40 palettes

50s Color Palette

Press the button for one 50s palette: five colors and their hex codes, from diner red to two-tone car paint.

50s Color Palette

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Checker floor: red on blackBlack tiles, white tiles, red stools, silver legs, turquoise counter.#131114 · #FDFCF8 · #D92B2F · #CACBD0 · #21BDB2

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Diner 10

Booth seat: scarlet on cream Cream wall, scarlet seat, silver piping, charcoal table edge, aqua menu.
Burger basket: white on red Red basket, white paper, yellow mustard, brown bun, forest green pickle.
Checker floor: red on black Black tiles, white tiles, red stools, silver legs, turquoise counter.
Counter stools: red on mint Mint wall, red seats, silver posts, black bases, cream tile.
Drive-in tray: silver on teal Teal car door, silver tray, scarlet basket, white cups, yellow fries.
Jukebox glow: butter yellow on navy Navy corner, butter yellow glow, coral tubes, turquoise tubes, silver grille.
Milkshake glass: pink on charcoal Charcoal counter, pink shake, white cream, red cherry, pale pink straw.
Napkin holder: silver on white White counter, silver holder, red ketchup, yellow mustard, charcoal pepper.
Pie case: scarlet on silver Silver case, scarlet cherries, cream meringue, tan crust, mint shelf.
Sock hop: pink on black Black records, pink skirt, white socks, turquoise scarf, gray microphone.

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Pastels and chrome 10

Hand mixer: mint and silver Mint body, silver beaters, white batter, black cord, yellow bowl.
Hooded dryer: baby blue and silver Baby blue hood, silver stand, white towel, navy cord, pink curlers.
Motor scooter: seafoam green and silver Seafoam green body, silver trim, tan seat, black tires, red tail light.
Picnic cooler: peach and silver Peach cooler, silver latch, white lid, turquoise stripe, gray handle.
Pop-up toaster: butter yellow and silver Butter yellow body, silver sides, black lever, tan toast, brown crust.
Portable turntable: lavender and silver Lavender case, silver arm, black record, scarlet label, cream lining.
Portable typewriter: sky blue and silver Sky blue body, silver bar, charcoal keys, cream paper, maroon ribbon.
Refrigerator: pink and silver Pink door, silver handle, cream shelves, gray shading, maroon badge.
Table radio: aqua and silver Aqua case, silver grille, butter yellow dial, scarlet needle, brown knobs.
Wall phone: salmon and silver Salmon phone, silver dial, charcoal cord, cream wall, gray shading.

Car paint 10

Bakery van: cream and maroon Cream body, maroon lettering, gray bumper, forest green stripe, black tires.
Bubble car: sky blue and cream Sky blue body, cream roof, gray bumper, coral seat, black tires.
Family sedan: baby blue and navy Baby blue body, navy roof, silver chrome, cream sidewalls, charcoal tires.
Farm truck: teal and white Teal body, white roof, gray bumper, tan bed planks, black tires.
Hardtop coupe: coral and charcoal Coral body, charcoal roof, silver chrome, white sidewalls, black tires.
Hot rod: black and orange Black body, orange flames, yellow flame tips, gray engine, red wheels.
Ragtop: red and cream Red body, cream top, silver chrome, tan seats, charcoal tires.
Roadster: butter yellow and black Butter yellow body, black top, silver chrome, maroon seats, gray tires.
Station wagon: seafoam green and cream Seafoam green body, cream roof, brown wood panels, silver chrome, black tires.
Tail fins: pink and white Pink body, white roof, silver chrome, scarlet tail lights, black tires.

Print and poster 10

Barkcloth curtain: mustard on charcoal Charcoal cloth, mustard leaves, seafoam green leaves, pink flowers, cream outlines.
Boomerang print: turquoise on cream Cream paper, turquoise boomerangs, mustard stars, coral dots, charcoal outlines.
Bowling shirt: aqua on navy Navy shirt, aqua panel, cream piping, scarlet lettering, white pins.
Comic panel: red on butter yellow Butter yellow background, red lettering, cobalt blue shadows, black ink, white speech balloon.
Matinee poster: seafoam green on black Black night, seafoam green monster, yellow title, scarlet banner, white stars.
Paperback cover: black on mustard Mustard cover, black figure, scarlet title, cream band, teal shadow.
Rocket poster: red on navy Navy space, red rocket, gray fins, yellow flame, white stars.
Seed packet: forest green on cream Cream paper, forest green leaves, coral flowers, yellow centers, brown lettering.
Starburst: butter yellow on dark teal Dark teal wall, butter yellow rays, mustard center, white tips, coral dots.
Travel poster: cream on sky blue Sky blue sky, cream clouds, coral plane, navy lettering, yellow sun.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-08: palettes of five colors in four looks that go by the name 50s (diner, pastels and chrome, car paint, print and poster). Every palette, name, color word, hex code and part is our own; no palette is taken from a car maker's paint chart, an appliance, a poster, a film, a brand or a published palette, no make or model is named, and the page states nothing about the decade beyond the names of its four groups. How a strip is ordered: each color is named for its part; a Pastels and chrome strip is the pastel body, then its chrome (silver), then the rest; a Car paint strip is the body, then the second color (roof, top, flames or lettering), then the rest; a Print and poster strip starts with the paper or the background. Our own tests, not a standard: a Diner strip holds two or more of red, scarlet, silver, black, white and turquoise, and the color its name carries contrasts with the first color by 1.5 to 1 or more (the WCAG contrast ratio formula, https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html, used as our own threshold); a pastel body has an HSL lightness of 68 percent or more; a car's body and second color are 25 or more apart in CIE Lab; the second color of a print contrasts with its background by 1.5 to 1 or more; no two colors of a palette are closer than 10 in CIE Lab; no two palettes share four codes. Color names are plain English words with no paint maker, pencil brand or color-matching system, and one word is one code everywhere on this list. Checked on 2026-10-08: every code is #RRGGBB, each color word fits the hue and lightness of its code, no palette, name or line repeats, and no palette is on another palette list of this site or of its sister sites. The hex codes are for a screen; with paint or pencils, take the nearest color. Licence: own work

How it works

A 50s color palette here is one small scene with a job for every color: red stools on a checker floor, a pink refrigerator door with a silver handle, a baby blue sedan with a navy roof.

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Diner, chrome and car paint

The menu under the button keeps to one look. Diner draws on red, black, white, chrome silver and turquoise. Pastels and chrome puts a pastel body first, such as pink, mint, aqua or butter yellow, and its chrome second. Car paint gives the body color, then the roof, top, flames or lettering: Tail fins is pink and white, Hardtop coupe coral and charcoal.

Print and poster

These start with the paper, the cloth or the background and say what each ink is for. Boomerang print sets turquoise, mustard and coral shapes on cream with charcoal outlines. Rocket poster is a red rocket in navy space with a yellow flame.

Questions and answers

What colors are in a 1950s color palette?

Apart from silver, black, white, cream and the grays, this list uses red #D92B2F, scarlet #EC3F24 and yellow #FDD528 most, then coral, pink, navy and butter yellow. That they are 1950s colors is our own reading.

What is a 50's color palette for a diner scene?

Try Checker floor: black and white tiles, red stools on silver legs and a turquoise counter. Booth seat is a scarlet seat against a cream wall, with silver piping and an aqua menu.

What pastel colors are in a 50s palette?

On this list: pink #F696BC, mint #B3ECCF, aqua #88E2D9, butter yellow #FCEEA3 and baby blue #B7DAF8, with salmon, lavender, seafoam green, sky blue and peach. Each strip of the Pastels and chrome group sets one of them beside silver #CACBD0.