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One of the big names in high-end kitchen appliances — the Viking range company — seems to offer the widest variety of colors to choose for your refrigerator, stove, oven and dishwasher. Including: Yes, some pretty decent proxies — well, close as I could find — for famous (or infamous) postmodern kitchen appliance colors including harvest gold, avocado green, Brady Bunch orange and even poppy — a color that the industry made a big, failed push to introduce in the early 1970s. Of course, Viking does not use these names. Theirs are the more socially acceptable Golden Mist, Mint Julep (which I acknowledge is not a good avocado, really), Pumpkin and Apple Red. And of course, these appliances are not going to be inexpensive; I never said this was a site only about cheap and cheerful. Did you know that Viking bought the famous St. Charles steel kitchen cabinet brand a few years ago, and is marketing these steel kitchen cabinets again today? The cabinets are so expensive they won’t even tell me how much a single one costs.
Hey: If I were rich rich rich enough to afford a kitchen full of Viking appliances, you can bet I’d be getting the colors. My favorite right this very moment is the harvest gold.
I’d be all over that orange! Love it.
And no matter what I said below about white appliances, I LOVE the orange too. And that red. It’s a “what is fab, vs. what I’ll actually buy” delimma, right?
I am forever and always a fan of white appliances.
My mother installed them in 1970, during the avocado and harvest gold era, and that’s what the house had in 2003 when the house was sold (for 150X what they paid). She had an AWESOME “oven and a half” – the kind with buttons on the top.
LOVE orange. If I didn’t already get a seafoam green Big Chill, I would be looking at this.
Oh, yes! I certainly would go for the poppy one!
Racing Red all the way!
In my imaginary world, cost is no object, and I have at least half a dozen homes to decorate? Orange!!! Real world, think I’ll stick with white. Now, if they come out with an antique-y brushed copper…
Ima Pam – you CAN have a copper range if you seek out a vintage Chambers…I know they made copper ones. Of course, there is still the cost factor.
Oooh, a vintage Chambers. I almost bought a house in Fort Worth that had one. But the house had problems. I would love a Chambers.
Now, if I got a Viking, I would take Lemonade.
I looked at pictures, oooh, wouldn’t I LOVE to have one of those super Chambers! We actually do have a Chambers in wall oven with the antique copper finish. Matching copper Rangemaster hood over Corning ceramic cooktop. I forgot to mention it’s the fridge that’s white. Even with metal fleck white counters and 1″ white tile backsplash all around, that darn giant white refrigerator looks out of place in its nook. Would be great to have a refrigerator of modest size, a bit of style, and coppery color again. Yes. I did say smaller fridge. LOL. Extra stuff can go in the harvest gold Whirlpool in the basement.
I recently scored a cobalt blue Viking range on Craig’s List. Hardly used–under $1k and it came with a Rohl/Shaw fire clay sink. But if I had an unlimited budget for my (1925 Spanish Mission) house renovation I would completely fall in love with the seafoam or orange color.
Wow, congrats on the great find!
I am thrilled..the hardly used range (seller said ‘trophy wife who never cooked”) was in a Miami waterfront tear down. When we went to pick it up, I noticed the farm house sink. The seller said–oh just take it, we don’t want anything ‘old’…Oh I love Craig’s List
Great colors! Too bad they have to put their logo so HUGE.
I agree Rebecca – logo was one of my primary concerns when I bought new appliances (form over function here).
I ended up buying a slightly rounded top french door GE refrigerator in white. I gotta love the GE logo because A) it is small and B) they have been using the script GE inside a circle forever! My logo is chrome with black GE letters, but I bought replacements from their Cafe line, which are chrome with RED letters! So vintage looking!
The dishwasher I bought is a white Kenmore, and there isn’t a logo to be seen anywhere on it. I bought two of the Cafe line red/chrome GE logos and I’m sticking the second on on my Kenmore dishwasher since it has no logo at all….I figure no one will ever know, haha.
Beautiful! If only some of the low end companies got into this!
I agree with Rebecca! I can’t stand the giant logos. I won’t wear clothing that has any writing on it, and I don’t want advertising in my kitchen either. Of the colors shown, the taupe seems to be most to my taste –a little unexpected but not a screamer, easy to coordinate with, and hard to get tired of. As long as we’re fantasizing, I’ll fantasize that I no longer have to work, and my mornings are frequently spent drinking coffee in the kitchen of my friend next door who has the poppy-colored appliances.
I grew up with harvest gold and avocado and can never imagine going back, but neither of those colors look like what I remember. I still have a harvest gold blender, and it’s not as pretty as that harvest gold stove/fridge pictured above. The green is even pretty. I’m sure in person they look like what I remember though. lol
If I had nothing but money (and the option of cooking with gas), that red and orange are both fabulous! And what a shot of color! Much as I like the orange, the red would look better with my cabinetry and flooring.
There’s always the option of painting the appliances you’ve got! lol
Like I wrote in the story: These are proxies “as close” as I could find. I agree, they are not exact matches to the way back time machine colors…
Brings back childhood memories – avocado green kitchen appliances, countertops and vinyl wallcovering (!) in the first house I remember living in (built in 1964) and harvest gold appliances and countertops in the second (built in 1972). After years of almond, almond, almond (boring, boring, boring), seeing colors again makes me happy. I’ve got stainless now but seeing all the color makes me think…
I really like the Golden Mist color.
There is a sad lack of pink options.
I would JUST DIE if I could have a light pink fridge!
Light pink would look so amazing with your minty kitchen!
