The Evolution of the Kitchen Cabinet
A kitchen cabinet is a piece of furniture that houses many kitchen tools and supplies. It can be made of wood or another material and may have several shelves and doors. It can be located in the center of a room or it can be a freestanding cabinet. The design of the kitchen cabinet has evolved over the years. Some cabinets have a wooden surface while others have a metal finish or plastic door fronts. The style of the cabinet can reflect the personality of the homeowner. The kitchen cabinet is an integral part of any modern kitchen.

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In 19th-century America, most kitchens didn’t even have cabinets. In most homes, a central worktable and wall storage was sufficient. In upscale houses, a servant would help prepare the meal in a spacious pantry.

The winds of change began with Catharine Beecher, sister to abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her self-help books focused on home management, advising housewives to keep the household running smoothly. She was influenced by the functionally minimized galleys of Mississippi steamboats and designed her ideal kitchen around them.

Another pioneer was a woman named Nancie Clifton Reynolds, who promoted the kitchen cabinet in her many books, articles and radio broadcasts. She was the Martha Stewart of her time, urging women to improve their domestic efficiency by reducing the amount of work they did and making it easier for them to do it.

She also promoted the use of pull out trays, bins and baskets to make it easier to store items in the kitchen cabinet. This led to a greater awareness of the need for ergonomics in the kitchen. The post-war era saw an increase in efficiency research with pioneering motion studies of housework carried out by industrial psychologist Lillian Moller Gilbreth. This led to better kitchen design and the built-in cabinetry of today.

The next major development in kitchen cabinetry came with the emergence of the freestanding cabinets called “Hoosier cabinets.” Named after one company that manufactured them, they were popular during the early 20th century in the United States. The cabinets were advertised as helpful time-savers that saved “miles of steps” for careful housekeepers.

These cabinets featured a sliding or fold-down enamelled worktop for food preparation and large cupboards underneath for cooking implements, utensils, and food. The topmost doors often featured a “shopping or household wants reminder,” a list of items that needed purchasing, with a tab to flip over when it was time to restock.

Following World War II, steel factories that had once been busy producing weaponry were now idle and manufacturers sought new markets. They found the perfect market in residential kitchens. The era also saw the introduction of sleek, built-in appliances and cabinets in durable steel. This ushered in the modern, efficient kitchen as we know it. The kitchen cabinet continues to evolve, with new materials, finishes, styles and colors leaving their mark on the kitchens of today. We at Kitchen Cabinet Company are proud to be a part of this history and to have an important role in shaping its future.