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Postwar Housing Styles: Cape Cod, Colonial and Ranch
J. M. Edgar, CMC, CRC
The end of the Second World War brought a sea change to American housing, completely altering the American landscape in just 20 short years, creating not just huge numbers of new houses, but a entirely new way of life and unheard of prosperity. It was an amazing thing. Nothing like it had ever happened before. And, it is unlikely to ever be repeated.

Cape Cod house The classic 1-1/2 story Cape Cod on Worthington in south Lincoln. The attic has been finished and doghouse dormers added for more space and light on the second floor. On narrow standard city lots there was no room for a garage at the side of the house, so most were built in the back connected by a long drive — for your snow-shoveling pleasure. The single stall garage is typical. Brick is very common on these houses in Lincoln, but elsewhere the usual siding was cedar wood lap siding. The demand for housing had been growing for years. The Great Depression of the 1930s depressed, among other things, home building. Houses were built, but not nearly enough of them. Housing starts plummeted 90%, from 937,000 in 1925 to barely 93,000 in 1933. Decent housing of any kind was hard to find. By 1940 rents reached an all-time high, prompting the very first Federal Government rent controls. Then came the World War. All of the "strategic" materials needed to build housing went to war with our armed forces and built barracks, airfields and officer's clubs from Burma to Murmansk. By the end of the war housing demand had been steadily outstripping supply for an entire generation.

Readers Write
This is one of the most informative articles I've seen on Postwar Housing…great job!

Leigh., Westchester County, NY Hudson Smith Home
But, in 1946 the world war was finally over. Americans had money jingling in their pockets for the first time in a long time. Thirteen million Americans had just returned from wartime military service. Lives that had been on hold since the attack on Pearl Harbor were resumed. There were a record number of marriages in 1946 and 1947, and a record number of births — the beginning of the Baby Boom generation. But, there was just no housing to be had. Young couples with Cape Cottage One of the the many variations of the classic post-war Cape Cod. The gables on all sides and sharply pitched roof provided enough room in the attic for two good size bedrooms. This style is commonly called a cape cottage, or just "cottage" style. children were living above garages, in spare rooms, in tiny apartments with their parents; returning veterans were forced to live in their cars. The government erected temporary veterans shelters to ease the problem in particularly overcrowded areas. But, what people wanted was housing: good, affordable housing.

Before 1950 we were overwhelmingly a nation of tenants. Most families rented their home. The ideal of actually owning a home was distant dream to the average working American. It took years and years to save enough for the hefty down payment on even a modest pre-war house. Many people simply could never do it. So the most that young postwar families expected was just something clean and decent to rent. Home-ownership was something they considered completely out of reach until much later in life, if at all.

But, for once the United States Congress was leagues ahead of the American public. Starting as a modest and almost unnoticed provision of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (popularly known as the "GI Bill of Rights"), the government gave each of the over 13 million returning war veterans the ability not just to rent, but actually buy a modest first home by eliminating the down payment and guaranteeing part, and later all, of his or her mortgage.

For the first time ever, the average working guy — the policeman, the electrician, the bus driver, the assembly line worker — could own his own home; and a solid, well built, home that could not, by government regulation, cost more than $10,000.

Millions of families who never even dreamed of home ownership suddenly found themselves in the market for a new home.

Housing demand, already gigantic, simply exploded.

…Just as Far as the Eye Can See…
Photo: Tony Linck for Life Magazine Click to enlarge Click to enlarge

All the men and materials needed to build a Levitt Cape Cod circa 1948. Everything that could be pre-made was pre-made: stairs, fences, cabinets, doors, even the window boxes and picket fence were pre-assembled to save time. It's just after dawn. A small army of surplus army trucks rumbles through the morning mist over newly paved streets. Every 60 feet they stop briefly in front of a just-cured 800 square foot slab of concrete and drop identical bundles of lumber, pipes, siding, bricks, shingles, tile and rolls of electrical wire.

Construction crews arrive in small, quiet groups, subdued by the early hour, and quickly go to work; raising walls, framing roofs, hanging Sheet­rock®; siding, roofing; laying brick and painting. Each crew does its own particular job, then rushes over to the next slab and does it all over again.

Photo: U.S. State Department Moving day
Click to enlarge
Move-in day at a newly completed sub-division, 1953. Under this furious assault of men and machinery, new houses rise at an astounding rate — one finished house every 16 minutes. They sell for $7,990.00; $20.00 in closing costs and a $57.00 a month payment mortgage payment — a mere 20% of a working man's income. As many as 350 houses are sold in a single day.

This is Levittown, and Levittown is busy. With the same con­cen­tration, speed and ef­ficiency that built airfields on Guadalcanal and tank bridges over the Rhine, construction veterans of the World War, without fuss or ceremony, are quietly building a new style of American city, and, with it, a new American way of life.

Alfred Levitt designed his houses with an eye to mass production, and William Levitt, based on his experience in the Seabees building pre-fab structures for the Navy and Marines, broke down the building of a house into 26 discrete steps, each assign to a sub­con­trac­tor.

