In August 1961, we moved into a home that was custom-built (as nearly all pre-WW2 homes were) in the mid-1930s. The kitchen was original, and mere months after moving in, my mother had the kitchen gutted and entirely remodeled, other than the wallpaper, which was probably not original-1930s and which featured a pleasant botanical print. Out went the whitewashed pine cabinets with colonial black hardware and the tile counters. In came maple cabinets with white Formica counter, a Frigidaire stainless steel double electric built-in oven, a garbage disposal, a Tappan steel finish coil electric cooktop, and the pièce de résistance, a KitchenAid Superba dishwasher.
Our DW had a wood panel that matched the cabinets, so I'm guessing that this model came either in a choice of metal panels or "supply your own panel" option. In retrospect, I'm not sure that wood was such an astute choice, because when you have little kids (I was 6, my sister 4) loading and unloading a dishwasher, there will bound to be drips and spills. We moved from the house ten years post-renovation and I remember the front panel showing signs of water damage (duh). Hopefully people who install fully integrated (wood panel, with door rim controls, so it appears to be part of the cabinetry) DWs use more water-resistant materials these days!!
