When did Pink start showing up?

I have built this list out of information I have gotten from old home magazines from the era as well as appliance brochures etc�. if you see that I have missed anything please feel free to let me know.

Circa 1950
International Harvester and Caloric start offering different colored handles on their fridges and ranges respectively to give the woman of the house a choice of accent colors to harmonize with the color of her kitchen.

Late 1953-1954
Frigidaire introduces the first appliances in colors. You can choose Stratford Yellow, Sherwood Green, or White.

January 1955
GE introduces 5 new colors for their appliances, Woodtone Brown (the color of light chocolate milk), Turquoise Green, Cadet Blue (a sort of Navy Blue), Petal Pink, and Canary Yellow. Woodtone Brown and Cadet Blue are not very popular colors. Cadet Blue is gone by 1957 and Woodtone brown is replaced by Coppertone in the early 60's

1955-1956
Frigidaire adds Mayfair Pink and Sheffield Gray to its color palette for the 1956 line of appliances/ Maytag washers and dryers become available in Pasteltone Pink, Green, and Yellow, Kelvinator produces 8 new colors, Bermuda Pink, Spring Green, Fern Green, Dawn Gray, Sand Beige, Buttercup Yellow, Harvest Yellow, and Lagoon Blue, non of which are all that popular. The majority of these colors were dropped sometime around 1960 and replaced with the standard pink, turquoise, and yellow colors. It is also around this time that stainless steel appliances start to make their debut...especially in the new field of built in appliances range, oven fridge etc.).

1957
Frigidaire replaces Sheffield Gray with Charcoal Gray on its new Sheer Look line of appliances. This color is not at all popular and is discontinued after 1960

1958
Frigidaire replaces Sherwood Green and Stratford Yellow with Turqouise and Sunny Yellow (which is a more pastel Yellow)

1959
Frigidaire introduces Aztec Copper to its line of appliances and this color will eventually become know as Coppertone or Copper Brown and be offered all the way into the early 1980's

1963-1965
The number of companies offering Pink, Mint Green, and Yellow appliances have dwindled while the hot colors of the early 1960s are Copper Brown and Turquoise. About this time Frigidaire offers a color called Honey Beige which is lighter than Aztec Copper. Also about this time Whirlpool offers a very rare color on certain RCAWhirlpool and Sears Kenmore models that is very similar to the Woodtone Brown GE had offered a decade earlier, it is called Doeskin and is not very popular and is dropped rather quickly.

1966
GE introduces a new color just in time to go with the Danish modern look of the late 1960s.....Avocado. Maytag offers Turquoise for the last time on its redesigned Washpower automatics. RCA Whirlpool adds 2 more rare colors to their color pallet, Edged Fawn and Edged Sapphire. These to colors do not last long and are gone circa 1968

1967-1968
Around this time, Frigidaire also introduces its line of Fashion Colors which consists of Matador Red, Biscayne Blue, Tahitian Green, and what could be considered an early version of almond called Autumn Haze. Maytag appliances are offered in Cordoba Copper Spanish Avocado and Castillian Yellow. Castillian Yellow is replaced circa 1968 with California Gold (aka Harvest Gold). GE introduces another new color called Harvest (GE never called it Harvest Gold) which becomes available in the Spring of 1968.

Circa 1970
Frigidaire introduces the color poppy on its appliances

1971-1976
No major changes are made in colors during this period

1977
All the appliance manufactures get together through the American Home Appliance Manufactures Association [AHAM ] and agree on new colors that all match from brand to brand. GE is the first to introduce them and calles these colors the New Naturals. The colors are named, Onyx, Coffee, Harvest Wheat, Fresh Avocado, Snow, and a brand new color is added and is called Almond. These colors are more vivid then their predecessors and GE advertises The New Naturals in a huge campaign in all the "home magazines" of the day.

