The 1950s Vintage English Rose Kitchen

Recently I have been asked by Amara to describe my favourite kitchen style for their comprehensive guide to kitchen design. I chose to discuss the 1950s vintage English Rose kitchen which is a firm favourite for most vintage loving fans.

Image by Simon Whitmore for FW Media for Style Your Modern Vintage Home

I shared Sarah from Planet Sputnik Homestyle’s kitchen which also featured in my book, Style Your Modern Vintage Home. (It was her amazing living room that featured on the front cover!)

This is what I said about it:

“My favourite kitchen is this original 1950s English Rose owned by Sarah Bradbury from Planet Sputnik which I featured in my book Style Your Modern Vintage Home. It was the “must have” kitchen of the time, produced in the UK out of stockpiled aluminium left over from spitfire manufacturing during the war. It was also the first modular kitchen with a metal frame that could be bolted together easily. I love the aesthetics as well as the practicality- the curved front drawers enabled a deeper worktop without losing floor space which was perfect for the 50s housewife. John Lewis make a modern version but you can’t beat the original! This example is extra special due to the addition of other vintage accessories such as the American cannisters and Caddymatic tea dispenser.”

Image by Simon Whitmore for FW Media for Style Your Modern Vintage Home

Buying a vintage, original English Rose isn’t for the faint hearted. They are really hard to find in perfect condition so you need to be prepared to restore them. I asked Sarah a bit about her journey, brining back her kitchen to life:

“Restoring our all-metal 1950s English Rose kitchen was like working with a giant Meccano set, using the sort of techniques you’d renovate a classic car with. We had to pull it completely apart: each cabinet is made up of about fifteen pieces, with the framework, plinth, metal inner and outer door panels, internal wood strengtheners, sound-deadening material, hinges, catches, stainless steel and plastic handles and so on. The fragile aluminium panels were badly dented, so they had to be straightened before being prepped for paint and re-sprayed pale yellow, rather than the original cream. Then everything had to be carefully screwed back together again before the kitchen was finally fitted. The doors took forever to hang correctly! It looks great now, but people don’t always understand the time and effort that went into getting it that way.”

Image by Simon Whitmore for FW Media for Style Your Modern Vintage Home

If you don’t fancy restoring an original, John Lewis of Hungerford have produced a modern version called the Creme De La Creme.

It also come in a glossy pink colour

Or how about mint green?

Then there is also a pale blue version.

I really love these kitchens but I do have a word of advice. These are not to everyone’s taste so if you go to all the trouble of restoring one, or spending out on one, then remember when you move you need to consider what you are going to do with it? Do you leave it to the next owner who may rip it out and heaven forbid, skip it? Or do you take it with you, which means you will need to replace the kitchen in the home you are leaving? I talk more about this in my blog Should the fixtures and fittings in your home be vintage?

Either way I am in envy of anyone who has one! Do you have one, or a different type of vintage kitchen. Then I want to share it here on the blog? Get in touch at [email protected]

Kate x

p.s. My kitchen isn’t like this at all, as let’s face it 1960s orange would look terrible with this 1950s style. Have a look at it here.