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The Midcentury Kitchen: America's Favorite Room, from Workspace to Dreamscape, 1940s-1970s
Nearly everyone alive today has experienced cozy, welcoming kitchens packed with conveniences that we now take for granted. Sarah Archer, in this delightful romp through a simpler time, shows us how the prosperity of the 1950s kicked off the technological and design ideals of today’s kitchen. In fact, while contemporary appliances might look a little different and work a little better than those of the 1950s, the midcentury kitchen has yet to be improved upon.
During the optimistic consumerism of midcentury America when families were ready to put their newfound prosperity on display, companies from General Electric to Pyrex to Betty Crocker were there to usher them into a new era. Counter heights were standardized, appliances were designed in fashionable colors, and convenience foods took over families’ plates.
With archival photographs, advertisements, magazine pages, and movie stills, The Midcentury Kitchen captures the spirit of an era—and a room—where anything seemed possible.
During the optimistic consumerism of midcentury America when families were ready to put their newfound prosperity on display, companies from General Electric to Pyrex to Betty Crocker were there to usher them into a new era. Counter heights were standardized, appliances were designed in fashionable colors, and convenience foods took over families’ plates.
With archival photographs, advertisements, magazine pages, and movie stills, The Midcentury Kitchen captures the spirit of an era—and a room—where anything seemed possible.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2019
22 people are currently reading
404 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Archer
4 books15 followersI’m a contributing editor for the American Craft Council’s new journal, American Craft Inquiry, and a regular contributor to Hyperallergic. My first book, Midcentury Christmas, which explores the material culture of Christmas during the Cold War in the United States, was published by Countryman Press/W.W. Norton in 2016.
My articles and reviews have appeared in The Journal of Modern Craft, Modern Magazine, Studio Potter, The Huffington Post, Slate, The New Yorker online, and The Washington Post. I have contributed essays to exhibition catalogs for the Portland Art Museum, the Milwaukee Museum of Art, and the Museum of Arts and Design, as well as to the anthologies Shows and Tales, edited by Art Jewelry Forum, and The Ceramic Reader from Bloomsbury Press. I have curated exhibitions at Urban Glass and Pratt Manhattan Gallery. Prior to moving to Philadelphia to become Senior Curator at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, I was the Director of Greenwich House Pottery. I have taught at the Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, Drexel University, and the Tyler School of Art, Temple University. I hold a BA from Swarthmore College, and an MA from the Bard Graduate Center.
My articles and reviews have appeared in The Journal of Modern Craft, Modern Magazine, Studio Potter, The Huffington Post, Slate, The New Yorker online, and The Washington Post. I have contributed essays to exhibition catalogs for the Portland Art Museum, the Milwaukee Museum of Art, and the Museum of Arts and Design, as well as to the anthologies Shows and Tales, edited by Art Jewelry Forum, and The Ceramic Reader from Bloomsbury Press. I have curated exhibitions at Urban Glass and Pratt Manhattan Gallery. Prior to moving to Philadelphia to become Senior Curator at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, I was the Director of Greenwich House Pottery. I have taught at the Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, Drexel University, and the Tyler School of Art, Temple University. I hold a BA from Swarthmore College, and an MA from the Bard Graduate Center.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
December 21, 2020
After reading Sarah Archer's Midcentury Christmas book - featuring all sorts of styles and traditions from Christmases Past - I was eager to jump back on the Archer train. This one screamed out to me: instead of Googie wrapping paper, there'd be Googie WALLpaper. Atomic radar ranges! Avocado green! Harvest gold!
Archer delivers all this and more. First, there's a crash course in kitchens in the distant ago, the ones to which aristocrats would summon butlers and maids to bring food on silver trays. The look and importance of the kitchen changed as the middle class emerged from World War II and women were expected to leave the factory and go back to work in the home. Archer argues that the elegance of the atomic kitchen might explain why the June Cleaver fifties housewife look - pearls and heels - might not be as sitcommy or farfetched as we might assume.
Advertising worked hard to make kitchens seem like careers for women of the era. The word "housewife" gets elevated to the term "hostess," making the everyday kitchen toiler seem more like the head of a neverending party ... even though that's not really what it was. It's a fascinating journey to watch.