Early to late 1980's
Copper Brown and Avocado start to fall by the wayside as the favorite colors of the early 80s seems to be Almond and what is now known as Harvest Gold. During this time GE and Whirlpool experiment with a light brown/beige color that Whirlpool calls toast and GE calls Sand, as well as a silver/gray color that Whirlpool calls Platinum and GE calls Silver. Both of these colors prove not to be too popular and they are dropped after a few years. Also in the mid 80's Whirlpool starts offering the top of the line Lady Kenmore washers and dryers in black.


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Post# 807977 2/6/2015 at 22:42 (3,364 days old) by mom11 (Dundee, MI)
Checkrate/Likes I love me some yummy pink appliances. I have both a pink range and a pink combo fridge. Does anyone know when the different appliance companies started producing pink appliances? The reason I ask is that I'm going to pick up a "new" 1952(so they say) Hotpoint fridge tomorrow morning. The 1957 pink GE combo fridge I have now is great but it has that "sheer" shape with the straighter lines. I love those softer curves in the earlier 50s appliances. And since my pink Hotpoint range is a '56 it has those curvey lines. This may be anathema to some on here but I am considering having the '52 painted pink (it's white). Is that too early for pink and if it is does it make a difference?

Post# 807985 , Reply# 1 2/6/2015 at 23:43 (3,364 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)
Checkrate/Likes 1 It may have been possible that in 1952, under very special order, you could get a pink fridge, but colors generally showed up a few years later. Keep in mind that a '52 will need extra clearance on the hinged side in order for the door to open a full 90 degrees (or even partially for that matter). The beauty of the later "sheer" look with shoulder hinges is that the hinged side could be positioned snugly against cabinetry or a wall.

Post# 808010 , Reply# 2 2/7/2015 at 06:49 (3,364 days old) by turquoisedude (.)
Checkrate/Likes Frigidaire may have been among the first to offer pink (and the elusive Sherwood Green) as early as 1954 on ranges and refrigerators. I have ads showing a very large selection of colours offered by Kelvinator (they had something like 7 or 8 options!) but I am not sure of the year.

Post# 808012 , Reply# 3 2/7/2015 at 07:15 (3,364 days old) by mom11 (Dundee, MI)
Checkrate/Likes *Door swing* Ralph, thank you so much for the info about the door swing. I had no idea that they needed a wider clearance. I haven't seen it in person yet but I'm going to head out now. Do you know how much extra room they need? This particular one is unusual in that it opens on the right side instead of the left. Never had one of those before. Thanks so much for the heads up.

Post# 808014 , Reply# 4 2/7/2015 at 07:33 (3,364 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL)
Checkrate/Likes *General Electric* did not introduce their Mix-and-Match colors until 1955. I do not know if that introductory date applies to Hotpoint products as well, or not. lawrence

Post# 808030 , Reply# 5 2/7/2015 at 11:15 (3,364 days old) by rickr (.)
Checkrate/Likes 1 . Mom11, my advice is to paint it any colour you like. Does not matter if they did not offer pink until June 15th of 1955 or whatever. If you like, go for it. Old appliances are wonderful, but they will never be a Duesenberg, or be worth the money any other classic car is worth for that matter. I had this 1948 GE painted mint green and it was white. We love it mint green, and that is all that matters. In this photo, you can see the space left on the right side of the fridge to allow for the door swing. You need to allow for at least three inches. Do keep that in mind.

