Kitchens in the 50s

Kitchens in the 50s were a lot less well equipped than nowadays. Many had a single tall unit (search images on Internet  for retro 50s kitchen unit) which had a double door cupboard at the bottom followed by a drop down front with a sort of enamelled metal (?) surface and this was the major work surface for food preparation. The top of the cabinet usually had two frosted glass doors. Two drawers were usual, sometimes above the flap, sometimes below. Random non matching table tops or cupboards completed the furnishing of the kitchen. Many sinks had curtains hanging from the underside concealing shelves on which cleaning materials were kept. Kitchens were seldom the large rooms which have become standard nowadays. Some kitchens had small pantry’s off them which usually had a stone or marble shelf to help keep things cool – necessary as many did not have a fridge, let alone a freezer.  Some people were lucky enough to have washing machines (see a post to follow this one) but these were not like the ones today. Lighting was probably a single bulb hanging from a flex with some sort of lampshade. Yes, life was so much easier then and people nowadays have so much to put up with their busy lifestyles . . . .