When I started reading, I didn't think I was going to like the 1970s stuff, but Archer surprised me. The late focus on the greens and gold and oranges of the 1970s was a perfect shift away from the space-age 50s and 60s. I'm just glad we're not moving into the Lisa Frank 80s.
I love these midcentury books. They dovetail very nicely into the tiki craze books I've been into all year (and Archer touches on the tiki lore here, too). It helps paint a picture of retrofuturism that I've always loved and understand more deeply now.
Archer delivers all this and more. First, there's a crash course in kitchens in the distant ago, the ones to which aristocrats would summon butlers and maids to bring food on silver trays. The look and importance of the kitchen changed as the middle class emerged from World War II and women were expected to leave the factory and go back to work in the home. Archer argues that the elegance of the atomic kitchen might explain why the June Cleaver fifties housewife look - pearls and heels - might not be as sitcommy or farfetched as we might assume.
Advertising worked hard to make kitchens seem like careers for women of the era. The word "housewife" gets elevated to the term "hostess," making the everyday kitchen toiler seem more like the head of a neverending party ... even though that's not really what it was. It's a fascinating journey to watch.
When I started reading, I didn't think I was going to like the 1970s stuff, but Archer surprised me. The late focus on the greens and gold and oranges of the 1970s was a perfect shift away from the space-age 50s and 60s. I'm just glad we're not moving into the Lisa Frank 80s.
I love these midcentury books. They dovetail very nicely into the tiki craze books I've been into all year (and Archer touches on the tiki lore here, too). It helps paint a picture of retrofuturism that I've always loved and understand more deeply now.
October 23, 2019
If you told me three weeks ago, "I think you'd really enjoy this very specific book about American kitchens between the early 1900s and the 1970s," I wouldn't have believed you, because what kind of book is that??? Why would it even exist? So it's lucky that I just happened across it as I looked for cookbooks at the library and though, "eh, sure, why not" after flipping through briefly. Hey, it has a lot of pictures, and I like pictures.
Like, I needed photographic proof that someone advertised this, as "Better Homes Kitchen Ideas" did in 1965.
It turned out to be an engaging trip through time--despite the subtitle focusing on the 1940s-1970s, it includes a focus on the 20s and 30s as well, leading up to the wartime and post-war changes that transformed the kitchen into what it is today. And as an adult who cooks--albeit as little as possible--it was fun evaluating kitchen designs and spaces and deciding how much I could survive with them.
Basically, if you have ever watched a design/remodeling show and had very strong opinions about the kitchen space, you'll probably enjoy that aspect of this book.
The writing itself is good: accessible, understanding, engaging, informative. The book's design is also well-done: images (ads, photos, magazine spreads, and more) are interspersed, but even pages that are only text have well-spaced lines that keep the eye moving but don't overwhelm. That's important because there's a lot going on in the book: there's the main text, and images that range from 1/4 to 1/2 page by the text, to full pages across from text, to multiple full pages in sequence.
All the images have helpful captions, and are usually something that has just been described in the text itself--and often, the images themselves have text included as they're ads, or recipes, or pamphlets.
Of course that's desperately needed, and the book wouldn't be nearly as good without them, focusing on design as it does. I loved seeing colors pass through time: one of my favorite parts is in chapter 1, where we get a 2-page spread of a 1930s "dream kitchen", with red and black tiles, pale mint green cabinets, and black-and-white appliances and trim. A full-page ad explains to prospective buyers the importance of a beautiful kitchen and explains how all the components can be individually configured as they please.
Front page of the proposed "dream kitchen," which I am HERE for tbh, at least colorwise.
Later, in the 50s, we see the rise of more colors, especially as Formica and other laminates get popular. By the early 60s, pink and pale blue are the colors du jour, highlighted in a dozen ads. Come to the 1970s, and we see the influence of the counterculture: many bright colors, but also the avocado green that I personally can't stand, but which at the time looked modern.
It's interesting as the text mentions that what we might now see as garish, or ugly, were at the time exciting options compared to the decades of cast-iron, white tile, or plain brown wood that people would've grown up with.
The book also talks about the changing role of the kitchen--from a hidden place food was prepared, to a place people might entertain, like we have today. In-between, we have tales of various World's Fair-type exhibitions, futuristic prototypes, the Jetsons, Jell-O, and more.