Levittown Photo: the Levitt Corporation.
Levittown
Sidewalks border grassy lawns and wide, clean streets leading to community parks, swimming pools, and ball diamonds. Backyard fences are prohibited to foster neighborliness. There are no four-way road intersections to promote accidents, and "no child walking to school has to cross a main street to get there". Sub­con­trac­tors, paid by the piece, not by the hour, did the actual building using precut lumber and stair­cases already assem­bled in a central ware­house. Doing exactly the same job over and over and over again, crews quickly devel­oped blis­tering speed and amazing efficiency (See: "A Carpenter Remembers", at left).

President Harry Truman's Ve­ter­ans Ad­minis­tra­tion was de­ter­mined to use its mort­gage gua­rantee lever­age to ensure that houses for re­turning war ve­ter­ans were sub­stan­tial, but still did not cost over $10,000. In an era in which build­ing codes were rare, the VA's de­tailed re­gula­tions for GI Bill housing became the de facto build­ing code in many lo­cali­ties. Every house was in­spected. Every house had to pass. VA in­spec­tors were veterans themselves, and ab­so­lute­ly without mercy.

To beat the $10,000 limit, garages and base­ments had to go. Levitt houses were built on slabs, park­ing was at the curb. But, these were solid, well-built houses, not cracker boxes.

All had underfloor radiant heat and Thermopane® dual-glazed windows — 30 years before anyone else. Venetian blinds were installed "Just Look How Won­de­rful It Is."
"They [had] just paved [the street], but it was covered with mud. And I said, 'Oh, that's our house right there.' Downhill [Lane] 33, there it is.'"

"We walk up and there's this slab in the ground, and believe it or not, we're looking at it, and I said, 'Well, let's see: The bathroom's over here; there's where the bedroom is. And I laid down right on it. The wet slab. She said, 'Get up, you fool.'

'Nah", I said, 'just look how wonderful it is.'"
David and Mildred Glaser
One of the first Levittown couples. Courtesy the Levitt Corporation. on every window. Kitchens were decked out in enameled steel cabinets with Formica's amazing new countertops — hygenic and durable.

Every house came complete with a Bendix automatic clothes washing machine (and by 1955 a clothes dryer), a General Electric range and refrigerator, a built-in bookcase, a white picket fence, and flower boxes beneath the front windows — all included in the price of the house. A staircase led up to the unfinished attic that could be turned into more bedrooms as the family grew.

There were no extras, there were no options. You got, with minor variations in color, trim and exterior finish, the exact same house as everyone else.

And, it was a wonderful house — the American dream house — all in a row — row after row — just as far as the eye could see. The American Dream House…All in a Row…Row After Row…
With a keen 20/20 hindsight some 60+ years later, we can clearly see the many problems caused by the mass postwar migration to suburbia: the sprawl, the highway congestion, the pollution, our growing dependence on foreign oil, the row upon row of almost indistinguishable tract houses.

What we seem to have completely forgotten, however, is that in the immediate post-war years a tiny suburban house with its own little parcel of green lawn, some scrawny rose bushes, and two gangly saplings in the front yard was a dream come true for Depression-dazed, war-weary American families.

Our cities were tired, run down and dirty. There had been little new building for two generations. And no money for repairs. City treasuries during the Depression were mostly bare. City streets were indeed mean: poorly lit and crumbling. There was yet no word for smog, but there was plenty of it — coal was the primary home heating fuel. Rents were high and apartments were small, old, and squalid. Many had no hot water and only limited electricity. The shared bathroom was down the hall. There was no parking for the new cars nearly everyone could now afford.

People just wanted out. They wanted something nicer, cleaner, and newer, with air you could breath and green grass to walk on. And, for $20 in closing costs and a mortgage payment of $57 a month they could have it — a brand new, Cape Cod with its own yard, a modern kitchen with built-in cabinets and appliances, heated tile floors, and central hot water; curbside parking on wide new streets, and abundant privacy ensured by a goodly expanse of green lawn between your house and your neighbor's.

The name of this glorious place where the American dream came true was…

Levittown
William Jaird Levitt will always be one of the most controversial figures in American life. He taught the world how to mass produce high-quality, affordable houses (see sidebar), and built more of them than anyone else in history, but never owned a house himself, and hated the suburbs. He rented a 5th Avenue apartment in New York City.

A Carpenter Remem­bers.
By Larry Hahn, a post-war framing contractor in Southern California.
[T]he demand for new houses was so enormous that it required revolutionary thinking about how to build them. We didn't have time to build one house at a time. We needed to find ways to build 500 houses at once…

To compete you had to specialize. As specialists we got pretty fast. When I started out as a carpenter, I was expected to hang eight doors a day. With a helper and the advantage of production tools, my friends Al and Royal Schieffer could hang nearly that many in an hour….