Post# 808121 , Reply# 6 2/7/2015 at 20:54 (3,364 days old) by mom11 (Dundee, MI)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *She's home!* These are just the craigslist pics but they are all I have for now. Don't know how to rotate them. Turns out she is a 1953, not a '52. Model # EH110-6. I also got the original owner's manual and the original receipt. I spent all day defrosting her and cleaning her out. I wish it could have been defrosted before it was moved but she was in the guy's garage and it was below freezing here in Michigan today. Not to worry, though, nothing even came close to thawing on the way. Unfortunately, the guys who brought it here put it on its side even though I told them to transport it upright. They said they couldn't get it up on the truck upright. She is a hefty old gal. One casualty was the wiring to the door that turns on the light was severed. So sad. :( Looks like I'm going to have to learn how to do some wiring. I won't plug it in until late tomorrow. Wish me luck. And, thanks rickr, for the encouragement to pinkafy her. I think I will. And I LOVE your mint fridge. Your mint looks like the exact same shade of mint I painted my kitchen cabinets. Photos... < > Photo 1 of 2 View Full Size

Post# 808126 , Reply# 7 2/7/2015 at 21:49 (3,364 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Very nice! How about some pix of the pink '57 she'll be replacing?

Post# 808184 , Reply# 8 2/8/2015 at 10:43 (3,363 days old) by 112561 (River Park, in Port St. Lucie, Florida)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Congrats on your new fridge!* That's the way ours open here. We had a 1962 Frigidaire two door, then a 1980 Kenmore, and after that died, we got an Amana that is obnoxiously much deeper than the other two.

Post# 808424 , Reply# 16 2/9/2015 at 11:10 (3,362 days old) by revvinkevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)
Checkrate/Likes 1 WOW Pat! That is an incredibly detailed recounting of colors in appliance history! THANK YOU so much for posting it!!! Kevin

Post# 808509 , Reply# 19 2/9/2015 at 18:50 (3,362 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)
Checkrate/Likes Well mom, Flossie's not a '57. She's a little younger. Maybe '59 or '60. On a '57, the shelves spin around on a center post up front, and the interior is . . . pink! See below! Being a later model with an improved shelf system, Flossie has more usable space. It's comforting to see the lump of frost forming at left front up top in the freezer. My '57 does the same thing. Photos... < > Photo 1 of 4 View Full Size

Post# 1029084 , Reply# 23 4/5/2019 at 23:48 (1,845 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There�s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *From now on Think Pink!* Think pink! think pink! when you shop for summer clothes Think pink! think pink! if you want that quel-que chose Red is dead, blue is through, Green's obscene, brown's taboo And there is not the slightest excuse for plum or puce or chartreuse! Pink was one of the signature colors of post war America! It was everywhere from fashions, interior decorating to automobiles and beyond. Even poor dogs couldn't escape having their fur dyed pink.

Post# 1029106 , Reply# 24 4/6/2019 at 08:54 (1,845 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area)
Checkrate/Likes The Westinghouse yellow Hans mentioned was called "Lemon Yellow". They also had "Sugar White".

Post# 808193 , Reply# 9 2/8/2015 at 12:15 (3,363 days old) by countryford (Austin, MN)
Checkrate/Likes 2 We have a 1949 Hotpoint fridge that was originally white and we had it painted pink. We took it to a friend of ours who paints cars and airplanes. Our doors open the reverse of yours and it doesn't have the shelves on the inside of the doors.

Post# 808228 , Reply# 10 2/8/2015 at 13:50 (3,363 days old) by mom11 (Dundee, MI)
Checkrate/Likes *Yummy pink '49* Hotpoint. That is just beautiful! I hope I can get someone to do that good of a job on mine. But...I've discovered a few problems that I'm going to start another thread on to see if I can get some answers. She's just too beautiful to not work, right???