Still sound boring? I hope not--the kitchen's evolution is tied to changes in American culture at every point, so it necessarily reflects the norms, aspirations, and fears of the wider culture, while also having so really interesting aesthetic choices.
(1970s: I remain suspicious of your aesthetic. 1960s, why did you love short, sharp lines so much. Why.)
I'm not sure I could live with this 1972 kitchen featured in Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen Planning & Decorating, but at the same time I LOVE it.
Mid-40s kitchen looks suspiciously similar to what we might see today.
Like, I needed photographic proof that someone advertised this, as "Better Homes Kitchen Ideas" did in 1965.
It turned out to be an engaging trip through time--despite the subtitle focusing on the 1940s-1970s, it includes a focus on the 20s and 30s as well, leading up to the wartime and post-war changes that transformed the kitchen into what it is today. And as an adult who cooks--albeit as little as possible--it was fun evaluating kitchen designs and spaces and deciding how much I could survive with them.
Basically, if you have ever watched a design/remodeling show and had very strong opinions about the kitchen space, you'll probably enjoy that aspect of this book.
The writing itself is good: accessible, understanding, engaging, informative. The book's design is also well-done: images (ads, photos, magazine spreads, and more) are interspersed, but even pages that are only text have well-spaced lines that keep the eye moving but don't overwhelm. That's important because there's a lot going on in the book: there's the main text, and images that range from 1/4 to 1/2 page by the text, to full pages across from text, to multiple full pages in sequence.
All the images have helpful captions, and are usually something that has just been described in the text itself--and often, the images themselves have text included as they're ads, or recipes, or pamphlets.
Of course that's desperately needed, and the book wouldn't be nearly as good without them, focusing on design as it does. I loved seeing colors pass through time: one of my favorite parts is in chapter 1, where we get a 2-page spread of a 1930s "dream kitchen", with red and black tiles, pale mint green cabinets, and black-and-white appliances and trim. A full-page ad explains to prospective buyers the importance of a beautiful kitchen and explains how all the components can be individually configured as they please.
Front page of the proposed "dream kitchen," which I am HERE for tbh, at least colorwise.
Later, in the 50s, we see the rise of more colors, especially as Formica and other laminates get popular. By the early 60s, pink and pale blue are the colors du jour, highlighted in a dozen ads. Come to the 1970s, and we see the influence of the counterculture: many bright colors, but also the avocado green that I personally can't stand, but which at the time looked modern.
It's interesting as the text mentions that what we might now see as garish, or ugly, were at the time exciting options compared to the decades of cast-iron, white tile, or plain brown wood that people would've grown up with.
The book also talks about the changing role of the kitchen--from a hidden place food was prepared, to a place people might entertain, like we have today. In-between, we have tales of various World's Fair-type exhibitions, futuristic prototypes, the Jetsons, Jell-O, and more.
Still sound boring? I hope not--the kitchen's evolution is tied to changes in American culture at every point, so it necessarily reflects the norms, aspirations, and fears of the wider culture, while also having so really interesting aesthetic choices.
(1970s: I remain suspicious of your aesthetic. 1960s, why did you love short, sharp lines so much. Why.)
I'm not sure I could live with this 1972 kitchen featured in Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen Planning & Decorating, but at the same time I LOVE it.
Mid-40s kitchen looks suspiciously similar to what we might see today.
January 6, 2020
WOW - what a great retrolicious collection of dreamy kitchenalia! Bought this for myself for my birthday, and it did not disappoint! This book really has everything PLUS the kitchen sink... loads of awesome facts from years gone by, illustrations and photos galore... it's the kind of book you can read through over and over, and it's just as enjoyable every time. One of my favorite things is reading about the "futuristic" kitchen plans from back when... and here we are, still scrubbing our floors and washing our dishes by hand (well, at least I am!), and not a spaceship in sight. So far.
Sarah Archer knocked it out of the park with this one. If you've got a friend or loved one who's a retro mama, a vintage vixen, or an Eames addict, gift them this book and plug your ears - squeals of joy are guaranteed!
Sarah Archer knocked it out of the park with this one. If you've got a friend or loved one who's a retro mama, a vintage vixen, or an Eames addict, gift them this book and plug your ears - squeals of joy are guaranteed!