[W]hat was lost in the massive building boom was not quality. What was left behind was all the hand-crafted details that take time to create. We weren't building California bungalows or Victorian ginger­bread houses. We were building solid tract houses that working-class families could afford to buy. And you know what? More than 50 years later, despite fre­quent earth­quakes, those houses are still there. Hundreds of thousands of them."
excerpted from: "One Carpenter's Life", Fine Homebuilding #177, March, 2006) He is one of Time Magazine's 100 most important people of the 20th century, in good company with the likes of Franklin Roosevelt and Robert Goddard of NASA fame. But, he died penniless in 1994, unable to pay his bill at the hospital to which he had donated millions of dollars.

Like it or not, William J. Levitt forever changed our world. His ideas literally rebuilt America. He gave us not just a new kind of house in a new kind of neighborhood, but a new style of living with a new word to describe it: "suburban".

By 1950 every major metropolitan area in the United States was in midst of a housing boom — barely slowed by the United Nations "Police Action" in Korea. And by the mid 1960s the majority of Americans had become "suburbanites". William Levitt's mass production techniques had enveloped the nation. Between 1945 and 1965, 28 million new homes were built — an average of nearly 5,000 houses each and every working day — more single family homes than had been built in all of American history up to that time.

Levitt's mass production methods helped ensure that houses stayed affordable. Through the 1950s and early 1960s, the cost per square foot of a new home barely budged. Although selling prices were rising about 5% per year, the average house was at the same time getting larger and more luxurious: 40% bigger by 1965 with central air conditioning, better insulation, more appliances, improved design and extensive landscaping. In 1950 the typical new house was a one-story two-bedroom Cape Cod that cost $8,000. A generation later it was a climate controlled, landscaped, two-story three-bedroom colonial with attached two-car garage that cost just $20,000 with a mortgage that was still less than 20% of a workingman's wages.

The Postwar Cape Cod
Enlarged Cape Cod Adding a wing or two to a classic Cape Cod was a simple and relatively inexpensive way to get more space. Many floor plans were designed with provisions for future expansion. The Levitts did not invent the Cape Cod style. It was a traditional Colonial Era architectural style: boxy, low to the ground with a sharply pitched roof and narrow eaves. It is a style that re-appears from time to time in American architectural history. It briefly emerged from the shadow of Victorian architecture in the late 19th Century Colonial Revival period, then again beginning in the 1920s when it was re-popularized once more by Boston architect Royal Barry Wills whose writings sparked a revival of early Colonial styles, primarily in New England. The Levitt brothers, however, successfully adapted the Cape Cod to their mass production techniques; and both the style and the techniques were adopted widely during the postwar housing boom. Typical Post-War Cape Cod Plan Click to enlarge Click to enlarge

This efficient 950 square foot design made use of every inch of space.

The Levitt Cape Cod had 4-1/2 rooms: living room and kitchen across the front, two bedrooms at the rear and a bath tucked in behind the kitchen. But, it kept the boxy rectangular shape, high pitched roof and narrow eaves characteristic of the original Cape Cod style. The floor plan was soon revamped so that the kitchen was at the back of the house, for reasons of better privacy and to make it easier to watch the children in the back yard.

But, relatively few pristine postwar Capes still exist. Improving your tract house became something of a nationwide obsession in the 1960s, spawning a whole new "do-it-yourself" industry and creating the tool-belt-totin' "weekend warrior". Almost as soon as the paint was dry on the original house, American homeowners turned to making it bigger and better. Finished basements, new gardens, garages, porches, decks and, for the very ambitious, bedrooms in the attic or whole new additions. In Nebraska a lot of Cape Cods were built as one-story homes with relatively low hip rather than gable roofs, reducing the opportunity to expand easily to a second floor. But, this did not prevent owners from expanding them: out the back, out the side, or remove the roof and add a story. Some expansions are so extensive that it is had to tell that there was once a Cape Cod under the pile of additions.



The Postwar Colonial
Pre-war Colonial House A pre-war Colonial house. Note the typical Georgian trim detail around the front door and along the eaves. This time-consuming detail was quickly eliminated by post-war builders pushing to build unheard of numbers of homes in the shortest possible amount of time. The Colonial style of house has been around in one form or another since before the Revolution. There was a revival of the Colonial styles after 1870 that lasted into the first two decades of the next century. The Colonial Revival is often seen as a stylistic backlash against the excess of Victorian housing styles and a yearning to return to the country's "more wholesome" agrarian past. This sentiment helped trigger the Arts and Crafts movement that gave rise to the various architectural styles that had swallowed the Colonial Revival by the 1930s.

During the postwar housing boom, the Colonial style arose once again to serve the need for a larger house that could be mass produced in very large numbers. The Cape Cod was just not enough house for many postwar homebuyers. They wanted three bedrooms rather than two and a little more space. Builders, already familiar with the humble Cape Cod, merely added a second story. The additional story allowed the bedrooms and main bath to be moved upstairs. This, in turn, permitted a full formal dining room as well as a larger kitchen and living room with a guest bath just off the entry hall. And thus was born the mid-century Colonial house.

Dutch Colonial A Dutch Colonial style house with its gambrel roof on Worthington Street, Irvingdale area of Lincoln. Like the Cape Cod, easily added to, Colonials soon sported wings, decks, porches and attached garages. As time went by, fewer and fewer of the smaller Cape Cods were sold and the larger Colonial in its many different forms, particularly the split-level, became the dominant tract house style by the mid-1960s.

