With few exceptions, until the early 1950s, the only color offered for a new home appliance was a standard white finish. Then, seven pastel shades were introduced; stratford yellow, sherwood green, cadet blue, turquoise, woodtone brown, petal pink and canary yellow. By 1960, three of these shades -canary yellow, turquoise and petal pink- had been established as the standard color finishes. By the way, it was common for a colored appliance to cost a bit more than one with a white finish.

By the mid-1960s, pastel colors were being phased out. The latest appliances -on sale at the local shopping mall Sears, Penney's or Ward's- would be available in "earth tone" colors. The Coppertone finish, in stores by 1960, was the first of these new shades. Avocado Green debuted in 1967, with the Harvest Gold finish introduced in 1968. These three appliance colors remained in vogue until the early 1980s.