Mother was right.
For years, you could count on one โ and only one โ color scheme in her kitchen: white. White cabinets, white appliances. The only place she let herself go was the kitchen floor: dark brown linoleum.
She grew to regret that choice, not only because it needed constant waxing but also because the color showed off every little bit of dust we invariably dragged into the house.
My father and grandfather built the house I grew up in, including the kitchen with its white cabinets. I guess you could say they were custom cabinets, though the doors were rather thin, thanks to post-war shortages. Only years of paint-overs made them a little thicker. Even so, the paint was always white, blindingly so.
The stove and refrigerator were also consistently white. My mother never succumbed to the pink, then turquoise, then coppertone appliance craze that overtook others back in the late โ50s and early โ60s. Not so, Iโm afraid, for her daughter. My first washing machine was coppertone
In 1973, we moved into our first new home โ one where we were able to pick our own colors. Unfortunately, the early โ70s proved to be a particularly ugly epoch when it came to home decorating. My living room carpet was burnt orange, shag, which I actually fluffed up with a garden rake. On it sat an avocado-hued velveteen sofa and easy chairs.
My kitchen was also all-avocado โ double ovens, stovetop, refrigerator, dishwasher. Even the Formica countertops were pale green. Itโs a wonder I didnโt choose avocado for the toilets, sinks and bathtub. I later heard of one unfortunate woman in the neighborhood who did just that. Cost her thousands to rip and replace.
In time, of course, I grew to hate all that green, gradually replacing or repainting most of the appliances with an off-white hue called โalmond.โ At least I had skipped over the Harvest Gold era. Later on, I also replaced the walnut-stained cabinets with ones resembling a light oak.
Meanwhile, my mother soldiered on in her all-white kitchen, eschewing even the stainless steel look that was beginning to envelope every kitchen coast to coast. Only during a major remodel did she finally allow her kitchen cabinets to be replaced by newer ones, light brown in color.
If she were alive today, sheโd probably regret that decision, especially if she were to view some of the scripted reality home-improvement shows cluttering up the airwaves.
You know the ones: home designers, real estate agents and contractors descend on a family hopelessly inept at keeping clutter in the closets and leaks out of the basement. Think of it as before-and-after decorator porno โ one without the pizza delivery guy.
Even so, plenty of heavy breathing ensues as walls are demolished, carpets ripped out, plumbing and wiring replaced. Then comes the big reveal: gleaming hardwood floors, shiny glass-and-tile shower stalls, and a kitchen where every cupboard is white as white can be. White as my motherโs cabinets.
โItโs just what I always wanted,โ the recipients invariably gush. โAn all-white kitchen.โ
Yes, Mother, I can feel your smirk, even from here. You were right โ and so is white โ at least for now. Whether thatโs the case years from now remains to be seen. After all, without a never-ending series of trends and fads, interior decorators would all be working at call centers.
Still, one thingโs for sure โ avocado and burnt orange are never, ever coming back. Are they?
