The Classic And Glamorous Decade That's Coming Back As A Major Kitchen Trend

While kitchen design trends change and evolve over the decades, some ideas have much longer tenure or come back into vogue over time, providing inspiration and guidance even a century later. Kitchens of the 1930s, which marked a departure from turn-of-the century cooking spaces, may once again be influencing modern kitchen design today in new ways. The sleekness and glamour of this particular era compliments modern-designed and contemporary spaces, where some of the tricks and tips still hold value in making your kitchen the center of a home.

Kitchens from this decade marked a move away from previous designs, both in style and functionality. The 1930s were impacted by stylish, clean Art Deco influences and the new ways in which kitchens were being used, setting the stage for the modern layout. In prior eras, the rising middle class often had house staff, but as the Great Depression took hold, more women found themselves working in the kitchen and spending considerably more time there. There had to be more spaces that accommodated daily living, like seating and living spaces, than the decades before. Alongside the novel integration of appliances occurring at the time, this made kitchen designs more purposeful and efficient. Fixtures were chosen for utility and durability. Meanwhile, bright hues and patterns brought a charming character to the space without being showy. From innovative space-saving storage solutions to vintage details like gingham and colorful appliances, classic aspects of 1930s styles are gaining newfound appreciation in cozy kitchens of today.

New developments in how to lay out a kitchen took hold in the 1930s, like the work triangle, a vintage kitchen rule that decides where your countertops and stove should go. Other ways to maximize even smaller kitchens emerged as well, including built-in cabinetry, pantries, and compact innovations like fold-away cutting boards, hidden ironing boards, and recessed spice racks. While the earliest decades of the century often featured bare-bones kitchen elements mixed with tables and freestanding cabinets, built-ins dominated the 1930s, allowing storage and counter space on top of them that made working in the kitchen easier. Cabinets typically often went all the way to the ceiling to provide maximum storage.

As a living space, kitchens featured seating areas within or more openly adjacent to them than previous formal dining room layouts. Half walls, arches, and other ways of partitioning off spaces, like screens or dividers, provide a semi-open concept that allows people to share the space more fully. Another hallmark of the era included separated pantry areas. Materials in a 1930s kitchen were often sleeker and from the modern manufacturing age, giving us enameled fridges and stoves. Other popular elements included wall-to-wall linoleum on floors, tile counters, and soft colors like soft green, pale pinks, and muted blues. Others maximized bright and lively colors like bright red and yellow.

The benefits of designing your kitchen with the 1930s in mind are many, creating a dynamic and beautiful space to live and cook in. The unique classic appeal paired with practicality make it clear why this kitchen trend is coming back around. The results are compact and sleek no matter the space's size, with everything in its dedicated place and lots of storage. This makes the time you spend there, whether it's cooking, entertaining, or relaxing, much less chaotic and cluttered. You could update it to keep things off counters and other surfaces with built-in cabinetry as well as elements like pantries, larders, and appliance garages. Or, try the countertop cabinet trend that is taking over kitchens. It could also mean other built-in or hidden features, like cutting boards and trash bins, that stay tucked out of sight as much as possible.

With many people moving on from the open concept kitchen that dominated in recent years, the 1930s style offers an attractive alternative. Since these kitchens were developed with the all-important work triangle guiding them, you can get a more intimate feel by laying out separate areas for cooking, storing food, or dining with stylish partitions and archways that provide a semi-open feel. Banquette seating works well to this end and is already a trending element, a seemingly outdated home feature making a comeback for its major storage potential underneath. Cosmetically, you can also bring in materials and accents that hearken back to the 1930s look, including sleek Art Deco-influenced lighting, checkerboard tiles, and enameled appliances, all of which mesh wonderfully with the vintage layout.