How the avocado fridge came to embody the 1970s

[jeaniebueller]

I thought this was an interesting interview, where the author discusses how kitchens went from functional spaces to entertaining spaces.

pictorial.jezebel.com/how-the-avocado-fridge-came-to-embody-the-70s-1835061986

[bcv513]

I can't wait until they write a book about stainless steel, granite, and subway tile. lol

[WOT?*]

I saw a cabin for sale yesterday that had an avocado refrigerator. I was actually not surprised given the brown shag and yellow and brown patterned linoleum.

[bowies]

May 30, 2019 12:30:57 GMT -5 bcv513 said:

I can't wait until they write a book about stainless steel, granite, and subway tile. lol

Subtitle: How HGTV Took Over Suburban America

[pixy0stix]

May 30, 2019 12:30:57 GMT -5 bcv513 said:

I can't wait until they write a book about stainless steel, granite, and subway tile. lol

+shiplap

[mrsukyankee]

Behold - the kitchen in the house we're living in before we renovated it (aka my H's childhood home which hadn't been updated since the early 70s):







Bright freaking salmon cabinets with lots of wood paneling and horrifying parquet flooring.

[shortcake2675]

I might keep those salmon cabinets. What's inside like, lol? With white walls instead of the paneling, it could be pretty different.

[pixy0stix]

Now that I've read the article - I really don't want my kitchen to be a living space. I want the living space to be the living space. When we updated our house people were surprised we didn't take down the wall between the kitchen and living room. For one, I didn't want an open concept house, and for two, there was a stairwell there (which was the biggest reason, lol!).

I think it's funny that the author mentions soapstone countertops are for the uber rich, mostly because we put them in my lowly kitchen.

[eponinepontmercy]

mrsukyankee, I love the salmon cabinets. They are ridiculous.

[bugandbibs]

I love color and wish there were more options that are affordable. I’d buy a colored fridge but the only options are super expensive or an impractical reproduction type.

However, when we do remodel our kitchen we will stick with more neutral counters, backsplashes, etc. We don’t have the funds to change things just for cosmetic reasons and don’t want to for environmental reasons. Our color will have to come from software finishes that can be changed as they wear out.

[Velar Fricative]

I'll never forget when I was watching an episode of House Hunters and the woman who couldn't have been older than early 30s actually *wanted* a 70s avocado kitchen and had it on her must-have list. I had to rewind because I was so used to everyone asking for white kitchens. I mean, everything else is coming back into fashion, so why not avocado kitchens? But yeah, everything about it and harvest gold screams 1970s. I'd put a disco ball in my kitchen if I had an avocado kitchen and that actually sounds kinda fun right now.

[ESF]

My parents still have an old avocado green refrigerator. It's in the basement as the overflow fridge. It's amazing it has lasted this long.

As a long term renter, I've never paid much attention to HGTV or interior design trends but we are going to buy a house at some point in the next year or so, so I should probably start thinking about this stuff. All I know is that I love open concept, so maybe HGTV is the place for me, LOL.

[Nonny]

May 30, 2019 13:45:13 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Now that I've read the article - I really don't want my kitchen to be a living space. I want the living space to be the living space. When we updated our house people were surprised we didn't take down the wall between the kitchen and living room. For one, I didn't want an open concept house, and for two, there was a stairwell there (which was the biggest reason, lol!).

I think it's funny that the author mentions soapstone countertops are for the uber rich, mostly because we put them in my lowly kitchen.

We need to update our kitchen "someday" and my H mentioned something about how we could take down the wall between the kitchen/dining room and the (sunken) living room and I was like, "Hell no.  I'm not giving up my giant pantry for an unnecessary open concept that I don't even want."  

It's not like our kitchen is really that closed off from our living room anyway.  You can see the fridge and stove from the living room, and you can see the TV from the dining room -- the three areas are kind of like a donut with the pantry wall in the middle and two openings into the living room.

[Nonny]

mrsukyankee, I think that parquet flooring is the same that is on my landing. LOL!

[macmars45]

The house I lived in until I was 14 had all avocado kitchen appliances.