May 6, 2025
Really well researched and intriguing history of what we consider the early 20th century modern kitchen.
The first portion is really strong and does such a good job showing how the contributions of several female social reformers, scientists and early home economics professionals like Ellen Swallow Richard’s, the Beecher Sisters, Christine Fredricks and Margaret Schutte Lihotzky provided important guide rails for basically every aspect of a modern kitchen with built ins, the efficiency / kitchen work triangle or even early ergonomics for how to situate a built ins cabinet to be workable for users of different heights. It sucks that a lot of their contributions are papered over by men in the form of Taylorism or early efficiency and home economics professionals. I will say as someone with a Bachelors in Architecture I do think the Schutte Lihotzky’s Frankfurt kitchen gets cited as the birth of the modern kitchen and I do appreciate that it was partially built on the work of other women professionals that studied the inadequacies of clean kitchens that became a baseline to work off of.
I do enjoy the overall concept and intro of the book examining how both tech innovations and the shift from human servants to appliances as servants for the middle class define our understanding of a modern home and differentiate the served via service ideas of a home that were omnipresent in 1900 and more or less outmoded by open plans houses or inaccessible to all but the particularly wealthy who can afford staff by the early 2000’s.
I do feel that the book really loses steam after the Kitchen Debate in front of the Miracle kitchen. The Monsanto test home is obviously important to understand changing open plan trends becoming omnipresent in architecture post 1950s. But once you get past the Formica test house or the mirroring of international foods crazes of the late 60’s into the 70’s that are then represented In the very ikea and Swedish inspired chintzy kitchens of the 70’s the book does just trail off.
Still it has lots of primary texts and beautiful ads and photos of these trends in their prime. It is odd that some ads are cropped weirdly and others are depicted as they were printed but I guess that internet archives for you
The first portion is really strong and does such a good job showing how the contributions of several female social reformers, scientists and early home economics professionals like Ellen Swallow Richard’s, the Beecher Sisters, Christine Fredricks and Margaret Schutte Lihotzky provided important guide rails for basically every aspect of a modern kitchen with built ins, the efficiency / kitchen work triangle or even early ergonomics for how to situate a built ins cabinet to be workable for users of different heights. It sucks that a lot of their contributions are papered over by men in the form of Taylorism or early efficiency and home economics professionals. I will say as someone with a Bachelors in Architecture I do think the Schutte Lihotzky’s Frankfurt kitchen gets cited as the birth of the modern kitchen and I do appreciate that it was partially built on the work of other women professionals that studied the inadequacies of clean kitchens that became a baseline to work off of.
I do enjoy the overall concept and intro of the book examining how both tech innovations and the shift from human servants to appliances as servants for the middle class define our understanding of a modern home and differentiate the served via service ideas of a home that were omnipresent in 1900 and more or less outmoded by open plans houses or inaccessible to all but the particularly wealthy who can afford staff by the early 2000’s.
I do feel that the book really loses steam after the Kitchen Debate in front of the Miracle kitchen. The Monsanto test home is obviously important to understand changing open plan trends becoming omnipresent in architecture post 1950s. But once you get past the Formica test house or the mirroring of international foods crazes of the late 60’s into the 70’s that are then represented In the very ikea and Swedish inspired chintzy kitchens of the 70’s the book does just trail off.
Still it has lots of primary texts and beautiful ads and photos of these trends in their prime. It is odd that some ads are cropped weirdly and others are depicted as they were printed but I guess that internet archives for you
January 1, 2024
Midcentury, technically, was 1950. We, right now, in the year 2024, are as far from 1950 as 1950 was from the US's centennial year of 1876. What do you think about when you think about 1876? Laura Ingalls Wilder was 9 years old in 1876. The Long Winter wasn't even till 1880, and at that time coal stoves and kerosene lamps and telegraphs were considered the height of modern technology. When looking at the mid-century postwar kitchen, it's so easy to forget just how recently things that we take for granted, such as reliable electrical service and home refrigeration, were invented and made widely available, and just how fast things were changing.
This book is so good. Also I LOVE the "Kitchen of the Future" section. So close, and yet so far. 4.5 stars.
