Things that used to be common place in people’s homes

[MattA7]

A few days ago I noticed when looking at homes for rent that on had a TV in the kitchen. Something I remember most people having however nowadays it’s pretty rare.

It got me thinking of other items you used to see in everyone’s home but are now quite rare such as vhs players, vinyl record players, electric bar heaters, trouser press etc

can anyone think of anything else or still has such items in their homes؟

 

[swt_passenger]

Twin tub washing machines,
Separate washing machine and spin dryer,
Mangles...

 

[MattA7]

Twin tub washing machines,
Separate washing machine and spin dryer,
Mangles...

One of my elderly neighbors still has one of them she refuses to get a modern automatic thinking there “for lazy people”

 

[takno]

A few days ago I noticed when looking at homes for rent that on had a TV in the kitchen. Something I remember most people having however nowadays it’s pretty rare.

It got me thinking of other items you used to see in everyone’s home but are now quite rare such as vhs players, vinyl record players, electric bar heaters, trouser press etc

can anyone think of anything else or still has such items in their homes؟

I'm not convinced that TVs in the kitchen were ever particularly common, or have become rarer for that matter. Certainly I've never had one, or known anybody else who did. I'd have loved one though, since my mum always used to deliberately make us sit down to our tea at the exact time Neighbours was on.

How about tape players? I haven't had a working one for 10 years. Was trying to work out the other night what the hell all the people suddenly buying music on tape again are actually doing with them.

Old bakelite BT rotary dial phones, or landline phones at all.

Wow, this is tough. I can think of loads of things, but they're all just on the theme of electrical appliances. Maybe teapots and strainers?

EDIT: a ridge tent going mouldy in the shed. It would have been upgraded to a dome tent by now.

 

[pdq]

How about blankets and bedspreads rather than a duvet?

 

[EssexGonzo]

I’m a bit mystified by the question. A TV in the kitchen isn’t rare in my experience.

Our Kitchen also has a table and sofa and we spend a lot of time in there. More so than the lounge - so we have a relatively new TV on the wall. It’s much more common to have a single, larger, kitchen/diner/living space nowadays, hence the TV.

Also - a trouser press? Still common among people who had to wear suits to work before the pandemic, hardly a thing of the past.

And a separate washer / dryer - also very, very common. A separate dryer is likely to be a warm air dryer rather than a condenser, therefore more effective. It also means you can have both going at the same tine - useful for a working family.

Valve radios - but maybe the reason is that it’s not the 1940’s any more?

 

[TheSel]

Gas lamps. Candelabra. Abacus ...

How about those bell-push things that summon the downstairs maid?

 

[swt_passenger]

Gas lamps. Candelabra. Abacus ...

How about those bell-push things that summon the downstairs maid?

I still find that very useful, although she now doubles as my chauffeur, so I was able to reduce the number of bells...

 

[typefish]

Hi-Fi's

Why need them when you can just get Sonos and plug that into your phone or something

 

[gg1]

And a separate washer / dryer - also very, very common. A separate dryer is likely to be a warm air dryer rather than a condenser, therefore more effective. It also means you can have both going at the same tine - useful for a working family.

The OP said separate washing machine and SPIN dryer, you're thinking of tumble dryers. Separate spin dryers disappeared when spin cycles became a feature of washing machines back in the 70s.

Here's a few which are still around but now thoroughly out of fashion and much less common than they used to be:

Net curtains
Fluorescent tube light fittings
Separate hot and cold taps
Drinks cabinets

Hi-Fi's

Why need them when you can just get Sonos and plug that into your phone or something

I'd say the vast majority of people still own a HiFi of some description. Aside from the fact plenty of people still listen to physical media, many of the more recent systems also have USB and Bluetooth so you can play from your phone anyway if you really want to.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Two pin electrical plug sockets in the UK (and not just the ones for electric shavers).

 

[yorksrob]

We had a discussion about chamber pots on another thread.

 

[Busaholic]

I still find that very useful, although she now doubles as my chauffeur, so I was able to reduce the number of bells...

And, possibly, balls.

 

[typefish]

I'd say the vast majority of people still own a HiFi of some description. Aside from the fact plenty of people still listen to physical media, many of the more recent systems also have USB and Bluetooth so you can play from your phone anyway if you really want to.

