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Things You’d See in a 1970s Kitchen
UltimateClassicRock ^ | May 18, 2024 | Stephen Lenz

Posted on 05/19/2024 9:00:03 PM PDT by nickcarraway

We've said it before: the '70s was a vibe—a very amber-ish brown, dark orange, and avocado green vibe. We even recently took a fun trip down memory lane with our list of some of the most iconic objects from the '70s.

It's funny, we often think of the '70s as a light-filled, super hippy, peace-love-and-understanding time in history. But at home, when it came to color, things were pretty clunky, dark, and, well, dull.

Nothing had more of a '70s vibe than the heart of the home: the kitchen. Technology and gadgets really came in hot during this decade, with innovations to make coffee faster (and in copious amounts), slice your meat with ease, and keep your Kool-Aid fresher longer.

Kitchens Became Family-Friendly in the '70s

As families began spending more time in the kitchen, doing more than just cooking and eating, kitchen peninsulas with cabinets above, covered in Formica, started to appear. These spaces became perfect for kids to do their homework and for mom and dad to set out cold cuts when entertaining.

In fact, the '70s marked a time when kitchens started to get bigger in order to accommodate more activities. Home design website Apartment Therapy notes that this was the era when the kitchen started to become more of a part of the home, rather than a separate space:

The move from a small kitchen, closed off from the rest of the home (with perhaps a small table and chairs for casual dining) to a large kitchen, open to the dining area and the living room, reflected a change in the role of the kitchen, and a change in American life.

And the style—oh, the style. From dark wood accents to faux brick, rattan, and lots and lots of cookie jars, the '70s truly was a vibe.

Our '70s home tour starts now—first stop, the kitchen.

From mushroom decor to that iconic jug (you know the one), let's take a nostalgic trip down memory lane to the quintessential '70s kitchen.

The Original Crockpot

Nobody had time to make dinner, so you threw the chicken casserole in the slow cooker while making toast in the morning. When you got home before Mom and Dad, the house smelled amazing. And it still does!

Wall-Mounted Rotary Phone

The kitchen was the heart and communications hub of the home, where you could make a jug of Tang while talking to Stacey. Wrapping the phone cord around yourself while sitting on a swivel stool was mandatory.

The Jug That Everyone Had

Either you had the jug, your grandma did, or you both did. There's a good chance your mom bought it at the neighbor's Tupperware party, and you still don't know what that darn button did, but you pushed it anyway.

Electric Skillet

I read somewhere that there's a rumor these things produced their own grease. Whatever was made in them was guaranteed to be delicious.

Those Clunky Oak (?) Table and Chairs

You may still have these because, not unlike appliances from that period, they were made to last. The chairs had somewhat of a " pirate ship's steering wheel" aesthetic and there always seemed to be only one chair with arms, which we called the "Captain's chair" in my house. Yeah, I know.

Ugly Cookbooks

You were always sure to find a few ugly cookbooks on a shelf in the '70s kitchen. Food photography was kinda terrible back then but that was probably because the food was pretty bad too.

Collectible Spoons

You may recall us mentioning how collectible spoons were a key decorating theme at Grandma's house. Since these were at your house and not Grandma's, you may have used one to eat your Jell-O very, very slowly and Mom was not happy about it at all.

TV Dinners

While TV dinners pre-date the '70s, they were still a key part of kitchens at that time. With more kids taking charge of their own dinners while parents were out or not home from work yet, these convenient marvels were the ultimate go-to.

Electric Knife

"Plug this in and you will cut your arm off..." they all said. Well, I don't recall anyone ever using this odd invention and yet there was one in the cupboard for as long as I remember.

Avocado Green Appliances

Along with butter yellow, these dull green appliances were about the most colorful thing in a '70s kitchen.

Electric Can Opener

Open cans, sharpen knives and scissors, make the most unholy god-awful grinding sound when you use it—was there anything this couldn't do?

Giant Coffee Maker

The best part of waking up... Why did this thing brew enough coffee to wake up an entire battalion? It was another one of those appliances built to outlast generations.

Pyrex Bowls

Is there anything more iconically '70s than these indestructible bowls?

Fondue Sets

Used once, then sentenced to a life of sitting "on display" on the counter or tucked away in a cupboard, always tumbling to the floor when you dared to reach for the electric popcorn popper.

Electric Popcorn Popper

Speaking of the electric popcorn popper, this hefty version of the electric skillet must've weighed about 250 pounds and was a certified fire hazard, but man, did it churn out better popcorn than the later air popper (come at me if you want). And don't forget that little vent at the top where you'd plop the butter, ensuring it was perpetually greasy and stinky. Smell the nostalgia!

Mushroom Motif Decor

You know that Portlandia sketch called "Put a Bird on It!"? Watch it here - it's hilarious. Well, in the '70s, it would have been "Put a Mushroom on It!" Mushroom cookie jars! Mushroom lamps! Mushroom everything! Was it a psychedelic thing? The start of the Smurfs? Mushrooms were everywhere!

Owl Motif Decor

Like what we just said about mushrooms, but make it about owls. Literally putting a bird on it!

Macrame Planters and Spider Plants

Don't think a house plant can capture an era? Think again. If you didn't have a spider plant dangling in a massive macrame plant hanger in front of your kitchen window, can you really claim to have actually experienced the '70s?