Modern Colonial House A late post-war split-level version of the Colonial with integrated garage. The house is now far removed from its Cape Cod roots and not a hint of the Georgian detailing remains. But, it now has the obligatory bay window, purely decorative, non-functioning shutters, an integral garage and unfinished "rec room" in the basement. In many ways a more functional house, it has, however, lost a lot of its charm. By then the simple post-war colonial had undergone a number of major transformations. The second story was made larger by cantilevering it over the ground floor. The larger space allowed for a small additional bathroom attached to the "master bedroom" — a term just coming into use. Variations in roof styles and detailing emerged. Adding a gambrel roof turned the structure into a Dutch Colonial. Split foyer colonials inspired split-level colonials with the obligatory unfinished "recreation" room in the basement. These allowed as much living space as ranch style houses (see below) without the large lots required for ranch houses. Integrated one and two-stall garages became indispensable in the late 1960s.

But, by that time the style has lost many of the elements that had originally defined it. The early Georgian detailing such as the entry cornice and detailed eaves was gone as was the two-story rectangular shape. Split-level and split-foyer variations had so diluted the style that it was almost unrecognizable. In fact, whether a split level house is termed a Colonial or a Raised Ranch is now often a matter of which label will most quickly sell the house. The Colonial had become a "left-over" style. Any two story house that did not fall easily into another style classification automatically became a "colonial".

The Ranch House
The Ranch Style became become one of the dominant home styles during the middle decades of the century and passed the Colonial in popularity by the 1970s. The Ranch was geared to casual indoor-outdoor living with its open floor plan, semi-enclosed patios nestled between the wings of the house and extensive use of glass doors and large picture windows to bring the outdoors in. In 1977, 77% of the single-family houses built in the U.S. were single story Ranches and Cape Cods.

Photo: Lancaster County Assessor Ranch A brick ranch style built in 1953 on Fall Creek Road. The Prairie influence is very evident in this house. As this example shows, the Ranch Style which is often considered relatively bland can have a great deal of character and charm. The Ranch was born in the sprawling southwest. Architect Cliff May is widely credited with having built the first Ranch style home in San Diego in 1932. Although to the modern eye, May's house does not look very much like a ranch-style house, it did have all the usual ranch features. It was greatly influenced by low-roofed Spanish-adobe houses on which thick walls, broad overhanging eaves and tile roofs were intended to keep the house cool in blistering desert summers. The complete absence of blistering desert summers did not keep the style from quickly migrating north and east into the suburban landscape.

This was due to a unique confluence of events. First, a casual, west coast style of living promised by the one story open Ranch design struck a chord with American homebuyers. Second, relatively inexpensive land in the suburbs meant that even the modestly affluent could afford the wide lots required for a rambling Ranch style. Third, and possibly most important, central home heating had become inexpensive and convenient. In the days when a wood-burning fireplace or coal stove was the main heat source, heating a house took a lot of work cutting wood or shoveling coal. Building up rather than out made the most efficient use of heat rising from the first floor to also warm the second (and possibly third). But, in the 1950s, reliable, cheap central heat was available just by turning up the furnace thermostat. It made Ranch houses possible in cold climates. Without central heating and later air-conditioning, the Ranch style would probably be nothing more than an interesting Southwest regional curiosity; something like the Tidewater style of the deep South or the Spanish Mission of the Southwest and California.

Ranch The promise of casual indoor-outdoor living: Large windows and glass doors open onto a secluded patio nestled between the wings of the house. As the house style migrated north it shed much of its characteristic southwest flavor and began showing more Prairie style influences — at least in more affluent neighborhoods. In its tract house version, builders seemed to make a special effort to make it as bland and characterless as possible. In fact the Ranch style is often described as the "complete absence of style" — which is absolute nonsense. A well-styled Ranch has as much character as any other house type. It's just that there are not that many of them. The defining characteristics of the style were also muffled when the variations started such as the "Raised Ranch". Today the Ranch is largely a "left-over" style like the Colonial. Any one story house with a low roof that is not a Cape is probably going to be identified, rightly or wrongly, as a Ranch.

The Ranch style has been declining in popularity because it requires so much land, and land is getting more expensive nearly everywhere. In 2005 single story houses, including Ranches, had declined to just 42% of new homes sold — far below their post-war peak. But, the main features of the Ranch style, the open floor plan and merging of indoor and outdoor spaces, have retained their appeal, migrating to contemporary housing styles that look absolutely nothing like a ranch.

Atomic-Age Interiors
Postwar housing featured what we might call "minimalist" interiors. The advent of gypsum drywall eliminated the need for the wide trim The Eames Lounge Chair An icon of the post-war period: the Charles Eames Lounge Chair® and ottoman have been in continuous production for over 60 years. Available from Herman Miller, Inc.. Art Deco Room An art deco-influenced living room designed by House To Home. A comfortable club chair and bold geometric patterns in muted colors are typical of the style. boards required for wet plaster walls. Very narrow trim soon became the new standard that persists even today. Many houses started with tile floors. But, the asphalt tile used at the time became brittle after a few years and broke apart. Few houses had it after 1960. Oak wood strip floors eventually became the standard, lasting until about 1975 when wall-to-wall carpeting took over (made possible by the wide availability of the affordable vacuum cleaner — but that's another story). True linoleum and later sheet vinyl were the standards for kitchens and baths. Plain doors and windows, and the absence of crown or chair moulding contributed to the "vanilla" look of the period.