I have one sitting in front of me right now.

I haven't turned it on in a year

 

[birchesgreen]

Old bakelite BT rotary dial phones, or landline phones at all.

i got 2 GPO 746 dial phones in my living room, i am probably alone in this.

 

[py_megapixel]

Hi-Fi's

Why need them when you can just get Sonos and plug that into your phone or something

Well, Sonos itself is horribly overpriced and has some very questionable business practices... but yes, the principle is still there.
As a matter of fact I have a mini Hi-fi system which I plug my phone into to listen to music...

 

[Mag_seven]

Separate hot and cold taps

Is that rare nowadays?

 

[yorksrob]

The Goblin Teasmade !

 

[Bob figgis]

Electric blankets and a hot water bottle made the bed toastie before central heating

 

[takno]

Is that rare nowadays?

Rare to have separate spouts in kitchens now. Less so in bathrooms, although even there it seems like virtually all the new installations for the last 15 years or so are mixers.

It's still at least vaguely popular to have models where separate taps both feed into a single spout.

 

[gg1]

I have one sitting in front of me right now.

So do I.

I haven't turned it on in a year

And mine's used most days, not necessarily for music, it also doubles up as the sound output for my PC.

Even with friends and family who's music listening is now 100% digital, the majority tend to use a HiFi, more likely to be a mini system than a full size separates system but still HiFi nonetheless.

Is that rare nowadays?

As opposed to mixer taps, yes. Pretty much any house built in the past 20 years or so plus any kitchen/bathrooms refitted in the same time period will have mixer taps.

 

[OuterDistant]

Desktop PCs. Pretty much everyone I know uses laptops and/or tablets, unless they've got a Mac.

 

[GusB]

Thinking about how nice it would be to have a real fire on a night like this, I remember that in our old house we used to have a coal scuttle by the fire, and a stand that contained a poker, brush and small dustpan. Most of the older houses in the village would have had these, but they gradually fell out of fashion as more people had central heating fitted and did away with their coal fires. Nowadays, wood burners are becoming more popular again.

I still have a VHS machine in the living room and there's still a shelf full of VHS tapes, although neither sees any use.

My recently fitted bathroom still has separate hot/cold taps.

 

[Mag_seven]

Black and White televisions.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Black and White televisions.

Still quite a folk claiming to have these for TV Licensing purposes, 28000+ was the last count, if I correctly recall.

 

[py_megapixel]

Black and White televisions.

Can you even buy those anymore?

There's no real use for them... I'm sure if there was significant demand, TVs would have a monochrome filter option in their settings somewhere, and that would close to the same thing anyway.
I can imagine that comparitavely low-quality versions of these will come back at some point, sold at a huge price premium, to appeal to people of a "hipster"-type disposition, as has happened with e.g. cassette recorders and instant cameras.

 

[takno]

Thinking about how nice it would be to have a real fire on a night like this, I remember that in our old house we used to have a coal scuttle by the fire, and a stand that contained a poker, brush and small dustpan. Most of the older houses in the village would have had these, but they gradually fell out of fashion as more people had central heating fitted and did away with their coal fires. Nowadays, wood burners are becoming more popular again.

For now. There was a report out a week or so ago about how they fill the entire room and a chunk of the rest of the house with small particulate pollution every time you open the door. Add the fact that they're already a big pollution problem and I'd give them 5 years max

 

[Peter Mugridge]

How about blankets and bedspreads rather than a duvet?

I have some - and they're much better than a duvet. Don't get tangled up in them for a start, and much faster and easier to change...

The wife insists on a duvet, though, so I've got round that by using it like a blanket with an oversheet and a bedspread to keep it tucked in very tightly...

Desktop PCs. Pretty much everyone I know uses laptops and/or tablets, unless they've got a Mac.

This is where I put my hand up again - I'm using desktops... well, more accurately they're ( custom built ) tower computers but for the purpose of this thread it's the same thing isn't it?

 

[yorksrob]

Black and White televisions.

Still quite a folk claiming to have these for TV Licensing purposes, 28000+ was the last count, if I correctly recall.

I've got one. The only reason I had to stop using it was that none of the modern cable fittings work with it unfortunately.

 

[Mag_seven]

Lava Lamps