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<\/p>\nThe 1955 Good Housekeeping Magazine that I thrifted recently keeps on giving me new insights and information about the mid-century.\u00a0 One case in point was a multi-page article about creating the dream kitchen.\u00a0 In the photos you see gleaming white appliances and colour coordinated pastel cupboards, backsplashes, countertops, table and chairs.\u00a0 Not much natural wood can be found.\u00a0 In fact, they thought there was too much of a contrast\u00a0 between the white appliances and the dark wood and that vibrant pastel colours were a better environment for the housewife to work in.\u00a0 \u00a0A kitchen should be bright and cheerful and easy to clean.\u00a0 It should also be designed to make the housewife’s work more efficient.\u00a0 Bear in mind that many of the appliances were relatively new and quite expensive, so the magazine’s kitchen plans were often more aspirational than practical for the average family.\u00a0 Much like today really.<\/p>\n
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This blue kitchen was very popular as a colour theme.\u00a0 In this design the cupboards are metal and\u00a0 have painted doors and often the doors cover the front of the appliances to give a streamlined look.\u00a0 Everything was tied together with darker or lighter, greener or redder shades of blue.\u00a0 \u00a0Also popular was yellow, green or pink for kitchens.\u00a0 To our eyes it seems too matchy-matchy\u00a0 and we would likely paint the bottom cupboards a different colour to break up the wall of turquoise blue.\u00a0 You can see the matching curtains and breakfast nook upholstery.\u00a0 They are likely to be made of one of the new miracle fabrics, think plastic.\u00a0 \u00a0Plastics or vinyls were pretty cheap and easy to clean.\u00a0 Coming into a world where most things were made of cotton or wool, new fabrics like nylon, orlon\u00a0 or other plastic were really easy to take care of and were hardwearing.\u00a0 Formica and Linoleum were equally praised for being easy care, easy to clean\u00a0 and cheerfully coloured.\u00a0 The linoleum was colour matched to the cupboards too, usually a deeper shade.\u00a0 If there was a backsplash it would likely be been made from the new and exciting plastic tile, advertised as hardy and sanitary. It was not unusual to see plastic scrubbable wallpaper to match the curtains and upholstery. Imagine the plasticky smell coming out of a brand new kitchen!<\/p>\n
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Something that seems odd now, is the idea of a pre-fabricated bank of appliances such as the design above.\u00a0 Wired into a single unit, it was a better deal than buying each appliance separately.\u00a0 Something that was suggested as a wonderful asset in cooking although not in this entry level unit, was the double oven range.\u00a0 That is two small ovens under a cook top.\u00a0 In the time before microwaves having lots of oven space would be more necessary. And of course the unit came in a variety of pastel colours.\u00a0 You will note a couple of odd things, by today’s standards anyway.\u00a0 The washing machine was a washer-dryer combo.\u00a0 They still exist but generally are thought to be less effective than a separate pair.\u00a0 The automatic griddle seems a bit unnecessary and not something that I would use often.\u00a0 I would like the space above the laundry machine for folding clothes.\u00a0 \u00a0The dishwasher was truly a luxury then.\u00a0 Quite a high end bank of appliances, again very aspirational rather than practical for everyone’s budget.<\/p>\n
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This bird’s eye view of an ideal kitchen shows off all the things a housewife was thought to need.\u00a0 There is lots of storage space too. You can see there are all the usual appliances including a washer and dryer.\u00a0 I think having them in the kitchen would be handy.\u00a0 There may be a small freezer hiding behind one of the cupboard door.\u00a0 A freezer was a real luxury and something most households couldn’t afford.\u00a0 There is not a lot of counter top space\u00a0 compared to most modern kitchens but there was often a pull out or pull up section of countertop for baking and food prep.\u00a0 There was often a small kitchen table or breakfast nook in the kitchen for less formal meals and this was an extra space to roll out cookie dough or prep veggies. There is also a small desk area for meal\u00a0 planning and paying the bills.\u00a0 \u00a0 It is not the clearest of diagrams but gives you an ideas of what the designers\u00a0 thought housewives needed to run the home.\u00a0 This was the beginning of planning a kitchen to save steps and be efficient.<\/p>\n
I had a great aunt whose house was built mid-century, in the early 1950’s.\u00a0 The kitchen had bright blue tiles up all the walls and bright blue linoleum on the floor.\u00a0 The countertops, table and chairs were matching blue formica.\u00a0 The cupboards were white and the trim was black. All the appliances were bright white.\u00a0 It had custom made cupboards and shelves using\u00a0 every inch of space and even a hidden ironing board.\u00a0 \u00a0And the bathroom right next door was a repeat except in pink with fixtures in pink too. These matching touches were cheerful but for day to day living it was \u00a0kind of intense in a relatively small room.\u00a0 Many things change over time but the focus on making a kitchen design workable for the housewife and\u00a0 family friendly still persists and kitchen is still the heart of the home.<\/p>\n
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The 1955 Good Housekeeping Magazine that I thrifted recently keeps on giving me new insights and information about the mid-century.\u00a0 One case in point was a multi-page article about creating the dream kitchen.\u00a0 In the photos you see gleaming white appliances and colour coordinated pastel cupboards, backsplashes, countertops, table and chairs.\u00a0 Not much natural wood … <\/p>\n