Red-hot kitchen accessories

Kitchen tour posts are always fun to read, and while I would be too embarrassed to show full pictures of my kitchen—trust me on this one—I do have a number of nifty collection of vintage and retro objects you might like seeing.

(Now to be fair, a number of the items I list below are not kitchen accessories per se, but seeing as they are free-standing objects in my kitchen, I'm going to stick by my title!)

The mechanical kitchen timer by Zassenhaus pictured above is, along with the toaster below, one of my favorite items because it combines design with utility. (If you're curious, I posted a review of this timer here: link to review)

1960s/1970s Tea Cups by Melitta/Schott Mainz

These tea cups with removable, tempered glass ("Jenaer glas", the original German version of Pyrex) by Melitta are ever so practical and stylish. If my husband would stop inadvertently breaking them when it's his turn to do the dishes, I would use them more often!

Glass Müsli Jar

This glas jar with plastic lid was the ultimate thrift store find: perfectly suited to my kitchen and low-priced! It now houses my morning müsli.

Vintage Ruhla Alarm Clock

Why does my kitchen have a Ruhla alarm clock in it?

It's red.

No one ever winds it up, so basically it just sits there looking pretty all the time.

1950s Red Rocket Lamp

Have you ever seen anything like this? The atomic design is so striking, so unusual that every visitor in my kitchen instantly walks over to it for a closer look. The silver coating on the top of the bulb ensures that the light reflects to the underside, with a faint halo escaping from the top.

Rosti Mepal Mixing Bowl

Although I usually swear by my glass mixing bowls, they are not practical in some cases, like when using a food mill. This large melamine bowl by Rosti Mepal not only matches my kitchen color scheme perfectly, but it also has an ergonomic, easy-to-grip shape with a silicone strip on the bottom that grips the table so my cake batter does not end up on the floor when I'm beating it frantically with a whisk.

Vintage Rowenta E 5214 Toaster with Cable

Back in January I promised some photos of the 1950s Rowenta toaster with red details my husband spontaneously bought for me on eBay. A couple months have past, but I am keeping my word! Here is the E 5214 in all its metal and Bakelite splendor:

One side of toast takes about a minute and a half to brown nicely, and when it's ready to turn, I just open the lid partway and the toast flips itself—like magic!

I posted an amateurish video in January demonstrating how this works with my original (and now defunct) black version of this Rowenta toaster.

The power cable (known in German as a "Heißgerätekabel") is separate from the toaster itself, which is why you will often find these devices without the accompanying power cord. After talking to the owner of a local thrift store, I learned that these old cables cannot legally be sold in Germany for the purposes of powering a device, but they can be sold as a "collector's item" or "decoration".

Above you can see that the plug that fits into the toaster has a ceramic fitting, probably designed to insulate the cable from the high heat conducted to the socket in the toaster through its metal fittings.

Below you will notice that the length of the cord is covered in a lovely black and white woven textile, much like the cables found on clothing irons.

Vintage Kitchen Posts Elsewhere on the Web

Someday when I have a kitchen I would be proud to show off I will post a more traditional tour, but for now why don't you take a look at some of my favorite posts on vintage kitchens:

Sassy Lassie's kitchen makes me nostalgic every time I look at it, without fail.

Kelly from Eclectically Vintage has a different style from Sassy Lassie's. Love the sink!

Solanah from Vixen Vintage stumbled across a mid-century kitchen worthy of a museum.

Antique Home Style has a gallery of 1930s kitchens. I'll take one of each.



♥ Feel free to add to my list with your favorites by posting a comment!