Before electricity, homes often got dark and gloomy, even during the day. Other than fires or candles, windows were the only way to keep things bright. Transom windows, horizontal windows above doors, helped to illuminate the entryway and other places in the home. Some even open in an attempt to keep the home ventilated. They’re still popular today since almost any home could use a little bit more light.
Newer versions don’t open, thanks to air conditioners, but if the transom windows in your home do open, you may be looking at windows from a previous era.
Take a Seat at the Kitchen Desk
If you see a desk in a cabinet in the kitchen, you've just seen a Hoosier desk, which became popular around the eighteen-nineties. They only lasted about thirty years, when built-in cabinets became more and more prevalent, but before then these cabinets held dinnerware, pots and pans, and other kitchen necessities.
The desk doubles as kitchen counter space and a workstation for the multi-tasker, and modern kitchen cabinets sometimes follow the same design. A kitchen can also use more counter space, but once they started coming pre-built, these cabinets started to disappear.
You Don't Have to be Named Murphy
Murphy beds are fold-out beds that rest vertically against or sometimes in the walls, able to fold down for a guest or fold up if you're in a home that doesn't boast a lot of space. You've likely seen Murphy beds on television shows, but they actually first started appearing in 1900s silent films under a different name.
Homes usually don't have these beds anymore, opting for the futon or the fold-out couch if more sleeping space is necessary. However, Murphy beds have been coming back into style for some reason, perhaps thanks to the trend of micro homes.
Sure to be Endless Fun for Kids
If you're in a very old home, or one that hasn't been renovated in a long while, you may end up stubbing your toe on a random button set into the floor – there may also be some in the walls. If you have a servant in the home, these buttons might still get some use, but most people will want them gone.
They signaled a helper to attend to the master of the house. Placing the button on the floor meant it would be easier to hit it no matter what kind of furniture was in the room.
A Mini Kitchen Outside
Seen most often in New England, homes sometimes have an outdoor barn not connected to the main house. They come fully equipped with large fireplaces and stone ovens. These things create huge amounts of heat, and during the summer there's plenty of that to go around. These Summer Kitchens stayed away from the home to keep temperatures cooler.
They were popular in the nineteenth century, but thanks to modern appliances and cooling this kind of building is no longer required, but they're an interesting way to look into the past. Some summer kitchens also contained bedrooms for servants or slaves.