We already explored the fascinating elements found in a 1970s kitchen — all that macrame and earth tones — but the 1980s kitchen? That’s a whole different story.
The harvest golds and avocado greens were no longer part of the new 1980s kitchen color scheme (although if your parents thought what you had was perfectly fine, then you probably had that clear into the ’90s). The modern 1980s kitchen was all about white-on-white cabinetry, abundant brass accents, and mauve/forest green/dusty rose everywhere.
Homework, MTV, and a Phone With a Very Long Cord all in One Room
This was the decade when the kitchen became command central for the modern American family. Homework was done at the island, MTV played from a portable TV on the counter, and every surface quickly filled up with collectible items that feel essential yet baffling to us clutterphobes now.
MORE ’80s: These 27 Frozen Treats Perfectly Defined 1980s Summers
A Typical ’80s Kitchen Had an Entire Cupboard of Collectible Glasses
Mom did her best to keep matching sets of dinnerware, but she was no match for your obsession with collecting glasses from every fast-food restaurant, gas station, and anywhere else you could find one. Smurfs? Check! The Chipmunks? Check! You had them all. There’s been talk that these glasses contained lead, but that wouldn’t have mattered back then because you ate pencils for fun. You were untouchable in the ’80s.
A Pizzaria-Style Lamp Hanging From Chain Over the Kitchen Table Was Peak ’80s
Nothing was as fancy to an average American family as eating out (yes, you ate there) at Pizza Hut. So why not bring that decor home, specifically hanging faux-Tiffany stained glass lamps over the kitchen table? It immediately reminds me of the scene in E.T. when the boys are playing poker at the kitchen table.
We have even more ’80s kitchen essentials below.
PHOTOS: Things You’d See in an Everyday 1980s Kitchen
See 33 more things that made every 1980s kitchen unmistakably, unapologetically ’80s.
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