[bcv513]

May 30, 2019 14:26:01 GMT -5 ESF said:

My parents still have an old avocado green refrigerator. It's in the basement as the overflow fridge. It's amazing it has lasted this long.

As a long term renter, I've never paid much attention to HGTV or interior design trends but we are going to buy a house at some point in the next year or so, so I should probably start thinking about this stuff. All I know is that I love open concept, so maybe HGTV is the place for me, LOL.

Stuff was built to last FOREVER back in the day. My grandmother still has a harvest gold fridge. 

This article reminded me that my parents used to have a portable dishwasher. Complete with wood paneling. I remember helping my mom roll it over to the sink to hook it up

[pixy0stix]

May 30, 2019 14:42:56 GMT -5 bcv513 said:

May 30, 2019 14:26:01 GMT -5 ESF said:

My parents still have an old avocado green refrigerator. It's in the basement as the overflow fridge. It's amazing it has lasted this long.

As a long term renter, I've never paid much attention to HGTV or interior design trends but we are going to buy a house at some point in the next year or so, so I should probably start thinking about this stuff. All I know is that I love open concept, so maybe HGTV is the place for me, LOL.

Stuff was built to last FOREVER back in the day. My grandmother still has a harvest gold fridge. 

This article reminded me that my parents used to have a portable dishwasher. Complete with wood paneling. I remember helping my mom roll it over to the sink to hook it up

We had a harvest gold refrigerator at our old house. My H stopped by and talked to the new owners recently and they mentioned they still have the fridge. 

My gparents had a rolling dishwasher that we inherited with our current house. We made sure when renovating the kitchen to go with a built in.

[goldengirlz]

That was a fun article. I never thought about the evolution of the kitchen in that way but it makes sense.

We need to redo our kitchen at some point but nothing is speaking to me right now. We did our last kitchen with then-chic stainless steel appliances and granite countertops — and I loved it — but I don’t want to just redo the same thing in this house. We did update the appliances but we’ll wait on the actual design for when I’m inspired to actually sink that much money into something.

[mrsukyankee]

May 30, 2019 13:38:20 GMT -5 shortcake2675 said:

I might keep those salmon cabinets. What's inside like, lol? With white walls instead of the paneling, it could be pretty different.

They were falling apart after being there for almost 40 years. They were peeling.

[mrsukyankee]

May 30, 2019 14:36:25 GMT -5 Nonny said:

mrsukyankee , I think that parquet flooring is the same that is on my landing. LOL!

In theory it could be nice but theirs was gross - pieces were missing and it was water damaged.

[notsopicky]

As a kid, we had the avocado green refrig in one house and the harvest gold in another. I never minded them. Now my house is all 90s wood and beige everything and I HATE IT. I love me some HGTV--I want to do a navy blue, gray and white kitchen. I also want to paint the interior of my house taupe (GREIGE IS NOT A COLOR) w/ darker taupe carpet (where there's no hardwood or tile) b/c I have pets and then bring in the fun colors through artwork, throws, vases, lamps, etc.

[pierogigirl]

We just replaced a dark brown side by side refrigerator (40 years old) because it finally died. It came with the house and we were going to replace it soon anyway.

[simpsongal]

I think you're going to see (and may already be seeing) a major backlash against open concept. I think somewhere in the middle seems best - I like wide cased openings between rooms, like in prewar homes. Those entirely open rooms, like dining/living/kitchen. No thank you. I think you need the room staged and immaculate otherwise it just looks messy and random.

ETA: re the old fridges, they definitely last but those old beasts are terribly inefficient re: energy use.

[atarianna]

May 30, 2019 14:42:56 GMT -5 bcv513 said:

May 30, 2019 14:26:01 GMT -5 ESF said:

My parents still have an old avocado green refrigerator. It's in the basement as the overflow fridge. It's amazing it has lasted this long.

As a long term renter, I've never paid much attention to HGTV or interior design trends but we are going to buy a house at some point in the next year or so, so I should probably start thinking about this stuff. All I know is that I love open concept, so maybe HGTV is the place for me, LOL.

