Cook the retro look

A few of us here at YH&G have vintage kitchens, and not entirely by choice. A cramped kitchen with small, awkwardly placed cupboards and drawers often comes with the territory of an older home, and while the aesthetic can be cool, it’s not usually the most practical of spaces.

I love the quirky features that characterise kitchens dating from the 1930s to the 1970s (breakfast nooks, serving hatches and builtin, slide-out chopping boards, for example), but a spacious pantry is one modern innovation I’m happy to succumb to. Many of my larger plates, platters and appliances don’t even fit in my tiny cupboards. If you’re really lucky, your older kitchen will have a walk-in pantry, as seen in the 1920s bungalow featured on page 79.

We do have the 1950s to thank for many design elements that have become kitchen staples, such as prefabricated cabinetry, builtin appliances (like ovens and dishwashers) and suspended cabinets. Open-plan kitchens and living/dining spaces, as well as kitchen islands and peninsulas to gather and eat around, were also first introduced in the 1950s, although they weren’t popularised until the 1960s and 1970s.

If you’re renting, not yet ready to renovate or just like the vintage vibe, the tips on the far left will help make your older kitchen work. On the flip side, you may have a modern kitchen that you want to add a vintage touch to, through accessories or a change of colour palette. If you’re renovating an old kitchen or building new, you can still reference an earlier era through colour and hardware, while opting for modern materials and storage solutions.