Post# 808266 , Reply# 11 2/8/2015 at 17:46 (3,363 days old) by appliguy (Oakton Va.)
Checkrate/Likes 3 *Here is a history of color appliances* I have built this list out of information I have gotten from old home magazines from the era as well as appliance brochures etc�. if you see that I have missed anything please feel free to let me know. Circa 1950 International Harvester and Caloric start offering different colored handles on their fridges and ranges respectively to give the woman of the house a choice of accent colors to harmonize with the color of her kitchen. Late 1953-1954 Frigidaire introduces the first appliances in colors. You can choose Stratford Yellow, Sherwood Green, or White. January 1955 GE introduces 5 new colors for their appliances, Woodtone Brown (the color of light chocolate milk), Turquoise Green, Cadet Blue (a sort of Navy Blue), Petal Pink, and Canary Yellow. Woodtone Brown and Cadet Blue are not very popular colors. Cadet Blue is gone by 1957 and Woodtone brown is replaced by Coppertone in the early 60's 1955-1956 Frigidaire adds Mayfair Pink and Sheffield Gray to its color palette for the 1956 line of appliances/ Maytag washers and dryers become available in Pasteltone Pink, Green, and Yellow, Kelvinator produces 8 new colors, Bermuda Pink, Spring Green, Fern Green, Dawn Gray, Sand Beige, Buttercup Yellow, Harvest Yellow, and Lagoon Blue, non of which are all that popular. The majority of these colors were dropped sometime around 1960 and replaced with the standard pink, turquoise, and yellow colors. It is also around this time that stainless steel appliances start to make their debut...especially in the new field of built in appliances range, oven fridge etc.). 1957 Frigidaire replaces Sheffield Gray with Charcoal Gray on its new Sheer Look line of appliances. This color is not at all popular and is discontinued after 1960 1958 Frigidaire replaces Sherwood Green and Stratford Yellow with Turqouise and Sunny Yellow (which is a more pastel Yellow) 1959 Frigidaire introduces Aztec Copper to its line of appliances and this color will eventually become know as Coppertone or Copper Brown and be offered all the way into the early 1980's 1963-1965 The number of companies offering Pink, Mint Green, and Yellow appliances have dwindled while the hot colors of the early 1960s are Copper Brown and Turquoise. About this time Frigidaire offers a color called Honey Beige which is lighter than Aztec Copper. Also about this time Whirlpool offers a very rare color on certain RCAWhirlpool and Sears Kenmore models that is very similar to the Woodtone Brown GE had offered a decade earlier, it is called Doeskin and is not very popular and is dropped rather quickly. 1966 GE introduces a new color just in time to go with the Danish modern look of the late 1960s.....Avocado. Maytag offers Turquoise for the last time on its redesigned Washpower automatics. RCA Whirlpool adds 2 more rare colors to their color pallet, Edged Fawn and Edged Sapphire. These to colors do not last long and are gone circa 1968 1967-1968 Around this time, Frigidaire also introduces its line of Fashion Colors which consists of Matador Red, Biscayne Blue, Tahitian Green, and what could be considered an early version of almond called Autumn Haze. Maytag appliances are offered in Cordoba Copper Spanish Avocado and Castillian Yellow. Castillian Yellow is replaced circa 1968 with California Gold (aka Harvest Gold). GE introduces another new color called Harvest (GE never called it Harvest Gold) which becomes available in the Spring of 1968. Circa 1970 Frigidaire introduces the color poppy on its appliances 1971-1976 No major changes are made in colors during this period 1977 All the appliance manufactures get together through the American Home Appliance Manufactures Association [AHAM ] and agree on new colors that all match from brand to brand. GE is the first to introduce them and calles these colors the New Naturals. The colors are named, Onyx, Coffee, Harvest Wheat, Fresh Avocado, Snow, and a brand new color is added and is called Almond. These colors are more vivid then their predecessors and GE advertises The New Naturals in a huge campaign in all the "home magazines" of the day. Early to late 1980's Copper Brown and Avocado start to fall by the wayside as the favorite colors of the early 80s seems to be Almond and what is now known as Harvest Gold. During this time GE and Whirlpool experiment with a light brown/beige color that Whirlpool calls toast and GE calls Sand, as well as a silver/gray color that Whirlpool calls Platinum and GE calls Silver. Both of these colors prove not to be too popular and they are dropped after a few years. Also in the mid 80's Whirlpool starts offering the top of the line Lady Kenmore washers and dryers in black.

