1945 Beverage Cooler

The Northstar collection from Elmira Stove Works has a new member – the 1945 Beverage Refrigerator.

The appliance combines iconic 1945 styling with the amenities of a modern appliance. In addition to chilling up to 120 cans, the 3.3-cu.-ft. beverage fridge can accommodate wine and other bottled drinks.

1945CR | KitchAnn style

With four adjustable wire shelves, the 34-in. x 18-in. x 20-in. unit comes with a variable temperature control, interior lighting and a retro porthole window.

The Northstar beverage refrigerator retails at $1,195 and is available in nine standard colors, with custom options available.

If you combine this with the Northstar Keg Refrigerator in textured black, you could create a Man Cave with a throw back feel. If you prefer the candy red, a hot rod themed party room could become the center attraction of a home.

195CR_BREW | KitchAnn Style

Car man cave | KitchAnn Style

Some History:

Elmira’s connection to antique appliances dates back three generations. Founder Tom Hendrick’s father supplied wood burning cookstove parts to local Mennonites from his hardware store in Elmira, Ontario. In 1975, Tom saw an opportunity to supply not just parts, but complete cookstoves, to the local market and, potentially, all of North America. He acquired the rights for the Findlay Oval cookstove, and began manufacturing in what had been a chicken barn on the outskirts of the small town of Elmira.

In 2001 Elmira added 1950′s-styled fridges to its 1890′s-styled appliances. The fresh colors – Candy Red, Robin’s Egg Blue, Buttercup Yellow, Flamingo Pink, Mint Green; along with more subtle Black, Bisque , White and Quicksilver– smooth curved lines and bright chrome accents, were an immediate hit.

Drawn by the trend to reminiscent styling, a younger group of consumers quickly adopted Elmira’s Northstar line as its own answer to throwback “antique” styling. Over the next twelve years, the Northstar line expanded to include refrigerators, keg fridges, ranges, range hoods, splashbacks, microwaves and dishwasher panels.

Retro Appliances

We’ve seen companies offering retro looking ranges and refrigerators but have you every seen a retro microwave? The only option for homeowners was to hide a small microwave  inside a cabinet when they desired a Period Kitchen.

An Italian appliance manufacturer has nicely solved this problem with their compact line of appliances. Restart offers microwaves, built-in coffee makers,  pizza oven and steam oven in their compact collection: Compact Series di Restart.

bianco microwave by Restart | via KitchAnn Style

brass microwave by Restart | via KitchAnn Style

I really like the all burnished brass finish shown on the microwave/oven combination unit. The mechanical parts of the EFM451 are from Miele. Features include TouchControl in 20 languages, 15 cooking combination methods, and 100 recipe presets.

The EMC451 built-in automatic coffee machine with grinder and cappuccino maker is equally stunning to look at and undoubtedly easy to use with Miele technology.

caffè rosso restart | via KitchAnn Style

 Restart coffee machine | via KitchAnn Style

The Navitronic, multilingual display makes brewing two coffees simultaneously a breeze. There is also the ability to customize 10 different user profiles and choose between bean or powder for brewing.

Restart’s showroom is on Florence so unless you are traveling abroad, these units will be hard to see in person. I haven’t seen a detail spec sheet so I can’t tell if they can easily be converted to American voltage – but, one can hope.