When looking at home renovations on the internet, you can get sucked into the never-ending world of DIY projects, upcycling, and remodeling. Before you know it, hours have passed by and rather than being any closer to a solution, you have about 50 other ideas you are willing to try instead. Well when I saw this retro untouched kitchen, it seemed to be a blast from the past. The homeowner said the house was originally built in 1956, but was never occupied until 2010 when he decided to move in. The reason it was vacant for so long is still a mystery. But the homeowner said that when he moved in, all of the appliances that used to be state of the art, were still in their brand new, original condition. They even had the original owner’s manuals taped to the sides. While I have a lot of questions about why this house was vacant for over 50 years, I sure am glad the homeowner decided to take pictures of this preserved gem, and share them for all to see.
This kitchen is adorable, with the completely original counter tops and appliances. It might be a little pink for some people’s tastes, but when designed in the 1950s, pink had a much deeper meaning.
First Lady Mamie Eisenhower’s favorite color was pink. Her love for pink inspired a whole country when it came to decorating their bathrooms and kitchens. Mamie loved pink so much, she made sure that the cotton balls she used were also pink.
Because this shade of pink became so popular, they gave it the name Mamie Pink and it could be found on almost everything during this time period.
Mamie became the unofficial model for an American housewife while her husband, Dwight Eisenhower, was in the White House. She was once quoted as saying, “Ike runs the country. I turn the pork chops.”
When women in the 1950s were looking for an American housewife to admire, Mamie was definitely the “It” woman. She loved Lawrence Welk, noisy charm bracelets, Scrabble, soap operas, and of course, TV dinners!
She turned Mamie Pink into the ultimate symbol of class and patriotism, when World War II came to an end.
It’s hard to believe that pink was not necessarily seen as feminine or girly during the 1950s. This was now the color that housewives across the nation dreamed of when it came to updating their homes.
After the popularity of Mamie Pink exploded, it was estimated that nearly five million homes had either a pink bathroom or pink kitchen. Some of them even had both!
Mamie had three colors that she always incorporated into her home: Mamie Pink, green, and cream. No matter which home her and Ike were living in, she would get to painting and decorating as soon as they moved in. This helped transform the house into a home.
Mamie went a little crazy with Mamie Pink in the White House as well. It ended up being nicknamed the “Pink Palace” while Eisenhower was president.
A lot of pink appliances and fixtures took many months to arrive because of the high demand. Imagine waiting for this amazing pink oven to arrive. I still can’t believe that the original owner’s manuals were included when this homeowner moved in to the house in 2010.
Everything matched perfectly from the counter tops to the oven to the fridge, making this the ultimate dream kitchen for this home-built in 1956.
The appliances are all in perfect working condition, however they are a bit dated. I don’t know how you would go about updating the kitchen without ruining the ultimate decorating flow. This is a top-loading dishwasher, in case you were confused by the design.
Everything that came with the dishwasher was still left on display too, including the dishwasher soap and manual.
It would be like walking into a museum when taking a tour of the home.
More info: Flickr
This retro untouched kitchen is really one of a kind. When growing up, we moved into a home that hadn’t been updated since it was originally built in the 1930s. While it was cute, it wasn’t all that functional. We had a lot of hard to use space and we didn’t have a dishwasher. But the character the house had on its own was really something that people long for nowadays and even spend a lot of money on trying to achieve.