One thing is certain, kitchens have seen many transitions through the years. Not only have the styles changed; think of the technological changes too! Visually, the contrast from decade to decade is quite stark when you look at the prevalence of the ‘all-white” kitchen that’s become so popular in current years.
Throughout the ’50s, designers and homeowners embraced colour in the kitchen, although these colors were softer than the ones commonly seen in ’30s and ’40s kitchens. While kitchens in the ’30s and ’40s often featured bolder colours like black, red, or green, the ’50s was dominated by soft shades of blue, pink, and yellow — candy-coloured cabinets with appliances to match.
In the 1960s, wood replaced steel as the cabinet material of choice, and wood tones began to tiptoe their way back into the kitchen. Coloured appliances were still quite popular, but the favored colours began to shift, from pastels to more bold, robust colours like harvest yellow and avocado green, which matched better with wood tones. Many of us will remember how popular those palettes were in our childhood homes.
The transition from the ’50s to the ’60s marked a shift, from kitchens that feel distinctly ‘retro’ to the kind of wooden cabinet kitchens in the 70s/80s/90s. It seems strange to us to imagine someone ripping out a charming 1950s or 1940s kitchen to ‘update’ it with circa 1970s wood cabinets and greenish appliances, just as it will probably, someday, seem strange to future generations to imagine us tearing out wood cabinets to replace them with all white, subway tile, and stainless appliances. One thing is certain, style is a fickle thing, and even if it’s only skin deep, the look of the kitchen is always changing.
Barry H Klein Countertop Installation 