Most did not stay vanilla very long, however. Homeowners immediately set about adding the special touches that made their new house a unique home. Some of the more faddish postwar decorating trends came and went quickly. Remember Campaign furniture and the (best forgotten) Mediterranean style? Both appeared and disappeared in about five years, leaving virtually no trace that they ever were. Art Nouveau Living Room Bold geometric paintings adorn monochromatic walls. Chrome, glass and leather chairs complement a comfortable bright fabric loveseat in this Art Deco living room.

But, the nice thing about postwar houses is that they can adapt to just about any interior styling. They are extremely flexible. While fussy Victorian may look out of place, any of what are termed the "modernism" styles can be used: art nouveau, art deco, industrial, and Scandinavian. Colonial houses lend themselves well to Colonial styles. Cape cods can adopt any of these as well as a toned down Arts and Crafts look.

Art Nouveau/Art Deco: Art Nouveau began in the late 19th century as the French version of the Arts & Crafts movement. In this country it morphed into the Art Deco movement that lasted in somewhat muted form until the 1970s. It was most popular in the 1930s and gave period movie theaters their characteristic look. Art Deco was not a true architectural style. It was more a style of decoration that emphasized very geometric shapes and forms using parallel straight lines, zigzags, chevrons and stylized floral motifs. The style made extensive use glass in both interior detail and furnishings and bold use of color in carpets and accessories.

The style fit perfectly inside post-war houses. Interior walls are typically monochromatic and light to keep the look clean and crisp. The tone of a room is often conveyed through its rugs, usually containing rich colors and strong geometric shapes. A comfortable sofa, at least one club or lounge chair and a coffee table are almost required elements of the Art Deco living room. Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Clean lines and natural materials; a Danish Modern dining room.

Scandinavian Modern: Called by many names, the most common being "Danish Modern", no style captured the post-war spirit quite like Scandinavian Modernism, a celebration of simple, uncomplicated designs, minimalism, and functionality.

The style was an extension of the European Arts & Crafts movement, particularly through the work of local designers such as Herman Gesellius and Armas Lindgren, but was also fertilized by ideas from other countries. Stylists and designers such as the Americans, Charles and Ray Eames, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret Le Corbusier of France and the German Bauhaus School made full use of the possibilities of new materials such as bendable plywoods and moldable plastics to design furnishings with sweeping curves. These designs were reformulated by Scandinavian models. In full flower by the 1930s, the movement was further refined during the austerity of the World War, a time when most imported and Scandinavian Modern living room Teak, chrome, a monochromatic color scheme, sparse and simple decoration of the Scandinavian Modernist style fit well in minimalist mid-century modern interiors. man-made materials became unavailable and Scandinavian designers were forced to return to local, native materials such as oak, birch, rush, clay and linen cloth.

After the war a few exotics slipped in, notably teak and rosewood, but the designs generally remained faithful to their wartime roots in native, natural materials and simple finishes. , Designed always with an eye toward low cost mass production, Scandinavian furniture was not just beautiful and functional, it was also affordable, and well within the mean of a typical suburban family.

Taking hold in New York soon after the war, the Scandinavian style quickly swept all across America. Young modern families found it to be the ideal expression of the new, informal, suburban lifestyle. The lines were geometric, clean and unpretentious and the scale was well-suited to the smaller houses of the postwar period. "Hand rubbed" oil-and-wax finishes on wood furnishings meant freedom from worry about the interaction between young children and fine furnishings. If a table got damaged, it could easily be repaired. Framed seating with removable, slip cushions meant that a new look could be had at any time with some simple reupolstery. Light weight Scandinavian furniture made cleaning and re-arranging a snap; and the natural materials and fine craftsmanship were a nice counterpoint to the mass produced, man-made materials that seem to explode into middle of the century: plastics, nylon, Orlon®, chrome, Melmac®, vinyl and Formica®, to name just a very few.

The Postwar Modern Kitchen
Photos: The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Levittown Exhibit The Levittown Kitchen

Click a thumbnail to view details of the Levittown kitchen.
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The standard 1950s Levittown kitchen as it looked on move-in day — in pinkish — as recreated by the State Museum of Pennsylvania. This incredibly well organized kitchen contained everything the post-war homemaker needed to prepare family meals and take care of the laundry all while watching the kids in the back yard, and all in a 10' x 12' footprint.
Among their other contributions to the American home, the Levitt brothers largely invented the modern, fitted kitchen characterized by wall-to-wall built-in cabinetry and appliances tucked into recesses. The idea of built-in kitchens had been around for decades. Most urban homes built after 1920 had at least some built in cabinetry. But, unless the Photo: Formica Corporation. Click to enlarge Click to enlarge
The retro mid-century look is becoming so popular that Formica has reintroduced many of its original 1950s patterns and colors. This one is "Boomerang" created by Robert Loewy from the Classics collection in skylark, charcoal, coral and aqua. One of Formica's all time greatest hits. kitchen was designed by an architect, not much thought was given to how the room should be organized. Often it was built by a carpenter who, after locating the sink under the kitchen window, built adjacent cabinetry where it looked right to him. It frequently ended up an absolute horror to actually cook in.

