Does anyone know when/who started the built in appliance design? Miami house had Thermador in 1954. St. Pete house 1957.
First "built in" appliances
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whirlcool
Well-known member
A lot of people who had bought homes in the 50's & 60's are getting shocked to find out that refrigerators have grown in size over the years. Take that photo above. Would that woman be able to find a replacement that would fit the same recess as the original did?
I know of two people this happened to in the past year. Their old refrigerators died and they couldn't find replacements to fit. In both cases it forced a kitchen remodel.
I know of two people this happened to in the past year. Their old refrigerators died and they couldn't find replacements to fit. In both cases it forced a kitchen remodel.
polkanut
Well-known member
Allen,
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 12pt;">That exact same thing happened to my uncle & aunt when their built-in 1957 Hotpoint fridge died of compressor failure 20+ years ago. They too ended up doing an entire kitchen remodel. The fridge, cooktop, and wall oven were all coppertone.</span>
<span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times; font-size: 12pt;">That exact same thing happened to my uncle & aunt when their built-in 1957 Hotpoint fridge died of compressor failure 20+ years ago. They too ended up doing an entire kitchen remodel. The fridge, cooktop, and wall oven were all coppertone.</span>
twintubdexter
Well-known member
My Whirpool all-refrigerator (and the un-plugged Kenmore all-fridge in the garage) would probably fit in those small spaces. Of course you'd have to stick a seperate freezer somewhere else. It certainly would be less expensive than a remodel...I always think "cheap."
Fortunately Rabbi Silverman provided room for 2 refrigerators, in my case the matching freezer, when he built my house with a Kosher kitchen...
Fortunately Rabbi Silverman provided room for 2 refrigerators, in my case the matching freezer, when he built my house with a Kosher kitchen...
There were builtin cooktops and ovens in the 40s according to magazine ads I have seen.
funktionalart
Well-known member
Built ins have been around forever....
in some form or another--but became very marketed circa late 40s/early 50s. My dad was an architect/contractor in the 50s and 60s...apprenticing during his high school years and getting an early education on built-ins back then.
in some form or another--but became very marketed circa late 40s/early 50s. My dad was an architect/contractor in the 50s and 60s...apprenticing during his high school years and getting an early education on built-ins back then.
Yep ...
"Built ins have been around forever...."
Most likely influenced by the Frank Lloyd Wright movement, which championed all things built-in.
In the '60s, the absolute height of luxury was a television set built into the the living room wall. So it's not surprising that Don Draper has one:
"Built ins have been around forever...."
Most likely influenced by the Frank Lloyd Wright movement, which championed all things built-in.
In the '60s, the absolute height of luxury was a television set built into the the living room wall. So it's not surprising that Don Draper has one:
funktionalart
Well-known member
The Draper's living room...
does it for me every time. I watch that show just for the set design. Those guys got ALL the visuals right.
does it for me every time. I watch that show just for the set design. Those guys got ALL the visuals right.
funktionalart
Well-known member
G*D is in the details....
Kudos to the prop masters and designers of those sets for being authentic and exacting
Kudos to the prop masters and designers of those sets for being authentic and exacting
whirlcool
Well-known member
Those Speakers!
They look like AR-3a's! AR (Acoustic Research) was one of the leading audio companies in the 60's. AR used to run advertisements showing which celebrities own their speakers.
They look like AR-3a's! AR (Acoustic Research) was one of the leading audio companies in the 60's. AR used to run advertisements showing which celebrities own their speakers.
whirlaway
New member
The first ones?
I think it was Thermador was the first right after the war.Ive seen them in old House and Garden issues! Say 1946!
I think it was Thermador was the first right after the war.Ive seen them in old House and Garden issues! Say 1946!
beekeyknee
Well-known member
Allen,
That's exactly what I told my Mother. I told her she better take care of that Amana and keep it maintained because she'll never find another fridge to fit in that spot.
B.
That's exactly what I told my Mother. I told her she better take care of that Amana and keep it maintained because she'll never find another fridge to fit in that spot.
B.
Don't know if this
counts as a built in, but the house was built in 1934, so is the fridge!
counts as a built in, but the house was built in 1934, so is the fridge!
dj-gabriele
Well-known member
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I always thought that the American concept of "built-in" (also the "modern" one) is really different to the one I'm used to here in Italy! 
At least from the photos I've seen the "built-in" appliances are just put into a recess of the walls or furniture and that qualifies as "built-in"
Over here, the appliance, like a refrigerator or dishasher, once "built-in" would be undistingushable from a standard cabinet as it is pannelled the same way as the rest of the kitchen, even washing machines, once built-in would be pannelled and disguised as a cabinet!