This book is so good. Also I LOVE the "Kitchen of the Future" section. So close, and yet so far. 4.5 stars.
October 6, 2019
A good historic overview/nostalgia-fest on the American kitchen, and how over the 20th century it evolved from a utilitarian space used by servants in wealthy homes to the primary gathering space for busy families in every economic strata. Innovations like indoor plumbing, multi-use workspaces, refrigerators, dishwashers and computerized appliances are included with lots of fun images from vintage print ads. Much of this stuff was overly familiar to me, personally, but for someone with a casual interest in the subject it's a just-fine read.
April 13, 2022
So many architectural coffee table books focus on exterior, interior, and hardscape design but there are relatively few that focus on the kitchen. As a car guy, I know that the business ends of a vehicle (the dash board and under the hood) can be as significant as the sheetmetal outside. In the same way, I believe the kitchen is a nerve center of the modern home. The research and scouting for this book must have been tough, and I appreciate the work that went into it. I used this book as a research resource when writing my own fiction story (which is set in a mid-century home).
January 15, 2020
This was a true joy to read. The history was detailed but not exhaustive, and the eye candy was stunning. Even as we can laugh about some of the antiquated attitudes and interior design throughout the 20th century, they are still fascinating and fun to pick apart. I can’t wait to read other books by this author. I was truly sad to be done reading this.
January 6, 2022
Enjoyed this walk through the history of kitchen design and how it relates to the role of cooking in American life, changing gender roles and the future of technology. The archival photos and ads were gorgeous, and I liked the digressions about the promising (and often unrealistic) tech that never made it to our present, like modular kitchens and infrared heating.
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March 18, 2025Interesting stuff -- good text and accompanying images. It could have used more of a wrap-up but I quite enjoyed it. More information than Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen, though complementary.
January 6, 2020
Interesting read, many reprints of ads and marketing materials. Text more informative than expected. Discussion of household labor divisions and whether all these labor saving devices actually led to less time spent homemaking.
own
June 18, 2020Glad our Khruschev saw through smoke and mirrors at the Kitchen Debate with Nixon at the 1959 US Exhibition in Moscow. A funny case of the Americans, demonstrating a Potemkin village to the Russians :D
February 13, 2022
You may have picked up this book to look at some cool vintage photos, but there is some awesome history in it. From the Cold War, to Julia Child, to Formica, to the women’s liberation movement of the 70s, to The Jetsons- it’s the Behind The Music of kitchens. It’s an awesome resource.
October 8, 2019
A solid, if a bit choppy, secondary history of kitchens and domestic work with emphasis on design. Good-to-great pictures: sometimes too many from the same booklet our source.
October 11, 2019
Interesting overview of the topic but very short and mainly pictures.
August 29, 2020
I love the vintage ads! The styles and lines of the designs appeal to me but some of those colors were a bit out there for me. I enjoyed this one.
December 31, 2020
It's a nice relaxing read! Really furthers my desire to have a midcentury kitchen someday.
May 6, 2021
A very brief, breezy, and only mildly informative overview; it’s worst sin is that it reprints the cool vintage ads but so small that you have to strain to make out the blurry text.
July 11, 2023
I enjoyed reading the history of the kitchen. I love all the pictures that were included.
August 23, 2024
I really enjoyed this book and my biggest complaint about it was that it wasn't more in-depth and longer--I just wanted to keep reading and learn more about the topic.
August 25, 2024
A delightful illustrated book on how US kitchens changed over time and what that says about contemporary society
September 15, 2024
3.75 stars
December 14, 2024
3.5 stars.
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January 1, 2025loved this so much. really illuminated why i love midcentury design and kitchens so much.
April 6, 2025
A wonderful resource for how kitchens moved into the modern era.
February 22, 2021
When I think of the room that most makes me think of a mid-century family, it is the kitchen. I want my kitchen to look like it stepped out of the 50s or 60s (or really even the 70s). I have vintage Pyrex and a dream of having appliances in pastel shades. This book was a fun read, maybe less informative than Archer's book about Christmas, but the plentiful photos will have you dreaming of cooking for your family in a petticoat and apron.
August 21, 2025
Exceeded my expectations. Not just photos of mid-century kitchens, but an actual overview of the material culture.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews