Were stainless steel appliances use in vintage midcentury kitchens? Yes — with qualifications

Are stainless steel appliances appropriate for midcentury houses, if you want to do a relatively authentic remodel? This question comes up fairly often on the blog, and the answer is: Yes. But: I qualify it.

Revco appliances — refrigerator / freezer combination … built-in ovens … range-top cooking. See more vintage Revco here.

As best I can tell from 15 years of studying photos of midcentury kitchens, stainless steel was used on: Built-in ovens, expensive built-in or counter-depth refrigerators, dishwashers, kitchen sinks, range hoods, countertops, counter edging, and various small built-in appliances. Stainless steel was not used on free-standing ranges or as a finish on steel kitchen cabinets. Above: Time capsule kitchen with St. Charles cabinets from this story.

Wood-Mode showed a lot of stainless steel appliances — note the dishwasher — in their 1961 cabinet brochure. What a nice kitchen design! See more photos from 1961 here.

Today, stainless steel appliances are so popular that they are likely the easiest solution if you need new appliances. White appliances also are available fairly widely. Pastels: Niche market, only a few suppliers.

If you want to use modern stainless steel — but you still want to “get the look” my experience includes:

1. 

   To get the vintage look with a Sub Zero refrigerator, go for these handles and the grill on top.

   Be careful about sizing your appliances — so many of today’s refrigerators are behemoths. Try to make sure your refrigerator is “scaled” to the size or your kitchen. If you can swing it, look for counter-depth. And if you can really swing it, consider Sub-Zero. They make counter-depth refrigerators with stainless steel fronts in a variety of sizes and door configurations, and you can get handles and exhaust grilles just like they’ve been making for many decades. Sub Zeros are pricey, though.

2. Go for a built-in oven(s)  with range-top burners [rather than a freestanding range with the oven on the bottom]. But, if your existing kitchen layout has the space carved out for a free-standing range and you are not reconfiguring your cabinets, don’t sweat it. Yes: Stainless steel appliances were used in vintage kitchens.

For all of our research on Kitchen Appliances, see our Kitchen Help / Appliances and Accessories subcategory here.

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