Image: Library of Congress

“Mamie Pink.” The iconic decorating color of the 50s, arguably. Ubiquitous in fashion as well as bathrooms and kitchens. The mid-century trend to pink seems to have come directly and irrefutably from Mamie Eisenhower, first lady from 1953 to 1961. Pink was Mamie’s favorite color. She wore a pink gown with 2,000 pink rhinestones to Ike’s inauguration. Ike sent her pink flowers every morning. Her bathroom in Gettysburg was pink down to the cotton balls. She re-decorated the private quarters in the White House in pink. So much so that reporters called it the “Pink Palace.” The color also seems to have been known as “First Lady Pink.” As a result of all this pink-think, there was probably no question that American women (and marketers) would pick up on it. It also was a color trend right in line with the exuberance of the time — and even supportive of the return of women to the home after WWII and their complete remaking of the American domestic landscape.

In fact, my own informal research from scouring marketing materials from the period indicates that pink kitchens and baths arrived solidly in ’53, reached a total frenzy in 1957, then pretty rapidly started to fade after that, as other trends took hold. A typical adoption curve for a trend like this.

I have an aquamarine kitchen – the decorating gods sided with my husband on this decision. But I really truly wanted pink. I have to admit, a total fixation.

Meanwhile: Here’s a nice story about Mamie:

All About Mamie

By Jan Biles, The Capital-Journal (Topeka, Kansas), Published Sunday, November 18, 2007

Not much is known about Mamie Doud Eisenhower.

She was a dutiful wife and mother who stood in the background as her husband, Dwight, excelled in his military career during World War II and then led the country from the Oval Office as the 34th president from 1953 to 1961.  Read more here on the newspaper’s website – well worth it!

Taylor was among the two dozen or so RetroRenovation.com readers who attended my first-ever talk on Save The Pink Bathrooms, at the Southern Spring Home & Garden Show in Charlotte, North Carolina, on March 5, 2010. It’s readers like this who make it all worth while.

Mamie Doud Eisenhower had a tried-and-true method for setting up new households as she traveled the world with her husband the General. She knew she looked good in pink. Put the two together and ultimately you get: Mamie Pink bathrooms all across America. Five million is my conservative estimate. Maybe even 10 million, a reader yesterday estimated. Today we dive into the story of how Mamie Eisenhower led us down this primrose pink path. Above: 1960 Christmas card made by Hallmark for Mamie. All images in this post courtesy The Eisenhower National Historic Site.

Mamie Doud Eisenhower was First Lady to President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953-1961. But before that, she was wife to Ike the General, and they moved from base to base constantly. In a recent interview with Carol Hegeman, Supervisory Historian at the Eisenhower National Historic Site, I learned that whenever Mamie and Ike moved to a new posting, Mamie carried her favorite color samples with her so that she could efficiently set up a new yet familiar household. With no fuss and little muss, Mamie had her home sweet home – over and over again.

“Throughout all their military moves, she would carry a stick of wood with her favorite colors – green, pink and a creamy color – and use them again and again in her military housing,” explained Carol. “She could get rooms painted, roll out her rugs, and instantly call it home.”

Bedroom at Gettysburg

Mamie brought the same palette to the White House, her penultimate home. And it was here that her preference for pink really caught the eye and the imagination of America. The public fascination with pink got its start when Mamie wore a pink gown studded with pink rhinestones to Ike’s inauguration. The gown is quite famous. She then proceeded to decorate the White House with so much pink that the White House press corps referred to the place as “The Pink Palace.” The pretty pastel, which is now iconic to 1950s decorating, became known at “Mamie Pink.”

Mamie's tea tray, Gettysburg. "Mamie believed that once a woman reached the age of 50, she was entitled to stay in bed until noon." Hey, count me IN.

I am not an academic, but from looking at kitchen, bathroom and other marketing materials from the postwar era, it seems pretty clear that the penchant for pink in the home – especially bathroom fixtures and tiles but also kitchen appliances and then cabinets – was at a frenzy from about 1954 through to 1960 or so. It still existed well into the 60s, but at a less rampant rate. In the 60s, America and its color choices were sobered by the Cold War, JFK’s death, environmentalism and the plain old pendulum swing of color trends. We’ve also seen pink bathrooms from the 1930s, but these were not the “golden years” for this color or for bathrooms in general due to economic circumstances. The thing about pink bathrooms from the 50s is that they came hand-in-hand with America’s postwar middle class boom — in that sense, they are almost emblematic.