But, by the end of the World War science was being applied to kitchen design. In 1944, the President of the University of Illinois at Urbana ordered the formation of the Small Homes Council to research housing issues. By war's end, the Council had already published a number of research findings on kitchen organization. A lot of the work had been pioneered by home economists in the 1920s such as Christine Frederick, Lillian Moller Gilbreth, and Katharine A. Fisher; but was refined and sytemized by the Council into concepts such as the indispensable "kitchen work triangle" that became the cornerstone of kitchen design for the next half century. (The kitchen triangle endures today as part of the Kitchen Design Rules published by the National Kitchen and Bath Association).

The Levittown Kitchen
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The iconic post-war dinner table: chrome-edge Formica table with chrome and vinyl chairs and melmine dinnerware.
The professors had the theory, but the Levitts had the design and production genius. They incorporated the first widely available modern kitchen into their houses. The new kitchens were fabulous selling points, and the Levitts promoted them heavily and very successfully. Their kitchen featured, among other things, durable and hygenic enameled steel cabinets (faster to install than carpenter-built wood cabinets), Formica® countertops, a single-spout mixing valve faucet, a Waring® blender base built right into the counter top, an electric range with oven, a refrigerator, a washer and dryer, and a built-in chopping block next to the sink. It was revolutionary and an absolute miracle of function and organization. All of the basic household services were placed in one conveniently arranged location: cooking, laundry, cleanup, storage; with a view of the kids playing in the back yard. Virtually all kitchen innovation since the Levitt kitchen has been mere refinement of the basic modern kitchen born in the genius of Alfred and William Levitt in the immediate postwar years.

Kitchens Outside of Levittown
Outside of Levitt-built communities wood cabinets were more common than Levitt's preferred enamel-on-steel. The kitchen was streamlined with plain-as-day cabinet doors and drawers. Color was imported in tile and counter top patterns, some quite bold, and in colors rarely seen today including flamingo pink, lemon-lemon and turquoise. Typical features included drop soffits, Venetian blinds and a breakfast table of tubular chrome steel with a laminate top and matching chrome and vinyl chairs. At least one corner or end cabinet would be outfitted with open shelves for Mom's cookbooks. Colorful Melamine dinnerware completed the mid-century modern look. Millions of these kitchens were built; most have, unfortunately, been "updated". But, the look is coming back as "50s-Retro". Vintage steel cabinets, chrome and vinyl kitchen table sets, and even 50s appliances, if in good shape, are commanding impressive prices in the antiques markets, and just about all of these are being widely reproduced. Photo: Rejuvenation Inc. Click to enlarge Click to enlarge

The mid-century modern kitchen stunningly recreated by Rejuvenation Inc. as a setting for its period lighting and cabinet hardware. Everything in this kitchen is well-researched and authentic, down to the turquoise tile, Melmac® dinnerware and period cookbooks. For more information about this company, see Arts & Crafts Resources.

Retro Small Appliances
You picked a great retro-style refrigerator and range; even the dishwasher looks like it was built during the Truman administration. But, now your Euro-modern stainless Italian-designed, German-made espresso machine looks more than a little out of place. What to do? Espressione Coffee Maker No worries. There are scads of retro appliances to finish off your mid-century kitchen; and although they look like they were built more than a half century ago, their innards are completely up to date.

Coffee-Bar Essential With retro switches and a long-life aluminum boiler, this miniaturized commercial espresso and cappuccino-maker looks like what an espresso maker could have looked like if there were espresso makers 60 years ago. The racks on top even keep cups warm. The Cafe Retro, about $400.00, from Walmart.com.

Step Back in Time Cuisinart offers a a number of hand mixers that take their styling straight out of the 1930s. This hand mixer's chrome finish is the perfect complement to a retro-styled kitchen, Retro Cuisinart Mixer Waring Blender and it's a hard worker as well. The 220-watt motor packs enough power to mix a double batch of chocolate chip cookie dough without slowing down,. From the Kitchen On-Line Store, about $50.00.

