Houzz Call: Show Us Your Bygone Home Features
Does your house have any elements that remind you of another time? We want to see them!
Does your house hark back to days of old? Depending on when it was built, you might have a dumbwaiter from the 1920s or an outhouse from the 19th century. The list continues with mailbox hooks, boot scrapers, phone niches and more. Each home feature phases out for different reasons, from technological advances to societal changes. But those elements tell a story about your house and its inhabitants, and we’d love to hear about them.
Homeowners: Do you have a bygone home feature that you still use or keep around? If so, upload a photo and tell us about it.
Pros: Have you left, found or added any antiquated home features during a project? Please share your stories and photos in the Comments.
Homeowners: Do you have a bygone home feature that you still use or keep around? If so, upload a photo and tell us about it.
Pros: Have you left, found or added any antiquated home features during a project? Please share your stories and photos in the Comments.
Phone nook. Today, we can make calls from anywhere on our cellphones. This phone nook rekindles a time of spinning the dial on the rotary phone in a little hallway cove dedicated to one thing: telephone calls.
Mailbox hooks. Websites and apps deliver news to us constantly, decreasing the demand for a physical newspaper. Shiny mailbox hooks by front doors still beckon for a rolled-up newspaper and add a vintage entry touch.
Dumbwaiter. A little panel opens to reveal a handy delivery system known as a dumbwaiter. While not a common delivery method anymore, some families incorporate them into their modern lifestyle, using them to lift groceries and supplies in multistory homes.
Outhouse. Before indoor plumbing and flush toilets, people used an outhouse. Some still occasionally turn to this bathroom. That was the case for a Washington couple who lived in an Airstream and used an outhouse in the woods while they constructed their Salsa House.
Your turn: Share your bygone home feature stories and photos in the Comments section!
Your turn: Share your bygone home feature stories and photos in the Comments section!