30 Amazing Color Photos Show What Kitchens Looked Like in the 1950s

It’s the 1950s. The war is over, and the United States is enjoying a wave of unprecedented prosperity. Millions of GIs returned, eager for the comforts of home that they had been missing, and everyone settled down to a kind of nationwide nesting. Record numbers of homes were being built in the newly developed suburbs, and the center of all those homes was the kitchen.

Steel kitchen cabinets were very common in the 1950s, as manufacturers looked for ways to turn steel factories that produced weapons for the war to more domestic purposes. The dishwasher was also a new introduction to kitchens in the 1950s.

Throughout the ’50s, designers and homeowners embraced color in the kitchen, although these colors were softer than the ones commonly seen in the ’30s and ’40s kitchens. While kitchens in the ’30s and ’40s often featured bolder colors like black, red, or green, the ’50s was dominated by soft shades of blue, pink, and yellow — candy-colored cabinets with appliances to match.

Take a look at these amazing photos to see what kitchens looked like in the 1950s.