The Nostalgic 1960s Kitchen Design I'm Bringing Back

What's old is new again, figuratively but sometimes literally. As a serious thrifter and history lover, it just made sense to take nods from the past when outfitting my mid-century ranch home — borrowing kitchen design trends from the '60s and collecting a china cabinet full of vintage Pyrex pieces that would have made my grandma proud. 

And when it came time to replace the generic white cooktop stove installed by flippers in the early 2000s, instead of heading to my big-box store, I decided to go retro. Way retro — with an antique avocado green 1960s cooktop similar to one I imagine the house might have had in its original kitchen.

With some patience and online digging, I found my vintage cooktop on a Facebook Marketplace post, salvaged from a soon-to-be-demoed house. My model is an RB-131L GM Frigidaire Deluxe cooktop and was manufactured in the late 1960s (1968, according to the original owner). With a little help from a handyman and an electrician, it was straightforward enough to swap out my old model for a much, much older one.

The payoff? A gorgeous, meticulously cared-for four-burner stovetop that boils water faster and cooks more evenly than any modern appliance I've ever cooked on — and for hundreds of dollars less than I could have bought a new one for. The pride and joy it brings me each day and the bragging rights for this diehard vintage-aficionado? A priceless bonus.

If you've ever bemoaned how awesome antique appliances were compared to modern counterparts, the OGs are still out there, if you're willing to hunt them down. Luckily for the vintage-inclined, most folks are moving in the opposite direction — ripping out older kitchen appliances (in shades of avocado, mustardy harvest gold, teal, or even poppy red) in favor of modern stainless steel ones. So if you know where to look — like in specialty subreddits, at salvage yards, and in vintage appliance Facebook groups — there's a good chance you can find a perfectly working cooktop. 

And if you find one in need of a little TLC, the work to restore a vintage appliance is totally worth it when you consider the quality of the machine. Online forums like those on Reddit are resplendent with tips on how to restore, care for, or simply nerd out about your new-old appliance — and you can find replacement parts on eBay .

There's a long list of vintage kitchen design trends we all wish would come back. But next time you're complaining about how they just don't make things like they used to (and they sure don't!), remember nothing's stopping you from shopping like it's 1960-something.