Retro kitchen paint colors from 50s to early 60s Geneva, Republic, St. Charles and Youngstown steel kitchen cabinets

“Vintage_Kitchen” recently wrote to ask about repainting her 60s white steel kitchen cabinets and I also promised this post with suggestions on paint colors for your mid century kitchen.

Note: Click on photos to enlarge for better color scrutiny!

From all the advertising material that I own, it appears that kitchen cabinetry was mostly white into the early 50s. Until then, ‘white’ still communicated “sanitary” – which was very important. But… we made it through that phase of kitchen concerns, and in the mid-50s, “exuberance” kicked in big time — giving us flamboyantly colored cars — and kitchen cabinets, too. The trend continued well into the 60s, when wood including natural finishes conquered. But that’s another story for another day. I promise.

I’m posting several photos of beautifully colored 50s to early 60s kitchens. A couple of things to note:

• Notice how it’s not the just the colors that are unique — but also the way they are combined. For example, in the blue kitchen above, we get a green-yellow (chartreuse even) sink.
• In addition to the colors I show here, also pick up the print version of the Sherwin-Williams Suburban Modern palette for interiors (also shown thumbnail above). For cabinets I love the: Pinky Beige, Appleblossom, Sunbeam Yellow, Holiday Turquoise and Chartreuse. If you want to repaint your white cabinets — and for trim — use the Porcelain. This is a palette that never stops pleasing and must be a key part of your mid century renovation arsenal! I recommend getting it in print, because my scanner and all our computers can only do so much re: actual color resolution.
• Finally, remember that there are plenty of examples of mix-and-match color schemes. That is, one color on the base cabinets, another usually but not always ‘lighter’ color on the wall cabinets. This was particularly true the later you go, and really, you can see the idea in many kitchens of the period if you count the countertop as a major color element …. lots of contrast … and embrace of color!