Anyway, to my knowledge over here built-in came on the market during the Italian economic boom in the 60s
At least from the photos I've seen the "built-in" appliances are just put into a recess of the walls or furniture and that qualifies as "built-in"
Over here, the appliance, like a refrigerator or dishasher, once "built-in" would be undistingushable from a standard cabinet as it is pannelled the same way as the rest of the kitchen, even washing machines, once built-in would be pannelled and disguised as a cabinet!
Anyway, to my knowledge over here built-in came on the market during the Italian economic boom in the 60s
First built in?
As a Brit I feel on shaky territory, but surely amongst the very first built ins in a mainstream domestic situation would be dishwashers - chiefly, I suppose, in the form of the "electric sink" but its strikes me that the earliest dishwashers (pre WW2) were built in in some form or another.
dj-gabriele makes an interesting point about what actually defines a built in unit - is it a unit that could only be built in or is a freestanding unit that has been built in? For example the vast majority of dishwashers sold here would look like portables to US/Canadian readers, even though they are designed to be built in, even with doors on the front so that from, the outside they cannot be distinguished from the rest of the kitchen.
I was going to say that here in the UK, the first built-ins would have been ovens and hobs until 1970s but then I realised that was incorrect in that the English Rose company (which has been discussed here before) produced fully built in fridge and (chest) freezer long with a range (what US would describe as apartment size) back in the 1950s. I can also think of a couple of situations where a Hoover single tub washer (like a Hoovermatic wash tub) was installed as part of a sink unit along with a wringer. And there was the "Sink a matic" from the 1960s which was basically a stainless steel sink with an impellor in the side to wash both clothes and dishes with a mechanical power take off to drive a mixer.
But apart from those exceptions it was oven and cook tops until the 1970s, although things designed for free standing use could still be built in, even to cabinet runs. The first departure would have been fridges and freezers, designed to co ordinate with built in ovens and followed by dishwashers, washers and driers designed to take a panel in the front to match the cabinets. Later then they came with doors to make then "disappear" - do you even have those in the US?
In my consideration of this question my mind turned to my favourite 1940s American kitchen - that of Rita Phipps in letter to three wives, where both styles are illustrated, the dishwasher behind Thelma Ritter in the first picture, and the fridge beside Ann Southern and Kirk Douglas in the second
Al
As a Brit I feel on shaky territory, but surely amongst the very first built ins in a mainstream domestic situation would be dishwashers - chiefly, I suppose, in the form of the "electric sink" but its strikes me that the earliest dishwashers (pre WW2) were built in in some form or another.
dj-gabriele makes an interesting point about what actually defines a built in unit - is it a unit that could only be built in or is a freestanding unit that has been built in? For example the vast majority of dishwashers sold here would look like portables to US/Canadian readers, even though they are designed to be built in, even with doors on the front so that from, the outside they cannot be distinguished from the rest of the kitchen.
I was going to say that here in the UK, the first built-ins would have been ovens and hobs until 1970s but then I realised that was incorrect in that the English Rose company (which has been discussed here before) produced fully built in fridge and (chest) freezer long with a range (what US would describe as apartment size) back in the 1950s. I can also think of a couple of situations where a Hoover single tub washer (like a Hoovermatic wash tub) was installed as part of a sink unit along with a wringer. And there was the "Sink a matic" from the 1960s which was basically a stainless steel sink with an impellor in the side to wash both clothes and dishes with a mechanical power take off to drive a mixer.
But apart from those exceptions it was oven and cook tops until the 1970s, although things designed for free standing use could still be built in, even to cabinet runs. The first departure would have been fridges and freezers, designed to co ordinate with built in ovens and followed by dishwashers, washers and driers designed to take a panel in the front to match the cabinets. Later then they came with doors to make then "disappear" - do you even have those in the US?
In my consideration of this question my mind turned to my favourite 1940s American kitchen - that of Rita Phipps in letter to three wives, where both styles are illustrated, the dishwasher behind Thelma Ritter in the first picture, and the fridge beside Ann Southern and Kirk Douglas in the second
Al
I was wondering more about ovens and range tops that were installed in cabinets.
"The first departure would have been fridges and freezers, designed to co ordinate with built in ovens and followed by dishwashers, washers and driers designed to take a panel in the front to match the cabinets. Later then they came with doors to make then "disappear" - do you even have those in the US?"
Very rarely - I'm a fan of the concealed appliance, outside of cooktop and oven. Even our built-in fridges, aka Sub-Zero are usually not totally integrated in that sense.
Very rarely - I'm a fan of the concealed appliance, outside of cooktop and oven. Even our built-in fridges, aka Sub-Zero are usually not totally integrated in that sense.
