Vintage Stoves Never Go Out of Style

If the kitchen is the heart of the home, your stove is its soul.

And as the saying goes, “old souls are the best souls.”

What could be better, then, than a vintage stove dating from the 1940s – 1950s.

Take, for instance, our 1950’s O’Keefe and Merritt stove, which anchors the kitchen of our early-twentieth century brick Colonial. The crisp white porcelain, black enamel, and shiny chrome of our stove provide a solid centerpiece to the kitchen’s historically accurate renovation.  And the O’Keefe and Merritt stove remains as timeless now as when first purchased some twenty-five years ago.

Resting against the west wall of the kitchen, forwarded of the original shoulder-high sanitation tile accented with an art-deco black ribbon, the stove speaks more decorative than functional—but functional it is!

With four burners, including covers for simmering and slow cooking, a center griddle, oven, broiler, and warmer, the stove offers every convenience its modern competitors offer, and then some. But O’Keefe and Merritt stoves provide a quality unsurpassed by current manufacturers. The thermostat maintains a steady and accurate temperature—something other stoves rarely do much to the angst of homeowners who love to bake.

A fully restored O’Keefe and Merritt might run from $3,500 to $10,000 depending on the model, with companies such as Chambers Rescue, DreamStoves.com, Antique Gas Stoves, Retro Stove & Gas Works, or Grapevine Sally offering select inventory. And while O’Keefe and Merritt is a Cleveland favorite, if your tastes run toward other brands, those restoration companies include offerings from other vintage manufacturers including Wedgewood, Occidental, and several others.

You may also find a bargain on Ebay, but a word of caution: Always ensure your gas appliances have been properly tested to avoid the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and install a carbon monoxide detector if you don’t already have one. But that is good practice for all gas stoves and other gas appliances, so don’t let that dissuade you from opting for a retro range to showcase in your kitchen.

And while retro appliances are having a moment right now, as seen with the popularity of reproductions from brands like Big Chill, Smeg, Elmira, and others, opting for the original will ensure your stove stays in style for another 50 years.