The Ultimate 1950s Appliance In post-war society the Waring Blender was so essential to that new suburban institution, the cocktail party, that many kitchens had Waring blenders built right into the countertop. If you forgot to add a Waring Blender to your countertop, no matter, Waring still makes the PBB212 professional bar blender, barely changed since its debut in the 1940s. In a variety of retro colors from the Kitchen Universe, about $100.00. Retro Toaster

The Golden Newbie Sunbeam's Heritage toaster is a redesign of its 1940's "Toastmaster" deco model with modern features including extra-wide slots to accommodate thick bagels and muffins. The toaster's food select buttons include bagel, pastry, and toast with seven toast-shade settings. In addition, it has an option for heating things up without drying them out. Self-adjusting centering guides ensure that bread is perfectly aligned for even browning on both sides. Who knew it took so much technology just to scorch bread? In polished chrome (and some other colors, but stick with the original chrome). From Amazon.com, about $25.00. Kitchenaid Stand Mixer

The Kitchen King Kitcheaid made its first stand mixer in 1919, and hasn't changed it very much since. In fact, an attachment made in 1919 will still fit today's models. If you got it right the first time, why mess with it? The mixer is so iconic that its familiar bullet silhouette is trademarked; and it even has its own fan club. It mixes, blends, kneads, folds, beats, whips, slices, juices, grinds, chops, shucks, shreds, churns, polishes, purees, rices, grates, stuffs, mills, opens cans, sharpens knives, and makes pasta and ice cream. Whew! Available in just about every retro color Sunbeam MixMaster Stamp Click to enlarge you can think of, and a few you probably can't — more than 40 all told, including basic white. Even the less expensive mixers are lifetime appliances — maybe several lifetimes. Has anyone ever had a Kitchenaid mixer Sunbeam MixMaster Click to enlarge
The Sunbeam Heritage Mixer is the updated version of the iconic Sunbeam MixMaster first made in 1930. break? Available nearly any­where, $300-600 depending on model and accessories.

The Other Kitchen King If you don't need quite this much mixer, try the Sunbeam Heritage Mixer, a reissue of the original MixMaster first made in 1930. From Walmart.com for about $120.00. More people have owned a MixMaster than any other single appliance in American history. Thousands are still in use, and it is the only kitchen appliance ever to be featured on a U.S. postage stamp.
Are any of these links broken? Please report any broken or missing links. The mid-century kitchen was usually well thought out and functional, but small for the purpose into which it very quickly evolved — the social center of the home. Kitchen design did not really catch up with this revolution in kitchen status for nearly 25 years, but somehow American families made their little kitchens work. By the 1960's with the addition of a built-in dishwasher, disposer, undercabinet lighting, and the electric range ventilator, the modern kitchen came into being. The only significant innovation since that time is the microwave.

Cabinets: Cabinet wood was overwhelmingly birch, due to the widespread postwar availability of high quality birch plywood (originally developed to build war planes and PT boats). Natural varnished birch captured the light and airy look favored by the new suburbanites. Most cabinet doors were simply lipped sheets of plywood with exposed hinges and mechanical or magnetic catches. Cabinet corners were often rounded. The simple, unadorned cabinet designs fit in well with the Scandinavian furnishings of the day. (For more on cabinet door styles, see Cabinet Basics)

Countertops: For true authenticity, countertops should be laminate, preferably one of Formica's retro patterns. These were often edged in chrome trim, but if not, should have a square or diamond edge treatment. Ceramic tile was also used, and the tile was often carried up the wall to the bottom of the wall cabinets. Tile patterns were typically bold as were the colors. Solid surfacing with a laminate look would work. The key is to keep the square edge typical of the period. Granite and manufactured stone tops would be out completely of character in a Retro-50s kitchen.

Flooring: Kitchen floors typically started out in asphalt tile set in bold patterns of alternating colors. Asphalt tile is no longer available for the simple reason that it is not very good tile, but there are plenty of vinyl tile replacements. Sheet linoleum was also used. True linoleum is once again available, and in authentic colors and patterns for the period. A good substitute is sheet vinyl. In an upscale kitchen ceramic tile could be found, again in bold patterns and/or colors. Slate and oak strip flooring are also authentic. Oak and slate-look laminates would look right and be easier to care for. For more about flooring see Flooring Options for Kitchens and Baths. Photo: Big Chill. Big Chill Retro Appliances Completely modern on the inside, these retro appliances from Big Chill are com­fort­ably at home in any mid-century kitchen.

Other sources for retro major appliances: O'Keefe & Merritt Range

•  Elmira Stove Works, Northstar Collection.

•  Heartland Retro Appliances Energy Star-rated Classic Series.

•  Smeg Retro style refrigerator in eleven 1950s colors: black, orange, lime green, pink(ish), red, blue, cream, pastel blue, pastel green, and silver.

If you are looking for an actual restored vintage appliance such as the 1951 O'Keefe & Merritt range at left, try The Antique Appliance Company.
Are any of these links broken? Please report any broken or missing links.

Moulding: The moulding in a mid-century modern kitchen should be plain and understated. Complex mouldings were not a design feature of the style. Mouldings were largely treated as a necessary evil, needed to hide wall edges, but were deemphasized as much as possible.

Birch, Sweet Gum and Fir are the most authentic. Pine is a good substitute and is more readily available in the Midwest. Sweet gum is now so rare, due to overcutting and disease, that it is classed as an "exotic" species. But, authentic gum trim can often be found in stores that specialize in architectural antiques. Elm and oak were also used.

