5 Retro-Style Kitchen Appliance Brands To Look For At Home Depot

Design trends come and go, but certain styles retain an undeniable appeal regardless of those cycles. Kitchen appliances are a great place to add a touch (or more) of retro styling to any kitchen. And while nothing beats the thrill of a genuinely vintage appliance that still works, there are a number of brands selling new appliances that simply look vintage.

It's a relatively small market segment compared to the vast majority of modern designs, but don't assume it has to be a boutique shopping experience. Retro-style appliances from all of the following brands can easily be found at Home Depot, and if not in-store then online.

Many consumers looking for such appliances might not want a full suite of vintage-inspired designs, though that is also available. Large appliances are a popular choice for a retro statement piece, and there are plenty of refrigerators and ovens that fit the bill. Between the five brands on this list, anything from your dishwasher to your home hot dog roller can have a distinct retro vibe.

The Galanz brand name may not be the most recognizable, but you've likely used one of its products before. Despite the brand variety among affordable microwaves, the vast majority of them are manufactured by one of two Chinese corporations, and Galanz is one of them. But don't let frustrating, cheap microwaves ward you away from this brand's charming retro refrigerators.

Home Depot carries a few sizes of the same '50s-style Galanz design. These range from a decently-sized 3.1 cubic foot mini fridge to an 18 cubic foot upright refrigerator and freezer, all with period appropriate chrome detailing and latch-style handles. They're available in a modest assortment of colors to choose from which complete the appliance's retro vibe, including hot rod red and bebop blue.

For those who fall in love with Galanz's retro look, the company does make other appliances in the same design family, including an espresso machine and microwaves. Home Depot only sells a selection of its refrigerators, but they carry a respectable 4.2-star rating from thousands of customers.

For those who find the retro options from Galanz limited at Home Depot, the Unique brand takes a broader footing. There are several refrigerators, including a French door model that's, well, unique among retro appliance companies. But there's more.

Home Depot's Unique products also include dishwashers, a wine refrigerator, pizza ovens, a range hood, and a mounted microwave. There are induction, electric, natural gas, and propane-powered ovens, some of which have built-in air fryers. And for the customers who want a kitchen full of '50s vibes, several of these are also sold as a suite of appliances which shaves off roughly $500.

The brand's website reveals a bigger rainbow of colors for some appliances, but Home Depot offers period-appropriate tones on its stock, including white, mint green, and turquoise — one of the '50s kitchen paint colors that deserve a revival. If you're feeling skittish about painting the entire room turquoise, a turquoise appliance or two can provide a lively but restrained pop of color.

Another retro-style appliance brand worth considering is West Bend. Its products that Home Depot carries aren't as varied as Unique, but they still cover an impressive range of options. There are refrigerator and freezer designs in a tastefully chromed style as well as smaller appliances like a KitchenAid mixer knockoff and a turn-of-the-century popcorn cart.

The specialness of perhaps West Bend's most unique design goes beyond vintage styling by offering a vintage type of device. Percolators are among the retro appliances forgotten by modern times, so West Bend is a relatively rare company in that it still makes new ones.

Percolators were once a common way to brew coffee. Water in the bottom compartment rises to the top of a tube as it heats where it sprinkles over the coffee grounds inside. The brewed coffee gets stronger as it sits on the heating element, which was traditionally a stove but West Bend's version is electric. They were largely replaced by drip coffee machines beginning in the 1970s, but they can still make a great cup of coffee. West Bend's retro design with modern sensibilities would be a delightful flourish in a retro-styled kitchen, bringing genuinely vintage techniques into the modern day.

Anyone interested in vintage-style kitchen appliances is probably stoking nostalgic feelings, so why not name the brand after that? Accordingly, every small appliance offered by Nostalgia carries prominent retro styling of some sort, and many of them are available at Home Depot. 

Nostalgia doesn't sell large appliances, but it does have retro versions of common small appliances like coffee makers, toasters, and microwaves (some designs of which have dial controls). There are also a few unique combination appliances, like a toaster oven/coffee maker and a toaster/griddle.

Much of the Nostalgia lineup leans into fun, retro-styled novelties, including snow cone machines, ice cream makers, soft serve, cotton candy machines, popcorn stands, and several appliances dedicated to hot dogs. These include but aren't limited to hot dog steamers, roller grills, and a toaster designed for wieners and their buns. Don't turn your nose up at a steamed frank: It's actually one of the best ways to cook a hot dog.

Customers seeking a distinctive, retro-style appliance might feel uneasy about plunking down big bucks on a brand they've never heard of before, but everyone has heard of Frigidaire and Home Depot has an impressive variety of vintage-style mini-fridges from this brand. Frigidaire has its own version of the familiar faux-vintage design with chrome details and a latch-style handle as well as a variety of other clearly '50s-inspired designs. But unlike competitors, some models touch on different design eras. One interesting bar handle design evokes mid-century Bauhaus vibes, while a purple mini-fridge with a lit-up door feels straight out of the Y2K era.

Other unique products in Frigidaire's retro mini-fridge lineup focus on the smaller details. Several models come with a bottle opener attached to the side, another has a water dispenser, and there's even one with a tiny viewing window reminiscent of the opera windows found on some classic cars, like the Ford Thunderbird. If the little things are what does it for you, Frigidaire's retro models have you covered.