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

[dgl]

Does any one remember the electric plate warmer? This was a glass topped panel, about 2 ft long with an electric circuit to warm up the glass, plus a hot plate, to keep your food warm.

Similar to what my Auntie had, the Philips Hostess Europa was unique amongst Hostess trollies in that it did not have the usual glass dishes in the top but a heated glass plate instead, this allowed you to use any dishes you liked on the top and was very effective, you still had the hot cupboard below and they were individually switched.

And those Belling heaters that could also be used as a water boiler, about 1M tall and had the usual fireglow bulb in the bottom. The Belling Champion.

https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/253216392965_/VINTAGE-RETRO-BELLING-CHAMPION-ENAMEL-ELECTRIC-HEATER-No.jpg

and to expand on that the electric 2-3 bar fires with the plastic coals/wood lit by a fireglow bulb.

https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/OTAwWDEwMjQ=/z/138AAOSwNf1ZtSBM/$_86.JPG

 

[High Dyke]

Them bar heaters with a pull cord switch on the wall near the ceiling in the bathroom.

Ooh, we had one of them in the bathroom of the house I spent my childhood in.

Mentions of an open fire reminds me that my Nan & Grandad used to have a toasting fork fashioned from a coat hanger.

Another one I thought of them kettles you put on the stove that whistled when boiling, a distinctive sound in an old school house.

I still have one of those, for when the electric is off. Had some use during power cuts last year.

 

[najaB]

Storage heaters, they made the place cosy for breakfast but cool by evening. Could they be practical with better insulation?

Yes. Plus smarter heaters that better control when the heat is released. Not to mention remembering to set the charge based on the weather forecast.

 

[birchesgreen]

I still have one of those, for when the electric is off. Had some use during power cuts last year.

Yes me too though my new gas oven needs electric to ignite so thats out of the question now...

I think old fashioned kettles are still quite common, most probably lying unused in the back of cupboards like mine.

 

[Logan Carroll]

probably clocks generally

Can confirm. I have never lived in a house with a clock. Even in the days before smartphones i remember the sky+ being used as the only method of telling the time.

 

[eMeS]

Does any one remember the electric plate warmer? This was a glass topped panel, about 2 ft long with an electric circuit to warm up the glass, plus a hot plate, to keep your food warm.

I still have one, albeit it never gets used now. Mine is a "Safe" design. The flat top is a piece of stiff plastic sheet, and raised a little (~3mm) above the warming element, so if there's no weight on it, it's not that hot.

 

[pdq]

Does any one remember the electric plate warmer? This was a glass topped panel, about 2 ft long with an electric circuit to warm up the glass, plus a hot plate, to keep your food warm.

Yes, my Mother in law has one and uses it.

 

[najaB]

Yes me too though my new gas oven needs electric to ignite so thats out of the question now

Matches will solve that problem.

 

[takno]

They don't though, not unless there's something wrong with the draughting. My parents have a wood burning stove and there's absolutely no smell of burning at all, and no smoke out of the chimney once it's got going. It's terrifically efficient, they burn one log at a time and that's ample heat.
I have an open fire which I burn logs on. It's terrifically inefficient, but again the only time I've ever had smoke anywhere other than up the chimney is when a log has rolled off the grate onto the hearth. Very occasionally burn some coal which gives a fantastic amount of heat once it's lit.

I think a lot of the concern about wood burners is misguided. There's little point banning them whilst we're all still allowed to burn petrol and diesel.

I'm just going on this report https://www.independent.co.uk/indep...-burning-stove-pollution-health-b1776405.html which specifically deals with invisible cancer-causing pollution going into the house. I don't think anybody is disputing that fireplaces are probably worse

 

[dgl]

Yes me too though my new gas oven needs electric to ignite so thats out of the question now...

Should still light with a match or lighter, the flame failure devices in them need no power to operate.

Another thing my Grans house has is a 3X3 square of frosted windows between the hallway and lounge, don't know how common they were but I would guess all the houses on the street have them.

 

[xotGD]

Kids playing with a train set.

 

[Andrew S]

I had a Baby Belling cooker for a while in a flat in Halifax. It didn't matter which knob I turned on, the oven and one or other of the two rings would heat up, and it actually heated the flat far better than the communal warm air vent heating system ever did.

 

[leshuttle]

Still have a kitchen TV. It's hooked up to a wireless video sender/receiver pair from the satellite receiver in a separate living room.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Kids playing with a train set.

Those have changed into 'adult kids playing with a train set'

 

[Cowley]

Those have changed into 'adult kids playing with a train set'

Damn right.