The living room at Gettysburg.

From 1953-1956, Mamie and Ike also built their retirement home, a farm, in Gettysburg, Pennsylania. This is today’s Eisenhower National Historic Site, operated by the National Park Service. The couple built a new house, starting with the salvageable portion of the original 1840s farmhouse. And sure enough, Mamie used her same favorite color palette.

circa 1950 Elephant figure. Ike was apolitical during his military years, but ran as a Republican in '52, the NPS site says

She also used furniture that she had since the 20s and 30s, getting old favorites refinished or slip-covered. Mamie was a woman knew what she liked. And, she had lived through the Depression – it sounds like she didn’t want new stuff that she didn’t need.

Mamie's pink bathroom at Gettysburg - note the gorgeous American Standard fixtures

Of course, her bathroom was pink.

Mamie Eisenhower's pink bathroom in Gettysburg. Note the wonderful pink doctor's scale, too.

And there is pink in the bedrooms and her dressing room.

Dwight Eisenhower's bathroom at Gettysburg

Ike’s bathroom was green.

Why pink?
Carol has been with the site since 1980. But – I don’t think she has ever been peppered by so many questions about Mamie’s predilection for pink. And of course, she chuckled right away when she heard about SaveThePinkBathrooms.com and how Mamie is the patron saint.

Why did Mamie like pink so much? Carol answers, “I’ve done a lot of oral histories with the family and associates and I remember Barbara (Barbara Eisenhower, Mamie and Ike’s daughter-in-law) telling me that she [Mamie] liked pink because she realized she looked good in it. It flattered her coloring. Nancy Reagan liked her red, Mamie Eisenhower liked her pink.”

Carol says that Mamie had sparkly blue eyes, and that pink set them off. She simply enjoyed the color.

hair dryer, gettysburg

Hey, you know how Michelle Obama got all that grief for her gorgeous arms? Well, Mamie also got criticism from the press for her pink, Carol says. She did wear some other colors, but ultimately would come back to pink – because she liked it.

What do folks visiting the Eisenhower site say about the Mamie Pink bathroom they see there? Carol says, “People do mention it a lot because they remember it back to the bathrooms when they were growing up.” I quiz her further on colors. “Colors get popular. Colors do go in cycles. In the 80s we saw pink and greens again. We go through the palettes. Olives…golds…rusts…they’re coming back again. The 60s and 70s colors are in vogue again.”

I add to that list: Mamie Pink.

Pink flyswatter, Gettysburg

Mamie and the 50s
Mamie Eisenhower was immensely popular in the 1950s. Beloved. The Historic Site says in its online virtual tour that:

1950s America had a First Lady with whom it could truly identify. Mamie shared the country’s popular interests and middle class values. She made a home in the White House and at the Gettysburg farm for Ike and her family.

Mamie watched soap operas, played scrabble, served TV dinners, wore noisy charm bracelets, and enjoyed listening to Lawrence Welk. She proudly heralded her role as a traditional housewife saying, “Ike runs the country, I turn the pork chops.”

Marilyn Irvin Holt’s biography “Mamie Doud Eisenhower: The General’s First Lady” was released in 2007. In an interview* at the time, she said:

“People try to dismiss Mamie in today’s world. She always referred to herself as a homemaker but she was not living the ‘happy days.’ I find her more enlightened than the stereotype of the 1950s.”

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to get to know more about Mamie.

Links:

• Eisenhower National Historic Site, Gettysburg, PA
• Slide show and history of the Gettysburg house.
• *Topeka Capitol-Journal story on Mamie’s biography
• This post was originally published on RetroRenovation.com during Save The Pink Bathrooms Week 2009.

“When we first bought the house I was not a fan of the bathrooms. However, thanks to your site I have realized how great a pink bathroom can be!”

Susan writes:

My fiancé and I just purchased a 1962 split level in Northcrest, a subdivision outside of Atlanta. When we tell people where we live many say, “Isn’t that where all those weird houses are?” We proudly say yes! (For some really interesting history and a peek at the neighborhood check out www.northcrestmodern.com). We are truly, madly, deeply in love with our mid-century wonder! Here is our story:

Though Eric (my fiancé) and I both grew up in the area we never knew of Northcrest’s existence. A mid century enthusiast friend encouraged us to check it out. We fell in love with the neighborhood and began driving through several times a week. We were in no position to buy a home but that didn’t stop us from checking out every new home listing and every open house. We became total Northcrest stalkers and I’m sure the neighbors probably became concerned.