Post# 808398 , Reply# 12 2/9/2015 at 07:27 (3,362 days old) by mom11 (Dundee, MI)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *WOW!!!* Appiguy, that is an incredible amount of knowledge about the color history. Thank you so much. I had no idea there were so many other colors that debuted but then were discontinued. You should seriously publish this into an article. I think sites like retrorenovation.com would love having this. Do you know if the GE and Hotpoint pinks at the time were the same? I've heard that they were but the original pink on my GE fridge seemed paler than my Hotpoint stove. Perhaps it just faded over time. rp2813, I am a bit embarrassed to show pictures of my '57. Before I knew enough to know I didn't know enough I rattle canned it with off-the-shelf Rustoleum pink. The pink is too candy colored to be near an exact match to GE's petal pink but she had blue auto paint splattered all over her from being in the previous owner's garage for years. I will get my son to upload pics of her shoddy paint job if you promise not to laugh too hard. Well...o.k. you can laugh a bit. I wish I had taken it to a car place to have it done. I won't make that mistake this time. Oh, is there any way to get the codes so I can get the new paint to match my '56 Hotpoint range? Thanks so much.

Post# 808403 , Reply# 13 2/9/2015 at 08:52 (3,362 days old) by firedome (Binghamton NY & Lake Champlain VT)
Checkrate/Likes *Lisa...* nice find, it will look great with Beulah! I think Hotpoint's pink was the same or very close to GE's pink. I was never able to find a color code for Hotpoint's version but did find one for GE, I think it may have been on www.paintref.com... iirc. Good luck!

Post# 808413 , Reply# 14 2/9/2015 at 10:17 (3,362 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes *Nice Refrigerator* The wiring going into the ref door is for the electric butter warmer, if you do not want this feature it can be just disconnected [ it may not work any way ] and with it disconnected your ref will be less expensive to run.

Post# 808423 , Reply# 15 2/9/2015 at 11:09 (3,362 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)
Checkrate/Likes *We won't laugh . . .* The rattle can paint can be stripped off the front of your '57 because the original finish on the doors is porcelain enamel. On the sides where it matters less and is just plain paint, it could be prepped and painted over with white again. That's for whoever ends up with the fridge and wants to bring it back to its original white. I presume you'll be unloading it after you get the Hotpoint in place.

Post# 808442 , Reply# 17 2/9/2015 at 12:40 (3,362 days old) by mom11 (Dundee, MI)
Checkrate/Likes *Pics of Flossie the pink '57 GE combo...* O.K. you can laugh. She was pink to begin with but the finish was splashed with blue paint by previous owner. I am keeping her around for sure. I'm in a bit of an unusual situation kitchen-wise. My new-to-me kitchen in my 1859/1940s/2003 house is pretty small for our family of 13. So I am going to set up the adjoining mudroom as a sort of annex to the kitchen. I am going to be wiring it for 220 so I can put in my '53 Frigidaire Thrifty Thirty and I was going to put this new '53 gal in there with her. I am going to be building a counter with shelves both above and below them. I have a lot of kitchen stuff that normal families don't need but I need for my big family. 30 cup coffee percolator, free standing Westinghouse roaster, giant colanders, frying pans, and pots, huge amounts of kitchenware, blenders, deep fryers, toasters, Pyrex collection, mixers(I have an addiction to mixers and I justify it by telling everyone that I am collecting them so I can pass one to each kid as they move out, hee-hee). But now that I have this curvy '53 gal home she would look so much better in the main kitchen than the '57 because the curves match the '56 Hotpoint range better. Hense why I want her to get a new pink dress for the occasion. My brother works for Sherwin Williams.I wonder if he can find the matching codes in the company's archives. Oh, and if anyone has a cheese door they are not using for the '57 I would love to buy it. You can see the space for it next to the butter door is empty. I have the other veggie drawer trim piece. I just can't get it to stay on no matter how many times I've clamped it on with pliers. Kids are are on appliances. That's what made me turn to vintage ones to begin with. The new junk could not stand up to my family. Photos... < > Photo 1 of 3 View Full Size