Appliances: It is certainly permissible to use completely modern appliances in your mid-century modern kitchen. But, it would be vastly improved with retro-look appliances. Many are available. Big Chill makes a complete line of retro appliances, including a dishwasher. Elmira Stove works makes a dishwasher panel to attach to any dishwasher for a retro look, and a range vent as well as a retro-range and refrigerator. They have all the functionality of modern appliances, but feature an authentic style and period colors such as Buick Red, Lemon Yellow, Flamingo Pink and Robin's Egg Blue as well as White, Bisque, and Black.

Most Requested Feature: More space. Many postwar kitchens are small — very small. The idea of kitchen as family social center had not occurred to mid-century architects. Kitchens were considered utility rooms, like the bathroom, to be kept as small as possible to add space to the living areas of the house. Now that we generally see kitchens as part of the living area - in fact, probably the most important part - the space is just not there. There are a number of tried and true options for getting more space for that dream kitchen, however. We can remove a dividing wall between the kitchen and another room, add a small bumpout to the kitchen or even a full addition to greatly expand the space. All of these possibilities are more fully explored in Finding Some More Kitchen Space.

The Post-War Bathroom
Mid-Century Modern Resources StarCraft Custom Builders has no economic interest any of these resources.
Associations
2020 Omaha: Omaha's preservation association dedicated to preserving the best of 20th century Omaha architecture.

Furnishings
Big Chill: Retro appliances. All of the features of modern refrigerators, ranges and dishwashers in post-war colors and styles.

Elmira Stove Works: Retro 1950's and Victorian Era appliance reproductions with completely modern workings. The line includes ranges, refrigerators, range hoods, microwaves and dishwasher panels.

Mid-Century Modern Furniture: Mid-Century Modern Furniture specializes in the finest reproductions of modern furniture classics, including re-issues from the original furniture designers and manufacturers including Knoll, Vitra, Modernica, Cherner Chair Company, Architectural Pottery, Malm Fireplace and Daniel Donnelly.

Rejuvenation For period lighting, hardware and house parts plus a raft of ideas and illustrations, we know of no better place than Rejuvenation. Truly excellent customer service.

Vintage Danish Modern: Post-war Danish modern furnishings. Inventory varies, but there is usually a nice selection of furnishings for every room. Prices are reasonable.

Publications
Atomic Ranch: Atomic Ranch Quarterly Magazine celebrates mid-century houses—from 1940s ranch tracts to 1960s architect-designed modernist homes with an emphasis on affordable solutions and homeowner renovations.

Preservation Magazine: The journal of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Web Resources
Fifties Web: Fashion, music, style, year-by-year history — just about anything '50s, including a whole section devoted to Burma Shave signs.

RetroRenovation: Probably the most complete Web source for 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s interior design, fashion and style. The site is essentially a moderated user site with lots of input from homeowners and remodelers. A great source of inspiration and ideas with good articles and lots of illustrations. It even has ideas for making a pink bathroom work.
Do you know of a mid-century modern or Retro 50s resource we ought to add? Please contact us.

Are any of these links broken? Please let us know.
Post-war tile bath in Pink Tile bathroom in pink. Vanities, if used, should be painted rather than varnished wood. More common was a wall-hung or pedestal sink. The post-war bathroom was small and Spartan. Architects of the period considered the bath to be a utility room, like the kitchen, furnace room and laundry, it had to be just large enough to do its job, without taking space away from really important rooms like the living and formal dining rooms. The rooms were just large enough to hold a toilet, sink and tub, typically 5' x 7' or 5' x 9' in upscale houses.

Small and Spartan, however, should not be taken to mean absent all style or refinement. These were well thought out, attractive and even pleasant spaces. The overwhelming motif was tile — tile floors, tile countertops and even tile wainscoting. Most of the tile was ceramic. It was so well set that more than a half-century later most of it still exists. Some was plastic. Plastic was the new space-age material in the 1950s and very au courant. All we can say now is that very little of it still exists because it was such incredibly terrible tile. What has not fallen off by itself was removed years ago. We see very little of it now. Photo: Apartment Therapy Post-war tile bath in Pink An original unrestored circa 1950s bathroom discovered by Apartment Therapy in Los Angeles. There is nothing to improve here.

Colors were vibrant. Like the kitchen pallet, decorators preferred bold pastels — sea cerulean blue, turquoise, pink, peach, lemon, black and white — but with little pattern. Partly this was a stylistic choice, but it was also faster to lay patternless tile, and post-war builders were for anything that saved time. If tile designs were used, they were almost always geometric and repetitive. Borders in a contrasting color were common.

Fixtures were fully modern. Aside from the low-flow siphoning toilet, every fixture in a mid-century bath is identical to those in today's bath. The only feature that has been added since then is power ventilation required by the advent of whole-house air-conditioning. Before air-conditioning, window ventilation was adequate. As the 1950s approached the end of the decade, showers were becoming routine. Tub/shower combinations were a mainstay of nearly every new bathroom by 1960.


Updating Your Mid-Century Modern House?

Cape Cod cottage We can help. We design and build kitchens, bathrooms and room additions that fit your post-war modern architecture and is just right for your budget and your personal style. Contact usE-mail us at design@starcraftcustombuilders.com and let's get started.





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