While looking in the windows of a property for sale Eric was approached by a man who had been driving by. He said he had a house for rent around the corner and would Eric like to see it? Of course Eric agreed. The guy led him around the corner to his recently vacated rental and showed him around. He told Eric that no one seemed interested in renting so he would also be willing to sell it since he was living on the other side of town and paying two mortgages. Eric loved it and a few days later on our regular stalker drive Eric took me by to see the house. The owner just happened to be there (coincidence or fate?) cleaning a few things up and let me come in to look. I was smitten too!

Soon after our visit the owner called to ask if we would like a chance to buy the home before he hired a realtor and put it on the market. Being in no position yet to buy we declined and in February the house went up for sale. In May the house went under contract. We were heartbroken and even stopped driving through the neighborhood for a while. It was just too depressing. Later that month we found a realtor and began our house hunt in earnest. We looked plenty of houses in plenty of neighborhoods. While many were lovely and we tried really hard to like them none had that “this is it!” feeling like our Northcrest home. Then one day I got an excited call from Eric. He had just driven through Northcrest and had great news. Our house was no longer under contract and it was still for sale! It was like it had been waiting for us. We immediately called our realtors (who told us the house had actually been under contract twice), put in an offer and after much negotiating, which is a whole other story, the house was ours!

We closed on July 21st. It hasn’t been totally smooth sailing. Part of our negotiations with the seller was trying to figure out what to do about the plumbing. When our home was built copper piping was cheap and galvanized steel was the fancier way to go. Unfortunately steel pipes rust. We had to have all the plumbing in the house replaced all the way out to the street. It took 3 days of no water but we got it done! The dishwasher is old and at one point was draining into the crawl space. The oven thermostat doesn’t work right. The carpet was totally disgusting and the basement floor is covered in asbestos tiles. The exterior of the house is actually 3 different colors of grey because no one bothered to match the paint for touch ups. The best paint is on the front so it looked good for realtor pictures. However, all those not so great things are what made the house affordable!

We have beautiful tongue and groove pine ceilings, an awesome brick fireplace and wet bar in the den and totally great neighbors! The living room has a wall of windows looking out onto our front yard. The path to the neighborhood pool goes right next to our house. Since the house was not upgraded in any way it leaves plenty of room for awesome renovations! We are in the process of stripping (yes taking all the necessary lead paint precautions) the old paint off the kitchen cabinets and making new cabinet doors. [Pam adds this note: Way to go with environmental and safety precautions. Gold star.] (We are thinking of getting some snap on stainless counter edging. Take a look at the pictures and see what you think!) A new counter top is in order for the wet bar and we are considering taking down drywall a previous owner put up over an exposed brick wall. The downstairs bathroom is going to get new drywall and a new floor.

The Jack and Jill was to be the bathroom of the future! Many of the homes in our neighborhood have them (or had them. People tend to redo them). The bigger, more narrow side of the bathroom is the guest bath which is accessible from the hallway. The smaller one is attached to the master bedroom. We are pretty sure the star burst light fixtures are original. The tile is in sad shape but we think a good professional cleaning and sealing will make it almost new again. The ceilings are stained tongue and groove pine. I also threw in the picture of the outside of the house.

When we first bought the house I was not a fan of the bathrooms. However, thanks to your site I have realized how great a pink bathroom can be!

It’s all so exciting. I really couldn’t imagine being anywhere else!

Thank you so much for sharing, Susan. It’s great to hear your story. And it sounds like you know to buckle up, as renovation is almost always a bumpy ride. Also, I hope you don’t mind my calling you ‘adorable.’ I am quite much older than you, it’s one of the perks. Keep us apprised of your home-making shenanigans and continue to renovate safely.

Susan and Eric’s blog: Our Modern Mess.

P.S. I also added you to our 10 BEST BATHROOMS list. Woo hoo!

Update: Susan, Tikimama says you need vintage Jack ‘n Jill wall decor like this, from etsy Modtiki:

This post original ran on Retro Renovation’s Save The Pink Bathrooms Week 2009.