of proportion to the island, too big and boxy, the whole island thing. But, even though I criticize, I'm sure many people
So, kitchen fans, today's kitchen is from the "Yellow Period". Or is it from the "Brick with Black Grout Period" or, as I said another week, from the "Lionel Richie Dancing on the Ceiling Period"!Look, good for the homeowners. My guess is they were very happy, cheerful, optimistic people, don't you think? Good for them, that they had the guts to go for it! Linda from Surroundings, can we even go down this road, as a companion for the bachelorette pad??It looks apparent to me that someone had the foresight to recess the, normally monolithic, refrigerator. My guess is this was done because they wanted to have much more space on the opposite side, although that area is not shown. I also guess that the emphasis for, and placement of, ample counter space was on the other side because of the radius cutouts on each side of the cooktop. Which makes me wonder if the refrigerator could have been positioned where the desk is, thus allowing for much more space surr
Today is a special day. At The Parrish Museum in Southampton, New York, there currently is running an exhibition on Raymond Loewy, the most prominent industrial designer of the 20th Century. Raymond Loewy designed everything from cars to silverware to broiler ovens during his five decades of work. The 1950s proved to be a period of great interest in the kitchen for Raymond Loewy as he designed many useful products for both efficiency and his new, modern, aesthetic. The "Raymond Loewy: Designs for a Consumer Culture" exhibition includes today's talk at the Museum, at which I, along with several other speakers, will speak on American kitchens today. My topic will be "Comfort in the Kitchen." The exhibition is ongoing through May 27. I will also be talking about design blogs! If you were at this event, please add your comments to this post. Tell us about the exhibit, what you learned, how you feel about kitchens, your kitchen, etc. Whatever you'd like to add,
Here's an interesting image! Time again for "Nostalgia or Shredder Material." In design school, I learned of the element of "continuity." It appears that this designer did too. Of course, if this is a 70s kitchen, we must have yellow and gold, and some orange too. That hanging lamp was a typical lamp of the 70s, I forget the name it was called. The cooktop is on the rear wall. Makes me wonder if there is actually wallpaper behind the cooktop!?One thing we know for sure...they are very important people! See the two phones?It's fun to look at these images. I think there is a LOT to learn too. Pattern was very important in this little micro time period, it seems pattern anywhere and everywhere, it almost was a measure of creativity, how many patterns could be used together or over how much square footage it could cover. I'll just bet that the ceiling was considered too. To me, the strict symmetry of the cabinetry and the constant pattern equals a dead feeling, void
Welcome, once again, to "Kitchen Nostalgia or Shredder Material". Here is what I suppose is trying to be a rustic style kitchen. What really stands out is the lime green countertop. There is a wild and crazy piece of me, deep down somewhere, that LIKES this odd combination of green and very light wood, I'm not kidding. Not that I would design that today, not to worry! That said, NOT with the large, stone backsplash. And not with plaid wallpaper! That's really an odd combination, isn't it? Also, during this time period, it seems so many kitchens had this railing that goes over the top of the cabinets. Here are a few other little observations:the hood - this is a hood design that I am not fond of...the hood projection but with the backer panel meant to tie into the surrounding cabinets. I say just do a whole separate hood and see the wall space around the hood, thus, accentuating/featuring the hood.The little triangular eating area. I think it's nearly non functional. Look
Hello, and welcome to our fifth installment of "Kitchen Nostalgia or Shredder Material". I understand that in some areas of the country, the winters are very long, and spring seems like it will never come. Thus, protection from the elements is taken very seriously, and a necessary consideration. There is some very serious cabin fever going on here, bringing it, um, to an entirely different level!Well, I can say that the brown range is back in style! We're looking today at a resurgance in brown, now called "oil rubbed bronze". The Kitchen Designer says, however, that this new look is NO EXCUSE to revert back to this style of kitchen! The kitchen police will be out in force, dispatched from The Kitchen Desginer blog, should we have notice of infractions. Be very afraid!Besides the interesting look of this kitchen, let's look at a few things going on here and have even more fun:See the small ceiling fixture and the two large pendant fixtures. The lighting is way off
Welcome to this Saturday's special vintage kitchen, aka, "Bauhaus meets Disco"! I don't know why, (hmmm) but this one just popped out at me, as I perused my collection of vintage kitchens from the 60s and 70s. I think this kitchen was ahead of its time (for the early 60s), or perhaps was at the cusp of the disco era? You KNOW we need this kitchen lighting in the center of the ceiling! Get out your platform shoes and start dancing!Not a badly planned kitchen, really, although I'd love to understand what's going on with that second island up front, where and how that is positioned in the room. Otherwise, the wall cabinets to the right of the refrigerator should have been equal size sets of doors. I'm not sure I could concentrate on reading a recipe in this kitchen, and I'm also not sure I'd go stir crazy after 20 minutes! Other than that, enjoy!Oh - almost forgot today's bonus feature that I mentioned yesterday! For another vintage treat, from the blog Fabulon, take a l
