Television Kitchens

 

Most baby boomers grew up watching "Leave it to Beaver" or some other famous sitcom and felt like  their home was your home. Watching June Cleaver bake cookies or prepare dinner for Ward and the boys while wearing a dress and hardly breaking a sweat brings back fond memories for me. After I began installing and designing kitchens myself I noticed that every time I watched a sitcom or even a commercial I began to wonder how the design and layout of these TV kitchens could be improved.What would happen if we gave June Cleaver more counter space between the stove and refrigerator?

Or let’s knock down the wall of Archie and Edith’s kitchen on "All in the Family" and put in a nice big island, but we would lose hours of laughter watching Archie get hit by that infamous swinging door. 

How about the open concept kitchen that was shown on the "Brady Bunch" featuring that bright orange Formica on the walls? We laugh at it now but that was “state of the art” for its time. I remember seeing Wood Mode brochures from that time period and those types of colors and layouts were what was primarily featured. 

We look at the kitchens on our favorite TV shows and some we love but some we can't imagine how anyone could possibly boil water in. If you can remember “The Honeymooners” kitchen you'll recall it was nothing more than a sink, an ice box and a stove. Zero counter space!

What are some of your all time favorite (or not so favorite) TV kitchens? What would you like to see improved in the  kitchen designs on your favorite shows?  We would love to hear your comments.

 - Jay Sponenberg