Saturday, March 16, 2013

Fun at the Kitchen Table

Hello, chums! Today's "Anything Goes Saturday" celebrates the humble kitchen table. Sort of. 

Nothing says "Happy Birthday, Son" like putting your eye out with a genuine Daisy BB gun! Some fun. Eye patches make men look dangerous, and everyone knows that women find men with missing pieces irresistible. I love the old-fashioned kitchen... I'm almost positive my mom had a formica table very much like that one when I was a kid. (Photos is from January 1960).


This next picture is from a completely different home, and is from October 1958. Thanks to the label in the slide, I know that the kid eating watermelon is named "Freddy". The open window and nearby fan show that it was a hot evening... grab some Pall Malls and have a smoke on the front porch (if the 'skeeters aren't too bad) after a big meal. A little elf (or devil?) sits on the windowsill to keep burglars away. If Freddy has done his homework, he can watch "Dragnet" or "Cheyenne" before bedtime.


13 comments:

Nanook said...

Sometimes it's hard for me to believe these photos are from 1960 & 1958, as either tableau could easily pass for many years prior. (Except for the first pic, with its Frigidaire electric range, which does date from the 1950's). Our family was very lucky, having moved into a brand new home in 1960, so our kitchen, by comparison, seemed almost otherworldly.

Thanks Major for a lovely step backwards.

Chiana_Chat said...

Love the "real-world" vintage slides too, Maj!

Wow guns & cigs in plain view, even in the hands, of kids. And yet, those kitchens look homey-er than most I've seen since. And would I ever trade the Made In China fan I have here for the fan in that 2nd pic. And my Made In China Frigidaire range for that Frigidaire range. And whatever owns the name Frigidaire today for the company that made that one. And the dining room table for their kitchen table. And, oh it's discouraging, I tell ya.

Boy, boy #2 is sure lovin' his mess o' watermelon. Mm!

Nancy said...

I will take that beautiful gray kitchen table (and the birthday cake!)

My husband and I had a yellow one back in the day, given to us as a castoff to furnish our first place, but of course we were too dumb to think of keeping it then, back in the 80s. What WERE we thinking!! ;(

These photos remind me of my brother's first birthday, where we have a picture of him sitting on the table next to the cake, which would be Feb 1965

K. Martinez said...

These are great. I love every single detail in these kitchens. They're like childhood memories come to life. I like the fruit themed table cloth and wall paper. Does anybody do wall paper anymore?

Alonzo P Hawk said...

I kinda like the "foil" and "wax paper" holder mounted to the wall. Forget the house of the future this place screams RETRO and is way cooler (fan cooled).

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, I know what you mean; in those days things probably didn't change quite as fast as they do now. Of course things DID change, and I'm sure by the late 1960's these same houses might have a different color scheme, or some artifacts that would give it away.

Chiana, my dad smoked for years around us. We were just used to it I guess. The kitchen reminds me so much of the one at my grandparent's home in Minnesota. I love vintage ranges, I would MUCH rather have a beautiful, solidly built old example. Especially with a built-in clock.

Nancy, I can't tell if the kitchen table is "marbleized", or if it is that sort of pearly plastic. Probably marbleized. I wonder if you can still find old tables like that in antiques stores? Not exactly "fine furniture", but I'll bet a lot of people would want them now.

K. Martinez, I like vintage wallpaper, but if it was up to me, I would choose paint these days. It just seems to get dated (and dirty/faded) so easily. Until recently, the wallpaper in my mom's downstairs bathroom was the most god-awful stuff you ever saw!

Alonzo, yes, that wall-mounted dispenser is cool. Notice the anodized aluminum tumblers just beneath it, too. I love those things!

PsySocDisney said...

My parents live in my dad's childhood home and the kitchen is for the most part still in its 60s glory. My mom wanted to keep it that way. It's got that foil/wax paper dispenser, the aluminum tumblers, and an oven and pullout range that is as "retro" as you can get. These photos are great and I love seeing connections between their kitchens and my parents'.

Anonymous said...

That little rifle in the first pic is NOT a BB gun, but a cap gun. I remember them being sold in Newberry's.

Yes, mid-century modern is really big these days. There are many good examples that can be had in antique shops, and a lot of reproductions just like the one in these pictures. AND, you can get retro appliances that look the part, but are new.
(http://www.elmirastoveworks.com/)

Now, all you need is a '50s house to rebuild.

CoxPilot

Alonzo P Hawk said...

I feel sorry for the youngsters (under 40) who didn't get to drink kool aid out of an ice cold anodized metal tumbler. Simple pleasures.

Chuck said...

Our kitchen table looks very similar, and is EXACTLY like the one Ray's parents have on "Everybody Loves Raymond." It was my grandparents', and it's a cherished part of the home.

None of my grandparents' homes had air conditioning when I was a kid, and I well remember hot summer evenings with the windows open and a an industrial-grade fan blowing. Those things were so durable that we also have a couple of THOSE from the 50's still operating today (although with replacement electrical cords).

Once again, thanks for the memories!

Melissa said...

We had a table like the birthday boy's but in turquoise. And my Grandma's kitchen chairs were just like Freddy's.

Hrundi V. Bakshi said...

The table top pattern is called "cracked ice". My wife and I have been gradually turning our place to mid-century modern decor and the table was one of the first things we had that started steering us in that direction.

Major Pepperidge said...

PsySocDisney, I think I would want a house like that if I could get one! Old fashioned houses work better with my "comfortable clutter".

CoxPilot, thanks for ID on the cap gun. Anything mid-century is SO expensive now, it's really amazing. Maybe start buying 80's furniture now, and hang on to it for 20 years!

Alonzo, for some reason the aluminum tumblers my grandma had were not completely flat on the bottom, so they were always very "tippy". Other than that I liked them (and still have one that belonged to her - my siblings divided them amongst ourselves).

Chuck, that brings back memories of visiting my grandparents in Minnesota. HOT and humid in the summer! My and my brother slept in their finished basement which was always cool. I think when they got really old they finally got a window-mounted air conditioner.

Melissa, turquoise is probably a very desirable color for collectors now!

Hrundi, "cracked ice", very neat. It must be fun to look for new stuff. Yard sales, antiques stores, estate sales… get one good piece a year, something like that.