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
Wow, those are great memories. We still have the hutch, sheet music for the nursing home ministry and a thermos brand mug full of coffee. Some things never change.
It worked great when packed into a film canister.
Most people had a Veg-O-Matic and they still used lard.
My folks had a Western Orange Juice delivery to the house every week. We had a little built-in cupboard next to the side door that the driver would put the new bottle in and remove the used one. I think it cost about $1.85 a week.
60s and 70s were awesome... Far better than today.
Came here to say avocado green and it was in the first sentence.
Read later.
Another popular kitchen item that came about in the 70s was Corelle. My parents and my in-laws had the green blossom pattern. Some of those patterns are worth a lot today!
I still use Corelle, the plain white version. They are so sturdy but if you do break one, you will be cleaning up tiny shards for weeks!
What about the tall glass decanters filled with fruit and alcohol?
He [The milkman] would park his truck at the end of the driveway, and we could hear him whistling as he walked to the door. He would walk right into the kitchen without knocking, while we kids were eating breakfast. He would say hello to everyone, unload the milk, and walk out again. We kids didn’t find it strange at all.
The standard joke would be that he (or the mailman) was the father of at least one of the kids.
All the homes in my neighborhood had milk chutes built into the wall. My brother was kinda scrawny and would get calls from neighbors to scramble through the milk chute to unlock the door from inside when they forgot their keys.
I still use my Rival Crock-Pot that I got in 1976 or 1977, though it’s not the same model as in the photo (the stoneware doesn’t lift out). I still keep it in the original box with the styrofoam inserts, too.
The lard was far better for them than the Crisco!
Same here! I use it mostly at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Or avocado colored hair.
I remember those colors.
The only thing I really liked from the 70s was the music and a few of the movies.
I don’t think I ever saw that
I DID see 33 cents tacos 🌮🌮🌮 at Taco Bell 🔔 in 1978
And my Deluxe Skilcraft Chemistry Lab...
They don’t make them like that anymore.
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