Stuff was built to last FOREVER back in the day. My grandmother still has a harvest gold fridge. 

This article reminded me that my parents used to have a portable dishwasher. Complete with wood paneling. I remember helping my mom roll it over to the sink to hook it up

*I* still have a harvest gold fridge. ::hair flip::

[wambam]

May 30, 2019 15:30:22 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

 I think somewhere in the middle seems best - I like wide cased openings between rooms, like in prewar homes. 

This is what I have (my house in not prewar lol, but it has this feature) and I really like it. We also have a pass-through, which I like a lot. 

[isabel]

May 30, 2019 14:42:56 GMT -5 bcv513 said:

May 30, 2019 14:26:01 GMT -5 ESF said:

My parents still have an old avocado green refrigerator. It's in the basement as the overflow fridge. It's amazing it has lasted this long.

As a long term renter, I've never paid much attention to HGTV or interior design trends but we are going to buy a house at some point in the next year or so, so I should probably start thinking about this stuff. All I know is that I love open concept, so maybe HGTV is the place for me, LOL.

Stuff was built to last FOREVER back in the day. My grandmother still has a harvest gold fridge. 

This article reminded me that my parents used to have a portable dishwasher. Complete with wood paneling. I remember helping my mom roll it over to the sink to hook it up

I had this in college! Bought it on Craigslist. We lived in a little 50s bungalow that didn't have a dishwasher. We kept it in a corner of our living room and would roll it over to the sink and hook it up. Ah memories. lol

[ESF]

May 30, 2019 15:30:22 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

I think you're going to see (and may already be seeing) a major backlash against open concept. I think somewhere in the middle seems best - I like wide cased openings between rooms, like in prewar homes. Those entirely open rooms, like dining/living/kitchen. No thank you. I think you need the room staged and immaculate otherwise it just looks messy and random.

ETA: re the old fridges, they definitely last but those old beasts are terribly inefficient re: energy use.

I agree with you on open concept for large, stand alone homes, but I think it's different in smaller homes - apartments, townhomes, condos, etc. Open floor plans solve the practical problem of getting natural light into a space, which isn't a problem in dwellings where you can put windows on all sides. 

[Velar Fricative]

May 30, 2019 16:07:55 GMT -5 ESF said:

May 30, 2019 15:30:22 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

I think you're going to see (and may already be seeing) a major backlash against open concept. I think somewhere in the middle seems best - I like wide cased openings between rooms, like in prewar homes. Those entirely open rooms, like dining/living/kitchen. No thank you. I think you need the room staged and immaculate otherwise it just looks messy and random.

ETA: re the old fridges, they definitely last but those old beasts are terribly inefficient re: energy use.

I agree with you on open concept for large, stand alone homes, but I think it's different in smaller homes - apartments, townhomes, condos, etc. Open floor plans solve the practical problem of getting natural light into a space, which isn't a problem in dwellings where you can put windows on all sides. 

Yup. We live in a rowhouse built in 1992. It was ahead of its time with the open floor plan because that’s how we get our natural light. I do love the open floor plan though even without that reason. So I can’t hide a messy kitchen but it really is great for parties and entertaining.

[rupertpenny]

I appreciate the point about how using a kitchen for entertainingly day living space is directly correlated with not having household staff. In Hong Kong everyone still has staff and the kitchens are TERRIBLE. Even in an apartment that costs $5k+ a month there will be a tiny, shitty, kitchen that hasn’t been touched since 1973. It was fascinating to me because it seems like the kitchen is the first space to be renovated in American homes.

Hong Kong definitely converted me to separate kitchens though. I can’t do open concept with little kids. I need to be able to lock them out of the kitchen if necessary.

[msmerymac]

pixy0stix , I love soapstone.


My kitchen growing up had harvest gold appliances. And orange counter tops, no joke. My parents updated the entire rest of the house over 14 years, including putting in 2 wood stoves and getting custom cabinetry done in the downstairs bathroom, but they never got around to that kitchen! They bought the house in 1986.