So, here we are with our third installment of "nostalgia or shredder material", ancient kitchens from the 60s and 70s. This kitchen is "Kansas-in-Oz (see the tilted electrical pole in the window) meets the Jetsons". As much of the design (seen at decor8) blogosphere are tuning into the green color factor right now, (also seen at desire to inspire) and as we are 4 days away from spring (forgetting the ice storm we had last night) it seemed like a good idea (not to mention, it's St. Patrick's Day) to listen to the pulse and go back to a green kitchen, an entirely different definition of green than we live with now!OK, so now to pick apart comment on this kitchen. Here's my take:The microwave seems unnecessarily high, look at all the white space between the oven and the microwave, they should be closer together, that looks awkward to meAs was typical, such a small window over the sink, AND, does the cook not deserve to look out? Wh
So, here we are with our third installment of "nostalgia or shredder material", ancient kitchens from the 60s and 70s. This kitchen is "Kansas-in-Oz (see the tilted electrical pole in the window-somehow it reminded me of it) meets the Jetsons". As much of the design (seen at decor8) blogosphere is tuning into the color green right now, (also as seen at desire to inspire) and at Design Sponge, plus Happy Mundane and, as we are 4 days away from spring (forgetting the ice storm we had last night) it seemed like a good idea (not to mention, it's St. Patrick's Day) to listen to the pulse and go back to a green kitchen, an entirely different definition of green than we live with now!OK, so now to pick apart comment on this kitchen. Here's my take:The microwave seems unnecessarily high, look at all the white space between the oven and the microwave, they should be closer together, that looks awkward to meAs was typical, such
The one thing this kitchen has going for it is that it was secretly made to coordinate with this web page, a project begun 40 years ago in a remote hamlet of western Oklahoma, being planned to later emerge from the kitchen graveyard for the WORLD to enjoy see gape at in March, 2007. What is wrong with this kitchen, let me count the ways: the cooktop is crammed next to the ovensthe dishwasher is way too far away from the sink (the sink is purposely recessed to have the DW next to it, which would function well, but not if it were not recessed, thus no need to be so far removed, a little, sure)the unbalanced left side as opposed to the right, not that asymmetry isn't a good thing, but this isn't even asymmetry I feel like I will enter a cave if I stand at the sink - maybe if I got lucky, I'd go through a time warp and arrive in the future with no memories of where I'd been, an apron having been re
The one thing this kitchen has going for it is that it was secretly made to coordinate with this web page (I swear it did before I removed the yellow from the page), a project begun 40 years ago in a remote hamlet of western Oklahoma, being planned to later emerge from the kitchen graveyard for the WORLD to enjoy see gape at in March, 2007. What is wrong with this kitchen, let me count the ways: the cooktop is crammed next to the ovensthe dishwasher is way too far away from the sink (the sink is purposely recessed to have the DW next to it, which would function well, but not if it were not recessed, thus no need to be so far removed, a little, sure)the unbalanced left side as opposed to the right, not that asymmetry isn't a good thing, but this isn't even asymmetry I feel like I will enter a cave if I stand at the sink - maybe if I got lucky, I'd go through a time warp and arrive in the future with no memories of where I'd been, an apron having been replaced with live-in
I apologize in advance for the rude and (tasteless) reminder of years past, but I couldn't resist! I don't know why I thought of this kitchen catalog that I've had since forever. Before I went out on my own in the very early 90s, the kitchen showroom that I managed had some VERY old catalogs hanging around. When they closed (I swear it wasn't anything I did) I collected a few of these catalogs. I think I may have another few around from other years, but this was the only one I found. I've even made a category just for memorializing these kitchens. I mean, look, after all, orange is back in! Chant with me now: NEVER AGAIN!!Can you guess the year? AND, how many jokes can we make about this kitchen?
Each Saturday morning, I will be reintroducing a kitchen from years past, dredging up either a) memories which will thrust you into therapy anew assuming you are from that era, if not, you were thankfully born into a better kitchen era (except for the grays of the 80s) b) give you an urge to don an apron and find a rolling pin (this baby is $43) and probably other unpredictable reactions. Thus, I apologize in advance for the rude and (tasteless) reminders, but I couldn't resist! I've even made a category just for memorializing these kitchens. I mean, look, after all, orange is back in! Chant with me now (preferably with raised fist): NEVER AGAIN!!Can you guess the year? AND, how many jokes can we make about this kitchen?
Each Saturday morning, I will be reintroducing a kitchen from years past, dredging up either a) memories which will thrust you into therapy anew assuming you are from that era, if not, you were thankfully born into a better kitchen era (except for the grays of the 80s) b) give you an urge to don an apron and find a rolling pin (this baby is $43) and probably other unpredictable reactions. Thus, I apologize in advance for the rude and (tasteless) reminders, but I couldn't resist! I've even made a category just for memorializing these kitchens. I mean, look, after all, orange is back in! Chant with me now (preferably with raised fist): NEVER AGAIN!!Can you guess the year? AND, how many jokes can we make about this kitchen?
