IN 1949, home interiors generally seemed to have a traditional look, and featured a soft and pretty palette, some jewel tones carried over from glamorous Hollywood, and of course, red-white-and-blue in the kitchens. Several of these images also suggest farmhouses and updating of older homes was a marketing focus — the Armstrong “Monowalls,” for example, are meant to cover failing plaster walls, I believe. Also, you don’t see much emphasis on technology — there a very few gizmos in the kitchen. In the bathroom — well, I think that many families were still getting their first bathroom.  And in the image above, the happy couple are multitasking that Simmons hide-a-bed, suggesting that this is a one-room apartment — something I think was pretty common due to a severe post-war housing shortage. In 1949 it didn’t take much to make us happy. We were still ramping up to our 1950s frenzy and the true launch of Consumer America. Click through for a slide show of  kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms and more – 18 images in all.

 

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Continuing our mini-series on vintage stoves, ranges and ovens, here’s a 1946 Monarch-Paramount Roaster Range from the Malleable Iron Range Company, Beaver Dam,  Wisconsin. The first post-war year….you can see the simple, deco lines still in this stove. Love that roaster. You see the same style of feature – a recessed cooking well – but for soups and casseroele rather than roasts in many other stoves through at least the early ’50s.  Vintage Chambers stoves are famous for them, but I’ve seen them on other models as well.

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Quickly after World War II ended, Americans plowed right into making a wonderful new life for themselves – starting with building their dream kitchens, dream bathrooms – dream houses. Looking at periodicals from 1946, I can see a few distinct trends – this was a transitional period…you still see many Deco influences…you see a lot of primary colors…and definitely, interiors were “sweet”, although in ‘46 homeowners certainly would have declared them “modern.” Read on for ideas from each of six great interiors, including a bathroom, two living rooms and a bedroom. 1946 was a very good year!

Tips from the first kitchen image — isn’t the “life through a Pyrex pie plate” awesome?:

• This color combination: Dark cherry red linoleum countertops, primary green linoleum floor, white metal (or wood cabinets) with deco pulls seems to have been very, very common.
• In this image, you also see a light chartreuse green on the wall – this, or yellow, also seem to have been popular secondary colors.
• And flowered fabrics… These kitchens are pure prettiness. Image: Pyrex, of course.

Isn’t this Briggs Beautyware bathroom just gorgeous.  To be sure, there is a lot going on. Observations:

• Great color combination: beige – almost salmon tile, light baby blue (ala today’s “spa blue”), brown linoleum floor. The darker floor in both this image and the kitchen above “anchor” the rooms.
• Very ’40s: the fringy rug in front of the tub, striped and monogrammed towels, chenille-scalloped rug in front of the sink, tufted dressing chairs, and all the Carrera glass (used instead of tile on the walls).
• Last time I checked, today’s linoleum is not recommended for bathrooms – but if you are dedicated to keeping standing water off the floor – or want to use it in a 1/2 bath, go for it.
• Notice the full length mirror behind the dressing table at the far right.
• That full length drape – and of course, the glass block – both add to the luxe feel. Image: Briggs Plumbing.

• Blonde wood – similar to Heywood-Wakefield’s classic champagne (I believe) finish. This room definitely has a primary color feel.
• The lampshade: I’d call that “40s”…”waxed foil”?
• The patterned rug – definitely promoted heavily in the 40s.(You can see it in my header!)
• The built-in couch … a continuation straight of of 20s and 30s moderne designs

• Oh my gosh, oh so ’40s: lavendar walls, emerald green floors. Combining these “secondary” colors of the color wheel is always on the “recommended” lists that were so common during this period.
• Chintz draperies – scalloped valance
• Notice the Staffordshire dogs on the mantel – very classic.
• Not a ton of furniture in 40s interiors. (Today, our interiors are way jammed compared with the immediate postwar period.)
• Note the style of the deco club chairs. And, there’s a colonial wing chair in the foreground. Image: American Home.