Formica Table Top Coming Apart

The only thing more '70s than a Formica countertop was slowly peeling it off the surface until your parents had no choice but to replace it.

Rattan Furniture

If you were fortunate enough to have a wall-mounted phone in your kitchen, odds are you had a rattan chair and matching stool parked right next to it. (That is, unless you pulled the swivel stool from the peninsula over so you could spin while chatting.)

Floral Wallpaper

The floral wallpaper screamed early '70s, but it was such a pain in the you-know-what to remove that it stubbornly clung to the walls through the '80s, despite nobody actually liking it.

Very, Very Colorful Linoleum Floors

Sending shivers down the spine of every house flipper, this universally loathed floor covering likely found its way onto floors in the '50s/'60s and proved too stubborn to remove, thus becoming a signature lewk of the '70s.

Read More: Things You'd See in a 1970s Kitchen | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/things-youd-see-in-a-1970s-kitchen/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; History; Hobbies
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To: caww
.gals would spread these patterns on the kitchn table to cut the fabric...

My wife still does. She works her Pfaff pretty hard. My sister started in her teen years. She bought a Singer as she was sick of my mother's treadle model (no electricity) Wheeler and Wilson.
121 posted on 05/20/2024 8:33:25 AM PDT by Dr. Sivana
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To: caww

122 posted on 05/20/2024 8:34:44 AM PDT by caww (O death, when you seized my Lord, you lost your grip on me......)
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To: 9YearLurker

And it tastes better!


123 posted on 05/20/2024 8:36:41 AM PDT by caver ( )
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To: Dr. Sivana

I bought a machine and patterns etc....It was a total flop for me. No wonder I got D for sewing in school!


124 posted on 05/20/2024 8:37:03 AM PDT by caww (O death, when you seized my Lord, you lost your grip on me......)
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To: catnipman

Use sugar,makes it burn faster


125 posted on 05/20/2024 8:37:28 AM PDT by Keyhopper (Indians had bad immigration laws)
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To: caww

2 5 11/4 floppies, I used one of those. The salesman tole my father with a machine like this you’d NEVER run out of memory. And, a 1200 baud modem, wow.


126 posted on 05/20/2024 8:37:30 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: cyclotic

“You can’t imagine the decades of dust and decayed carpet/padding.”

i hope ya’ll used 3M industrial respirators (and not the useless N95 masks) ... that kind of nasty dust is full of unimaginably bad crap, including generations of decaying dust mites ...


127 posted on 05/20/2024 8:38:41 AM PDT by catnipman (A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil)
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To: Keyhopper

another option was to unroll a gazillion firecrackers to collect the aluminum dust/sulfur powder ... that stuff worked good too ...


128 posted on 05/20/2024 8:41:57 AM PDT by catnipman (A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil)
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To: TLI

What the heck is that, Elvis’ “Jungle Room”?


129 posted on 05/20/2024 8:44:58 AM PDT by PLMerite ("They say that we were Cold Warriors. Yes, and a bloody good show, too." - Robert Conquest )
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To: TLI

Does it still smell like cigarette smoke?


130 posted on 05/20/2024 8:47:12 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: catnipman

You’re making me hungry!!!


131 posted on 05/20/2024 9:12:04 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: caww; Dr. Sivana
My Mother, God rest her soul, had a bunch of those


132 posted on 05/20/2024 9:16:51 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: goo goo g'joob

It’s pronounced “hay-elped”


133 posted on 05/20/2024 9:51:23 AM PDT by Telepathic Intruder
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To: LilFarmer

Yep, my mom had corelle and me and at least one sister still use corelle.


134 posted on 05/20/2024 3:55:12 PM PDT by Pollard (Will work for high tunnel money!)
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To: T.B. Yoits

Big ones. With ridges. Never emptied.


135 posted on 05/20/2024 3:59:48 PM PDT by Fledermaus (Is it me, or all of a sudden have the buried trolls come out on FR like cicadas? It's all noise.)
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To: nickcarraway

Acrylic plates


136 posted on 05/20/2024 4:00:07 PM PDT by Fledermaus (Is it me, or all of a sudden have the buried trolls come out on FR like cicadas? It's all noise.)
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To: Fledermaus

Ruffles have Ridges.


137 posted on 05/20/2024 4:02:23 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: HombreSecreto

Check the Radar Range
About 2 minutes, chief

https://youtu.be/2kfL4Z5DdR8?si=qVKRBzOFueel3iCH


138 posted on 05/20/2024 4:07:55 PM PDT by Clay Moore (My pistol identifies as a cordless hole punch. )
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To: nickcarraway

Too funny.

That lady, standing in her kitchen, next to her avocado green appliances, looks just like my mom...similar outfit!!

I think we had that same laminate floor ... and, I still have that crock pot, that mom handed down to us.


139 posted on 05/20/2024 4:10:36 PM PDT by Jane Long (The role of the GOP: to write sharply-worded letters as America becomes a communist hell-hole.)
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To: caww

I still have one of those


140 posted on 05/20/2024 4:12:46 PM PDT by Fledermaus (Is it me, or all of a sudden have the buried trolls come out on FR like cicadas? It's all noise.)
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