Retro Kitchen Appliances

Retro or vintage kitchens and retro kitchen appliances became very popular in the last few years. That’s mainly because modern appliances tend to look more like space ships rather than kitchen appliances. On the other hand, vintage and retro kitchen appliances have soul and they are designed to just look beautiful in your kitchen. First of all we must know the difference between vintage and retro kitchen appliances. Vintage kitchen appliances are old appliances which have been restored, unlike retro kitchen appliances which are new but designed to look old. Someone might ask why not just restore old appliances then. Well, the main issue is the price of restoration which is three or four times higher than the price of retro kitchen appliance which looks just the same.

Your kitchen shouldn’t be just the place to cook and eat your food, your kitchen can be a design statement also. You can play with details and combine retro kitchen appliances and modern cabinets or you can go all the way and make your own retro kitchen like in the 50’s. There are huge selection of vintage or retro cabinets and accessories also, so everyone who wants to give retro design a try have everything within their grasp.

Retro refrigerators

Refrigerator is the main kitchen appliance and it’s in most cases something that you first notice when you enter the kitchen. Among all retro kitchen appliances refrigerators are most popular and they are easiest to incorporate into kitchen design with modern cabinets and counter tops. Retro or vintage refrigerator will give your kitchen a warm touch and you can easily incorporate it even on your patio.

We don’t advise you to get a vintage refrigerator and restore it because those refrigerators use technology that isn’t approved any more and changing the technology will cost you a small fortune. On the other hand there is a number of manufacturers who are making fantastic retro refrigerators that look just like they are from the 50’s or 60’s but with modern technology inside and it is a great item for elevating your living space. Some of the best brands are Smeg, Big Chill, Nostalgia Electric, Swan or Igloo.

When with talk about retro and vintage refrigerators we must mention the Coca-cola refrigerators and machines. Those copies of old original Coca-cola machines and refrigerators can be a fantastic addition to your kitchen, living room or patio. There are many companies that are making copies of Coca-cola machines but we must mention Koolatron which are specialized in producing replicas of old Coca-cola machines and replicas of an old promotional products of various brands.

Retro ranges

Retro ranges, unlike refrigerators, are something that you need to think twice about. If you have a modern range and oven it can be very difficult to adapt to this models without digital display and hundreds of options. Retro ranges are copies of old ranges from 50, 60 or 70 years ago and although they have modern technology inside, they don’t have touch screens and timers like modern ranges and ovens. There are much fewer selection of retro ranges on the market and one of the most common one are Northstar, Big Chill or GE Artistry Series ranges. If you are planning to design your whole kitchen in retro style then a retro range is something that you most definitely need.

If you want to keep the retro design of your kitchen but you don’t want a classic retro range then there are options for you also. There are retro designed induction cook tops and wall ovens which normally didn’t exist in the 50’s but they are designed like they are from that period. If you choose them, you will get modern appliances that look retro and goes perfectly with your overall kitchen design.

Retro dishwashers

As we continue with our retro kitchen design we have to get ourselves a retro style dishwasher also. Although dishwashers weren’t an integral part of every kitchen in the 50’s or 60’s, the few models are inspiration to manufacturers and now you can complete your big retro kitchen appliances set with a retro style dishwasher. Among the best brands of retro dishwashers are Smeg, Swan and Big Chill, but you can also check GE Artistry series dishwasher which is significantly cheaper than other brands.

Small retro kitchen appliances

The real fun starts when you complete the set of your big kitchen appliances and when you start browsing for small retro kitchen appliances. You can find virtually anything that you can think off. There are huge number of brands for small retro kitchen appliances and you are not limited with few brands like with big kitchen appliances. If you didn’t get yourself an retro oven or range, you can always fulfill you retro design with a nice retro toaster oven. Don’t worry it’s a convection oven and it’s energy efficient. If you prefer a microwave oven you can get that also, there are superb retro style microwave oven by Nostalgia Electrics which will be perfect for your retro kitchen design.

For those who want a real breakfast like in the 50’s, you can get a retro breakfast station with toaster oven, coffee maker and a small grill, all in one perfectly designed product. Nostalgia Electric and Smeg have a complete set of small retro kitchen appliances and you can get everything, from retro styled toasters, kettles, blenders, stand mixers, waffle makers to cake pops and donut makers, all in the style and shine of the 50’s.

After you found all your big and small retro kitchen appliances, you’ll need to make your kitchen to look like from the 50’s! Almost every kitchen in the 50’s had a hot dog roller and a popcorn machine and you need them in order to complete your kitchen remodel into a perfect retro kitchen! We hope that we inspired you to take a new step in your kitchen design and to make make it warm and with a soul like in the 50’s. If you just want to simply remodel your kitchen without turning it into a retro kitchen, you can check our article Kitchen remodeling tips.