 

[GusB]

"Hardwired" landlines. When we moved into our first "bought" house, the phone line came into a junction box in the kitchen, where the 700-series telephone resided. It was only after a fault with our rather elderly (rented) phone that BT sent an engineer out to replace it (with a new 700-series phone) and he replaced said junction box with what we now know as a master socket, and fitted an extension in the hall where we were able to place a "telephone table" (already mentioned upthread). It took a few years before we were "in with the in-phone" crowd

Although not strictly within the home, our street lights used to be mounted on solid wooden poles which had wires strung between them. When they were replaced with modern street lamps it certainly changed the appearance of the area and, more recently, when the sodium lamps were replaced with new-fangled LEDs it felt quite weird - it was almost like being back in my gran's street where they had white mercury lamps on concrete posts (but brighter)!

 

[Cdd89]

Full flush toilets
Talcum powder
2 amp plugs for lighting
Adhesive window frosting
More than one BT plug in the house
Beige (anything)

 

[nlogax]

Definitely relevant to this thread, great article in the Graun this morning..

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...he-people-whose-homes-are-portals-to-the-past

Will future generations look at the interior design of the early 21st century in appreciation? Possibly not. We do not appear to have crafted many design classics, unless slab-like corner sofas in mud-grey velvet are Eames chairs in the making. Our feature walls are gaudy; our furniture cheaply made. Scarcely anything seems to be built to last, which is just as well, as the next Instagram-led interior design trend will be along soon enough.

But there are those who retreat from modern trends into the interiors of the past, drawn by the allure of original designs. We speak to five people whose homes are portals into the past.

 

[birchesgreen]

Yes a good article, i love the 70s house. I'd love to have a house like that.

 

[dgl]

How about butter knives, an excellent thing if not entirely successful these days as block butter kept in the fridge is still to hard to spread without softening it first (the microwave is great for this).

 

[nlogax]

How about butter knives, an excellent thing if not entirely successful these days as block butter kept in the fridge is still to hard to spread without softening it first (the microwave is great for this).

I specifically bought one in recent months - they're excellent.

 

[trainophile]

Talking of phones, who had a party line? When I was a child we shared our phone line with a neighbour in the street behind our house. Quite often mum would want to make a call and pick the receiver up only to hear someone gabbling away on the line.

I bought a butter knife recently too, 20p in a charity shop - it's handy for making sandwiches when I'm self-catering in hotel rooms, less bulky to cart around than proper cutlery. That and a Spork (the type with spoon at one end and fork prongs at the other) and a plastic plate - sorted.

Still got a Hostess trolley, only used for storing the insulated serving bowls and the Viners cutlery these days, and I still use talc! (Although it is getting harder to buy these days, I think there's some health concerns.)

 

[dgl]

and a follow on from my previous picture, bone handled cutlery, that we always used to get moaned at by my Gran for putting in the washing up bowl as the handles were not supposed to get wet as it yellowed them, something that has happened to the knife I took a picture of.

Also in that picture is a glimpse of another older piece of kitchen equipment, the Belling Format 600, the first freestanding cooker designed to sit flush with the countertops, released in the early 80's I believe though this one is from ~1986. All the modern features you want despite it's age, including ceramic hobs (inc. one with what's known as the "pan sensor" where the knob sets a temperature rather than just a heat setting, and one with a special simmer mode), a fan assisted oven, and a proper timer wich can be set to control either the main oven or the top oven.

 

[najaB]

Although it is getting harder to buy these days, I think there's some health concerns.

It's been identified as potentially carcinogenic.

 

[Trackman]

Talking of phones, who had a party line? When I was a child we shared our phone line with a neighbour in the street behind our house. Quite often mum would want to make a call and pick the receiver up only to hear someone gabbling away on the line.

My Auntie had one of those. How did the billing work? Split?

 

[najaB]

My Auntie had one of those. How did the billing work? Split?

If memory serves correctly, you had to dial a code then the number you wanted to reach. Each party had its own ring pattern as well (at least in later days).

 

[MotCO]

If memory serves correctly, you had to dial a code then the number you wanted to reach. Each party had its own ring pattern as well (at least in later days).

I think that the wire was the only thing shared - you both had separate numbers so presumably the billing was based on the telephone number.

 

[najaB]

I think that the wire was the only thing shared - you both had separate numbers so presumably the billing was based on the telephone number.

In the case of DACS that would have been possible since the dialling party's number would be presented to the exchange. With a simple party line that wouldn't have been possible as the exchange would only know which wire the call was being made from, but wouldn't have any way to know which of the phones was actually making the call.

 

[trainophile]

Don't know re. the party line billing, I was only about eight when we got a private line. Hard to believe these days, although occasionally we hear scare stories about available mobile phone numbers running out!

 

[takno]

Don't know re. the party line billing, I was only about eight when we got a private line. Hard to believe these days, although occasionally we hear scare stories about available mobile phone numbers running out!

I remember my dad telling me about them when I was about 8. If he'd told me about them for the first time now I probably wouldn't believe him...