A Vintage Kitchen Stove

Friends, it’s a small world. Especially when you live in a small town! I love the connections I make by blogging and sharing our story of restoring our little castle. Not only are people interested in our projects, but they are incredibly helpful at finding cool pieces for our home as well!

Recently a friend of our family came across a post on Facebook that she thought I would be interested in. Someone in the small town my husband grew up in had posted a vintage stove for sale. Our friend tagged me in the comments so that I would see the post, and I had just enough time to glance at the pictures and type “So cool!” before being pulled away to deal with the never-ending demands of being a stay-at-home mom. I meant to look more closely at the pictures and do a little research, but we were working on finishing our daughter’s bedroom before six of my nieces and nephews came to visit for the week, so I didn’t have a chance to go back to the post. A few nights later I took a quick break from painting trim in my daughter’s room to scroll through Facebook. That’s when I noticed that several people had commented on the post for the vintage stove. Scanning the comments, I saw that the seller had posted that she was only in town for the week and needed the stove moved out of the barn where it was being stored. She was willing to give the stove away for free to anyone who could come and get it! I was instantly intrigued! Free is in my budget!

I examined the pictures more closely and recognized the Art Deco styled arches on the front of the stove. It reminded me of a style of stove that was in the 1920’s advertisements I’d been looking at for kitchen inspiration. A quick google search confirmed that the company who created the stove “Magic Chef” manufactured stoves during the time period our house was built, and that this particular style of stove was probably from the early 1930’s. Since it was after midnight, I sent the seller a Facebook message telling her that I was very interested in the stove and could come and pick it up anytime she was available. Then I kept painting late into the night, crossing my fingers I would hear back from her first thing in the morning before someone else snatched it up!

The next morning when I hadn’t heard back from the seller, I decided to be proactive. I started calling family members to see if they knew the seller. That’s the beauty of small towns. Everybody knows everyone, and they know everyone’s business! My in-laws not only knew the seller and her family, they knew the barn in which the stove was being stored! So my husband and I hopped in the car, drove over to his hometown, and knocked on the door of the seller’s family’s house. No one was home, so I left a note on the door, making sure to mention my father-in-law’s name so that I wouldn’t look like a crazy Facebook stalker. The seller found the note we’d left on her door and called us later that day. She was thrilled that we were interested in the stove, so my husband and I excitedly drove over to look at it!

It was absolutely darling, all white with black knobs and trim, curvy legs, and an arched Art Deco design. A timer and light were perched on top of a little stand attached to the back. The temperature dial for the oven was on the side of the stove, and there were two ovens, a broiler, and a drawer for storage. The top lifted up and folded in half to reveal the gas cooktop and an area for prep work.

While I could see that it would need some work to repair a broken leg, a knob, and rewire the light, it was so pretty and perfect for the time period of our home! I don’t mind the thought of putting some work into fixing it up since the woman who owned it was so generous to give it to us.

The woman who owned the stove explained that she had purchased it from an antique store several years ago with the intent of incorporating it into her kitchen, but she and her husband had recently purchased their “forever home” and it just wasn’t fitting into their kitchen floor plan. She was disappointed to not be able to use it in her own home, but was so happy to know that we would love it as much as she did! As we were talking, I mentioned that I write a blog, and we discovered that she’s read it before! Hooray! She was so excited to know that her adorable stove was going to be part of our beautiful kitchen renovation!

I can’t wait to incorporate this gorgeous vintage stove into our home! I did some research and found several websites about the company that created this brand of stove, including this tour and impressive restoration project of the first president of the American Stove Company’s home and this official website about his historic home. And I’ve been having a fabulous time gazing at inspiration pictures of vintage stoves incorporated into modern kitchens. I have to decide if I want to place the vintage stove in the little nook in which our current stove is located, or if I want to move it to the spot where we plan to expose an original brick chimney where our blue cupboard currently sits. Decisions, decisions…… Isn’t this fun!

For more updates on our fabulous vintage kitchen restoration project as well as tons of inspiration, be sure to follow Whimsical Blue Living on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. And sign up for our newsletter to receive an email every Sunday morning with the posts from the week!

Have a beautiful day!
Sandy