Thanks in part to the Motion Picture Production Code, which guided Hollywood morals from 1930 to 1968, most married couples back then were portrayed as sleeping in two beds separated by a nightstand with a lamp and telephone to keep them apart.
I assumed this was only a Hollywood convention until I came across a 1957 publication geared toward newly married couples. It too depicts the modern married bedroom as having his-and-her beds. Click any of these images to see larger versions.
Perhaps married couples of the mid-20th century did, indeed, sleep in separate beds. If not, then all those movies and pictures in home-decor magazines were one big joke everyone was in on.
Living with someone can be tough regardless of the sleeping arrangements. Most of the text in the magazine depicted here is about how to share a life together and how, mostly, the woman needs to make sacrifices to the man.
Couples are pictured throughout working together, sharing chores, and making plans as a team. I did notice, however, that the man has a coat and tie on in the housekeeping picture, so probably he wouldn’t be expected to actually participate.
The advice for women is pretty direct: Avoid things that are too “frilly” and give your husband his own closet if possible.
I think separate bathrooms are the real key to happiness for most couples. And if it was common to have two kitchens, I bet a lot of couples would opt for that, as well.
I suppose there’s something charming about this era when sex was so taboo of a subject that it couldn’t even be hinted at by showing one large bed. Very little is left to the imagination these days.
But I do think we’re better off now, even when I cringe at the explicitness of some TV and print ads. It’s hard to get responsible messages across to kids when one of the basics of married life is hidden behind matching chenille bedspreads.
This article was last modified on May 17, 2023
This article was first published on September 18, 2009
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