Here's What Kitchens Really Looked Like In The 1980s

The 1980s are recent enough to remember for many current adults (Baby Boomers, Gen X, and older millennials) and evoke certain mental images: MTV, the OG royal wedding of Diana and Charles, big hair, and Michael Jackson dancing the moonwalk. Do you remember the kitchens back then? You may have sat at a table in one for countless hours doing homework, poring over the newspaper for movie times, or downing a sugary, milky bowl of one of the many iconic, discontinued '80s breakfast cereals. 

Kitchen aesthetics from the 1980s underwent a long dormancy period of looking atrociously dated. They gave way to the patterned curtains, oak cabinets, and hunter green everything of the '90s and, subsequently, the faux-Tuscan nightmares of the 2000s. The carousel of design trends always comes back around, however, and you might be pleasantly surprised by the inspiration you can draw from the kitchens of the 1980s. Enjoy a peek into the past and keep your eyes peeled for elements that might suit your 2025 space!

White has always been a popular choice for kitchens, as the color makes it easy to notice dirt and clean it up. Light, bright kitchens really came into their own in the '80s, replacing the reliance on earthy tones that dominated 1970s kitchen styles. You could see this in appliance finishes, which popped up in stark white (or black) after a decade of avocado and harvest gold, but white kitchen cabinets in particular took off like crazy. Note that yesterday's white cabinets weren't really the same as ours today, as laminate fronts and whitewashed wood tones were popular.

The '80s graphic tile trend is back on the rise, but we haven't quite seen the return of the ubiquitous 1980s tile countertops. Why not? Well, you can see the appeal of them — they looked cool, and, with so many tile options on the market, they were easy to customize to your unique tastes. But, man, were they hard to clean, thanks to all the grout in between. They also made for an uneven surface, which isn't exactly easy to work with. Also, like laminate, which designers think you should skip for your kitchen countertops, tile wasn't super durable, as it was prone to crack under weight. 

We've talked about the color white having a moment in the 1980s, but the decade was all about high-contrast visuals, as you can see clearly in the reliance on Art Deco and digital influences in latter-day graphic design. Strategic pops of black in an otherwise light kitchen were seen as desirable, which is how black appliances spiked in popularity alongside their white counterparts. However, it's worth urging you to avoid putting a vintage fridge in your modern kitchen, as '80s appliances just can't match today's models in energy efficiency ... there is still plenty of solid black on the market, if that's your vibe. 

Harkening back to the discussions of '80s homeowners loving stark black and white in their kitchens, we can't forget the third cornerstone of the decade's palette: splashes of vivid color showing up in the last place you'd expect. Would any trendy person in the Year of Our Lord 2025 be caught dead with a kitchen table sporting a candy-apple red top? Probably not. In the '80s, however, primary colors were considered to play well off black and white. 

Dropped (or "drop") ceilings were originally as much a cost-cutting design choice as an aesthetic one. That's because homebuilders in the '70s and '80s often installed lower ceilings in living areas to save on heating and cooling costs. Nowadays, however, soaring ceilings are more in vogue, and raising a dropped ceiling can add big bucks onto an already-expensive kitchen remodel. If your home featured these ceilings — with or without the acoustic tile and fluorescent lighting that often went hand-in-hand with them — you may want to consult a professional to come up with a workaround. 

The kitchen island was still in its infancy as a design choice in the 1980s and many vintage kitchens feature proto-islands with a full oven installed, or peninsulas that were attached to the wall on one side. Going with a peninsula in a modern kitchen can be a layout mistake to avoid, as they tend to block off your space both visually and physically. Where they can't be avoided, such as in a galley kitchen, keeping your surroundings bright and airy will do wonders for not making the home cook(s) feel confined. 

The microwave actually was first available to consumers in the late 1970s, but its ubiquity didn't hit a saturation point until the 1980s. Much like the Instant Pot craze of a few years ago, the advent of the microwave fascinated home cooks, who went gaga when it came to trading recipes for their new appliance. It's not uncommon to see the microwave having a place of pride in even smaller 1980s kitchens. We still utilize Chef Mike today — the microwave is a great way to steam green beans! — but we no longer use it for absolutely everything. 

After decades of obscurity, stained glass became popular again in the 1970s along with many other historic forms of arts and crafts. By the 1980s, homeowners were getting really enthusiastic with stained glass inserts alongside their front doors, stained glass skylights, and, in kitchens and dining rooms, Tiffany-style stained glass pendant light fixtures. You may have seen these beauties in old-school Applebee's restaurants while enjoying your late-night half-price appetizers, but, a few decades ago, those lamps would have been a status symbol of the highest order.