Golden Mist here too….but I’ll stick to my retro-ed up new white GE refrigerator, and my 1950 Tappan Deluxe stove for 1/2 of what just one of Vikings would cost, I am sure.
Hmm, I already have a fridge I love — Samsung french door in stainless; the stainless may not be retro but the curvy lines do give it a bit of a 50s feeling. But it would look pretty lovely with the red Viking stove! The light yellow might be sweet in a different way.
What, you aren’t giving one away on the blog? Viking, are you listening?
Is it okay that the same person that said white appliances are “classic” on one blog post (that would be me) is now saying she loves these?
I’d be most attracted to the avocado green, however I’m with Carol–that shade of green is too sage-y and not what I remember as avocado from the 70s. Think of the fun you could have with the orange appliances!
Just because white is classic, it doesn’t mean we need to choose it!
Time to start buying Power Ball tickets!
What? No pink???? :-O
Well, our house is all electric, so no Viking stove for us.
But, it IS lovely to see all those colors available so people can get the feel of the vintage look.
If you poke around on the site, they do have an electric range.
Viking has an induction range for the electric home.
Lynda
Oh, and yes – I’d go with the Golden Mist too if I could.
Orange for sure. I have a longstanding love affair with all things orange. Shhh……don’t tell my husband (like he doesn’t already know…
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I believe Viking appliances are manufactured in the US – if that helps ease the sting of the pricetag.
I have a vintage pink fridge and a vintage pink range. I would have preferred turquoise, but the retro renovating gods brought me pink, and they are delightful.
As for the Vikings…..not that they would go with really anything, but I love the Seaglass and the Pumpkin. How opposite can you get?
Great colors, but no turquoise?
My favorites are the Cobalt, Lemonade, and Pumpkin.
I am currently renovating a kitchen and lust for the orange stove. Our local showroom carries St. Charles kitchens. They were informed recently that the line is going out of business. Can anyone else confirm this? Looks like we will all be scouring Craigslist.
Thanks for the tip — I will check on this tomorrow!
I recently tried to buy cabinets and all sales have been put on hold while Viking tries to find a buyer for the brand. You can’t buy new St. Charles right now for any amount of money. Sad really, we are back to the drawing board for our 1951 re-do…
I grew up with poppy red appliances. I always felt special because every time I would discuss growing up in the seventies with my friends they would always ask “Avacado green or harvest gold?” and I would smirk and reply, “Neither! Poppy red!”
Do you have any photos of the old kitchen with the poppy appliances, Matt? I would LOOOOOVVVVVEEEEE to see one!
I do like the harvest gold (the color of my first appliances I had after leaving home. There doesn’t seem to be a true avocado green like the appliances in the house my parents had during my junior high years (and still had the avocado Maytag washer and dryer until about 8 years ago), or a true turquoise, the color of my dreams and of the big old Revco refrigerator and all of the other appliances and fixtures that were in the house my parent have now. But I really do love that orange!
Those are beautiful, but definitely don’t look like the Harvest Gold appliances I currently live with in my fab 1975 kitchen – complete with yellow formica countertops, scalloped wood accents, and the same linoleum pattern I grew up with in 1980! At least, we think it was remodeled in 1975, as that is when the adjoining breakfast nook was added. I’ve always meant to send in a pic so others could help guess my kitchen’s age.
That is definitely not Harvest Gold! I have a harvest gold stove in my kitchen right now (just replaced the avacado) and that Golden Mist is but a pale comparison to the real deal.
Now, retro or not, if I had the funds, I’d be all about getting the frig in purple!
PEOPLE: READ what I wrote. I said “some pretty decent proxies — well, close as I could find.” STOP hocking me cuz they are not exact. Sheesh. You are stressing me out.
Certainly not my intention! I love your site and was just interested how the color palettes have been updated for a more modern look – far more gold than the mustard I associate with harvest gold.
not to worry, deb. and it wasn’t just you. assume i pushed back with a GREAT BIG SMILE
Good to see high end stuff that is NOT just stainless steel. While the apple red looks remarkably close to our marmoleum floor, I think I would have to stick with white, since there is so much other color in our kitchen. I must confess I’ve always loved the clean look of white appliances, especially in a colorful kitchen. I do think we will want to one day get a higher quality range and it does seem that the higher end stuff is all stainless. So maybe it’s time to start saving my pennies!
Avocado, harvest gold, poppy, all great! I seem to remember an old advertising or catalogue with wallpapered appliances… am I remembering incorrectly? I’ve been told that the previous fridge in my apartment was yellow before I moved in. I’m considering contact papering the white fridge in my rental, maybe in a sixty-ish pattern. Crazy!
The orange for me! Now if only harvest gold bathrooms would come back “in”…
Oh my goodness I’m in love with the harvest gold. Those appliances, combined with my original birch cabinets and an Armstrong faux brick vinyl linoleum floor, would constitute my DREAM kitchen!
Oh my god, I want them ALL. But I’m drooling over the sea glass color, I’m a sucker for anything close to robin’s egg blue. Dream kitchen would have these and a big ol’ farmhouse kitchen sink. sigh…
These are all wonderful! The orange is my favorite, although I wish they made a bright yellow, as I’d want to mix/match at least 3 colors. Somewhat to my chagrin, our wonderful 1953 house had a new granite/stainless kitchen installed a year before we bought it, so no new Viking for me! But I’ve retro-ed it up by adding lots of color: vintage mixing bowls, Fiestaware, colorful utensils & towels. I would love to add a brightly colored toaster oven–does anyone know a brand that makes these? I have a bright red toaster, but my finance demands a small oven and I hate to add yet more stainless….all ideals welcomed! Thanks.