Consumer society placed new demands on the well-equipped postwar home. The modern West German bathroom was furnished with a gas-powered washing machine, heater, and water boiler. While washing machines were still considered a luxury item in the early 1950s, they had quickly become more common thanks to lower prices and their status as markers of a modern household. In line with 1950s gender roles, this image shows a housewife dressed in a padded housecoat who is proudly gazing at her washing machine.