I think stainless would be OK for the fridge. I feel it can look more basic and blend in more than a modern looking white one, especially the glass front ones. Panel fridges get your choice of panels (you supply it...doesn't come with the appliance), so can be whatever color you want.

I really like my panel front dishwashers and no one ever knows they're dishwashers, since we have a false drawer front over a false door on each. Seems like that would be a good option for your dw.

What kind of range are you planning? I think the style has almost more, or as much, of an impact on a period kitchen than the color.

Quite a few companies make ranges in colors other than stainless, white, and black. I don't know what your budget is, but those ranges do tend to be spendy. I recently wrote a blog article providing links to the companies that offer ranges in different colors. (Blog is not monetized by the way. It's just easier to provide a link than retype the whole article and place photos here.)

I just saw a black 44" AGA Legacy, and it didn't feel overwhelmingly dark. I think because of its vintage styling, it's not as physically dominant as say a Wolf or Bluestar. The Fratelli Onofri, Ilve, and Lacanche CornuFe also look much more demure.

Here is a link that might be useful: Seeing the world in color (ranges)

I don't recommend a Frigidaire,, I've had bad luck myself with them. There are vintage looking frigs out there if you want to spend big $$$. An example:
{{!gwi}}

Get what makes you happy!!! So what if stainless has gone mass production. If you like it, you like it. 10 years ago one of my friends complemented my mother on her stainless oven...from 1965. It'll never completely go away.

If you're more interested in the period look, or don't like the way the stainless looks with the stainless counter (and there are sevetyleven different colors of stainless), you can't go wrong with panels. But they do cost more. And it doesn't sound like you like them.

That said, yes, you can paint custom panels. I've seen people do art on them. Chalkboard paint. Mirrors (the unbreakable steel kind). Faux fur zebra covered. So long as you don't add too much weight--I wouldn't do mosaic tiles--you can do just about anything with custom panels.

There are companies that specialize in period panels for appliances. You can make your fridge look like an icebox. There are even fridges that are specifically made to look like and open like iceboxes, with the several doors. You can also panel dishwasher drawers to make them look like staples bins. Or just cabinets. You can panel anything except an oven. And there are even cabinets that can enclose ovens entirely for people who refuse to see them.

The first appliances were cast iron ranges. There were wooden iceboxes--most of the ones I've seen have been oak. My father even remembers the iceman whose horse knew the route. After that things got very white enamel.

Fancy ranges also came in colors, at least starting in the '20's. I don't really know before that. And there were even fancy ones like this that looks like a dresser (this is a favorite of mine):

There are a whole heck of a lot of different things you can do to make a grown in place, or period look for your kitchen. But if you like stainless, just get it!!

I'm confused...black is too what? Think back...what color would the stove have been likely in that decade...black cast iron right?

There are many companies that make colored ranges. It's not so much the color as the style that realls matters if you're going to try to stay period. In my home we'll go with a black range with a mix of different colored cabients (white, green, yellow etc) all unfitted in feel. The fridge will be a custom amoire build but you can mimic that by using panels. Or going with a stainless fridge if it's really clean lined to just blend in verses using a cheaper stainless fridge that stands proud of the cabinets.

If it's a budget issue build the fridge into the wall so it isn't proud...huge improvement in blending in well.

Clad the dishwasher, that's cheap and kind of a must as it's hard to make that much stainless flow. If you're going with a cheaper electric range, black plastic or white won't feel very period either, so just go with stainless and give up with the idea of replacing it someday maybe? Or go with a period appropriate range like a lacanche, aga, rebuilt etc. If the budget allows.

Sorry for the big delay! I only now figured out how to find my old posts (although sometimes searching under my name works and sometimes not, it seems)!

igloochic - my comment about black was that in my small, dark, North-facing kitchen, if all of my appliances were black (and cheap as I can't afford the high-end stuff, just the Kitchen Aids and GE's, etc.), it would look too dark I think. Of course if I had some beautiful high-end black and stainless 6-burner stove from France or what have you, that's another story altogether! ;) I don't mind having one fancy black stove and everything else in another color but alas...no money for anything so fancy. I thought the perfect compromise would be all new white appliances w/ stainless handles, but there don't appear to be many like that from a reputable company at least.

We are going with mostly white appliances in a period kitchen. Depends on what size you need for the fridge, but check out the Fisher & Paykel white fridge with stainless handles---it's almost a dead-on match for our vintage O'Keefe and Merritt finish/look, and isn't crazy expensive. (Not cheap, but in the range of KitchenAid, etc.) It is a bit on the small side, though---supposedly they will be coming out with white versions of the larger ones (if the appliance guy is right) in the not-too-distant future.

I think you can go stainless with one or two appliances without having the whole kitchen "look" stainless too, though. Our main goal was just to avoid "refrigerator white"---that is, those textured white fridges that we have now and have had most of our lives. White in other iterations (glossy, shiny, etc.) can look much nicer!