• Here’s the purple/green color combo again.
• I’m calling the bedding: dove gray, although it’s hard to tell from this image.
• The wallpaper – very sweet, simple…and combined with the chintz curtains and scalloped valance (again…) even more so. Note: I’ve found some not-too-expensive wallpaper in this vein and will feature it soon. Image: American Home.

• Cabbage rose chintz pinch pleats with frilly undercurtains. American Home.

Remember this palette? It’s from the Church toilet seat company – and it captures the 40 palette very will indeed. Happy decorating all you owners of 40s homes… Jason K…Carleton Heights Girl… Neil.. and more! Ad: Church Plumbing.

 

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No question, it’s a little unsettling to read this ad from 1947-48, which underscores today’s perception that the 40s and 50s exerted too much pressure to conform to society norms — in this case, around personal hygiene. In reading about the period, the issue of ‘cleanliness’ seems to go a bit deeper than mere righteousness or intolerance.

Back to the day of Florence Nightingale there had been pressure to improve levels of cleanliness in order to combat disease. In the earlier days of America, norms around personal hygiene were quite loose – we were immigrant-pioneers trying to scratch out a living. Into the 20th century, as cities became more crowded…as more children stayed in school…and as men moved into jobs outside the home/farm…there was a major movement to tidy up and maintain good hygiene. Immigrants coming to America also were quickly socialized to these American ways, it was part of the melting pot assimilation. After World War II, with women pushed back into the home and men out in the workforce trying to nab a solid piece of the American dream, the focus on cleanliness and making a good first impression only strengthened.

Hey, did you now that “Keeping up with the Joneses” goes back way another 100 years, though?  It’s apocryphal (love that word), but it’s believed that the phrase was picked up after Edith Wharton’s spinster aunt Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones built the original “McMansion” – named Wyndclyffe — in 1853.  Wall Street Journal. “It featured a four-story tower, 24 rooms, 80 acres of lawn and sweeping river views. After
its completion, turret towers and extra wings began ppearing on nearby homes – leading to the now-famous phrase, ‘keeping up ith the Joneses.’

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Dishmaster kitchen faucets are not only stylish — they are functional, too. In the postwar era, there was a Gadget Revolution, with an explosion of labor saving devicies for the kitchen, in particular. The Dishmaster fit right into that mold, promising to make a tedious task easier on your hands and enjoyable, even.

Ronda handles customer service at Silver Stream, which manufactures the Dishmaster today. And she underscores, that when the girls clean up at her house after Thanksgiving — everyone fights over who gets to use the Dishmaster. Now, doesn’t that sound fun?

With Christmas around the corner – consider Dishmasters for gifts for friends, family, “the house” — anyone moving into a new/old house or with a retro renovation kitchen project under way.

For sale at dishmaster-faucet.com.

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Some things never change. This scene from the 1948 classic, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse, repeats every day across America — and always will.

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The 1940s saw all kinds of innovation that supposedly gave women the freedom to cavort around town all afternoon.

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Back in the day before the Surgeon General, technology still held the key to solving for cigarette dangers… Drowsy smokers? We’ve got you covered. This ad was a tiny PR placement in the 1947-48 winter/spring edition of Small Home Guide…turned up as I researched 1948 to mark launch of The Dishmaster.

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This week I will be spotlighting 1948 — the year that the world gave us The Dishmaster. What a great time this was for America. The war had ended…with peace and prosperity setting in for the first time in decades. It was also a time characterized by great faith in technology and invention.

And, it was a period of severe housing shortages. 1947 set a new record for home constuction – 750,000 new starts. And the industry could hardly believe the pace. As a result of all these convergences, there was a tremendous focus on innovation and efficiency in both building and outfitting homes.

It’s fun to look back – and see the awe that people had at features we take so much for granted today. Like the automatic garage door opener. Jee willikers, how the heck DOES it work? Click on the diagram below for a large view that explains all!

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Yes – you can still buy this terrific retro kitchen faucet, which is made in America.

Dishmaster advertising is terrific – so I’ll be featuring it all week in celebration of the sales launch. How about this beauty from 1955? He reminds me of Don Draper from Mad Men.

And – did you know – that today’s Dishmaster M76 model can also mount on the wall – just like in the most recent Indiana Jones movie.

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