Went to an open house, found a little time capsule.

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck) 02/15/2020 at 16:03 • Filed to: Houses

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This Hotpoint oven in the basement appears to have never been used — ever. Maybe not even physically touched in decades. So cool.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/15/2020 at 16:14

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Why are you going to open houses?

My grandma’s early 60s house, original owner, still has original countertop range, original hood, original counters, cabinets, etc. Unfortunately, she replaced the wall oven several years ago because the seal wasn’t sealing, and it apparently couldn’t be repaired. The appliances in her house were that same kind of bronze color.

The “beer fridge” in the garage is a Coldspot they bought when they moved into the house. It’s still there, purring like new.

I’ve been to a couple estate sales where the house still had a Frigidaire “Flair” slide out unit, pretty wacky:

lone_liberal > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/15/2020 at 16:19

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It’s even in brown instead of yellow or green! Very stylish. If the little piece of metal you pull out when you use the broiler is as clean as the rest of it then you know it wasn’t used much. Those things were hard to  clean.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail 02/15/2020 at 16:24

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It’s a few blocks away from me. It’s a slight hobby of mine to go to open houses, as I don’t get to visit many old homes for work.

That Frigidaire unit is amusing by hideous and clunky looking. Coincidentally, I have a "modern" Frigidaire oven.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/15/2020 at 16:34

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So you get the palate cleansing of old design, at least in houses from certain eras that have been maintained. I get it now.

That Frigidaire is similar to an early 60s car I guess, think if Virgil Exner designed appliances. The one in your pic really reminds me of the one in my grandma’s house, I remember it had knobs with kind of flared ends like that . My grandma recently lamented that she couldn’t justify spending 30K on a kitchen remodel - I told her to not touch her kitchen, someone might like it in the future. I wouldn’t gut it, anyway. Sad to think about, the oven in the house you saw might end up just being sent to the landfill. Several years ago my grandma replaced the original light fixture in the eat-in area for a ceiling fan. The original was a mid century kind of oval shaped thing that put a starburst pattern on the ceiling, it was cool. I have a feeling it was just tossed out.

Speaking of Hotpoint, my building was built in 2003 with cheaper model Hotpoint appliances. They look basic, but here we are in 2020, and knock on wood, they still all work fine.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > fintail 02/15/2020 at 16:34

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Ooh that oven door must be fun when the counterweight fails

Can't imagine how much electricity that fridge uses

jimz > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/15/2020 at 16:39

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the sunburst brown paint makes me think ‘70s, but the typefaces look more late ‘50s or early ‘60s. 

Brickman > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/15/2020 at 16:45

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Cool. I kinda like the look of old appliances. Much better than todays cold and bland flat stainless steel cubes and rectangles.

fintail > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 02/15/2020 at 16:50

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Electricity is cheap here - I am pretty sure her power bill is no more than $50/month.  Probably one of those cases (like new windows) where the replacement cost is dozens of years worth of extra energy usage.

fintail > jimz 02/15/2020 at 16:51

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My grandma’s house is early 60s, and had the same brown/bronze appliances.  I think by the 70s, “harvest gold” was the trend.

jimz > fintail 02/15/2020 at 16:54

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yep, when I was a kid we had second hand washer and dryer, the washer was avocado green and the dryer was harvest gold. 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > lone_liberal 02/15/2020 at 16:55

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That’s not brown it’s terra-cotta. 

fintail > jimz 02/15/2020 at 17:00

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I forgot about that green. I remember when I was a little kid, we lived in a house with a kitchen that had harvest gold counters to match the appliances, and loud yellow/brown vinyl patterned flooring (very dark wood cabinets, of course). There’s a style that can stay in the past.

jimz > fintail 02/15/2020 at 17:08

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fintail > jimz 02/15/2020 at 17:17

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Gah, those curtained shelves above the cabinets, why? Also the light fixture, I recall my aunt and uncle’s house had that style, and a wagon wheel fixture in the dining room.

Bingo on the counters and appliances. I want to say our kitchen floor was like this:

This was also a house that was bank owned before we moved in, because the prior owners were killed in a car crash. My mom let me know about that just a couple years ago - when I was little, I was always certain there was something strange about the house, and I didn’t like being alone in some rooms. Funny.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/15/2020 at 17:18

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My grandfather’s house still has the avocado green appliances that look just like that.

ranwhenparked > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/15/2020 at 17:36

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I wish more people appreciated old appliances, the stuff was built really well. I remember my grandmother had a 1960s GE Americana fridge with a double door fridge on top, drawer freezer on the bottom, and a built-in countertop in the middle. She was always getting offers from people who wanted to buy it, ran fine for almost 40 years until it finally crapped out.

Future Heap Owner > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/15/2020 at 19:01

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So Space A ge it hurts. Love it.

Chariotoflove > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 02/15/2020 at 19:03

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I love cabinet faces and butcher block island. 

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 02/15/2020 at 19:03

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And, it probably works just like the day it left the factory...