Post# 808497 , Reply# 18 2/9/2015 at 18:14 (3,362 days old) by Circlew (NE Cincinnati OH area)
Checkrate/Likes Hey Lisa, the proper color to match your '56 range is Hotpoint "Coral Pink". This is NOT the same as GE's "Petal Pink", as Coral Pink has a warmer, slightly beige, cast to it. Hotpoint did switch to the same shade of pink as GE later on, but this was around '59. The paint code in PPG Ditzler is #70795.

Post# 808556 , Reply# 20 2/9/2015 at 22:14 (3,361 days old) by mom11 (Dundee, MI)
Checkrate/Likes *Thank you...* Tom,for the paint code for the Hotpoint pink. This will be so valuable on getting a perfect match to Beulah(my Hotpoint range). And thank you, Ralph, for clarifying Flossie's birthday. I had wondered if the seller had gotten that right as I started to look at other 50s GEs. My foot pedal does not go all the way across. It is just about the size of a foot. I also wondered about the interior color. But when I plugged the model # into that "how to date your GE appliance" chart it came up as 1957. Now I know. Your '57 is just beautiful and quite a bit bigger than mine. What is the capacity on her? Mine is 12 cubic feet. And how do I figure out how many cubic feet are in the '53 Hotpoint. I have the original owner's manual and I don't see that listed. Thanks again to you all.

Post# 808564 , Reply# 21 2/9/2015 at 23:46 (3,361 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)
Checkrate/Likes Mom, my '57 is around 12 cf too. It's not even 6' tall. I think the bottom freezer models were larger. Your '53 is probably around 12 cf since it has a bit of door storage. I didn't realize that the shots I posted above don't show the crispers. Here's one that does: View Full Size

Post# 1029077 , Reply# 22 4/5/2019 at 21:53 (1,846 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c )
Checkrate/Likes 1 *All I can ad* Is Westinghouse had what they called Confection Colors, Mint Aqua Frosting Pink and a yellow were all different than anyone elses,,,My favorites.

Post# 1029646 , Reply# 25 4/12/2019 at 06:27 (1,839 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)
Checkrate/Likes In case, at this point, anyone wonders about my Post that I removed, and what it said, I was actually asking when Pink disappeared... Yes, I read in the History of Color Appliances, that it disappeared in 1965, and my thinking Avocado replaced it, learned that in 1966, Avocado replaced Turquoise... -- Dave

Post# 1029649 , Reply# 26 4/12/2019 at 07:07 (1,839 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There�s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes Pink was part of the whole return to femininity, softness, woman, etc... that was high on the post war agenda. The 1940's had been about dreary, dark, drab and somber colors both because of the mood (largely shaped by death) associated with war, but also the various shortages. www.quora.com/Home-Decor-... Some people of course took this to extremes: www.messynessychic.com/20... By the middle to late 1960's another change was in the air. The whole hippie/earth movement was beginning along with civil rights and other cultural shifts. This began to show up in decorating, fashions, automobiles and so forth in the "earth tones" that would come to dominate the 1970's. Shades of avocado, sienna, orange, brown, gold

Post# 1029653 , Reply# 27 4/12/2019 at 08:13 (1,839 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)
Checkrate/Likes *The Sixties! ('60's)* Yes, now I see the Chronology, and how these colors in things like appliances, cars, and multitudes of clothing, fashion, and other home furnishings can relate, just from that decade there, alone...! -- Dave

Post# 1029654 , Reply# 28 4/12/2019 at 08:29 (1,839 days old) by turquoisedude (.)
Checkrate/Likes Wasn't there a line in the first season of 'Mad Men' where Roger Sterling quips about a household product that "It's just this year's candy-pink stove"....